David and Holly Jones
Local Food Favourites
2012 seems to be the year of countless anniversaries and we are celebrating being in Devon for 10 years. One of the things that brought us down here originally was the thought of the fantastic local produce we could use to cook. Ten years down the line, we are still working with and treasuring this local abundance. What has also been a real pleasure is seeing the companies we work with grow and develop their businesses. Devon is now a definite foodie destination and really something to celebrate.
At Manna from Devon we really try and use local produce that has its own story to tell our cookery school students. Here are some of our and our students’ favourites -
Our closest supplier, Edward Jones is literally just up the hill and provides the fabulous organic free-range eggs we use. The majority of the eggs head off to Waitrose but you can buy them in Kingswear Village Stores or at the Ship, Kingswear on a Friday night. Emma and Edward have also ventured out into the food festival world and produce fantastic omelettes for Dartmouth Food Festival. Edward’s chickens have one of the best views from the top of the hill – out to Start Bay via the castles and up the river to Dartmoor. I’m sure it adds to the great flavour of their eggs.
Paul and Rebecca produce delicious apple juice, cider and elderflower cordial up the river in Stoke Gabriel. Their latest development is a 5 year old cider brandy which is beautifully packaged in a slimline clear glass bottle and made for them by award-winning cider brandy maker Julian Temperley. Used at Dartmouth Food Festival by world champion mixologist Nick Strangeway, the 5 year old cider brandy from Realdrink has proved to be an essential winter warmer through the cold months as well as a great present for friends.
As I’m sure you know, Jilly runs the farmshop in Dartmouth’s Market Square as well as farming her award-winning cattle, sheep and pigs. A stalwart of the farmers markets, Jilly knows all her stock and can tell you exactly which beast the meat you’re buying has come from. You can tell it’s well cared for as the meat is so delicious.
Coming from landlocked Worcestershire to Kingswear, we didn’t know too much about fish before we arrived. Over the past 10 years, Dartmouth fishmonger Mark Lobb has taught us about fish, fishing and the local industry with patience and enthusiasm. Fabulous Fish is one of our most popular courses at the cookery school – our students want to cook and eat more fish and seafood and we love working with Mark to get the best fish available from Brixham throughout the year. We’re looking forward to Mark getting into his new shop in the Market Square and have also finally learnt to deal with his strapline “And what else can I sell you?!”
We got to know Sally through the Slow Food movement in Devon and her passion for food is infectious. Sally and Paul have a smallholding just outside Dittisham and farm White-faced Dartmoor sheep. They have now branched out into a few pigs – to keep them young, Sally says. We have been big fans of their lamb and hogget for a long time and are now whole-hearted supporters of the pork produced at Brambletorre. We’ve just taken delivery of half of one of their first porkers – I have to admit there’s a lot of pork in the freezer now but having sampled a couple of pieces, it’s sweet, juicy and delicious.
A trip to Totnes isn’t complete without a trip to Country Cheeses. It’s just a heaven of cheeses from all over the West Country. The staff are hugely knowledgeable as well as generous with their tastings so you get exactly what you want. All our local favourites are there including Mary Quicke’s fantastic cheddars and Sharpham’s amazingly buttery Elmhirst.
If you’re heading out to Kingsbridge, take a little detour towards Loddiswell to the South Devon Chilli Farm. The latest development at the farm is a café and a shop selling all things spicey including their popular chilli chocolates, chill sauces and, our favourite, their chilli jam – perfect in Asian cooking or on some fried eggs. I know you can get their products almost everywhere now but it’s well worth taking a trip to the farm for a little time out just to sit on their veranda and look at the stunning view whilst enjoying a savoury cream tea with cream cheese and chilli jam; or how about a chilli chocolate brownie?
Getting our Riverford vegetable box every week is great. It means there is something less to go and buy and we know we’re getting really great produce as well as a good variety of fruit and veg. The weekly rant from Guy Watson is something to sit down and read over a cup of coffee and if we’re out, Martin, Jane or Jim will leave the box in a safe place. There are also recipes from the team to give inspiration for some of the more unusual offerings and I love the flexibility so if you’re away, you can just tell them and you can miss a week or so.
Henry Little is an unsung hero in foodie Devon. He is an American based in Exeter from where he runs his coffee roasting business, supplying mainly shops and restaurants. Talking to Henry, you can’t help but be inspired by his enthusiasm for his craft. We’ve drunk Henry’s coffee since he became one of our first suppliers at the Royal Dart Yacht Club and a shot or 2 of his Colombian is frankly the only way to start the day.
Looking back, the past 10 years has been really exciting – not just for us but also for Dartmouth. There’s obviously the food festival in October (also now in its 10th year) which brings visitors from all over the country. More importantly is the number of shops, delis, cafés and restaurants in and around our town that use local produce throughout the year – they are really contributing to Dartmouth’s reputation as a delicious foodie destination.
Here’s to the next 10 years!
First published March/April 2012 By The Dart
