Exmoor Food Fest

Chef Thomas Hine joins the team at The Coach House

thomas-hine_2 (2) The Coach House Restaurant at Kentisbury Grange Hotel welcomes new Head Chef Thomas Hine at a time when the team are anticipating and celebrating the restaurant’s new partnership with renowned chef Michael Caines MBE.

Until recently Tom was Executive Chef at Michael Caines at ABode in Chester following a successful career which saw him rise through the ranks at a number of highly acclaimed restaurants including Gidleigh Park, The Bath Priory and Rick Stein’s Seafood Restaurant.

Born in Cornwall, Tom studied Hospitality and Catering at the College of Cornwall before joining Rick Stein’s team – a position which helped develop his passion for seafood and local produce.

Working his way up through the kitchen hierarchy, Tom spent many years honing his talent under the watchful eyes of some of the South West’s most celebrated chefs before joining Michael Caines at Gidleigh Park.

Tom says: “Working alongside Michael Caines was a huge influence on my style of cooking and gave me a great appreciation for the fresh local produce that we are so lucky to have access to in the South West.

When Michael gave me the opportunity to run my own kitchen at ABode Chester I felt truly honoured. Now I’ve been offered a new challenge along with the opportunity to return to the South West where the local produce is second to none.

I am excited to be leading the talented and passionate team at The Coach House Restaurant in North Devon, and look forward to introducing delicious new dishes to the restaurant’s much loved seasonal menus”.

Introducing: Thomas Carr @ The Olive Room, Ilfracombe

Thomas Carr’s journey started when he was employed as head chef in 2002 at the Beachcomber Café in Woolacombe, Devon – his home town. From here Thomas moved to the Watersmeet Hotel, again in Woolacombe where he was Chef De Partie for 5 years between 2004 and 2009.

In March 2009 Thomas went to work under renowned chef Nathan Outlaw at his Seafood and Grill Restaurant @ The St Enodoc Hotel in Cornwall. Originally taken on by Nathan Outlaw as a Sous chef, Thomas’ potential was quickly noticed and in February 2010 he was appointed as Head Chef at the brand new ‘Restaurant Nathan Outlaw’. Under Thomas the restaurant received two Michelin stars within a year of opening, along with numerous other accolades and awards within the hospitality industry. As well as the day to day running of the restaurant, Thomas also participated in outside events linked to the restaurant and Nathan Outlaw; including a ‘pop up’ restaurant in London and several food festivals/events.

In 2013 Thomas returned to North Devon to take up a role as Executive chef at The Coach House, Kentisbury Grange – allowing him another opportunity to work with a renowned chef in Michael Caines MBE. Thomas built a full team from scratch and achieved 2 AA Rosettes within 6 months of opening as well as a full entry into the 2014 Trenchermen’s Guide.

In the spring of 2014 Thomas was presented with an opportunity to fulfil a lifetime dream of owning his own restaurant in the Harbour town of Ilfracombe, North Devon.

For further details about The Olive Room, please click here

The Exmoor Food Fest starts today!

Today is the first day when the Exmoor Food Fest deal is available at a number of restaurants across the Exmoor region:

The Cafe Porlock Weir
Porlock Weir Exmoor
Somerset TA24 8PB
Tel. 01643 863 300
www.thecafeporlockweir.co.uk
Facebook: The Cafe at Porlock Weir
Twitter: @cafeporlockweir
The Old Ship Aground
Minehead Harbour,
Quay Street,
Minehead TA24 5HL
Tel . 01643 703516
Facebook: /pages/The-Old-Ship-Aground
Email: info@oldshipaground.com
Website: www.oldshipaground.com/

Both be serving 2 courses for £10 and 3 courses for £15 today.

Give them a call and book your table, quoting the Exmoor Food Fest!

Successful launch of the Exmoor Food Fest

The Exmoor Food Fest was launched with great success on Wednesday, 28 January, at The Combe, the training restaurant at the Skills & Enterprise Centre (West Somerset College, Minehead) when Michelin star chefs Mark Dodson, Thomas Carr , Andrew Dixon and Richard Boggie cooked an amazing five course dinner with the Combe’s hospitality students for invited guests.

Richard Boggie was in charge of the Amuse Bouche , Mackerel ceviche, wasabi and Exmoor Caviar, which set the tone for an amazing feast. The former Combe student who left the College two years ago, is now Chef de Partie at the renowned Bath Priory.

Mark Dodson, whose restaurant Masons Arms in Knowstone holds one Michelin star, followed with a starter of tuna on Chinese cabbage. Thomas Carr,former headchef at Nathan Outlaw’s restaurant and now owner of The Olive Room in Ilfracombe, followed with Exmoor rump of beef, tongue and Jacobs ladder pie,   herb dumpling, ginger carrot and, for the vegetarian guests, truffle and potato terrine, crispy free range hens egg and   pickled mushroom dressing .

Guests were then treated to a pre-dessert by Richard Boggie, set Tonka bean cream, apple caramel and cider, followed by Andrew Dixon’s (The Cafe at Porlock Weir) apple tart tatin .

“Great students, great food, great evening”, commented Mark Dodson on Twitter.

Hollie Borland, reporter for the Somerset County Gazette tweeted “What an amazing evening put on @The_Combe_Mhead by #WestSomCol students too for the #ExmoorFoodFest launch #poshnosh”.

Martin Hesp, editor-at-large for the Western Morning News, tweeted “Been to amazing launch of #ExmoorFoodFest tonight – thanks students of #WestSomersetCollege and chef tutors.” This was seconded by Somerset Life editor Charlotte Skidmore who also tweeted “What amazing food at the launch of #ExmoorFoodFest”.

It was a brilliant experience for the hospitality students who all enjoyed working with these top chefs. One student tweeted to the chefs “Thank you for tonight in the kitchen. Amazing experience in there to watch what you all do!”

The Masons Arms, The Olive Room , The Cafe at Porlock Weir and The Combe all take part in the Exmoor Food Fest during February, offering the deal of 2 courses for £10.00/ 3 courses for £15.00. Please check on their pages on what days this offer is available.

Here are some impressions from the night:
First of all – the chefs!

Andrew Dixon

Richard Boggie

Mark Dodson

Thomas Carr at The Combe, 2015

Thomas Carr

The food:

### NEWSFLASH ###

We have FINALLY received the leaflets, vouchers and passports from our printers…. We are trying our best to get them out to all restaurants as quickly as possible.

LEAFLET OUTER

The Exmoor Food Fest is about to start!

Celebrating local food and venues across the region

The first Exmoor Food Fest will come to Exmoor in February 2015, celebrating everything Exmoor has to offer.

For a whole month, outstanding restaurants across the region will be offering 2 courses for £10.00 and 3 courses for £15.00 to give locals and visitors alike the opportunity to sample dishes prepared with excellent local produce.

Customers will be able to pick up vouchers for the Exmoor Food Fest “Tenner Deal” at participating restaurants or download them online. As an extra incentive to visit as many of the restaurants as possible, customers will receive a passport which will be stamped every time they order an “Exmoor Food Fest Deal”. Once the passport is full it will be entered into a draw for a Taste of Exmoor hamper.

The Exmoor Food Fest will be launched on 28 January 2015 at The Combe, a training restaurant based at the Skills and Enterprise Centre in the grounds of West Somerset College Minehead. Local chefs Mark Dodson (Masons Arms Knowstone), Thomas Carr (The Olive Room, Ilfracombe), Andrew Dixon (The Cafe Porlock Weir) and former student Richard Boggie (now Chef de Partie at Bath Priory) will be cooking a five-course-menu with the hospitality students for invited guests.

The grand finale of the Exmoor Food Fest is taking place at Minehead Harbour on 28 February in conjunction with the first Family Angling Day. Street Food Traders will give the harbour a village feel, inviting people to stroll around the harbour, watch the anglers and taste delicious food. A local produce and craft fair will take place at The Beach Hotel in Minehead where chefs like Mark Dodson will do cooking demonstrations throughout the day. Other venues along the seafront will also join in the celebration. Street artists and entertainment complete the recipe for a great family day out.

Andrew Dixon, owner and Chef at The Café at Porlock Weir, came up with the idea of the Exmoor Food Fest to promote the many outstanding food venues across the region.

“Exmoor has so much to offer, but February tends to be a very quiet time for us. The ‘Tenner Deal’ is an excellent opportunity for us to showcase what we can do while making it affordable for our customers,” explained Andrew.

Kentisbury Grange is one of the Devon-based venues taking part in the Exmoor Food Fest, where renowned Chef Michael Caines MBE has recently become involved.

“We are delighted to join this promotion of local food and Exmoor as a region,” commented Peter Farquhar, General Manager. “Michael’s involvement is very exciting as it will enable us to move to a whole new level in all aspects of our hospitality offering.’

The Exmoor Food Fest is organised and run by Exmoor4all, an internet platform based on sharing photos and stories of Exmoor with people all over the world as well as providing a network for local businesses. Andrew Dixon, who now is also a tutor at The Combe, and Werner Hartholt, the Combe’s Chef Lecturer, are co-organisers and technical consultants for the Exmoor Food Fest.

A total of 15 restaurants will take part in the first Exmoor Food Fest. A list is available on www.exmoorfoodfest.com, complete with contact details and days when the special Exmoor Food Fest deal is available.

For further information for traders and media enquiries, please contact Elke Winzer on 0788 1504863 or by email elke@cultureline.co.uk.

*** PLEASE CONTACT THE RESTAURANTS DIRECTLY TO BOOK A TABLE. CONTACT DETAILS CAN BE FOUND ON OUR RESTAURANT PAGE. ***

Not long now until the Exmoor Food Fest begins!

Photo Competition for Exmoor Foodies

We are running a small photo competition from 29 November 2014 till 15 January 2015.
Post your photos of meals you enjoy over the next few weeks in Exmoor restaurants and pubs in this group. We will publish them on our Facebook pages Exmoor4all and Exmoor Food Fest. The winner will receive a ticket for two for the VIP launch of the Exmoor Food Fest on 28 January 2015 at The Combe in Minehead.

Date for the Diary: Free Bread Making Course

Join Chef Lecturer Werner Hartholt on Friday, 11 July 2014, for a fun bread making course. Learn to make Ciabatta, Pitta Bread and Foccacia.

The course, which starts at 9 am and finishes at 3 pm, is free. It takes place in the kitchens of The Combe at the Business Skills & Enterprise Centre, West Somerset College, Minehead.

To book your place, please call 01643 700335.

The Combe takes part in the Exmoor Food Fest in February 2015.

Who’s going to join us?

The Exmoor Food Fest will be taking place from 01 to 28 February 2015, and we would love you to be part of it.

We are inviting outstanding Exmoor restaurants to take part in the Exmoor Food Fest with two courses for £10.00 /three courses for £15.00, using locally sourced ingredients. It is a great opportunity to showcase Exmoor and the restaurant at a time of year when it is notoriously quiet.

How does it work?
Customers who want to make use of the Exmoor Food Fest offer will have to fill in a voucher with their details – an excellent way to grow the restaurant’s and the Exmoor Food Fest’s database. With their bill customers will receive another voucher for another meal.
The event will be promoted extensively with flyers, ‘Save the Date’ cards, website, social media and traditional media events. All registered restaurants will receive a certain amount of flyers with vouchers to hand out to guests.
Logos and contact details for all participating restaurants will be on all flyers and other marketing material.
Customers will also receive a “Taste of Exmoor Passport” which can be stamped at all participating restaurants. Anyone with more than a set number of stamps will enter a prize draw.

How much does it cost?
Participating restaurants will have to pay a registration fee of £50.00. Click here to register.

What else will be happening at the Exmoor Food Fest?
We will be working with students and tutors at the West Somerset College in Minehead. Chefs from participating restaurants will cook an ‘Exmoor Menu’ with the students which will be served to paying guests at the College restaurant.
We will be inviting chefs to take part in this fantastic opportunity in due course.

A number of other events are also being looked into – we will update you as soon as we know more!

Who are the organisers?
The Exmoor Food Fest is organised by ‘Exmoor4all’ (run by Cultureline Events & Publicity Ltd) in very close cooperation with The Café at Porlock Weir’s Andrew Dixon.

What happens now?
Please register as soon as possible to make sure you don’t miss out.
We also need your logo, some text about the restaurant and a sample menu for the website.
If you register before 31 May 2014, you will be listed on all our marketing material. It will still be possible to register later, however, you might miss out on being represented on some of our marketing material.

We have already had fantastic feedback from local restaurants and potential sponsors. It would be fantastic if your establishment was part of the Exmoor Food Fest. We are happy to discuss further details with you in person.

We are looking forward to hearing from you!