Michelin Starred Chef Russell Brown from Sienna in Dorchester, Brett Sutton, Head Chef at the 2 AA Rosette restaurant at The Eastbury Hotel in Sherborne, Matt Budden, Executive Chef at the 2 AA Rosette Highcliff Grill at The Highcliff Marriott in Bournemouth and Dan Starnes from the The Chapel in Bruton will be cooking with free-range eggs from Blackacre Farm, showing families how versatile eggs can be and using them to create simple breakfast, lunch and dinner recipes.

Part of the Farming for the Family section of the show in the NFU Chicken & Egg tent will be home to hatching chicks and laying birds so that children can collect the eggs and see them used in recipes cooked by the chefs or take them to the field bakery to make bread and scotch eggs.  This is the 150^th year of the Royal Bath & West Show, making it one of the oldest surviving agricultural shows in England.

“This is the 28^th year we have been involved in the Royal Bath & West Show and we are very excited to be joined by Russell, Brett, Matt and Dan over the 4 days. Having them at the show gives us the opportunity to truly show how incredibly easy it is to create simple, delicious, yet very impressive recipes using eggs,” said Dan Wood from Blackacre Farm Eggs.

From the Ultimate Egg and Bacon Sandwich, to Lemon Curd and Tortellinis, recipe cards will be available for visitors to take away and demonstrations will be running at 10am, 12noon, 1.30pm and 3pm – tasters will also be available!

For more information you can contact Briony Wood on 01963 33396, email briony@blackacrefarmeggs.com or visit www.blackacrefarmeggs.com

West Country Producers Day:

Come along and meet your local producers who will be showcasing their fabulous produce, whether it be the basic spud, dairy, livestock or seafood, which is abundantly around us.  You will have the opportunity to find out more, sample their offerings and watch demonstrations on how best to use the ingredients.

Friday 7th June
12noon – 4pm
Open to all, free entry and parking

West Country Gourmet Wine Supper in aid of Children’s Hospice South West with Charles Steevenson Wines:

With the help of local producers, Head Chef, Bruce Cole has created a special West Country gourmet menu. He will be joined by Charles Steevenson from Charles Steevenson Wines, who will be matching wines to complement each course. Bruce and Charles will present each dish and matching wine to give you a fun and entertaining evening. The event is in aid of Children’s Hospice South West with a portion of the ticket price going to the charity as well as a West Country producers raffle at the end of the evening.

Friday 7th June
7pm
£49.95 per person includes gourmet menu with matching wines

Why not make a weekend of it? Stay for £50 per person per night – based on two guests sharing a garden room. Upgrades available.

For details go to www.moorlandgardenhotel.co.uk

• 4 Blackacre Farm free range eggs + 1 for coating
• 2 small black puddings
• 4 x sets of cherry tomatoes on the vine, each with about 6 fruit
• Seasoned flour
• Panko bread crumbs
• Milk
• White wine vinegar

For the crispy eggs you need to poach the eggs in water, chill in ice water and then panne with the flour, egg and breadcrumbs. After much experimenting with poached eggs I reckon the best way is a deep pan full of water that is at a gentle but steady simmer.  Crack the egg into a tea cup or similar, add a couple of drops of vinegar. Stir around the outside edge of the pan to create a vortex in the water, not too vigorously, now slowly tip the egg into the centre of the vortex. Around two minutes should be about right.  Remove the egg with a slotted spoon into a bowl of iced water.  Repeat with the remaining 3 eggs. When the eggs are completely cold, trim with a pair of kitchen scissors to neaten the shape.

Set up three shallow containers and in the first put a couple of tablespoons of plain flour. Season the flour. In the second, crack in the last egg and beat well with a drop of milk.  In the third have your bread crumbs. Dry the poached eggs on kitchen paper and then roll gently in first the flour, then the egg and bread crumbs. The eggs can be held like this in the fridge for a couple of hours. To serve, deep fry the eggs in oil at 165°C for two minutes until a deep golden brown. Drain on kitchen paper, sprinkle with Maldon salt and serve.

Courtesy of Blackacre Farm: www.blackacrefarmeggs.com

The very best seasonal produce and homemade crafts from across the Somerset Levels will be available to buy at the next Levels’ Best Farmers Market held on 18th May.

A free glass of wine will be waiting, followed by a tour of the smokery – where the mystery of curing and smoking are explained.

Brown and Forrest started 31 years ago and produces the finest smoked eel and salmon as well as a whole range of delicious smoked foods including smoked chicken, duck, lamb and trout. The smokery stocks over forty products in its shop which is attached to the award winning restaurant.

Brown and Forrest also send mail order all over the UK and supply wholesale to customers such as The Hawksmoor Group, Scotts, The Gilbert Scott, Raoul’s Deli & Restaurant, Brooks Club and Fortnum and Mason.

The open day will be held on the 18th May, from 10am-4pm. The shop will be open all day as will the restaurant. For details, or to book a table for lunch please phone the restaurant on 01458 250875.

www.smokedeel.co.uk

Well, I can assure you that after a week of tidying up my strawberry patch, ‘easy’ and ‘moderate’ are mammoth understatements.  Pilates instructors will weep at my crumpled posture; my lower back feels like it has received Shiatsu from a shire horse and there’s an attractive scattering John Innes Number 3 down my bra. A convent style fingernail inspection by nuns would result in enough wimple shaking to rival the nodding dog of parcel-shelf repute.

Were Dr Leakey to stick me in an Evolution of Man line-up, post weeding, I’d definitely be on the left side of the page, somewhere between Australopithecus the Southern Ape and Homo Habilis, the Handyman.  Stooped and knuckle shuffling.

Fresh ‘strawbs’ scoffed ‘dreckly’ off the plant are scrumptious, but their season is so short. Before you know it you are clipping back old fruit stems, leaves and runners.  Or you’re supposed to be.  In my case, post daiquiri gorging ‘management’ completely escaped my attention.

Thus, trying to lever a reluctant, teenage strawberry runner that has claimed squatting rights out from a place it oughtn’t to be, is traumatic.  My weeding bucket is filled with couch grass, dandelions, raspberry seedlings (immigration issues here too) and a tangle of dejected, Ood lookalikes.

Considering hydroponics next year.

It is used by many local and regional companies and organisations as a venue for private functions and even by a church every Sunday. Set in rural Somerset, yet close to the major road network formed by the M5, A303 and A358, it is perfectly situated to deal with every business and party requirement.

Check out the Monks Yard website for attractive virtual tours, and call or email to find out more. Monks Yard believes in old-fashioned customer values and offers a quality professional service with the flexibility to suit your needs. Pop in anytime and the staff will be glad to show you round and treat you to a cup of delicious Mozzo coffee!

Here’s what others have said when they discovered Somerset’s best-kept secret:

“Monks Yard have provided us with an ideal venue for our off site management meetings for the past three years.  We have been very pleased with the ambience of the rooms provided and the excellent on-site services. Kind Regards, Sylvie Bates, Brecknell Willis

Monks Yard is open Monday to Saturday 9am to 5pm. Breakfast is served until noon, lunch from noon to 3pm.

www.themonksyard.co.uk

Serves 6

• 500g self-raising flour
• 250g ricotta cheese
• 1 x egg
• 3 tablespoons finely chopped mixed fresh herbs (such as basil, parsley and oregano)
• 4 x sun-dried tomatoes, drained and roughly chopped
• 250ml whole milk
• 4 tablespoons sun-dried tomato purée
• 75 g black olives, pitted and roughly chopped
• 75 g mozzarella cheese, finely chopped
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1. Preheat the oven to 200c/400f/ Gas Mark 6.

2. Sift the flour into a food processor fitted with the plastic blade and season with a little freshly ground black pepper.

3. In a bowl, beat the ricotta, egg, herbs, tomatoes and milk together well. Add this cheese mixture to the flour in the food processor and beat to make a soft dough.

4. Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Roll it out to form a rough 23 cm circle. (Cut your dough shapes now if you wish.) Place the dough circle or shapes on a baking sheet.

5. Spread the dough with the sun-dried tomato purée, scatter with the olives and sprinkle over the chopped mozzarella.

6. Bake for 25 minutes until the cheese is golden and bubbling.

Taken from Ella’s Kitchen – Cook Book (The Red One) published by Mitchell Beazley

Makes 8

• Fresh mint, melissa or mini-basil leaves, for decoration
• Pure maple syrup, for drizzling

For the crust:

• 215g unbleached plain flour
• 2 tablespoons fine cornmeal
• Half a teaspoon baking powder
• Quarter of a teaspoon sea salt
• 100g olive oil
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon ice-cold water

For the filling:

• 300g seasonal fruits, (the combination of apricots and nectarines is nice)
• 140g  naturally sweetened apricot jam
• Quarter of a teaspoon bourbon vanilla powder
• 1 teaspoon rum or mirin
• A pinch of salt
• 8 tablespoons vanilla soy custard (optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 180c (350f) Gas 4.

2. For the crust, sift together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Whisk in the oil, lemon juice and ice-cold water. Knead the dough for a few seconds, just until it holds together. Add a couple more drops of water if it seems too dry. Wrap in clingfilm/ plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

3. Meanwhile, for the filling, slice or chop the fruit into small pieces and mix them with the jam, vanilla powder, rum and salt.

4. Take the dough out of the fridge. Divide into 8 equal portions and place each in a hole of the muffin tin. Press and pat the dough gently to line the base and reach halfway up the sides. Make sure the layer of dough in the base is quite thin as it rises a bit during baking, and you will want some space inside the tartlet case later for the fruit.

5. Prick the base of each case with a fork and bake in the preheated oven for 12–15 minutes, or until lightly golden. Do not over bake.

6. Allow to cool completely before carefully turning the cases out of the pan with a spatula or a small knife.

7. Just before serving, put a tablespoon of custard, if using, inside each tartlet case and top with as much fruit as it can take. Decorate with fresh herbs and drizzle over and around with maple syrup.

The Vegan Baker by Dunja Gulin (photogrpahy by Clare Winfielf) is published by Ryland Peters & Small at £16.99 – www.rylandpeters.com

Previous events have seen up to 25,000 visitors to what is now officially the world’s biggest veggie event, and the 2013 show looks even bigger and better than before, with bigger headliners promised, and an extended kids area and a 3rd sound system in place alongside the usual mix of stalls, caterers, cookery demos, talks, films and entertainment.

The event first took place back in 2003 at The Watershed with 1500 visitors and 40 stalls, but the rise in interest in all things healthy has seen the event grow steadily year after year to reach its current size – and crowds are predicted to continue to grow as more and more stalls appear each year, each offering unique new products to an already busy marketplace.

Organiser Tim Barford told FOODLOVER; “More and more people are looking to reduce their meat and dairy consumption without actually going veggie, and VegfestUK events are perfect for people like this.

“Meat and dairy reducers will find a whole load of tempting new pleasures to replace their current dietary choices and will walk away with the information and the products to enable them to maintain a diet rich in plant based options. You don’t necessarily have to go veggie to enjoy the benefits of the plant based lifestyle – just reduce your meat and dairy intake and choose more plant based options. Simple.”

VegfestUK Bristol takes place from 24th – 26th May 2013.