Auld fashioned rice pudding with a pot of jam and cream

Yes this is on our dessert menu and wow does it bring back memories. With the crispy golden skin  and the luxurious  split vanilla pod enclosed it has been a real head turner in the kitchen as well as out front.  The scent of the vanilla as it slowly cooks is a real joy.Thanks mum for bringing me  and my brother Alistair ,up on this wonderful pudding! The simple things are best in life and that goes for cooking too as this wonderful dish proves.

Banana leaf wrapped cod chargrilled with pesto crumb topping

As a customer was about to devour this exciting ,and very adventurious new summer dish we had just  put on the menu on saturday she asked''Can you eat the Banana leaf?''  I was momentarily lost for words!! Which must be a first...................''I'm not sure ''I said...looking confused.''Well you better go and ask the chef then'' she said in her best school teacher voice so I scuttled away to the kitchen and discussed it with Craig. I had created the dish but I wasn't about to confess I was one of the chefs! We had a brief discussion and decided no it was best not to .I think they were pulling my leg as  they burst into laughter when I returned to the table and told them ''no''.Very amusing.............. never mind I will know the next time I get asked!!

Grilled Figs with Somerset ''Tor''goats cheese and cardamon infused honey

I love Figs. This dish is on our specials board at the moment and as there are so many people who adore goats cheese it is a clever combination.

Aubergine Burger

It is fantastic to make food fun and exciting for everyone not just for high end dining and we are really proud of this wonderful aubergine burger that we are serving in our brasserie just now. It is basically a tian (a stack) of gorgeous char grilled meditterean vegetables,artisan goats cheese,sundried tomatoes and a topping of hand-made pesto.We put it sandwiched in a garlic toasted bread bun and it is about 8 inches high!
 By the way Edinburgh has got a fantastic food festival on this coming week-end at the meadows and I think it will be really worth going to especially when the organizers have gone to so much effort to bring you so many talented chefs. It is on Friday, Saturday and Sunday the 1st 2nd and 3rd of July.I'm diffinately going to go and see the Waitross cooking school and Rachel Allen.

The ultimate Steak Sandwich with basil aioli and caramelized onions

I love a steak sandwich and I love really good toasted bread  to go with it (at the moment we are using focaccia made from the Great Northumberland  bread company at Cornhill and home-made garlic mayo.

We use Martin Redpath's cheviot Sirloin steak  and we tenderize it by  cutting a slice then putting it between two pieces of cling film and beating it flat. I used my rolling pin last night and I beat it so hard I broke it. I made the boys laugh in the kitchen I told the boys to think of somebody you don't like and beat the meat so it is beautiful and level and very thin. Then Chargrill the beef for a minute each side and while you are doing that grill the  flavoursome cut  bread after you have brushed it with garlic oil. (the smell will knock you for six). Drizzle some pesto over the bread, and heat some caramelized onions up and start making up your sandwich. You have to serve it while it is hot so you learn to prep well and work fast. The tender beef the caramelized onions the garlic the mayo the hot garlic bread..................is a true treat
A word of warning you can't be mean with the beef .In the sandwich I ate at The townhouse in Melrose on Friday and I would be lucky if I got 2ozs of steak in my steak sandwich and it was cut up so small  if you blinked you would miss the beef .At Sallyport the beef is the star. You can serve it with a warm potato salad or hand-cut chips and a  beautiful side salad.

Crab,avocado and orange salad

The crabs we use at 1 Sallyport are brown crabs but that doesn't mean it is brown meat we use its just the name of the type of crab. It comes from  the north east coast and is supplied to us by Douglas Flannigan at Tweedmouth who diffinately has the best in the area. It is sensational mixed with with home-made mayo and seaonal ripe avocado which is full of goodness and tastes of summer. The orange segments mixed through a leaf salad with some chives is a perfect accompanyment. Throw in a few olives a glass of chilled fino sherry and you will feel your in  sunny Spain ( away from this wild windy weather!) Talking about oranges,having oranges freshly squeezed for you in the morning or indeed any time of day is an absolute luxury,especially when you think how many oranges it takes to get a glass of juice. We invested in this amazing machine from Zummo 3 years ago to take all the hard work and pain out of squeezing fresh oranges . The only down side is its such a fiddle to wash!
Oranges are such a  wonderful fruit that deserves  much  more recognition in the kitchen . The scent of an orange is awesome, a couple of strips of orange rind in a dish make such a difference and it is diffinately one of my favourite fruits  to cook with. I made an orange avocado and crab salad and an orange drizzle cake today.I'v got a lovely dish of lamb with cinnamon,star anise and orange.Also you can make  a stunning sauce  with caramelizing oranges to drizzle over your ice-cream. I'm trying to eat only  heathly food at the moment but its murder when your a chef as you've got to taste when your cooking all the time.You don't see many fat chefs mind you but that's different from healthy eating..................now where are my walnuts, pecan nuts,dried cranberries,grapes,Oh Avocado its really healthy...................so that's okay!

Olive oil,Lemon and honey dressing

For a fruity dressing for your salad leaves try mixing 3 tablespoons of runny honey ,lemon juice and olive oil.Use sparingly and   dribble it over the leaves and  then finally ,at the last moment ,add a pinch of malden salt turn the leaves once more and serve

It is one of the biggest bug bears in the kitchen when the salad is under dressed or has got too  much dressing on .......................so every day ,at the pass I check the amount of dressing. Always I say to the chefs the leaves should glisten and taste taste taste.

Warm Poached Plums with cloves,port,orange and cinnamon.

For many years this is what we served at 1 Sallyport for Breakfast. It comes with Greek yoghurt and if you desire home-made granola. I personally adore  warm poached fruits and could eat them at any time of day whether it be pears poached with  a vanilla  pod or necterines with a brandy marinade...........and the accompanyment of home-made vanilla ice-cream would I think be devine.

Here is my recipy for the plums.

Take 1lb 8ozs of Plums(best quality you can find)
A wine glass of port
half a stick of cinnamon
2 peices of orange rind with two cloves stuck through
4 ozs of soft brown sugar

Put all the ingredients into a pan with a tight fitting lid, and slowly bring to the boil. Once the liquid starts bubbling turn the gas down as low as you can and let the plums everso gently cook until a beautful sauce is formed . The plums are ready when you can pierce the plums with a knife and there is no resistence.
Allow them to cool until tepid and serve as part of a luxury breakfast or  why not indeed ,some home-made rice pudding.now we are talking nostalga (when the kids were small in our family it was who ever could get to it first to eat that lovely golden skin!)

Scottish Shortbread home-made

 Like many of you I too have been  watching The Apprentice on Television  tonight where the two teams had to source 10 items for the Savoy. I wish I had been team leader  don't you,all the products were from the hospitality business and it would have been huge fun to do.Alan Sugar gets alot of stick but at least he has a strong mind and kept the integrity of the programme whereas Masterchef has gone all silly ........more like X Factor.I think Lord Sugar is cool.............and Karen Brady is fantastic too. A great business role model for women.
I'v been making shortbread since I was a kid. I was brought up on it and I have to say my mothers recipy was delicious. Not only was she a teacher but she could bake well too. I make shortbread every week at Sallyport and customers get it in their rooms on their tea tray as well as being sold in the brasserie. Shortbread is great with a very light pudding like a lemon posset and this time of year we are trying to make lots of light fruity puddings. The secret of great shortbread is to use real butter and to cook it gently. Here is my recipy.Enjoy

11b Butter
8ozs Caster Sugar
11b Plain flour
1 teasp of salt
8ozs Ground Rice

Method
Beat the butter and sugar together in a Kenwood Mixer( really important that you have one if you want to bake regularly) then add the other ingredients. Knead into a ball and roll out and cut into circles or at Xmas Christmas Trees!
Bake at 170 for 20 mins. When lightly brown remove and sprinkle immediately with caster sugar.
 For various changes you could add some grated orange  rind or a teasp of cinnamon or a hand full of best quality chocolate drops

The Great Britsh Cheeseboard

These is our personal selection of British Cheeses that we are proudly serving this week at 1 Sallyport.

Tunworth
With the great British Menu being on the television screen at the moment and with this years amazing Royal wedding we feel we should wave the flag for great British cheese makers!
Tunworth a rare unpasteurised camembert style cheese. Cows are now grazing the new growth of grass and flavours. Made by Hampshire cheeses was voted best cheese in britain at the british cheese awards. The soft white cheese won the accolade of supreme champion ahead of 840 cheeses. Tunworth has a rich, milky and nutty taste.The box alone that it comes in is beautiful.

Tor and Driftwood

This is Craig's favourite and it certainly looks and tastes amazing!
We have put this one into our goats cheese salad.
Fresh cheese so goats are now grazing and milk yields are up.Tor is Ash coated pyramid and the Driftwood is an ash coated log. They have natural mould rind that develops a degree of surface ripening and has a smooth soft paste.

Winterdale Shaw

This one is in our Ploughmans platter as well as being on our evening selection.
One year old,coming into season as of May last year his cows were starting to graze the Kentish Weald.Situated high up on the north Downs in the heart of Kent. Winterdale Shaw is a hand made  hard cheese ,which once cloth bound is placed in the cellar to mature for a minimum of six months. The natural stone cellar is dug deep into the chalky North Downs of Kent, which gives the cheese its unique characteristic full of flavour.

Barkham Blue
We feel so lucky and privileged to have this cheese
Although a pasteurised cheese this rich creamy blue is lovely and soft and perfect for the summer. Produced in Wokingham,Berkshire. Barkham Blue is a gold award winning blue cheese. It is a big flavour cheese with great depth. With a lovely texture,colour and great taste this is a frim buttery cheese made from Channel Island pasteurised cow's milk. Suitable for vegetarians

Caerphilly Gorwygg
I'v been baking 100 oatckes today and we have made a beautiful chutney to match this cheese.
Even the paper it comes wrapped in is stunning. It seems a shame to open it.
Trethowans Gorwydd (pronounced Gor-with) Caerphilly. Matured Caerphilly made to a traditional recipe,using raw unpasteurised milk and GM free traditional animal rennet. These ingredients combined with working with the curd by hand,keep the cheese true to the origins of how traditional Caerphilly is made. Gorwydd Caerphilly is matured on the farm for 2 months and exhibit's a fresh lemony taste with a creamy texture to the outer (known as the breakdown) and a firmer but moist inner.

Sparkenhoe Red Leicester

This is perfect for our ploughmans platter as well as on our evening selection
Joe and David Clarke have reintroduced this unpasteurised,clothbound,cows milk cheese made on their farm in Sparkenoe,near Market Bosworth. They use milk from their own herd of Pedigree Holstein Friesian cows.It is around 4 months old and has a incredibly vibrant orange colour and a rounded,mullow,nutty flavour with hints of citrus. The texture is firm and 'snaps' as a Red Leicester should

Fresh spring Vegetables

It is now getting very close to when the baby beetroot should be available also British grown carrots and  Scottish peas ,broad beans and baby turnips. We are really fed up of the fine beans our veg supplier has been giving us...............................they are pre-cut and pre-wrapped and generally something you don't want to use. When we complain he just says there are non others in the market.If we had time ,we would go to the market ourselves but it is a 120 mile round trip so that isn't the answer.Getting someone to grow vegetables for us locally would be ideal. Roy already grows herbs for us and brings in Lovage ( a relation to the celery family) and wild garlic, mint etc. We get our heritage potatoes from Tiptoe farm at Cornhill. So  my next project is  to get all our veg grown locally especially as they will be so healthy for us all and full of flavour.At the end of the day that is what our job as chefs is, to present the general public with the best flavours  a food can produce and its not about adding lots of butter and cream.............but cutting down on food miles and eating food in season. I'm on a special detox diet at the moment of fruit and vegetables and nuts for 10 days .My nutritional advisor has said that I'v got all these aches and pains and I'v got to detox! I'v got a frozen shoulder and arthritis in my knee,terrible sore feet and generally falling apart . Richard has given me sulpher to take for my frozen shoulder so we will see what happens.............watch this space.It was great at the Royal Wedding reception all the vegetables came from ''Highgrove'' and what was wonderful was they were served without cream or butter!!

Slow cooked leg of Scottish Border lamb with red wine ,fresh mint,tomatoes and bacon

I don't get to see much television but I was able to see the Great British Menu the other night where Tony Singh from Olorosso in Edinburgh was competing against Head chef  Michael Smith from The award winning Three Chimneys on the Isle of Skye. They both did a marvellous job and it was real boys banter in the kitchen ................lol. Goodness gracious I wonder if they were told to behave like that or it just came naturally!  Michael did a wonderful barbeque for the table where he cooked three types of lamb and served lit with Asparagus and it looked great with heather in the presentation. Tony did fabulous Langoustines and presented them beautifully with a marvellous arrangement of tiered  plates( like a huge cake stand)  with a divers helmet at the top.. It was such a pity they couldn't mix the two menu's for the peoples banquet as they were both equally as good.

Lamb is our best seller in the evening, without a shadow of a doubt, we put this dish on the menu and it sells straight away.

We take a stunning leg of lamb and cut it into large 2 inch peices then pan fry it so that is is brown and sealed. We fry some onion and bacon add some tomatoes ,herbs and wine,redcurrent jelly  etc and cook in a gentle oven for 3 hours. It is absolutly  devine but it all depends on the quality of lamb you start with. Remember 90% of great cooking is good shopping.. Buy the best from a local producer and you will be able to talk about the  history and what the lamb is fed on and because it  has cost  alot of money( as it is going to be much more expensive than supermarket lamb) you will cook it with great care and attention which is what I try and teach in my kitchen.

Dauphinoise potatoes

At 1 Sallyport we offer a choice of potatoes in the evening and Dauphinoise is one of those choices. It is prefect I think as an accompanyment with rack of lamb. It is a creamy layered garlic and potato side dish, full of calories but a little goes a long way. !

You need 3llbs of thinly sliced potatoes,2 garlic cloves,12 fl ozs of milk 2 teasp of salt and 1oz of parmesan cheese and 6 fl ozs of double cream

My boys in the kitchen have done a fantastic job tonight , led by Craig( I had the night off to watch my favourite TV show the Apprentice) They have had a full house  including a private business men 's dinner party and  they  have coped brilliantly. I am extreemly proud  of them.

Packed Lunch

My son Dean came in to the hotel kitchen today, he had one of our famous packed lunches to take to work  this morning and he said it was delicious. (He builds marquees so he needs lots of great food to keep him going.) A stottie filled with a ham salad, home-made shortbread, coffee and walnut cake, grapes,apple., scone etc

There is nothing more stronger in the world than the love a mother has for her child, there is nothing  that can bring more happiness and joy  and more sadness when the relationship brakes down.I should know as a mother of two boys aged 22 and 23.

Yorkshire Puddings

Everyone loves a great yorkshire pudding with proper gravy and I am no different . My favourite food in the world is a Sunday  Roast Beef Dinner.

Here is our secret recipy (actually it is James Martin's) for Yorkshire pudding

8ozs SR Flour
pinch of salt
8 eggs
1 pint of milk

Whiz all together in a food processor, as long as you remember to add your milk slowly at the end.

The best bit of advice  I can give you is that you have got to have a really hot oven ( 200 degrees) and that you  must remember  to heat the oil in your tin until it is so hot it is smoking  before you add the batter.
Don't keep opening the oven door while the yorkshire puddings are cooking  otherwise they will fall flat . My mate and fellow chef 'Dave' says in order to get them to stay upright ,once they are ready switch  the oven off and leave them in there to dry out.

Raspberry white chocolate Tart in sweet butter pastry

Well its Sunday and its been full of April Showers (sorry May Showers!) Its like all the sunshine came in April and this Month we are going to get lots of rain.  However The sun can't shine forever and there is always a silver lining  (or so they say).Rain , at the appropriate time,means we will get wonderful raspberries and soft berries from Blackhouse farm near Reston which is the very best grower in the area.You can go to pick your own fruit in June  from the Swan family and I highly recommend it, the view is spectacular it feels like your in provence in France. and the berries are devine.
 I make wonderful pastry,I know you think I'm being bigheaded but I DO! Saying that there is lots of things I can't do, I can't spell,hopeless at maths ,couldn't do chemistry at school  or Latin or physics but making pastry is something I'm in the top A class. Pity there wasn't a university for top pastry cooks!LoL .I would love to have gone to university I felt I missed out from not going away from home to study what your passionate about. That was the problem of being a child at a Grammar School, the academic expectations was always really high and I was totally and utterly unsuitable  and extreemly miserable (being a very practical person )and still find it hard to forgive my mother for sending me there!! I was 13 years old and very happy in a secondary school
Anyways...........................The secret of good pastry is having cold hands and not over working the dough.Also once you have made a batch ,wrap it in cling film and leave it to rest in the fridge. This white chocolate tart I make is so popular as soon as I put it on the counter it sells like hot cakes. Someone once said you should give cookery classes but it isn't really my thing.  Saying that I love it when we get a school visit and we all make pancakes together but then I feel duty bound to inspire young people to cook and I love giving people happy memories that visit  hopefully  that will last them all their life. The hairdressor I go to  opposite us has a trainee called Rachel and she came to me with her class when she was 9 years old and she still remembers it so fondly and with such affection I feel wow! That's great.

Arbroath Smokie Pate

I'm a great  fan of Tom Kitchin in Edinburgh. I'v eaten there once  last year on his 7 course gastro menu.( thanks for that Ronnie!)He writes a food  page each Sunday for Scotland on Sunday magazine and it is one of my days high lights finding out what he is cooking this week.He has a open plan Kitchen in Leith and if you get a chance to go to Edinburgh I highly recommend you eat there. Anyways I'm going to dedicate this recipy to Tom as he loves Scotland like me and promotes it all the time. I recommend you serve Arbroath Smokie Pate with home made Oatcakes and a mixed leaf salad with some freshly chopped avocado and oranges mixed through.

Recipy

A pair of' real' Arbroath Smokies  warmed ( you can tell they are the real thing if they have string  attached and smoked to their tails!)We warm them slightly so the flesh comes off more easily.
8ozs of cream cheese
3ozs melted butter
Juice of half a lemon
6 grinds of pepper

Remove the flesh from the smoked fish and transfer to a food processor.
Add the cream cheese and whiz for 20 seconds then slowly dribble in the hot butter. Finally add the lemon juice and pepper until it tastes just right

PS.
That reminds me you can't be a cook in a great kitchen if you don't TASTE ALL THE TIME. I'm fed up of telling my chefs to taste everything as they go along. Your senses are a vital part to successful cooking. Taste Taste Taste.

Posh ploughmans

I like a ploughmans at lunchtime and its always a pleasure serving it  as  its such great value and a hearty meal. Perfect for a summers day................especially with a glass of our real ale from Stewart Brewing  in Edinburgh.(At present we are doing his IPA but soon we will go on to another one such as Timothy Taylor.)
When I am teachng the boys in the kitchen how to do a ploughmans I always say you have got to imagine  years ago when farm labourers worked really hard outside on the land.They were hungry men  with big hands with handling sacks of corn and  turning sheep etc and they didn't want anything twee to eat for lunch so a ploughmans is a substantial salad..............accompanied by an assortment of breads.I was brought up on a dairy farm 3 miles outside of Berwick and I know first hand how hard it is especially when your a poor tenant farmer like my parents were. It was a very very hard life and I'v got total admiration for them both. It gave me a real grounding when I eventually found my niche in life. Working 16 hours a day is normal for a chef just as it would be for a farmer.Hopefully this wonderful industry will get its true recognition  from the honours list one day.
Anyways back to the Ploughmans:  Here at  Sallyport it always has slices of beautiful slow baked ham on the plate and 3 British cheeses. We serve a artisan cheddar say Keens or the Isle of Mull or Lancaster poacher.Then a beautiful blue cheese like Cashel blue or Dunsyre Blue or A classic Coulson Bassett. Then a a cornish Brie would be perfect.We serve a chuncky peice of apple ,home-made chutney,firm grapes and celery and of course your cos lettuce and  cherry tomatoes and cucumber.
We do this as one of our many  platters to share and its a delight to the eye.

Chocolate Brownies

Everyone loves Chocolate.In the evening we daren't do a menu without chocolate! From Chocolate bread and butter pudding to chocolate pecan pie,chocolate fondants,white chocolate berry tart,chocolate mousse,and of course the ultimate chocolate gateaux . When I was younger and a an exceptionally keen chef I travelled down to Gidleigh Park to visit the kitchen's of the famous Shaun Hill  for a few days. It took me 7 hours to drive there from little Berwick and to my great surprize there was a Geordie Head chef  called 'Duncan Walker''who was absolutly brilliant and I will never forget him. Where are you now Duncan? He was a really rough tough guy and he could cook the most sublime food.  He used to laugh at me all the time I was such a Pollyanna! However It was a real eye opener. I had been  a self taught cook up till then and it really opened my eyes how tough and miserable professional kitchens could be. He had lost his license through drink and driving (Gidleigh Park is miles from everywhere) Shaun was a very heavy drinker too. They hated the punters as they called them , they certainly couldn't relate to them. I was saddened by the experience and it made me realise I didn't want anything like that in my future. The worn out pastry chef was simply there to get Gidleigh Park on his CV so too were 75% of the others.I was really surprized that it was the total opposite of what I imagined............... but that is the thing about life  many things aren't what they seem!!.  So I tell myself don't assume .
Anyways Chocolate Brownies are a   huge success at Sallyport and this recipy was given to us by an excellent pastry chef last year.In the evening we serve it with whipped cream or doddington award winning ice-cream. We also make our own special sauce to drape over it to give it a real decadent feel.  And Hey I love my customers and I wouldn't do this job if I didn't.............so thankyou Moira for your beautiful card .


Ingredients:

14ozs dark choc
12ozs of butter
6 eggs beaten
11b 2oz of caster sugar
teasp of vanilla essence
8ozs of plain flour
7ozs of walnuts chopped

Melt the butter with the chocolate in a bain marie and stir together until it is all mixed through. cool. In your Kenwood Chef whisk the eggs and caster sugar until very thick. Then whisk in the chocolate and finally stir in the flour and walnuts. Pour into a lined tin and bake at 160 degrees for 50 mins.
Leave for 30 mins to set when it comes out of the oven

Pierogi

At long last  here at Sallyport we have been able to get round to making Pierogi.

.It has been huge fun in the kitchen today  with Jurek,Goldie and Craig making Jurek's( one of our loyal Polish staff)  favourite recipy. I'v been wanting to make this dish for such a long time and I can't actually believe we have finally managed it.(the busy holiday period is over now so  I have time to catch my breath ) It is a dumpling that can have various fillings. It reminds me of gnochi because you have to boil it in salted water for 3 mins................(they float to the top)..............then fry them in butter so they are nice and  crispy.We are going to put it on the menu  in the evening as a Tapas and spread the good news of what they are and why we make them .Jurek is our pot washer a tall handsome blond who swears alot !lol . Polish workers tend to be very hard workers and we would be lost with out them here at Sallyport. We only have Jurek at the moment but in the past we have had Marta who was an amazing hard working girl ( we hand delivered a Pierogi to her today much to her surprize and her work mates at CafeNero!)
So today was my homage ,my thank-you to all hardworking Polish people  because where as a nation would we be with out  you???In the second world war they fought for us , at the gates of Vienna,and through no fault of their own are they a nomanic people now.Going where they can to find work and decent pay.It must be so hard being away from their homeland and their culture. I appreciate how difficult it must be.
 It is so refreshing making new dishes  and this one is true European food but just remember................. you don't put potato in the filling as that is more  of a Russian dish ,Okay Jurek.!!

Irish Liqueir coffee

This is a real holiday treat and surprisingly popular.

You need a  proper liqueir glass with a teasp of sugar in ( leave the spoon in. as it avoids the glass cracking when you add the hot black coffee)..............while you pour a measure (25ml) of Irish whisky on top. Now add a cup of properly made good coffee on top. Then finally whip some double cream and then once it has thickened  pour a little over the back of a spoon, so as it floats on top.

Brinkburn Goats Cheese with oatcakes

Tonight we are serving 3 local cheeses, northumberland nettle, baltic and brinkburn goats cheese. They are served with our home made oatcakes ( La potiniere recipy............... What ever happened to David and Hilary Brown?) Quince jelly,pear and saffron chutney,apple,celery, and grapes.

It has been a very busy Bank holiday, my feet hurt after a 17 hour shift  but we have had great fun.................................and best of all the sun has never stopped shining

Brandy Snap Basket

When I was reading the Sunday Telegraph  today I saw the  menu for the evening reception for the Royal wedding .The dessert menu included brandy snap baskets  filled with ice -cream as well as trifle and chocolate fondants! It made me smile because recently  we had a  over night michelin inspection and he asked at the end of our discussion if he could see the kitchen and during his tour I showed him the brandy snap baskets that  had been making. I asked him if he thought they were a bit old fashioned. ''Not at all ''he replied ''they showed skill and should be included.'' Now I will always think of the michelin guide and the Royal wedding when I make them. lol I couldn't resist asking the Michelin inspector at the end of  his visit what he thought  of us and his reply was ''Berwick is very lucky to have Sallyport''. In a world of put downs ,you have to roll with the punches and don't dwell on sad things but that is a real positive comment that I won't forget

Brandy Snap Recipy
 2 ozs of butter
2 ozs of syrup
2ozs of sugar
2ozs of plain flour
pinch of ginger

Melt the first three ingredients then add the ginger and flour
place teasp (very widely apart as they spread) on a greased baking tin
bake in a moderate oven till golden brown and bubbling
As soon as they come out the oven drap over an orange or upside down small bowl

Creme Caramel

With the weather being so wonderful here at Sallyport we are making very light puddings Today I'v made a Creme Caramel. which we will serve with strawberries and cream and lavender shortbread.Or indeed a beautiful poached pear.

Pimms

Well there is not really much I can write about in my food blog to day except its been a wonderful opportunity to come together ( staff and customers) to celebrate the Royal wedding.Thank-you Harry  Howard for the toast to the royal  couple,thank-you Moira for making the Cake,thank-you Julie for arranging the flowers and thank-you to all my staff for  working so hard, you have done a brilliant job.

The wedding and the weather has just been fantastic. Didn't Kate do well she just had so much poise and grace William looked more nervous.Bless him. Well he has found his soul mate .

 I made my first pimms of the day at 10.00 this morning! My tip is to use one third pimms to 2 thirds ginger ale. Use lots of freshly cut fruit including strawberries ,lemon and orange slices ,add cucumber and mint and finesh with a couple of straws.

Enjoy!

The Wedding Cake!

Strawberry Cream teas

I was brought up on Scones. It was the staple diet of the farming community in the 70's. My mother used to bake every saturday morning and she used to fill the cake tins with all sorts of goodies.  It was wonderful. At 4 o clock on the dot they would stop for afternoon tea every day.  The table would be properly set with china,The tea pot would be warmed up with boiling water and rinsed out.Loose tea was always used from  the tin tea caddy and it was always one for the pot and one for the person and it had to brew for 3 mins. ( afterwards the old tea leaves mixed with oatmeal went to feed my rabbit !) My dad used to come in from the farm and take a much needed break  before he went out to milk the Ayrshire herd of cows with my mum.
 I'm not surprized  afternoon teas have taken off again.With money being tight getting back to basics is really important  and being happy being creative is the reward.Being able to have the skills to make your own strawberry jam ,blackcurrent or raspberry jam and put it on your own home-made scones is pretty cool.We  live in such a fast paced society , we get pulled away from our roots and our traditions too easily now is the time to take them back.  

At  1 Sallyport we make afternoon tea so much fun our customers love all the selection of loose teas that we have  so come along and  enjoy the experience.Bring Granny and the kids, yes we  even have a high chair and disabled access. Also you can bring a well behaved dog !
My own  background  to cooking is a  nice story ,I was  lucky to be adopted (when I was 6 weeks old ) by a family in the Scottish Borders who liked to bake .I had a natural affinity to cooking so it was a huge help to be brought up on a farm by a mother who was a  good home cook and baker . ( She was also a history  teacher) I got my first mini rolling pin and pastry set when I was 4 years old and I'v never stopped baking since!  I was totally hooked, when I wasn't in the kitchen I can  remember , aged 6 playing out in the farm yard for hours and hours making my pretend pies and selling them.By the time I  was 12 I was helping others learn to cook in my class at school.
Anyways here is my mums old  recipy for fruit Scones .I bake them every day so  Dean ( my son) have a go and impress your girlfriend!enjoy

FRUIT SCONES

1 pound of SR Flour
2 teasp of BP
pinch of salt
2ozs of caster sugar
2 ozs Butter
2 ozs of lard
2 ozs rasins or currents or cherries or sultanas or ginger!
Milk to make a firm dough
egg wash

Heat your oven to 200 and grease your baking tray
Rub your fats into your dry ingredients which you have seived first into a bowl
There should be no lumps!
Add milk to combine into a very firm dough
Roll out on a floured board,cut into rounds,egg wash and bake for 10 to 15mins
Cool on a wire tray
Eat with Lurpack butter and good quality jam

Add some whipped cream and strawberries if you wish to indulge in a very special holiday treat!

Hot Buttered Oak smoked Kippers

I'v been making breakfasts for years and have always liked to move with the times but one all time  favourite that I can't re-invent is oak smoked Kippers from Patrick Wilkin in seahouses. He has one of  the last official smoke houses in Northumberland and his  Kippers are totally amazing.  Until recently he didn't buy any herring from abroad to smoke (it was all from the north sea) but he can't get enough locally so he has to buy in from  abroad now. He is one of Rick Stein's food hero's.When I did a cookery proramme for television I included a visit to Patricks smoke house. You reek of smoke afterwards!
 As Kippers have a very strong smell  that can linger in the kitchen for hours and hours I usually wrap them up in foil  with a knob of butter and bake  them in a extreemly hot oven for 10 mins.  Serve with a wedge of lemon ,dill, a knob of butter and hot buttered toast. Normally you would serve a pair of kippers  per person or you can add a poached egg.
I personally don't eat fish but there you go  luckily I  can still cook it for other people.

Mojito

It feels like summer, I'v been out to buy the bunting ,union jack mugs ,napkins ,tea towels, pimms,we have the barbeque on standby and a real 3 tier wedding cake has been ordered  to be delivered (from the multi talented Moira Kay) on Friday so come on kids get your self along , we can celebrate in style with champagne Afternoon teas and wedding cake.I'm going to make home-made lemonade too. Yes I'v going to feel very British and nostalgic and yes we will have a 42" plasma screen so we can watch Kate and Wills big day.

We have been practising using the barbeque,you have to get the charcoal really hot and let all the flames die down so you have just got glowing embers and have the food very very close,almost touching to the charcoal .  I'm preaching to the converted here I know I'm a complete novice myself, I'v got a lot to learn................but I  am willing and so is the rest of the team.........I think its perfect for a party.
Today dish  isn't really a dish its a cocktail because lets face it not many people want to eat in this weather ..............well that's not quite true as we have been really really busy today in the restaurant ( I think its the hot kitchen that kills your appetite  or rather mine and I'v been doing very long shifts.)

You need the following: A tall slim glass

1 12 mint leaves
2.3 teasp brown sugar
2b.25mls fresh lime juice
3. 50mls Bicardi Gold
4. lots of crushed ice
5 soda water ( just a splash)
6. A whole lime cut up into segments
7. mint to garnish
Method
Crush the mint really well ,we call it muddle, with the lime juice and brown sugar add the crushed ice until your glass is almost full the pour in the rum and with a long spoon mix it all through. Add all your chopped lime and mix that well together finally give it a splash of soda and a sprig of mint to garnish. Serve on a funky napkin with two straws .

 Anyways I'm away to get a mug of Earl Grey tea and Hot toast (Chefs never eat properly)lol

Easter Monday!

Rack of Cheviot Lamb with a herb crust and rosemary jus.

We have sold masses of Cream teas today which has alot to do with the weather I guess but to night I am cooking local  Lamb served with dauphinoise potatoes and spring greens. The french used to be way ahead of the brits on food but no longer we as a nation have come a long way thanks to  the power of TV and the popularity of cookery programes. I am a huge fan of Jamie Oliver..............he is so much his own person and he is just naturally charismatic and a huge influence for good on young men and women. When Jamie Oliver Italian opened in George Square in Glasgow I went up the second week  on business and it was a fantastic treat to go there after a mean meeting. For me it was such a vibrant place to be  the brand is just soooooo huge and there were all ages there sitting on funny plastic chairs with tins of beans on the table( to rest your plank on). Who but Jamie Oliver could get away with that! I think he is Ace anyways Amazing!

 Rack of Lamb is easy to cook , here are some tips.

1. Remove the outer skin from the lamb before you sear it in the pan
2. Remember to season the meat well, we always use Malden sea salt and freshly ground pepper.
3.Roast it in the oven  190 degrees for 10mins
 4.Then brush the rack with dijon mustard and roll it in a mixture of soft bread crumbs,chopped parsley,thyme,garlic and a touch of olive oil
5.Return to oven for another 5 mins. Don't over cook!A rack of lamb only needs 10 to 12 mins to cook max.!
6.Then  the most important thing is to leave it for at least another 5 mins( once you have taken it out of the oven )to relax.
7. serve with creamy dauphinose potatoes and a rosemary jus and lovely lightly cooked green vegetables.

Easter Sunday!

Eggs Benedict

At long last Easter has arrived . We have cut into the simnel cake and its brilliant , slightly spicy fruity and moist . All the 6 staff are having coffee  and cake this morning.It is a day you can roll your eggs ,if you have been lucky enough to get one.We are reminded that the stone was rolled away and Christ has gone from the tomb and he has risen from the dead..I really wanted to dye eggs this year and I didn't get time  but hey the day isn't over yet.  Do you boil them with onions tied to the egg or cloths? Please e-mail on info@sallyport .co.uk if you know  ( my comment box doesn't seem to be working..............I'v obviously not set the blog up right but will work on that) how to do it as I would love to know. Well  the hotel is filled with guests and they have all had their breakfast ( eggs benedict of course!) and have gone off sight seeing. The weather is just amazingly good I am so pleased for everyone that Easter is just so wonderful. No grumpy guests for us. te he

Eggs Benedict is a firm favourite for many people and what you need is a muffin split in two toasted then  buttered and then place a slice of best quality  baked ham on, top, lightly poach a free-range egg and put that on top  of the ham and then place a spoon ful of Hollandaise sauce on. Decorate with a sprig of tarragon or failing that a spig of flat leaf parsley. If your vegetarian just do some nice spinach instead of the ham. Delicious!

Easter Saturday!

Lemon Curd Meringue Roulade

This is a Easter dessert that I have  made for tonight. Lemon curd is a gorgeous vivid yellow colour so I thought it was appropriate for Easter. This Easter has rather been taken over by the Hype of The Royal Wedding which is a real shame. I think Kate should run away now and say I'v changed my mind as the media will ruin  her life don't you think.

Okay  here is the recipy : Heat your oven to 180  degrees or 350  then take 6 egg whites and whisk them until they are very stiff in a Kenwood mixer fitted with a balloon whisk. Weigh out 12ozs of caster sugar and then  slowly spoonful by spoonful ,(while the machine is still running on full blast )  add the caster sugar and at the end a drop of vanilla essence. Line a very large swiss roll tin wth greaseproof paper and spread the mixture out flat. Bake for 20 mins, then let it go cold.  On you table cut out a large rectangle of foil then the same of greaseproof paper dust it with icing sugar and then drop  on to it  the  meringue face down . Cover it with whipped cream and then a layer of home-made lemon curd. Then with a firm hand roll it up and bob's your uncle you've got a lovely pudding. If you can't be bothered come  round  and try a peice at Sallyport!

Good Friday 22nd April 2011

Berwick hand-picked Crab

We have just had a delivery ,this morning of Dougi Flannigan's hand picked crab and as it is the most popular item on our menu I thought it totally deserved my award of being discussed on Good Friday as its such a pure and unproceesed item of food.  Very special to these shores and a big part of of culture here in the harbour town of Berwick and close by Burnmouth.We buy our carb already hand-picked we just don't have the staff available to cook the crabs ourselves but that, certainly would be my dream.
Douglas brings the crab from his work-shop just 5 mins drive from us so that is diffinately a high score on food miles. We always pay Dougi cash on the nail for his crab as I know he is struggling with restaurants going bust right left and centre and this morning he was telling me he hates his job now as all he does is chase after money.One trader in France owed him more than £250 000 and after 3 months of practically camping on his door step he has eventually got his bill paid. You see More than 90% of his lobsters and crab go abroad to France and Spain...................your talking about 6 to 8 ton a week! Don't France and Spain have any Crab and lobsters of their own? No they don't!! They have over fished and there is none left hence it comes from Britain. Here we police our fishing and make sure small crab and lobsters are put back and that we don't over fish. In Spain and France they didn't care two hoots about sustainabilty ,in the 70's they  took so much out of the sea ,they have nothing left,They were so irresponsible they even took the undersized lobster and crabs. Makes your blood boil thinking about it doesn't it?

Anyways on a more cheerful point,the town is full of holiday makers and fresh crab is what you look for when you go to the coast isn't it and Douglas's crab is the finest I have ever seen, you can go along and choose your own lobster and crab at his factory at Tweedmouth, tell him Lizzie sent you.Lol We don't mess on with Crab we buy little and often so it rotates properly. My preference is for pure white meat but it is really  a personal choice, alot of people prefer the brown meat.  (Douglas himself says he likes crab rather than Lobster for flavour)For sandwiches and salads we mix 3 parts white to one part brown, add some fresh lime or lemon juice, go easy on the mayo and a dash of tobasco and freshly ground pepper. My favourite way of serving Crab is  in a quelle ( shaped with two spoons) with pink grapefruit and pureed avocado that has got creme fraich and lime juice in it.It has got to be home-made mayo and the crab has to be hand-picked that day and not kept for hours in a fridge.

Thursday 21 April 2011

Rare breed (Tamworth)  ,slow Baked Ham.

We are so used to buying sliced pre packed ham in the super market it is quite an eye opener when you see a kitchen cook a whole rare breed ham with love and care. We buy our hams from a small organic farm 3 miles from us and its called Peelham farm at Foulden and it is run by the Walton family . You can actually order it  and other products your self on line. This glorious ham arrived last night and we boiled it today for several hours then slowly baked it in a moderate oven after first covering it with a home-made  maple syrup and orange glaze (we had studded the ham with cloves before hand.) We will be serving it in all our sandwiches and salads tomorrow.

Sustainabilty and Traceabilty is one of the themes that is close to my heart , I'm not an expert but it the right way forward for an award winning kitchen to know where their food is from and to cut down on the food miles where ever possible . Being proud of knowing where your meat and cheese, fish etc comes from is easy when you visit the fisherman yourself or go to see the farmer who rears the pigs or beef cattle. It is easy because you understand the product so much more and respect it and have that sense of gratitude of using such a wonderful product. After all, we are what we eat so its good to understand what we are putting into our bodies. You want to know who is handling your food and you want to know its being handled with alot of care and alot of  thought and yes love.
We started using Peelham farm because our whole sale meat supplier couldn't tell us where the pork was from except that it is British and I just know that is not what  I or our customers want.
As  for sustainability ,we are using only fish that is not in danger of extinction.I'v got great admiration for Roy Brett  chef /proprietor of  Ondine in Edinburgh for leading the way forward there . I really take my hat off to him.

Well I am not actually going to have a Ham salad for my dinner tonight its too cold. lol I'm having spicy pork Goulash with chorizo and sweet potato but that's another story

Wednesday 20th April

British Asparagus served with Hollandaise sauce and Balsamic dip

At last the moment many serious cooks have been waiting for the start of the season for serving British Asparagus. Don't be nervous of cooking  this famous vegetable ,its dead easy, here are some simple tips.

Asparagus is a vegetable and like most vegetables it is best served al-dente, steamed or boiled in salted water but cooked so it still has a bite to it.The woody ends have to be removed before cooking. Salt is really important in cooking ,in a professional kitchen many chefs don't taste enough and they certainly don't add enough seasoning. I'v watched many chefs at work and you can always tell the great chefs.............they season the food properly. The greatest chef I'v ever worked with is a Geordie lad called Michael Waugh he is verging on brilliance and when he comes to visit us we all gather round the stove and listen wth huge respect to his teaching. Well Done Michael you deserve a OBE.

Anyways back to the Asparagus once it is cooked you can serve it  hot with a Hollandaise sauce ( which I can give you the recipy for if you want but google searches these days are pretty good) or cold with a vinagrette. I like serving it that way on a antipasti platter with parma ham, figs and buffolo mozzarella.

Tuesday 19th April 2011

Hand-made Granola served with fresh berries , greek yoghurt and heather chain bridge honey

I love breakfast, I love everything about a new day and I especially love eating elegantly...............white china, Arthur price cutlery, wild flowers in a little jug on your table. You can tell alot from how a table is set  when you first sit down at it................................has someone flung  the cutlery  on the night before in a hurry to go home,not bothered to put the teaspoon on the right side of the tea cup or worse put the cup and saucer on the wrong side or  left a stain on the table or left water stains on a glass or maybe even a  lipstick smear or has some thoughtful person set the table properly with care.  I always look over the breakfasts tables when I first get up  in the morning,to check they are okay.It takes alot to impress me but then I like things to be done properly and I like things to be done right so with that in mind I think its important I make the granola by hand and not buy mass pro-duced ,expensive  over pack-aged stuff. So I take some runny honey some sunflower oil and some malt extract and boil it together for a minute so it forms a sauce and then I spread it through an assortment of grains,nuts ,seeds and coconut and then toast it in a oven for 20 mins so its beautiful( and I want to show it off to any one that walks in to the kitchen) Yes wonderfully cooked food does really excite me I could talk about it for hours and hours but like many chefs I have the same breakfast on the hoof day after day and its home -made marmalade on  home-made wholemeal bread toasted.........with a mug of Earl Grey tea.

Monday 18th April

Simnel Cake

It is one week to Easter and I just feel duty bound to bake a delicious authentic Simnel Cake. In a world full of plastic and throw away material its great news that traditional Cakes are really popular again! As I'v always baked cakes it was news to me that I had been out of fashion all this time but I'm glad I'm cool now. Te he

A proper simnel cake has a layer of marzipan cooked in the middle of the spicy fruit mix. When it is cold I will put a layer of Marzipan on the top and 11 balls( Each ball represents the 11 appostles , Judas  is missing as he betrayed Jesus otherwise there would be 12) and authentically toast it under the grill. It won't be cut  until Easter Sunday when I hope its as delicious as it looks!

Sunday 17th April 2011

Day Fresh Creel Caught Langoustines with lemon and Garlic butter served with fresh rustic breads


When the Langoustines arrive from Ross Dougal  they are always alive and kicking! We are always really amazed at how much of Britans shelfish goes abroad to France but  I'm told its around 90%. As a nation we don't seem to eat much ourselves. You hardly ever see a fishmonger on the high street nowadays, when I was young we had a wonderful Salmon shop called ''Ralp Holmes and Son'' it is now the Green Shop on Bridge Street. On the west coast of Scotland its guareented to have wonderful fish available and here in Berwick  we make a point of always having stunning seafood platters on the menu. but its always advisable to book, last night people turned up and there wasn't any tables for them  (we had over 50 people dining with us last night )and we would hate anyone to travel a distance and be dissappointed. Ring us on 01289-308827 if you would like to reserve a table. Anyways back to the langoustines, you can cook them in a couple of ways but we tend to pan fry them alive in a very hot pan (and at the very end their body has to curl up tight that's how you know they are cooked) we add the freshly chopped garlic and parsley hot butter and drool it all over the prawns. Plate them drenched in this sauce and serve with wedge of lemon also serve a finger bowat the table and some really nice bread. As we carry them into the dining room the wonderful aroma is a real head turner. This is diffinately where great food speaks for itself.

Saturday 16th April 2011

Sallyport  club Sandwich with rarebreed Tamworth ham, mayo,tomato and  lemon and honey dressed leaves


The week-end is very precious to most people and we are no different. The only thing is we have to work extra hard during that time because this is when most people want to be out enjoying themselves. This is something that can put some people off entering the industry..............................because to be fair it  isn't for everyone.
 However  there are many people like myself who get  hooked in early on in their career because they receive a  huge buzz  working in a restaurant  and wouldn't dream of doing anything else.  Also Successful waiting on staff genuinely  love being nice to people and making sure others have a great night. We had a fantastic time last night with Gary our amazing guitar player  was wowing all our friendly and hungry guests, ( we had a packed house)  he can even  play your requests. How good is that! Gary plays for us every week-end so do come along and enjoy the wonderful atmosphere as well as our food and cocktails!

Anyways I degress ........................... the humble sandwich is elevated to great heights here on our new beautiful leather menu's and  luckily it just happens to be  perfect fodder for a tired and hungry chef or waiter and we reccommend you try one . I'm just off to get one now as we speak..........................yum yum
PS
The good news is lots of chefs meet their girlfriends ( they are the pretty waitresses!) at work and chilling out time can be had after service when I know most of our staff enjoy a glass of wine or beer. After a busy service it takes a long time to wind down sometimes and its good to mull over the events  of the past few hours We are now extreemly busy enjoying the trade from the English children being on their school holidays.

Friday 15th April 2011

Lemon Spiced Chicken Skewers on a bed of Roasted Vegetables with Lemon and parsley Gremolata

This is a lovely spring lunch time dish or light supper dish that we are serving today. The recipy was given to us by Steve Gilroy who visited us briefly in the kitchen yesterday. We love meeting talented experienced chefs who tell us all about their expliots when working all over Scotland.  Steve told us about smoking our own salmon from the wood from a whisky barrell..................we can't wait to try it.Smoking our own fish is very much some thing we want to do this summer.Keep an eye on this blog and we will tell you when its ready!!.
Cooking in a restaurant kitchen is tough make no bones about it..................you hardly see any old chefs in a kitchen now adays its mostly full of kids................... many of the older lads  just can't stand the pace.But their knowledge and experience is worth its weight in goal. At Sallyport we  love to see how other chefs do things and learn about  scottish produce and suppliers. That's what makes the job fun.

13th April 2011

Angus Bread

Angus Bread is an old fashioned tea loaf that my mother used to make 50 years ago ( she is now 92) It is a mixture of dried fruits and sugar steeped over night in cold tea. The following day it is mixed with beaten eggs and flour and a pinch of salt. and baked for 45 mins in a moderate oven . When it is cold it is thinly sliced and served  buttered. It is absolutly delicious. On the subject of tea we are thrilled to be serving Eteaket loose tea from  Frederick Street in Edinburgh.I was lucky enough to go on a tea tasting workshop two weeks ago and I am a complete convert now.I am truly thrilled that Erica is kind enough to supply us wholesale.We are even  going to hold our own tea tasting very soon. We now stock over 30 loose teas for you to enjoy, I will never look at a typhoo tea bag the same way!

12th April 2011

Cullen Skink

Cullin Skink is a traditionally Scottish Soup that is made with undyed smoked haddock,leeks,potatoes,onion and milk.It is very popular  in the brasserie  and much loved. I think it is really good to serve food that is traditional to the area, because it looks like and tastes like  a chowder it can be a meal in itself especially when we serve it with a selection of lovely breads.

Monday 11th April 2011

Scrambled Maron Eggs and Oak traditionally Smoked Salmon

Salmon is a subject very close to my heart .Living 1 minute away from the mouth of the Tweed its quite common for us to see free-range organic salmon frequently. When we have visiting chefs it is one of the things that blows their mind  away when they see the quality of the fish that we work with. No where in the city could they get fish as fresh as we get here at Sallyport. Farmed Salmon is ''FAT'' and takes far longer to cook and it is a totally different colour from wild Salmon (that's cos they never have to do a days work in their life they just lie around and eat all the time!!) At Sallyport we feel honoured to work with the King of fish.

10th April 2011

Sunday Breakfast

Wow the weather this morning is just amazing, we have waited 6 months for this................lets celebrate with a stunning breakfast.  At Sallyport we always cook with the best of ingredients so I'v made a home-made granola and also a fresh fruit compote scented with lemon served with some Greek yohurt. Much as I'v tried lots of exciting breakfast dishes in the 20 years I'v been running the B&B a full cooked breakfast is by far the favourite with guests.  I cook back Aryshire bacon (grilled),old English pork sausages, portobello mushrooms, maren free range eggs,roasted cherry tomatoes on the vine, Mr. Redpath's black pudding and fried fruit scone. I think this must have a million calories

9th April 2011

The Royal Wedding Cake

Yes I have made a stunning mouthwatering rich fruitcake that will be fed with brandy that will be ready for the 29th of April where we will be having on display a beautiful iced 3 tier Royal wedding cake. This will be served with our champagne afternoon teas to celebrate Kate and Wills big Day. We will have a plasma screen  on the wall showing the wedding.......................I can't wait!

8th April

Scottish Oatcakes

Everyday for a year I am going to cook a delicious dish  and write about it.Today apart from many others things I'v been baking oatcakes to go with our delicious cheeses.( Did you know there is a a cheese called Blue Monday? Well there is and it is made by Alex James from the band 'Blur'  it is named after the song.)I love learning something new  (don't you)and as we are very passionate about cheese at Sallyport it's always good to hear a new story.Anyways Blue Monday is quite mild it is not a very strong blue cheese and we can recommend it.
 We  will serve it with the home-made oatcakes. What cheeses can you recommend from Scotland? We have a few but would love to learn about more.

today is thursday 7th of April my very first blog

Welcome,

 my name is Elizabeth Middlemiss ( Lizzie to my friends) and I  run a boutique hotel in North Northumberland which is devoted to good food . I am not a journalist I  am a chef/single woman proprietor who loves writing  as well as cooking   so I  thought it would be interesting  to blog about it. Well actually it was my hairdressor who persuaded me to do it..................she has heard so many hilarious stories? So for the next 365 days I am going to tell all about the ups and downs of running a luxury 6 bedroom hotel with a 35 seater brasserie /Restaurant. From the outset I have to tell you  my main passion in life is creating gorgeous hand-made food in beautiful surroundings................so if your interested in food you will hopefully enjoy this blog.