NEWS
Field Day
W
e love a trendy food festival as much
as the next person, but for a proper old
school day out (with lots of great food) you
can’t beat an agricultural show. The
Melplash Show on 27th August near Bridport
has everything you’d expect and demand - the
finest cattle, sheep, pigs and goats in the county
will mingle with rural craft, horticulture and
local farm produce. Unless you’re a farmer,
it might be too late to breed livestock good
enough to get in the award-winner’s parade,
but there are competitions for cooking the best
apple cake, seafood chowder and curry. Once
we’ve got our entries in for those, we’ll be
hanging out in the popular food hall or checking
out the live cookery demos in the By the Sea
marquee. Go to www.melplashshow.co.uk for
full details and plan your visit.
Discover Farming
he Melplash Agricultural society has launched a new project
called Discover Farming to educate the next generation
about the role of agricultural and encourage them to work in
this exciting rural industry. At the show there will be a dedicated
areas with interactive demonstrations of ‘farm to fork’
activities including milking, butter making, juicing apples and
baking bread. The permanent Discover Farming Educational
Centre will be run at Washingpool Farm (www.washingpool.
co.uk) and help educate visiting children about food, farming
and the environment. With any luck, it will inspire the Dorset producers of the future.
Riverside Reward
T
he co-owners of The Riverside Restaurant in West
Bay, Jan and Arthur Watson, have been awarded
British Empire Medals in the Queens’s Birthday Honours
list. A just reward for over 50 years of building one of
Dorset’s best loved restaurants, although when they first
took it on in 1964 it was a seaside café and post office.
Arthur and Jan are still very much at the helm of this
institution which continues to scoop up awards. Seems
like a good excuse to pop in and congratulate them!
Eat Their Words
River Cottage Handbook No. 15 - Game
by Tim Maddams (Bloomsbury, £14.99)
Saturday 25th July
BearKat Supper Club secret location. The first of
chef Dominic Brown’s secret
supper clubs. This themed
foodie night will feature a
three-course meal, cocktails,
canapés and entertainment.
bearkat.co.uk
Saturday 1st August
T
18
Dates for your
diary and we
don’t mean
Medjool…
More River Cottage country wisdom
delivered in their comprehensive,
accessible series of handbooks. With
shooting, ammunition, skinning and
feathering covered, it’s not for those
with a casual interest, but all the
better for it. Recipes are as good as
you’d imagine from Hugh’s former
Head Chef, with slow roast spiced
soy duck alongside classics such as
Gamekeeper’s pie.
Dorset Food and Arts
Festival, Pound bury.
A free celebration of
Dorset’s food, drink and
creativity for local charities.
Opened by Lesley Waters
with cooking demos from
top chefs, a farmer's market
and cook off.
www.dorsetfestival.org
Sat 5tH & SUN 6th Sept
Food Rocks, Lyme Regis.
Mark Hix curates this
free weekend of demos,
masterclasses and tastings to
raise money for the RNLI.
Live demos from chefs
including Angela Hartnett
and Mitch Tonks plus
foraging, chocolate and food
smoking talks.
www.foodrocks.co.uk
Our favourite cook books this month
Brew It Yourself
by Richard Hood and Nick Moyle (Nourish, £14.99)
www.menu-dorset.co.uk
Has a love of gardening and alcohol
ever been so usefully combined?
This entertaining collection has
more than 75 recipes for beer, wine,
cider and beetroot kvass, among
other concoctions. With a focus on
growing and foraging for ingredients,
by the end you’ll be reeling from
the amount of things you can make
booze out of, as well as the fumes
coming from your Marrow Rum.