Meet the Chef: Joe Roach

Joe Roach has been taking part in the Exmoor Food Fest for a few years now in his role as head chef of the Farmers Arms in Combe Florey. The Farmers Arms are already signed up for the 2025 Exmoor Food Fest, and Joe is one of the chefs cooking at the “10 Chefs – 10 Courses” dinner on 15 October 2024 at Croydon Hall.

We have asked him a few questions, and here is what he said:

What’s the most bizarre food combination you’ve ever tried, and did it surprisingly work?
A coffee risotto with sou-vided pigeon breast and pickled blackberries. It worked very well and amazed me.

If you could only cook with five ingredients for the rest of your life, what would they be?
Beef – Red wine – Rosemary – Shallots – garlic

Have you ever had a dish completely flop? What happened, and what did you learn from it?
Red cabbage and pear soup. I learnt that I needed to incorporate more sugar to the dish as the pears have a lower sugar level.

There are currently four tickets left for the dinner on 15 October… If you are quick, you can snatch them up!