Pressing Apples yonder Owermoigne sire!

If you have apple trees and end up with a glut at the end of the summer making cider is a brilliant way to make some brilliant use of them rather than leave them to rot. Dorset Foodie Jo Stockley gathered her troops last autumn and put them to work at Owermoigne Cider Mill, Owermoigne, Dorset.


Gather the apples...


Throw them in the crusher and give it some welly!



Move the crushed apples to the press...


Put the lid on and give it some more welly...




The end product is beautiful organic fresher than fresh apple juice bursting with vitamins... It can be drunk immediately or made into cider....

Winter / Spring Opening Times - Tuesday to Sunday 10 am- 4 pm

(Closed Mondays except Bank Holiday Mondays))

Owermoigne, Nr. Dorchester, Dorset, DT2 8HZ

Enquiries : 01305 852220

www.millhousecider.com

Another good useful link to follow for advice on making cider in Dorset visit http://www.dorsetcider.com/

This little piggy went to Borough Market

Ok, I've been a bad blogger, no posts for a while and this is supposed to be a blog about food in Dorset, but I can't resist sharing my photos from Borough Market in London. If I had one wish about Dorset it would be to have something like this on our doorstep rather than having to jump on a train for three hours and pay the equivalent of an extravagent lunch for two for the privilege of getting there. I am hoping that some entreprenuerial foodies out there will get wind of the idea and get something going. Surely there is a demand for it?



What I love about this market is that everything looked so well presented and there is so much going on.


Give any local fishermen any ideas? How about a gourmet food market to sell your wares?


Bakers and patissieres in Dorset? How about a gourmet food market so you can show everyone what they are missing?


Local organic veg growers? Did you know there is nowhere to buy farm fresh organic free range eggs in Weymouth that aren't from a supermarket? If there are please let me know. We are crying out for fresh eggs delivered to our local shops rather than having to drive out of the town.


These would be fab with a cup of fresh coffee, anyone passionate about good coffee? Fancy treating us to your wares?


The raclette is perfect for the gourmet food market. It's fun to watch and the cheese smells divine. There was a queue of hungry cheese lovers patiently waiting for their turn. Such a hit at food markets.



Dorset cheesemakers, specialist cheese importers, perhaps you could show all those people in Dorset what we are missing when we pick up another plastic wrapped block of cheese?

Crab House Cafe, Weymouth, Dorset

Thankfully it will be British Summer Time again soon! If you are getting impatient however then perhaps this would help? We were treated to a glimpse of Summer to come (hopefully) when we decided to head down to the Crab House Cafe in Fleet, Weymouth, Dorset, for lunch.

We were warmly greeted by a friendly, young waiter who opened the door for us and showed us where we could sit. The atmosphere of the restaurant was light and sunny just as was the room itself. It seemed it was almost fully booked. It is unformal, unpretentious almost a little rustic yet modern inside. The meals are cooked by a chef working quietly away in a kitchen situated on one side of the room.

Once we had ordered I almost wished I'd gone for the dressed crab. Four grown adults in bibs in one corner of the room seemed to be having a 'whale' of a time (sorry) smashing the bejaysus out of these huge crabs and their claws. We liked the real crab buckets (used for crabbing) for the debris.


Hors D'ouvre of seafood antipasti and fresh warm crusty bread


While we waited for our order we enjoyed a complimentary hors d'ouvre.

Gurnard with Tomato Pesto and Olives


I wasn't disappointed with my choice after all. I now have a new favourite fish - Gurnard. It might not have a pretty face fresh out of the sea but it is a beautiful fish. Very light yet with quite meaty, moist juicy flesh. I still fantasise about this meal from time to time. This was around £16.

Sardines



My dining partner had sardines. Three whole juicy sardines served with a couple of wedges of lemon. Around £10.


Meringue with Rolled Oats, Fresh Cream and Berry Sauce



The dessert rounded off this light lunch perfectly. Around £5.

We came out feeling satisfied that we had been given value for our money. On top of this we were pleased that we were supporting the local economy as all the fish and seafood are supplied by local fishermen.

We almost could have imagined that it wasn't a cold February day and that it would be dark in only a couple of hours.

www.crabhousecafe.co.uk

Ferrymans Way
Portland Road,
Wyke Regis,
Dorset
DT4 9YU
01305 788 867

Moules Frites Night at Perry's, Weymouth

Looking for good food in Dorset? Head down to Perry's for their Moules Frite Night for a while. £8.95 for a meal in a Michelin recommended restaurant is pretty good value.

Mussels with chorizo, garlic, cream and parsley


The mussels are Cornish rope-grown supplied by Samways Fish Merchants. They were plump and juicy. I was pleased to find that every single one was open and none were broken. A good sign they weren't second rate quality dredged mussels. They weren't shy with the chorizo or the cream either.


As you can see, the chips were real chips.

Lemon Creme Brulee with Shortbread


This really was memorable too. Lightly browned caramel that just splintered under the spoon. It was perfect, just the right balance of lemon and cream with a smooth velvet texture.


Vegetarians weren't ignored. The wine was lovely, we shared a bottle of Spanish house red which was Centenello Tempranillo 2008.

I highly recommend this. Considering the utter crap you can get for £8.95 at other places this really is extremely good value for a fantastic meal. Make sure you book in advance, it looked fully booked when we were there and rightly so.

http://www.perrysrestaurant.co.uk/

Perry's Restaurant
4 Trinity Road
Weymouth
Dorset
DT4 8TJ

Tel: 01305 785799

Lunch at Sienna, Dorchester, Dorset

My friend Valerie and I went to Sienna in Dorchester, Dorset Saturday afternoon. We expected something a little bit special as we heard they had just won a Michelin star and we weren't disappointed. At £25 for a three course lunch we thought this extremely good value.

We were pleased on first impressions. The restaurant itself is 'small but perfectly formed.' A light, warm room, neutrally decorated with Sienna coloured furnishings (hence the name which originated from an alternative to 'Browns'). With just 5 small tables it made for a great service which was very friendly, informal, non-intrusive and discreet.

Lunch was an unhurried affair, and rightly so. You come here to savour, not eat and run. We were amazed to discover we had been there for three hours by the time we left.

We shared a 250ml decanter of Merlot Domaine Du Peras (VdP d'Oc). I won't attempt to describe the wine, Jilly Goolden I am not yet I don't just look at the alcohol percentage either. You'll just have to trust me on this, it's a good job they didn't give me the whole bottle.

It's the little details that mean alot. The canapes we started with acted as a teaser of what to come, savour the flavour...


CANAPES

Cheese and Onion Tartlets - perfect little light pastry cases contained warm melted cheese and spring onion filling.

Venison Brochettes - A skewer of perfectly cooked, juicy, melt in the mouth venison.

Salted Almonds - think these had been lightly toasted.

STARTERS

Me - Prawn bisque with butter-roasted tiger prawns and piquillo pepper cream


What I loved so much about this meal was the beautiful presentation.


The piquillo pepper cream was lightly spiced and had a beautiful rich creamy, almost mousse like texture.

Valerie - Duck liver & foie gras parfait with Thompson raisins, verjus dressing & toasted brioche

MAINS

Me - Slow-roasted Genesis Farmers pork belly with caramelised apple and parsnip puree

In the photo I really tried to capture the juicyness of the meat. It really was so lean, tender and juicy. The crackling was fine and crisp. The portion size was just right..

Valerie - Wood-pigeon breast with potato gnocchi and baby beets


Valerie who is French and very discerning about food really enjoyed this dish.

DESSERTS

Tahitian vanilla cheesecake with blackcurrant jelly & poached apple

Artwork on a plate...

Bitter chocolate tart with clotted cream ice cream and pistachio praline

Petit fours served with coffee

Lemon Curd Tartlets - beautiful delicate pastry shells filled with slightly warm Lemon Curd filling lightly browned

Chocolates with Maple Syrup - very rich dark chocolate with a wonderful smooth maple syrup centre

Flapjacks - chewy and delicious



www.siennarestaurant.co.uk

36 High West Street
Dorchester, Dorset, DT1 1UP
01305 250 022

Opening Times
Tuesday to Saturday
Lunch 12 - 2.00
Dinner 7 - 9.00
Reservations required

Brunch at The Bull Hotel, Bridport, Dorset

We were lucky enough to be granted a beautiful sunny day today amidst a week of pretty lousy cold and wet (but not snowy) weather. We (Jo, Tash and I) headed over to Bridport for a spot of brunch.





Tash opted for a full English breakfast, Jo the Eggs Benedict and I went for Eggs Royale. I think each of us made the right choice because we all had eggs with beautiful rich yellow runny yolks. The eggs come from a local butcher up the road, it was Sunday so we couldn't buy any unfortunately but a poster in the window said they come from 'The Hungry Carver' which made us chuckle.


As you can see the brunch menu is quite reasonably priced. £2.50 for a freshly made sandwich? Can't be bad....

www.thebullhotel.co.uk

34 East Street
Bridport, DT6 3LF
01308 422 878

Welcome to Foodie Dorset

I have discovered that there are some well kept food secrets in Dorset. Perhaps they are not intended to be secrets, just not well publicised enough to know these places are there. I have by chance discovered restaurants, cafes, bakeries, traders that deserve to be put on the map that not everyone seems to know about. Everyone seems to know that they can get a cheap meal from Wetherspoons and that they can obtain fruit and vegetables out of season from major supermarkets but will have to pay well over the odds for quality.

What most people don't realise is that it is not necessary to pay over the odds for good food in Dorset. It's all on the doorstep of Dorset. It is just knowing where to go. If I come across anything worth knowing about I'll let you know.