Wine tasting events

Free range meat from Riverwood Farm praised

Who's New in Our Local Expert, East Devon?

Special offers for foodies via Our Local Expert (East Devon)

Two course lunches for a tenner at Oliva, Topsham

Nick Local Expert enjoys a rare treat at Combe House Hotel

Farewell to Nautilus, Teignmouth

Wine tastings and Events

I hope you get to read this blog in time to get the following in your diaries:

On Thursday 3rd May, the fantastic, entertaining and incredibly knowledgable Iain Smith will be hosting a winetasting at Pebblebed in Topsham.  ‘All sorts of bits and pieces from all over the world. Definitely some very interesting wines from some unexpected places.’ £18.00 per head including a fabulous Buffet supper. Again very limited places. Book at Pebble Bed (Geoff Bowen, 07814 788348, geoff@pebblebed.co.uk).

Many congratulations to Iain – who will be celebrating the first anniversary of Smiths Fabulous Wines and Spirits on Tuesday 15th of May.  How will he celebrate?  By raising funds for the MacMillan Nurses, with another "Call My Wine Bluff" event. Starting at 7.30pm and lasting for 2.5 to 3 hours. You will be tasting 6 wines - a fizz, 2 whites, 2 reds and a sweet. The format will be along the lines of Call My Bluff - once seated you will be required to come up with a name for your team (i.e. all the people at your table). Once the first wine has been dispensed, Iain Smith and two other wine professionals will take turns in talking about the wine - one will tell the truth whilst the other two lie through their teeth - it's up to you to decide who the fibbers are! There’s a break for edible tasters from Magdalen Road’s finest vendors between the whites and reds. Cost:  £18.00 per head
Venue:  the Coaver Club, Devon County Hall site. Tickets:  Register early!  Available at the Smith's Fabulous Wines and Spirits, 39 Magdalen Road. 01392426550.

Sidmouth’s finest dining location, the Salty Monk, will also be holding a wine tasting on Monday 14th May.  Canapes from 7pm, aperitif, 3 courses, Coffee, and a tutored tasting from Chris Piper (Ottery’s independent wine merchant) and Jean Brac de la Perriere.  Reserve your place by calling 01395 513174.

Free range meat from Riverwood Farm praised

My mouth is watering just reading the following recommendation for Riverwood Farm – Talaton’s suppliers of a wide variety of free range meats, prepared with taste and animal welfare as the top priority (as opposed to profit and productivity).  ‘We have just eaten a Stuffed Chicken Breast wrapped in bacon which we bought from Riverwood Farm at the Sidmouth Saturday Market. It was delicious, first class food in exactly the right sized portions. We look forward to the next market’

Who's new in Our Local Expert, East Devon?

The latest edition of Our Local Expert for East Devon has just been delivered – including some wonderful new food businesses – in particular:
Wine World In Honiton – who are proud to give the ‘super’markets a run for their money on price, and are confident to beat them on quality of their wine.
Sidmouth Farmers Market (on the 2nd Saturday of each month opposite the library)
The Fishmonger in Honiton – back under the guidance of its traditional manager, Dermot Sanders, the Fishmonger is again earning rave reviews.  As well as their fresh fish, they’re stocking a fantastic line in prepared fish dishes.  [Geddit? Line?  Fish? Fishing line?]

Pipers Farm Quality Meat and Meal delivery – yes, we know they’re based in Exeter, but the famous butchers deliver at no extra charge to most areas around East Devon, and their single-portion packaging is so very useful for minimise wastage.  And little Local Experts just love their lamb burgers.  Big Local Expert (me) seems to love absolutely everything they do, but particularly the Aromatic Spicy Stir Fry beef.

Very easy to order through their online shop, but personally I prefer to phone them and benefit from their excellent suggestions for the needs of my ever hungry bunch.

We’ve heard so many great things about The Mexican in Exmouth, that we felt we had to include them this year.  They serve top quality fresh food in a vibrant atmosphere, are loved by their customers, and offer you, our readers a 10% discount (see below).

Discounts  for you through us!

Les Saveurs in Exmouth is considered by many to be the finest Fish restaurant in East Devon.  French chef Olivier Guyard offers a free glass of house wine with a two course meal for our readers (print this page from OurLocalExpert.co.uk).  Olivier is rightly proud of the standard of his house wine, this offer is definitely worth asking for!

Oliva, the multi award-winning Mediterranean restaurant in Topsham, offers a free glass of house wine with evening meals from the a-la-carte menu (Tuesdays - Thursdays), when you present a copy of the printed annual Our Local Expert guide on arrival.  [if you don’t have a printed copy of Our Local Expert, phone 01395 513869 and leave us your postal address]

For top quality fresh food with a vibrant atmosphere, the Mexican Bar and Restaurant in Exmouth offers a 10% discount on Sun-Thursday evenings to customers carrying Our Local Expert, or with a printout from their feature on this website.

The succulent free-range pork products at Kenniford Farm, Clyst St Mary are wonderful.  Print out the feature for Kenniford Farm from Our Local Expert, and you can ask for 3 packs of frozen sausages for £6, or a free tea, coffee, milkshake with any meal from their new cafe.

Ole! - Great offers at Oliva

Oliva Mediterranean Restaurant in Topsham is always great value, and always incredibly tasty.
Despite the distractions of a new child, Head Chef Tim Golder continues to ensure excellent standards of food and service in his immaculate restaurant.

Tuesday to Saturday evenings the A La Carte menu offers the very best in locally sourced produce, with additional specials:
Tuesdays are always Paella Night (paella for 2, and 2 glasses of house wine for £29.95).
Wednesday is Grill Night (local steaks and Brixham seafood on the chargrill)
Thursday Night Tapas (4 tapas £18, 6 Tapas £25).

And if you can make it to Topsham for a lunch, well lucky you!  Weekday lunches you can still buy 2 courses for an outstanding £10.
...and if Mum (or Dad) deserves a Sunday off, Sunday lunch at Oliva is great value with 2 courses for £16, 3 courses for £20.

A Rare Treat at Combe House

Yes I do work very hard, but every now and then something happens which makes all the work feel worthwhile.  Like a meal and guided tour at Combe House Hotel.  It was like a scene out of someone else’s life, click here to see how I got on.  In summary I can’t recommend Combe House highly enough, the welcome you are given makes you feel completely at ease, in the finest surroundings.  You can always just call in for a coffee to suss the place out – but I’m sure you’ll find yourself seduced into reserving a table for a later date, whilst you’re there.

Farewell to Nautilus, Teignmouth

Unfortunately the relaxing and friendly Nautilus seafood restaurant in Teignmouth has closed its doors for the final time.  Rob, Becky and Yvonne enjoyed great success throughout the whole of their time at the charming restaurant since 2003.  If you turn up there now you'll no longer find tasty tapas, but a DIY store where Nautilus used to be.
If I were you, I’d turn round and go to the Old Rydon in Kingsteignton, although we’ve been hearing some great things about the Thatched Cottage (also in Kingsteignton)

The first 3 kids were delivered to school by Mum as usual – all done on foot by 9am.

I’d been working feverishly from home since 7:45, trying to clear as much as I could before our deadline to leave – 11am.

As per usual, 11am arrives and there’s still more to do.  Just one little task, should only take 5 minutes...which means 15.  All the same it’s done, and we leave.

Round to Nana’s to drop off baby Buster.  Nana’s nervous that Buster won’t be able to cope without Mummy for the afternoon, but we’re sure he’ll be fine.  He has to be fine.  We’ve got this appointment that’s just too good to miss.  A guided tour, then lunch, at Combe House Hotel.

Ever been?  It’s the stuff of legends round our way, and rightly so.

We wiggle down country lanes that make our car feel so BIG, it’s terrified of meeting a tractor or speeding postman.  Thankfully all we need to avoid is a stray chicken and a couple of pheasants.

Combe House is well hidden, but thankfully it’s also well signposted.  Every turning and tree seems to have a sign to help us find our way.  We haven’t got time to view the pretty fudge-box-cover that is Gittisham Village (just outside Honiton) – we need to make our 12 o’clock appointment.  We enter the Estate and it’s impossible to speed around the luxurious winding single-track path which takes us to the door of Combe House.  We slow down from our already slow pace, to allow for a couple of horse riders.  Closer to the house and there’s wild horses roaming aplenty – apparently they’re of Arab descent and pretty special.  The huge house looms out of the Devon fog – it must have stunning views on a clearer day. We park and approach the old mansion... we wonder if we’re underdressed...I fumble for my invitation.....but there’s absolutely no need for that.  The door is opened for us, and we are met with broad smiles, and welcomed by our first names. I thought that only happened in my village pub.  We are immediately at ease.

Relaxed hotel guests and diners alike sit comfortably around the choice of lounges – each room seems to boast a huge roaring fire.  Outside it was a cold, damp, late winter’s day – inside it’s like Christmas Day today, and I guess it is like that every day at this time of year.

The cheerful Manager Mark Lovell welcomes us warmly, and we soon find we are chatting like old friends.  He introduces us to Ruth Hunt, the owner, who proudly shows us around the House and Hotel, the renovation of which has clearly been a massive undertaking.  There are up to three choices of venues for a wedding, and these must be memorable weddings.  One huge room is flanked by Oak panels and huge portraits – showing family members that used to own this historic house.  We pass through a sleek modern bar which wouldn’t feel out of place in an exclusive nightclub.

We are taken into the old staff quarters, where we see a wonderful old kitchen – complete with flag stone floor and one massive central table.  The end wall of this huge room is spanned by a single metal stove which must be over 12ft long.  The stove is warmed by jumbo logs (all sourced from within the estate, of course).  There is no electricity in this old kitchen, so lighting is by candle chandeliers. I understand that this room is used for intimate family meals the night preceding a wedding, it must be incredible.

Upstairs we get a glimpse of what it’s like to stay here.  Most suites seem to overlook the wonderful estate, and all are impeccably decorated with a wonderful range of styles to choose between.  From traditional elegance to modern and understated.  If you want you can even hire the private thatched cottage with its own private walled garden.

Outside, there must be as many gardens as there are rooms.  The enormous croquet lawn doubles up as the marquee site for weddings.  The back garden leads us to the recently restored vegetable garden which provides 40% of the restaurant’s food.  Rows and rows of carefully co-ordinated planting ripens on a weekly basis to keep fresh supplies coming to the kitchen.  There isn’t too much veg on show at the moment as we eagerly await Spring, but there is more parsley than I’ve ever seen in my life.

On the way back to the house we do a double-take, as we pass an outdoor bath under a thatched roof.  Rainwater is harvested then heated in a water tank over an outdoor wood fire. This is plumbed into the hot tap of the al fresco bath. Honestly.

As we enter the house again, we enjoy the same wonderful welcome we did when we first arrived.  By now we recognise half of the staff, as we’ve been introduced to each one as we’ve passed.  They’ve all greeted us with genuine, welcoming smiles, which make us feel close to Royalty.

There are more incredible function rooms and guest rooms – each with their own identity and history.  We are speechless.  As well as the history of the hotel and its different rooms, we learn of the history of Ruth and Ken the managers.  They have worked throughout the world running and marketing the finest hotels (and the finest chains of hotels).  At Combe House Hotel they have pooled their experience to create one single, independent masterpiece.  Guests to the hotel aren’t just from well-heeled corners of London.  The hotel is also incredibly popular with locals from within Devon seeking the same escape that we are enjoying this afternoon.

We enjoy aperitifs beside a roaring fire, and choose from an astounding menu.  We are not in a hurry, and we are not hurried.  It’s like Christmas Day with someone else cooking.  And the people cooking happen to be Master Chefs of Great Britain.

From the menu alone it’s clear that the food is local. Game and fish are well represented, as are seasonal vegetables (from the back garden).  We make our selections and enjoy our canapés, still beside the crackling fire.  We are then invited through to our table – inside a bay window overlooking the grounds (and roaming horses).   We are given a selection of homemade bread, all exquisite, and an extra introductory course.

The luxury is overwhelming us, and the real world is creeping back into our consciousness.  Go away real world, let us relax and enjoy this, we deserve this!  We work so hard - at work and at home with our four children -please give us an afternoon off!  We should have planned better.  We should have taken the whole afternoon off.  But who’s going to take Daisy to dancing?  Who’s going to take Alfie and Soren swimming?  Nana can’t cope with baby Buster all afternoon, she was terrified of a couple of hours to begin with.

Starters arrive and the real world recedes.  Starters are amazing.  We don’t get out much, but when we do it’s never like this.  We try to eat quality local food at home but we never serve it like this.  We don’t think to put this with that.  This is outstanding.  Portion sizes are perfect – not too generous but not too mean.  We are able to stop and appreciate each mouthful.  We’d love to ask what each element of each dish is, but we just enjoy the incredible flavours.  I’m enjoying the taste of the food so much that I barely remember to sip my delicious wine, and that never usually happens.  We start to relax into this incredible escape we’re enjoying.

Service is impeccably timed, friendly and unobtrusive.  Mains arrive and mine surpasses my incredible starter.  I’d love to make a description like a judge on MasterChef, but I wouldn’t do the food justice and I’d sound stupid.  My main course looks and tastes incredible.  Unfortunately the real world is now catching up with us and we need to check the time.  Could anyone else pick up the kids if we were to let this adventure continue a little longer?  Probably not.  It’s our fault, we’re the ones who chose to have four children.  We have to pick up the pace on our main courses, which is a crime to my pork belly on sour cabbage, to my black pudding croquettes and braised onion.  I’ve stopped to reminisce about it again, now as I write this, my mouth is watering.

The unwelcome intrusion of my wife’s mobile phone allows Plan B to come together, which buys us an extra 10 minutes, allowing us to take dessert.  Now this is really good.  If desserts were always like this, I’d have desserts more often.  My favourite part of my dessert is the Griottine cherries.  Right now they taste better than a glass of the finest dessert wine.  I stopped at my first glass of wine because the real world will need to be faced again soon, and drunken Dads aren’t usually that rational or patient.

As we said our thankyous and left, it felt like we were leaving our host family from a cultural exchange, or that we were leaving our rented holiday home.  My wife was even given a complementary goody bag of sumptuous Combe Estate preserves – a wonderful touch.  We’d been there for less than 3 hours, but Combe House Hotel was already a wonderful memory within my life story, an escape that was over so soon after it had begun.

...and then it hit me, we were home, the adventure was over.  That same saddening feeling you get when you return from a holiday and realise that it’ll be a long time until the next one.  We will return, we already yearn to.  Lunch was extravagant but not unaffordable – in fact good value for a treat which will last for a long time in the memory.  We know we could even just call in for a relaxing morning or afternoon tea or coffee, which will encourage us to show off our new favourite place to visiting guests from ‘upcountry’, as they say in Devon...but the only problem with doing this is that it might show up the service at our own home as not quite as welcoming as that at Combe House. 

Anne England from Kingskerswell was delighted to hear she’d won a meal, after recommending local businesses that she uses and trusts.

Anne was a great help when we were compiling the first edition of Our Local Expert for Teignbridge and Torbay.  She recommended 8 different businesses for our guide – which helps local people avoid the fear of hiring ‘rogue traders’ and ‘cowboys’.  You can trust the businesses we feature, because they’ve all been recommended by local people like Anne.

Here she is enjoying lunch at Riverford Field Kitchen – which can’t be beaten for hearty fresh local food.  Anne described her meal as ‘lush’, and was delighted because it gave her an opportunity to give her dog a great walk, too!

If you’d like the chance to win a meal at a quality independent restaurant, or money to spend on local food, just recommend a local business you think is good enough to feature in Our Local Expert.  We want to hear of businesses that are trustworthy, who provide a quality service, and who hold the customer in the highest regard.

Spring is in the air, people are venturing out of doors again, and restaurants are filling up.  The winter months since Christmas have left some restaurants bizarrely quiet during the week, yet full to capacity at weekends.
....so the lesson here is to get out in the week if you can!  You’ll be assured more privacy, faster service, but the same great food.
  We’ve just updated our recommendations for our favourite independent restaurants in East Devon, so no apologies if this blog is a little biased towards East Devon.  Amongst our updated recommendations are a few special offers for you, our readers.

Many consider Les Saveurs in Exmouth the finest Fish restaurant in East Devon.  French chef Olivier Guyard offers a free glass of house wine with a two course meal for our readers (print this page from OurLocalExpert.co.uk).  Olivier is rightly proud of the standard of his house wine, and this offer is definitely worth asking for!

For top quality fresh food with a vibrant atmosphere, the Mexican Bar and Restaurant in Exmouth offers a 10% discount on Sun-Thursday evenings to customers carrying Our Local Expert, or with a printout from their feature on this website.

Oliva, the multi award-winning Mediterranean restaurant in Topsham, offers a free glass of house wine with evening meals from the a-la-carte menu (Tuesdays - Thursdays), when you present a copy of the printed annual Our Local Expert guide on arrival.  So you’ll have to wait for the new printed guide in April.  Contact us if you want a copy hot-off-the-press.

Why wait til April?  Oliva offer a 2 course lunch for £10 which is exceptional value. With prices that good, you should consider treating yourself to a couple of sly lunchtime glasses of vino.  After all, Topsham’s accessible by train (and bike!)

You won’t get lunch at la Petite Maison, Topsham (unless you ask really nicely, in advance), but this restaurant is an amazing, warm, intimate place to go for a celebration meal.  Look, here’s the Chef, Doug Pestell, welcoming you:

Photo: Doug Pestell of La Petite Maison, Topsham

You’ll also see Doug at the foot of this blog, ready to star on the back cover of the new edition of Our Local Expert for East Devon.  Can you spot the difference between the two photos?  [Thanks, Doug, for dodging traffic and shoppers to help us catch this photo.]

Top Gastropubs

Many congratulations to the Jack in the Green at Rockbeare - Voted the 5th Best Gastropub in the country.  They really have been celebrating their 20th birthday in some style.  If you’ve never been, you can get a sense of the welcome, and the care shown to food and customers alike on their new short film on the home page of The Jack in the Green's website.

Congratulations too go to Joe and the team at the wonderful Holt in Honiton, who also made it into top 50 Gastropubs in the country.  Could it be the warm service?  The home smoked food? The perfectly presented Otter Ale?  You’ll just have to go along and see for yourself.
  Right – better dash – got to approve the proof for the new East Devon guide.  Here’s the photo from the back cover:

Photo: Doug Pestell of La Petite Maison, Topsham

Pipers Farm butchers on Magdalen Road, Exeter are running a series of 'Simplest Christmas' evenings in the shop, designed to show you how easy great food at Christmas can be. The evenings consist of cooking demonstrations focused on a variety of festive products.

There will be plenty of tasters and Iain from neighbouring Smiths' Quality Wines and Spirits is pairing the meat with the perfect wines.

Everything bought on the night is at a 10% discount on top of exclusive deals.
 
The remaining evenings are running on Tues 6th Dec & Thurs 8th Dec 6:30pm - 7.45pm.

Tickets can be obtained by calling into the shop or on 01392 274504. They are £5 each, redeemable for purchases on the night.
 

Recommendations for Dining out around Christmas
Supplies for Dining In around Christmas, Christmas Presents for foodies
Award Winning Local food and Restaurants
Why is the menu in the Railway, Honiton so original?
Highlights of the new menu at Oliva Mediterranean Restaurant, Topsham
Where to buy Sustainable, LOCAL Christmas Trees
Other Local Food News, recommended blogs

Recommendations for Dining out around Christmas

Without meaning to patronise, here’s a request and a bit of advice from someone who once managed a restaurant, and has waited on countless Christmas parties.  PLEASE ENSURE THAT EACH MEMBER OF YOUR PARTY REMEMBERS WHAT FOOD THEY ORDERED!  It will make the evening so much more enjoyable for your party, not to mention for relations between the waiting and kitchen staff.

Now, let’s get down to business.  You can expect more than Turkey, stuffing and Cranberry Sauce around the quality independent restaurants featured in Our Local Expert.  We’ve chosen to highlight the three below, but I’d be confident of a wonderful meal at any of the restaurants we feature.

First up, the Christmas menu at ‘Exeter’s Best Kept Secret’ – the Rodean Restaurant in Kenton - looks both original and pure quality throughout:
The Rodean’s Christmas Menu is £21, available Tues – Fri Dinners, (or Lunches For Parties Over 12).

If you’ve never been, Nautilus in Teignmouth is a relaxing and friendly restaurant serving tapas during the week with a strong fish influence.  They specialise in seafood, but also offer some cracking vegetarian and meat options – generally with a Mediterranean twist.

We think you’ll like the Nautilus take on a Traditional Christmas Menu. A generous number of courses, with a wide range of choices for each course. 
£21 per head including coffee.  Note parties min size 10.

Highly respected, award-winning, guidebook-endorsed and much loved intimate Exeter restaurant @Angelas have published their Christmas Menu.  As you’d expect, mouth-watering locally sourced food, served in the most agreeable environment!  

£32.95 per head includes coffee. ....and as a word of  warning, remember that @Angelas is a small restaurant - which is part of it's charm.  i.e. BOOK EARLY! 
Congratulations to @Angelas, who have now been included in the Lonely Planet guide. 2011-2012, and the Michelin Guide for 2012 - above the Abode in their preference.
@Angela’s will be open every day throughout December from Thursday 1st December up to and including New Year’s Eve (when they will be serving their usual A La Carte menu).  The only day they will be closing is Boxing day.

Besides the suggestions above, we obviously recommend that you consider all the quality, local independent restaurants we champion in Our Local Expert – after all – they’ve been recommended by people like you!
Quality Independent Restaurants in East Devon
Quality Independent Restaurants in Exeter
Quality Independent Restaurants in Teignbridge and Torbay

Supplies for Dining In around Christmas, Christmas Presents for foodies

Don’t forget that many of the shops below might prefer notice to plan around large orders, so to make sure you’re getting the best food this Christmas, try to plan what you need in advance.

Devon food also makes a great gift at Christmas - particularly if you're travelling to stay with friends or family from other parts of the country.

Click on these links for:
Local independent food and farm shops in East Devon.
Local indepedent food and farm shops in Exeter
Local independent food and farm shops in Teignbridge/Torbay
[...and if your favourites aren’t mentioned here – please get in touch and tell us why we should feature them!]

Making as much effort as anyone to get local people buying local produce, the excellent Real Food Store will be open for late night shopping in Exeter, from 6-8pm starting Thursday 24th November. 
The Real Food Store can really do no wrong in my eyes!  They encourage you to ‘Make it a local Christmas’, with Devon turkey, meats, vegetables, bread, cakes, fancy baked goods, chocolates, wines, beers and sparkling cider. Also other drinks, gifts and themed hampers.  A pre-order service is available. 

As you can imagine, the fantastic butchers at East Hill Pride (between Newton Poppleford and Sidmouth) is stocking the usual Christmas Special meat – phone 07969 024749 or visit the shop to pre-order:  Turkeys, home-reared geese, sausage meat for stuffing, cured tongue and more.

Much loved intimate Exeter restaurant @Angelas have  vouchers for Christmas gifts – order them by  calling 01392 499038.

Award Winners:

In case you somehow didn't realise, Rockbeare near Exeter Airport is home to the Jack in the Green – one of the most celebrated local restaurants.  The restaurant is within a country pub which has retained all its cosy welcoming charm, and this November they are celebrating 20 years in business.

...and what a way to celebrate!  'The Jack' are delighted at having been voted 60th in the UK's Top 100 Restaurants (The National Restaurant Awards, October 2011) as well as being announced as the winners of The Western Morning News Reader's Award (at the Taste of the West Food & Drink Awards, November 2011).  Further, Michelin have announced that the Jack in the Green has retained ‘Bib Gourmand’ for the fifth consecutive year. Bib Gourmand is an award given to establishments which Michelin believe offer exceptional value for money.  The Jack in the Green are the only restaurant to be named in Devon this year.

Recently Taste of the West announced their pick of local restaurants and cafes.  We particularly endorse the choice of Toast Café & Patisserie in Honiton, Gold Award winner for Café/Tea Room in Devon.  Toast is owned and operated by Otter Brewery who also run the excellent Honiton gastropub the Holt, just across the road.

Photo:  Emma Parkin & Anne Parris of Emma's Bread

We can’t help but love Emma’s bread, born and raised (geddit? ‘raised’?) in the Real Food Store, Exeter.  Emma's Bread has been awarded winner of the Best Baker / Confectioner of the Year at the Devon Life Food & Drink Awards 2011.

If you haven’t yet tried Emmas bread, call into the shop and buy some, or stop at the Real Food Cafe and enjoy one of their excellent seasonal sandwiches or cakes available.

The Real Food Store was also finalist for Devon Life’s Best New Enterprise / Innovation of the Year as well as Best Independent Food Shop of the Year.   They have been shortlisted for the Devon Environmental Business Initiative Awards (DEBI) in the Food, Farming & Leisure category.

View the full list of Taste of the West Product Awards here (mmmm, there’s quite a few of these).
From this list – I’d particularly recommend WARM (yes warm) pork pies by Chunk of Devon.  We had these at a wedding in the summer, and they’ve made me re-evaluate what I thought a pork pie was (i.e. not a small, processed thing served at children’s parties containing a lump of ‘meat’).

Why is the menu in the Railway, Honiton so original?

Photo: The great(?) minds behind the menu at The Railway

If you’ve ever wondered why the menu at Honiton Gastropub The Railway is so refreshingly original, maybe you need to look to the chefs.  Head Chef Jean is Italian (raised in France), and when he needs inspiration he turns to his Greek and Iranian chefs as ‘muse for food’. 
The Railway organise artisan bread making classes on Mondays, and will soon be running bread classes for disabled children. Most of the children are blind with another pathology, and apparently it is therapeutic to feel and make the bread, cooking with the smell only.

New menu at Oliva Mediterranean Restaurant, Topsham

Oliva Head Chef, Tim Golder has created a whole new menu. With more homemade treats than ever before including seasonal ice creams, daily freshly baked breads and home cured salt cod. Tim has also been out and about searching for even more local produce, such as Black Label beef (Aberdeen Angus beef reared in the Westcountry with full tractability) form Turtons Butchers, Greendale Farm Shop; Shipton Mill organic flour and Bigbury Bay oysters have joined the ever-growing list of local suppliers.  There are also new and exciting products from Spain, including Ibores goats cheese from Extremadura and a new range of cured meats from Leon.

Where to buy Sustainable, LOCAL Christmas Trees

Okay, so Christmas trees aren’t exactly local food, but there’s no reason why you shouldn’t source them locally – to minimise transport costs and encourage local enterprise.

Most Christmas trees available (particularly those who promise not to drop their needles) are imported from Scandinavia.  Imported from Scandinavia?  Have you never noticed that there are a few pine trees growing right here in Devon?
East Hill Pride (at the top of Four Elms Hill, between Newton Poppleford and Sidmouth) will be selling Christmas trees all the way from Stockland – where the big TV mast is - near Honiton.  Choose from Christmas trees with roots, or freshly cut.  Stands will also be available. 
As already mentioned, the fantastic butchers at East Hill Pride will be stocking the usual Christmas Special meat – phone or visit the shop to pre-order:  Turkeys, home-reared geese, sausage meat for stuffing, cured tongue and more.  Why not also buy a few of their home made pasties while you’re there, or stop for a cream tea and enjoy the incredible views to Dartmoor (East Devon low-grey-cloud-permitting).  Why not leave this amazing scene with a tree strapped to the top of your car, and a boot-full of locally reared, hung and butchered meat?

Other Local Food News and recommended blogs

Top Quality Tasting of Felton Road Wines on Friday 25th November at the Hourglass in Exeter, hosted by Nichola from Felton Road NZ and Iain Smith of Smith’s Fabulous Wines and Spirits of Magdalen Road, Exeter.

Follow this link for a great blog about a curing and smoking course at the wonderful Holt in Honiton

We love this blog about ‘11 LOCAL FOOD MYTHS’ that the baddies and corporates would have us believe.

If you’ve never been, Nautilus in Teignmouth is a relaxing and friendly restaurant serving tapas during the week with a strong fish influence.  They specialise in seafood, but also offer some cracking vegetarian and meat options – generally with a Mediterranean twist.

We think you’ll like their take on a Traditional Christmas Menu (see below), which we’ve just received from Rob:

Appetizer

• Nibbles selection on the table while your party arrives

Starters

• Vegetarian: Thick and creamy Tomato soup served with fresh crusty bread and butter
• Chilled potted king prawns and Scottish smoked salmon in light citrus mayo dressing served with bread and butter
• Chef’s special pate served with Melba toast and Hedgerow preserve.
• Mushrooms sautéed in garlic butter and bacon topped with a creamy sauce and a dusting of fresh parmesan cheese
• Tiger prawns pan-fried with crushed garlic and herbs served with fresh crusty bread
• Fresh orange juice for those with a smaller appetite

Main Courses

• Traditional Roast Turkey, sausage wrapped in bacon, stuffing, tasty stock gravy and cranberry sauce
• Braised pork shank in Devon cider apple gravy accompanied by homemade  chutney.
• Steamed boneless plaice fillet with tiger prawns accompanied by a lemon and parsley butter
• Pan fried cod fillet (boneless and skinless) with Brixham mussels in creamy garlic white wine sauce
• Pancakes stuffed with roasted vegetables and herbs on a bed of Mediterranean tomato sauce topped with white sauce and mozzarella cheese served with fresh crusty bread.

All the above served with Roast Potatoes and a selection of seasonal vegetables

Desserts

• Traditional Christmas pudding, With Brandy sauce
• Homemade white chocolate cheesecake topped with Caramel sauce
• Poached pears in winter berry and red wine syrup with vanilla pod ice cream
• A selection of Cheese and Biscuits with homemade chutney’s
• Trio of homemade real fruit sorbets

 Coffee and Mince Pies

£21 per head.
Available for parties of ten or more by prior arrangement.  Deposit of £10 per person required to confirm booking
Please advise them if you suffer from nut allergies etc and they will adapt accordingly.

Call 01626 776999 to book your party!

Hosted by Smiths Fabulous Wines and Spirits and The Hourglass

As you can probably guess, the words below are those of Fabulous Iain Smith, not Nick Local Expert:

...whenever there is a tasting designed to challenge the supremacy of Burgundy, it is usually a Felton Road that is ushered into the ring, floats like butterfly and out-classes its bloated Old World champions." Robert Parker's "The Wine Advocate"

It is with immense pleasure, and pride, that Smith's Wines is able to invite you to join Nicola Greening, daughter of Felton Road proprietor Nigel Greening, for dinner and wine tasting in the wonderfully atmospheric cellar of The Hourglass, Melbourne St, Exeter (just off the Topsham Road), on Friday 25th November.

Nicola will be guiding us through a variety of their fabulous Rieslings, Chardonnays and, DADDLUDADADAAAH!, (That's a fanfare that is!) Pinot Noirs while we enjoy a sumptuous menu specially created by The Hourglass's Chef, Jason.

• Parsnip and Gingerbread Soup with Fois Gras
• Seared Scallops with Morcilla and Sweetcorn Chowder
• Venison Wellington with Celeriac Dauphinoise
• Strawberries and Custard Mille Feuille

Places for this unique event are very limited, only 34 places available, so please register your interest as early as possible as seats will be allocated on a first come first served basis. [Tel: 01392 426550]

The very reasonable price of £75 per head reflects not only the excellent menu, but also the volume of fabulous wines that will be tasted, so please don't drive to this event!

A full list of wines to be tasted can be sent through on a separate e-mail but to find out more about Felton Road wines and the worldwide esteem in which they are held, please read on.....

Felton Road Wines is located in Bannockburn, Central Otago in New Zealand, the most southerly wine growing region in the World. Here, vineyards are nestled into small microclimates totally surrounded by high mountains, many of which are snow capped all year round. Though the location is on the edge of sustainable viticulture these microclimates consistently combine hot days, cool nights and long dry autumns: perfect for the creation of fine Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Riesling. The latitude of 45 degrees south is similar to that found in the Willamette Valley in Oregon and some of the finest wine regions of France. Of the five distinct microclimates so far identified in Central Otago, Bannockburn, with its gentle north facing slopes and deep loess soils seems well suited to the production of complex Pinot Noir.

One of the world’s finest Pinot Noirs, this Central Otago icon is making stunning, biodynamic wines year after year. With a perfect microclimate and an expressive terroir, these guys really know their stuff. Oh and people notice: in 2010 Felton Road was designated a Grand Cru winery of New Zealand, given the title "Tipuraganga Teitei o Aotearoa" - "Great Growth of New Zealand". This Grand Cru status, currently only held by two other wineries, recognizes the premier producers of Pinot Noir in New Zealand. Nigel Greening’s winemaking team of Blair Walter and Jane Docherty are the masters of less is more, letting the terroir speak for itself. Gravity flow is the start of a gentle process, avoiding the need to pump fruit uphill.  Ferments are spontaneous from the wild or indigenous yeasts that are in our vineyards and winery.  Inert gas is shunned.  Oak is a subtle companion not a loud guest.  The Malo is simply a function of letting the warm spring air into the cellars.  Pinots are unfined and unfiltered and challenge the very best the world has to offer. But don’t take our word for it, try it for yourself and we guarantee it won’t be your last bottle.

Book your place(s) by calling Iain Smith on 01392 426550, or even better, call in to Smith’s Fabulous Wines and Spirits on Magdalen Road!

Last year Exeter slipped from No.1 to No.2 in the 'generic cities of England' – town centres sporting brands that make one city look like the next.  Please help keep Magdalen Road the thriving, independent hotbed of quality local food for which it is famous.  Support those wonderful, original shops.

This poem is bound to help:

An ode to Magdalen Road, Exeter

I hear that there’s a new Waitrose
Well I ain’t gonna be the one who goes
Deserting all that expertise
Of the food shops who really like to please

I love the shops who source locally
Who really care about qual-i-ty

Gibsons Plaice puts a smile on my face
Don’t need to twist my arm to visit Pipers Farm

I call into Bon Gout, and Hills Veg and Fruit
To fill up on provisions for the best foodie missions

To miss Iain Smith’s Wines would be such a crime
And I haven’t yet seen the cafe called Bell Green

And even if a superstore
Offers to deliver at your door
Ask on Magdalen Road and you just might find
That their service ain’t so far behind.

They’re organised and they’re perfectly able
To deliver food to your home for your table.

Magdalen Road, Exet-er
I love yer

Fantastic Food across Teignbridge and Torbay

Real Food News

Think you’re down with local food?  How about local water?

The Olympics starts in Honiton, New Years Eve

Local cheeses and local wines added to Salty Monk menu

Beautiful film featuring Shillingford Organic Vegetables

Great value regular offers  at Oliva, Topsham

Other local food news

Fantastic Food across Teignbridge and Torbay

While researching the new ‘Our Local Expert’ for Teignbridge and Torbay, we’ve found some wonderful independent restaurants in unexpected places, and some fantastic local food shops.

We welcome your suggestions of restaurants, food and farm shops in the Newton Abbot, Dawlish, Teignmouth and Torquay area that you think we’ve missed.


[Photo - new young reader (Buster Hall) checks the dates of the Farmers Markets in Teignbridge and Torbay]

Real Food News

The beating heart of local food in Exeter, Real Food Exeter, is pulsating (geddit – pulse-ating?) with new events and new stock.

The Real Food Cafe featured in a recent Guardian list of top value places to eat in the Exeter area, along with a massive endorsement of Emma’s Bread – lovingly made onsite.

[Photo - Emma’s Bread – lovingly made onsite at the Real Food Store]

Real Food Exeter now hosts fully catered events –for more information write to events@realfoodexeter.co.uk for menu options and costs.

The cafe continues to promote new local art, and there’s a Halloween themed Pumpkin Party on Saturday 29 October!

New stock in the shop includes high quality, good value local meat from Peradon Farm, Clyst Hydon; seasonal squashes and pumpkins from Shillingford Organics, globe artichokes from Riverford.

The drinks section has expanded to include Teignmouth Ales amongst the many local brews, and Vintage Roots Organic Wines.

For even more news from the Real Food Store, check out their October Newsletter.

Think you’re down with local food?  How about local water?

If you think you’re down with local food, how do you fare when it comes to local water?  You must realise that Evian backwards spells naive.  If you drink bottled water, you should be getting wet with Dartmoor Water.  Delivering to your home or place of work, Clearly Devon can supply refrigeration dispensers like all water companies, but also offer an environmentally friendly alternative which saves on electricity costs.

The Olympics starts.....in Honiton, New Years Eve

2012 is the year of.....the Olympics in Great Britain.  And what better way to kick-off the year than sprinting over to the Holt, Honiton?  The best puns (such as the Pie-Athlon) were proving a little difficult to organise, but rumour has it that events for New Years Eve at the Holt will include:

• Prawn Peeling
• A Golf Hole
• Coconut Shy

There will be heats and a grand final, and competition entrants are now being accepted (i.e. tickets are available). 

Salty Monk digging on Local cheeses and local wines

At the Salty Monk in Sidmouth, a recent local wine and cheese tasting evening proved so popular they’ve added a few onto their menu.  Top quality local Reds, Whites, Roses and sparkling wines have been added from the vineyards of:

• Lily Farm (in Knowle near Budleigh Salterton); 
• Manstree at Shillingford St George near Exeter;
• Willhayne Vineyard at Colyton.

The local wines are proving particularly popular with locals and tourists alike.

Shillingford Organics film:

This beautiful short film shows life at Shillingford Organics – who deliver organic food in the Exeter and Teign Valley region. 

I haven’t yet seen any similar films showing the quality of life for T*sco’s contented suppliers.

Great value regular offers  at Oliva, Topsham

Mrs Local Expert and I finally made it to Oliva, Topsham for a rare meal out.
We were delighted to find Kenniford free range pork (from the excellent Farm Shop at Clyst St Mary) on the menu.....although this didn’t make choosing our meal any easier! 

[Photo - Andrew Freemantle of Kenniford Farm - whose free range pork is currently on the menu at Oliva]

What did help us choose our selections  from the menu was when we were told of the lunchtime special - £10 p.p. for two courses (set menu).  For mains we enjoyed the fattest slabs of pork, perfectly cooked; the best mash I can remember (despite marrying into an Irish family); all served with wonderful seasonal local veg and delicious sauces.  All very enjoyable, but I've promised myself that when I return I must try some of the Mediterranean dishes for which Oliva is so loved.

As well as the lunchtime menu, Oliva have Paella specials on:
Tuesday nights:  Paella for 2 and glass of house wine each for £29.95
Thursday nights:  4 tapas £18, 6 tabas £25.
We found the house wine (dry white) particularly enjoyable when we visited.

Other local food news:

The small and perfectly formed @Angelas in Exeter have already developed their Christmas Menu, and are already taking Christmas bookings.
If you want high quality food and service in an intimate venue, you’d better book early...

Friendly and welcoming Honiton gastropub the Railway is continuing with their extension.  

The Railway have also been very active on Twitter – receiving a massive response to a recipe competition with 117 entries!  The winner (Martin from Exeter) asked the Railway to make Sticky date and chocolate pudding , salted toffee sauce and boozy strawberries.

Just down the road in Honiton, and every bit as friendly and welcoming, The Holt had Bear Grylls in for lunch in July.  Apparently he even asked for cooked food !

And finally, well done to the fabulous Iain Smith, of Smith’s Fabulous Wines and Spirits on Magdalen Road, Exeter.  He held his second wine tasting, showing off his incredible knowledge (and stock) of wines. Not only that, but the event was to raise funds for the Billie Butterfly Fund – a four year old Exeter girl diagnosed with brain stem tumour.