Island Life Magazine Ltd October/November 2007 | Page 91

FASHION, HEALTH & BEAUTY

New Birds in
Town
By Louise Hart

Naomi Lawless has brought
something new to the table
with the purchase of fifty
young Quails in June of this
year. ‘Littletown Quails’ is
based in Wootton and is
now producing eggs for six
local retail outlets. Naomi
discovered that in Europe
and the Far East both quails
and their eggs are already
especially popular and
felt the UK wouldn’t be far
behind. Littletown Dairy will
soon be offering quail meat
as the business continues
to flourish. The small eggs
are incredibly tasty, take less
than two minutes to cook
and are great for topping a
fresh herb salad or dropping
into a home made fish pie.
Available at Farmer
Jack’s Farm Shop,
Briddlesford Farm Shop,
Three Gates Farm Shop,
Angela’s Delicatessen,
Phillips and Gowans.

Just Ask...
say the CLA

By Louise Hart

2007 is the Country Landowners
Association (CLA)’s centenary year. To
celebrate they have launched the ‘Just
Ask’ campaign, a major food awareness
campaign aimed at the consumer.
The campaign aims to
assist in the ‘reconnection’
of agriculture, by getting
food consumers and
farmers more in touch
with one another, an
objective set out by the
2002 Curry report.
Consumers are
encouraged to question
the origin of the food
served to them. The CLA
are working hard to raise
awareness of the mantra
“Just Ask” so people will
be confident to speak
to the waiter or waitress
and ask where the lamb
in their curry came from
or the apples in their
pie. In order to support

all dimensions of the food
chain the CLA are offering
advice to the food providers
to ensure they are aware of
this demand for information.
The CLA website has
information for consumers
to ‘Just Ask’ and food
providers to ‘Just Know’.
David Fursdon,
CLA president and
the Prime Minister
launched the
campaign earlier this
year with celebrity
chef, Lesley Waters
and other top
names in the food
industry. Since then
the campaign has
gained momentum

life

and with the recent
launch of ‘The Year of
Food & Farming’ the pace
continues to quicken.
David Fursdon visited the
Island on Wednesday 12
September and enjoyed
guided tours of Calbourne
Classics, Shanklin Chine
and Ventnor Botanic
Gardens. David seemed
particularly interested
to hear about local food
initiatives and especially
enjoyed sampling the
local fare. High Sheriff,
David Langford and Rupert
Ashby the CLA’s South
East Regional Director
also accompanied him.
To find out more about
the campaign and to
register your support visit
www.cla.org.uk/justask

Inside out eating
That glorious weather we
had in April gave John and
Paula Dedman, new owners
of The Woodvale in Gurnard,
a brilliant idea. “I realised
you could seat twice as many
people outside as in, so I put
in an enormous terrace with
a huge industrial barbeque,”
says John. Understandable,
given the glorious views.
“But then the heavens
opened,” he smiled ruefully.
So the fabulous barbeques,
featuring dishes like

Sea Bass with lime and
ginger – in addition to more
regular barbeque fare
– were something of a trial
run for next summer.
But it did mean John ‘s
thoughts were focussed on the
inside of the pub, so he’s all
up and running for the autumn.
“The room with the pool table
had paper peeling off the
walls – don’t they always! It’s
all refurbished now, and people
are happy to spend time there.”
He is proud of the ambience

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he has created – “we’ve even
sorted out a nice area for
the smokers, with outside
heating” – building on the pub’s
success before he took it over.
But there might be just a
touch of Italy along with the
new décor. John’s manager
is an Italian known as Pino.
“There might be just a little more
pasta on the menu,” he says.
Photo: John and Paula Dedman

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