Hauser and Wirth Somerset

Sometimes I lament how infrequently I make it to London to visit shows and galleries and yet frequently I have to remind myself that even when I worked for Tate I managed to see an astoundingly small amount of art. So it was with joy that we went to check out Hauser and Wirth's latest gallery, on our doorstep in Bruton.

Brutopia, as it is affectionately known buy some locals, has long been a creative Somerset haven but has recently become firmly embedded on the London exodus list for families wanting to chuck in the rat race for a slower pace of life and green valley vistas a-plenty. Thanks to Hauser and Wirth, Bruton now also joins Zurich, New York and London on the list of destinations for those seeking contemporary art at its best and, most pleasingly,  accessible. Which is amazing coming from the couple dubed the 'power couple' of contemporary art, even if they do only live around the corner.

In their own words, Hauser and Wirth Somerset is "a pioneering world-class gallery and multi-purpose arts centre, which acts as a destination for experiencing art, architecture and the remarkable Somerset landscape through new and innovative exhibitions of contemporary art". The farm buildings that the five galleries, learning space, shop, bar, restaurant and library inhabit were rescued from redevelopment by H&W and have indeed been turned into a contemporary art haven. The conversion is almost as good as the art although with Louise Bourgeois, Martin Creed, Mark Wallinger and Phyllida Barlow amongst the artists that they represent the art is pretty spectacular too.

This first visit was a fleeting one as we arrived just before closing time but, once the Piet Oudolf meadow is fully open in September, we will definitely be back for more. Despite the jolly hockey sticks crowd (one friend commented that the people there seemed to think it was a National Trust property rather than  contemporary art gallery) this is an amazing asset and will undoubtedly become a firm favourite in my fair weather art viewing. Everything is indeed going to be alright.

Westcombe Dairy tour

Last month, whilst the family were over from Norway for two weeks we were lucky enough to get a tour round Westcombe Dairy from Tom Calver. Having missed the dairy tours at their Cheese and Beer Festival earlier in the summer I was delighted to look around the home of my favourite cheese.

Tom trained as chef before coming home to run the family business. His passion for "maximising the natural qualities of the farms raw milk" certainly go along way to explaining the fantastic growth of this Somerset dairy and cheese maker.

Taking time out from his busy day Tom talked us through the process and, most interestingly, the science behind it, plus the techniques they utilise to influence the flavour of their cheeses. As well as the cheddar, Westcombe also make Duckett's Aged Caerfilly and ricotta from the previously wasted whey. What started as a way to use the waste is now an ever growing part of the business with the dairy now supplying Jamie Oliver's restaurants with ricotta.

If you get a chance to take a tour around the dairy I would highly recommend it - Tom has a gift for explaining what he does with passion and clarity, something which is particularly impressive given the scientific nature of the process and his obvious attention to detail. Exciting plans are also afoot to increase and improve their cheese store so by next summers cheese and beer festival there should be even more to see at this lovely Somerset dairy.

The dairy also hosts The Wild Beer Co who are similarly using interesting and unusual flavours and cultures to influence their beers (The Evolver IPA is a particularly interesting beer utilising the brettanomyces yeast, considered an impostor by many brewers and wine makers. It evolves over time so they recommend you buy one bottle to drink straight away and another to leave and change in flavour as the yeast matures).

In the shop (of course) we bought Cheddar and Fresh Beer for the evening (which lives up to its name and comes with instructions to drink it immediately!). Quite honestly even if you cant take a tour, the drive to Westcombe through beautiful west country scenery is enough to warrant a trip, just to pick up some cheese and a beer to enjoy in the garden before summer ends.

Seven course banquet in a field in Northamptonshire

Way back in the heady summer days of June my friend Marcus and I had a conversation about how great it would be to pull off a multi-course sit down meal at a festival for our friends. And for a while that was that; a slightly crazy, never to be realised idea born out of festival induced madness.

Fast forward a month however and the madness had persisted. Marcus, who lives in Sweden, had emailed through some initial menu ideas after taking his parents to a vegetarian restaurant on his native Gotland (which by the way happens to be paradise on earth if you like your destinations Scandinavian, tranquil and extraordinary) and I had thrown in a couple more food suggestions for good measure. Fast forward another month and we were in a field at Shambala Festival with a basic kitchen, a pasta maker and tonnes of fresh produce getting ready to feed ten of our family and friends a seven course vegetarian meal.

Madness, especially considering this was our Priscilla-the-truck based festival kitchen: a sedentary second hand camping gas oven, a camping fridge that seemed determined to function merely as a cupboard, a sink which as yet has no plughole and no mains power. Madness.

After much to-ing and fro-ing and general smug excitement on our part this is the menu that we decided on.

As one not so friendly fellow crew member said, "none of these courses are that complicated" but we wanted to focus on seasonal vegetables, freshly made food and the audacity of having a proper sit down meal in a field with matched wines and mayhem all around us.

As the rest of my family built one of Shambala's favourite venues Beyond the Stars, I mixed looking after the baby with some gentle food prep. whilst Marcus squeezed in some pasta making between shifts and after their work was finished each day.

Pasta making on Priscilla's very small table. This was round one of the ravioli...in a bid to be over prepared we made the ravioli a day early and the soggy filling turned the whole lot into an unsalvageable soggy mush.

Cheese puffs made with puff pastry Westcombe cheddar, sea salt and freshly cracked pepper.

Marcus' homemade, nay festival made, cumin bread.

Honeyed walnuts for the Beetroot carpaccio.

The beetroot cooking away on Priscilla's stove. 

Round two of the ravioli, after Marcus had sat on it for a full twenty minutes (directly after instructing us to "put nothing on the ravioli"). If I am honest, by this point I was starting to doubt whether or not this meal would actually happen...

...but happen it did.

Marcus explaining the menu to our guests.

Cucumber and Mint Gazpacho. I found this recipe on Pinterest and adapted it for the field setting. The topping was the leftover bits of beetroot from the carpaccio.

I first tried this Beetroot Carpaccio at its home The Ethicurian near Bristol. We went there for my Birthday and it is perhaps one of my favourite dishes. To make this even better we were able to buy the beetroot at The Ethicurian itself (and stop for some coffee and cake as well of course!). They are so beautiful and jewel-like when prepared like this and not only was it tasty it looked gorgeous in the sunshine too.

Our food prep area was inside our friends' tent complete with the best tea cosy I have ever seen.

The third and final batch of ravioli was a complete triumph. Marcus served it with a rich creamy sauce of carrot, green beans and cauliflower, truffle salt and Parmesan.

In the excitement of it all I completely forgot to take a picture of the goats cheese desert; this was our practice run. The final version had soft Abergavenny goats cheese, a radish to prop up the homemade Swedish Knäckebröd and Swedish truffle honey. The seemingly lavish use of truffles is entirely down to their presence on Marcus' native Gotland where truffles are routinely used to barter with such is their abundance. We are lucky enough to have truffle salt at home with Marcus' truffles and salt harvested from by his parents.

Beetroot cordial with sparkling water, rosemary and a dash of vodka. The cordial is the leftover syrup from the Carpaccio and according to the owners of The Ethicurian is also good served with apple juice and absinthe...definitely one to try soon. This should have been served with ice but what with being in a field...

Relieved and ever so slightly pleased with our selves for having pulled it off.

Dirty dishes and furniture being taken back to our camp.

I can safely say this if anyone ever suggests cooking a  seven course meal for ten people plus children in a field again in the future I will laugh...but then I will remember what a blast it was and as Marcus said, "we could always do sixteen courses, or sushi". Madness, but the best kind of madness.

Demuth's Cookery School mezze evening

I was lucky enough recently to be taken to Demuth's Cookery School to do an evening course in Vegetarian Mezze cooking. In all honesty I played a complete blinder by giving my Ma some vouchers for Mother's Day. She (obviously) didn't want to do it alone and so I found myself with a baby free, mother-filled and wine-fuled evening to look forward to!

The course was part demo, part practical and part communal meal and as with almost any course I have been on there was the obligatory know it all,  the class clown, the gentleman looking for love, the couple doing something together and the mother and daughter duo (!). We were really lucky to be taught by Rachel Demuth herself which was a great treat. Rachel is part veggie pioneer, part reluctant local celebrity and after  running  the ever popular Demuth's Restaurant in Bath for nearly 30 years, her focus is now on the Cookery School and rightly so; she runs the classes in an informative yet relaxed way and is on hand to answer the multitudinous basic questions asked by her students. We were also lucky to have as Rachel's assistant Simi Rezai, who lives in Bath and runs her own Persian Azerbaijani cookery classes (which will be the next class I take).

All the recipes are given to you at the end (although are not much use if, like me, you leave them in the bar after the lesson!) and our course included one of my brunch staples Shakshuka, Zaatar, a simple, versatile spice mix which we had on flatbread and the super delicious broad bean filled parcels below.

It was a really great evening, topped off by wine at Art Bar and a Christmas list complete with a Japanese pestle and mortar (seriously the best thing I have ever used!).