River Cottage Summer Party

We had come down to attend the River Cottage Summer Party at River Cottage HQ near Lyme Regis.

We came down on Friday because we thought it would take hours and hours to get there and didn't want to arrive late, or tired, or flustered.  We wanted to be there in a timely and relaxed and unflurried manner.

So - that gave us a whole day to fill before our taxi was due to come and take us to RCHQ at 6:20 in the evening.

We decided to go for a drive.  First we went into Axminster to look at the RC shop and to have a mooch around.  The nice lady in the RC shop suggested that we might find it a profitable use of our time to go and have a look at Miller's Farm Shop just outside town.  We went.  It was indeed a profitable use of out time.  It's *amazing*!  It may be necessary for us to move!! Although - I would miss Chatsworth horribly.  We may need two houses.

Then we drove off towards Exeter and then down the coast road to Dawlish (black swans at Dawlish), Teignmouth and eventually fetched up at Torquay.  Torquay was busy and touristy - a quintessential Victorian watering hole.  We decided not to stop but to head back towards Teignmouth and stop at a viewing place we had noticed on the way out.  So we did.  And had an ice cream and a bit of a wander.

The Thatched Tavern

Lunch time.  If we are off for a fancy dinner in the evening, we don't want to have a late lunch!  I had noticed, back towards Torquay, a sign pointing to the Thatched Tavern off the main road in Maidencombe.  Shall we go back and see if it looks a likely lunch prospect?  We did.  And it's way down by the beach along a narrow, narrow country lane.  And it did indeed look like a likely place for lunch.  And the food wasn't bad at all.  Basic pub food but well cooked and very tasty.

Then we drove back to the B&B and got ready for our evening out.

River Cottage HQ House and Veg Patch

And it was a lovely evening.  You are ferried from the car park down to the house and gardens in a large trailer, pulled by a tractor.  Once there, we were handed a glass of local cider and then given the run of the gardens and kitchen garden and terraces.  Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall was on the terrace and came to talk to us.  He was doubtful that my elderflower fizz is as alcohol-free as I think it is.  They make theirs to a similar recipe and it's usually around 4-6%.  Must get hold of an alcohol testing device!!  Then we ambled off for a stroll around the kitchen garden and ended up in a huge marquee in a field where trestle tables and picnic benches were laid out in long rows.  We checked the seating plan and found we were right up at the other end, so went up and took our places.

Imagine our surprise when the couple we had seen and nodded to in The Bottle the previous evening turned out to be sat next to us at the RC dinner!!!  I have decided that The Fates want us to get to know each other and have taken the lady's name and mobile number!!

Fish soup at River cottage HQ

The fish soup was one of the most delicious things I think I have ever eaten.  It had fennel bulb in it, and fennel fronds and seeds.  I think it had tomato in and garlic (I would never pass that Masterchef test where they get you to tell them what's gone into a dish!!)  But I know full well that it had white and red fish in it. And mussels and prawns and scallops and squid.  It was absolutely lovely and I have every intention of trying to duplicate it.  I just need to mug HFW's chef for the stock recipe!!!  The roast spring lamb and slow roasted lamb shoulder which followed was also delicious - just not quite as exciting as the fish soup.  The new potatoes were beautifully cooked and very buttery.  And we drank English wine (I had a couple of glasses of sparkling English wine too which, to my taste, is infinitely nicer than French champagne because it's lighter and more refreshing).  I like English wine but it tends to be extremely expensive (it's a small production so that's fair).  It wasn't unduly expensive at the party, though (you had to pay for wine - only the first glass of cider was included in the price).

I have to say that I was deeply impressed by HFW.  The details for the evening had made it very clear that he would be unable to stay all evening.  But he pretty much did.  He spoke to every one who was there.  Granted it was a members' evening but I still thought it was amazing that he took so much time with the guests.  He even, charmingly and cheerfully, had his photo taken with the Travelling Hippoberries.  He even shared his bottle of cider with them!  Various of his specialist friends were there - so the bee man and the jam lady and I think the bread man and they all circulated and spoke to interested guests.  The kitchen people had noted that I had told them about The Builder's strawberry allergy (everything was nut free, as far as I could tell) and his dessert came with blueberries instead.  There was cheese and coffee to follow - but I had no more room in my tum for anything.  Well, apart from another glass of English fizz.

They had a skittle alley set up outside, and a post-dinner band with dance floor.  They had lit braziers outside after it went dark so people could wander around outside and not freeze (the temperature had dropped after sunset - and the sea breeze was a bit brisk).  It was all extremely well done.  The only comment I would make is that the benches in the marquee were really only long enough to accommodate 3.5 people comfortably.  I appreciate that it's difficult to find half sized people willing to fill the gaps - but 4 was a bit uncomfortable.  And if I have to be sat quite so close to the man next to me, I would really rather that it was a man that I know rather than a complete stranger (who, for a thin, wiry bloke, took up quite a remarkable amount of space!!).  I felt all kind of squished, trying to avoid him.

Would I go again?  Absolutely!  And I have discovered that there are many, many evening dinners through the course of the year, which HFW and his friends do not attend.  But should we find ourselves down that way and pondering where to go for a gastronomic evening out ...

Right.  More food and fun today.  Lyme Regis for lunch.  And there's a fish shop to find. Must get up and head to breakfast.  Although I am strangely uninterested in a cooked breakfast this morning!!