Exmoor Food Fest

The Exmoor Supper Club welcomes back Anita-Clare Field

Join us on Saturday, 5 November, 7pm at the Allerford Community Hall for an evening of lovely food and great company. Your chef is award-winning Anita-Clare Field (La Petite Bouchée, Witheridge).

Entrées

Baked Camembert with crudités and charcuterie
French Onion Soup
Roasted Smoked Shallot Tarte Tatin

Plats

Ox Cheek Cottage Pie
Tartiflette with Pickles
Breton Fish Pie
Wild Mushroom Bourguignon

Desserts

Cinder Toffee Creme Brûlée
Caramelised Apple Tart Tatin
Cheese Board

Tickets: £49.95 per person

Allerford & Selworthy Community Hall, Allerford, Minehead, TA24 8HL

Tickets

Exmoor Young Chef winner Perran Clark at Knowle Manor

Our guests at the Media Launch on 12 October at Knowle Manor are in for a special treat: Exmoor Young Chef Perran Clark – with the support of his mentor Carla Jones – will be preparing a pre-dessert!

Perran won the Exmoor Young Chef competition earlier this year, and this is what judge Miguel Tenreiro, head chef at the Porlock Weir Hotel, had to say:

“Perran’s dish of chicken supreme, fondant potato and tarragon sauce showcasing Beech Ridge chicken particularly impressed me.”

Perran is now an apprentice at Seacliff Restaurant (Sandy Cove Hotel) where he works with head chef Carla Jones. By the way, we are delighted that the Seacliff Restaurant have signed up for the 2023 Exmoor Food Fest for the first time!

Carla Jones has been a chef for many years. She started in kitchens at the age of 14 working her way from potwash, moving to London at the age of 20 to complete a scholarship under Piere Koffman.

Carla loves a challenge and competed in Masterchef in 2018.

After settling in Devon 2 years ago and taking over Seacliff, Carla and her team have achieved 3 Rosettes and have gotten into the Michelin guide.

Perran Clark is 16 years old and has been passionate about food for a long time.

He has competed in future chef competition and came second. And he won Exmoor Young Chef of the year. This September Perran competed in the Young Chef of the South West: “I enjoy working under Carla in Seacliff and have just started my apprenticeship with Petroc collage. I have a huge passion for food and am very lucky as a chef to work with amazing produce surrounding us.”

PS We have a handful of tickets left!

Your welcome drink comes courtesy of Exmoor Distillery

Our guests at next week’s Media
Launch of the 2023 Exmoor Food Fest at Knowle Manor will be welcomed by a glass of gin or rum by
Exmoor Distillery :

Founded in 2017 Exmoor Distillery is a lifelong ambition of the founders John & Nicola. Sharing a taste for high-end spirits and with combined expertise in engineering and business. John and Nicola have established a distillery that has won some of the highest accolades in the industry.

John say’s “After sampling many of the world’s gins and rums on our travels, there was nothing that quite hit the spot, so we decided to produce our own. Our clients love our sprits and never fail to be impressed with the bursting natural flavour and unexpectedly smooth textures”.

The historic location of Dulverton, mentioned in the doomsday book, is the perfect setting to distil some of the world’s finest spirits. Due in part to the unique water source drawn by bore hole from the Exmoor Aquifer which is used in the fermentation, distillation and proofing of our spirits thus making our spirits truly unique.

The dinner on 12 October at Knowle Manor starts at 7 for 7.30pm. Here is the line-up of the award-winning chefs who will look after our guests:

Welcome Drinks

Exmoor Distillery

Amuse Bouche

Butlins Chef Academy
(Werner Hartholt with two of his students, Ginny Zdanevičiūtė and Jessica Simmons)

Starter

Anita-Clare Field (La Petite Bouchée, Witheridge)
supported by Nathan, Exmoor Young Chef runner-up

Fish

Miguel Tenreiro (Porlock Weir Hotel)

Meat

Martin Bayliss (New Coast Kitchen)

Pre-Dessert

Exmoor Young Chef competition winner Perran Clark with his mentor Carla Jones (Sandy Cove Hotel)

Dessert

Jade Shorney (Rising Sun, West Bagborough)

Tickets are £70.00 per person.

7 for 7.30 pm.

There are only a limited number of tickets available.

Book your ticket now

Meet the Chefs who’ll create the Amuse Bouche

We are very excited that Werner Hartholt and two of his students from the Butlin’s Chefs Academy will be in charge of the Amuse Bouche at the Media Launch of the 2023 Exmoor Food Fest on 12 October 2022 at Knowle Manor.

Werner Hartholt, group development chef at Butlin’s in Minehead, has been instrumental in bringing the academy to fruition.
“I had the plans in my head for about five years, so it’s really fantastic to see it come to life now,” Werner said. “The aim is not just to make them a chef for Butlin’s, but give them skills for life so they can take them anywhere they want. There is a real shortage of chefs at the moment, and the industry is taking a look at itself in how it operates.”

Werner will bring two of his students to Knowle Manor, Ginny Zdanevičiūtė and Jessica Simmons.

Ginny joined Butlin’s many years ago and has worked front and back of house in various roles. She has mainly been in charge of salad bars and desserts in the large buffet restaurants. She joined the academy to work on her skills and is thriving having worked in 3 other restaurants now to gain more experience.

Jessica had a variety of careers before she joined Butlin’s where she settle on working in the kitchen. It didn’t take long for her to pick up the pace and become an important part of the Fish restaurant. Jess has worked on her skills and joined 3 very different restaurants to gain more experience and will return to the fish restaurant when the academy finishes.

Butlin’s in Minehead only recently opened the brand new internal chef academy. The course runs for 52 weeks, and takes on 12 chefs four times a year from around the country.

The cohorts undertake an intensive training program that is grounded in French cuisine, but covers all manner of classic cooking techniques. The end result is a 52-week programme which is designed as an apprenticeship, giving people a chance to build a career.

It’s offered in all three Butlin’s resorts: Minehead, Bognor Regis and Skegness and isn’t limited to young chefs either, in the current Minehead cohort the ages range between 19 to 39.

Buy your ticket

Werner Hartholt, group development chef at Butlin’s in Minehead

Get your tickets for the ExFF23 Media Launch

On 12 October 2022 we are going to celebrate the start of the countdown towards the 2023 Exmoor Food Fest with a magnificent 6-course-dinner at Knowle Manor near Timberscombe.
Here is the amazing line-up of chefs on the night:

Welcome Drinks

Exmoor Distillery

Amuse Bouche

Scallops with pancetta & Beetroot with goats cheese and walnut

Butlins Academy (Werner Hartholt with two of his students)

Starter
Confit duck tortellini in butternut squash veloute

Anita-Clare Field (La Petite Bouchée, Witheridge)
supported by Nathan Reardon, Exmoor Young Chef runner-up

Fish
Torched mackerel fillet, peri peri dressing, marinated tomatoes, pickled cucumber

Miguel Tenreiro (Porlock Weir Hotel)

Meat
Middle White Pork Belly, Spiced Carrot, Ras el Hanout

Martin Baylis (New Coast Kitchen)

Pre-Dessert

Lemon mousse, lemon sherbet, white chocolate

Exmoor Young Chef competition winner Perran Clark with his mentor Carla Jones (Sandy Cove Hotel)

Dessert

Treacle Tart and Blackcurrant

Jade Shorney (Rising Sun, West Bagborough)

Tickets are £70.00 per person.

7 for 7.30 pm.

There are only a limited number of tickets available.

Book your ticket now

Knowle Manor is a beautiful country house, and we look forward to dining in the stunning palm house.

Get ready for the 2023 Exmoor Food Fest

Exciting news: We are starting the countdown to the 2023 Exmoor Food Fest on 12 October with a magnificent six-course-dinner at the beautiful Knowle Manor. The line-up of award-winning chefs is amazing, and we can guarantee that our guests are in for a treat.

If you are on our mailing list you will have first grabs for the limited amount of tickets which will go on sale later in August. Watch out for an email early next week where you can register your interest – we’ll be contacting you on a first come, first serve basis.

At the beginning of next we will reveal the names of all the chefs and what courses they will do to our subscribers. The public announcement here on the website and in the media will follow later. If this isn’t another good reason to be on our mailing list!

Let me tell you that much already: We will be dining at the beautiful Palm House of Knowle Manor, an impressive listed Manor House with extensive landscaped grounds, on the edge of Timberscombe. Set in 120 acres the property offers views across the lakes & trees to the forests and moors beyond. The River Avill quietly meanders through the grounds on its way to the medieval village of Dunster Herons, kingfishers and barn owls are regularly sighted in the grounds.

2023 Exmoor Food Fest: Salt Media becomes Media Partner

We are delighted to be partnering again with Salt Media at the forthcoming 2023 Exmoor Food Fest.

Here is what Nick Cooper, Director of Salt Media, said:

Salt media is a Westcountry-based creative agency. With clever thinking, crisp copy and stunning design we help food, hospitality and membership brands tell their story, so we’re delighted to be partnering with Exmoor Food fest. As well as working for some brilliant clients we have our own portfolio of publishing brands: Food Magazine, The Indy Coffee Guides and the Trencherman’s Guide.

Pop over to their website and check out what they can do for you.

Exmoor Supper Club launches in July

The first Exmoor Supper Club will take place on 15 July 2022 when Anita-Clare Field, Chef/Patron of La Petite Bouchée in Witheridge, Devon, and her team come to cook a five-course Mediterranean feast in Allerford, Somerset.

La Petite Bouchée has been a firm favourite with Exmoor Food Fest diners over the past years, and now the popular restaurant with a zero-waste policy is hosting a pop-up dinner at the recently refurbished Allerford Community Hall which has the most stunning views across Porlock Vale towards Hurlstone Point and the sea. The sunsets tend to be spectacular!

Tickets are limited to 30 diners who will be greeted with a welcome drink at arrival.

The menu:

Welcome Drink

Mezze ( A selection of sharing Tapas plates)

( Baba Ganoush, Turkish Salad, Hummus with Parsley, Za’atar bread, Pickled cauliflower, Red cabbage salad, Falafel, Pickled Chilli, Tahini Garlic Sauce)

Amuse

Salads

Tomato salad ( with cumin and mint )

Fattoush Salad ( with lemon and flatbread croutons )

Tabouleh

Tanoreen Salad ( with pomegranate and walnut)

Mains

Slow cooked Moroccan – Spiced Lamb on a bed of Jewelled Couscous

Vegetable Tagine with Jewelled CousCous

( Both dishes served with Garlic sauce and Harissa Sauce and flatbreads )

Desserts

Baked Figs with honey and pistachio

A selection of Baklava

£70.00 per person.

15 July 2022, Allerford Community Hall, Hare Park, TA24 8HL
7pm for 7.30pm

You will be able to buy drinks from our well-stocked bar.

Book now

Here are some images from La Petite Bouchée:

Subscribe to Exmoor Supper Club News

PS: Fancy learning how to cook Bouillabaisse from Anita-Clare Field? Join us for our online cook-along on 21 June 2022.
Find out more here…

Join us at the Exmoor Fair in Allerford

Join us at the first Exmoor Fair at Allerford Village Hall & Grounds!

Sunday, 22 May 2022
10 am till 4pm
Food * Arts * Crafts * Wellness

We’ve been planning a Taste Exmoor event in Porlock Vale for the past 2 years, but Covid thought otherwise. This year we are back – we had to scale down to 1 day (rather than 3), but we’re going to add arts, crafts and wellness into the mix.

There is limited space for tables indoors, but lots of space for marquees on the grounds.

Looking forward to having you on board!

Sign up here

If you are offering

Hot Food
Food & drink products
Arts
Crafts
Wellbeing (Yoga etc)

then we’d love to hear from you.

Allerford Village Hall is located off the A39 between Minehead and Porlock on the National Trust Holnicote Estate (TA24 8HL)

The 2022 Exmoor Food Fest has officially ended

Last Saturday, The Farmers Arms in Combe Florey hosted the grand finale of this year’s Exmoor Food Fest: Six chefs prepared six courses which were served with a great wine flight.

Head chef Ben Routley and his team were joined by Chris Chatfield (Complete Events) and Chris Gillard (Dart Fresh). Miguel Tenreiro from the Porlock Weir Hotel prepared the last course, but wasn’t able to attend due to Covid.

Guests were greeted with a drink on arrival sponsored by Exmoor Distillery – the choice was a range of gins, rum or vodka over ice.

And here is the menu:

Asian Infused Pork Belly Canapé
By the team of the Farmers Arms

Beech-Ridge Duck Breast
Confit Leg, Yeast Crumb, Roscoff Onion, Beetroot & Game Jus
By Chris Chatfield

Fillet of Fresh Trout
Crispy Pork Skin, Sautéed King Oyster Mushroom, Textures of Cauliflower & Herb Oil
By Chris Gillard

Josper Seared Early Spring Lamb
Potato & Celeriac Gratin, Kalettes & Red Current Jus
By the team of the Farmers Arms

Braised Octopus Tentacle Ballotine
Lobster Mac & Cheese, Exmoor Caviar & Red Pepper Coulis
By Miguel Tenreiro

Glazed White Chocolate Mousse
Honey Comb, Chocolate Soil & Winter Berries Compote
By the team of the Farmers Arms

A huge THANKYOU to our fabulous hosts, the chefs and their teams, and of course all the amazing guests without whom the evening would not have happened.

All photos by Gareth Davies Media