Woburn Park

Paris House, Woburn

Visiting Michelin-starred restaurants set in acres of picturesque parkland is most certainly not a regular pastime of mine. Yet last Saturday I was fortunate enough to join my best girl friends for a very special lunch at Paris House in Woburn, Bedfordshire. The only Michelin-starred establishment in the county, the restaurant is delightfully hidden away in the huge deer park next to Woburn Safari Park; accessed via an ancient stone archway and long winding driveway through lush green countryside dotted with grazing deer, giving an air of exclusivity even before one's first glimpse of the stunning black and white Tudor-style house. At the front of the restaurant a simple paved terrace with wrought iron tables and chairs offers spectacular views across the park. Inside, the contemporary styled dining room seats ten or so parties comfortably at tables covered by spotless white tablecloths and modern, angular wine glasses. Venture upstairs to the sumptuous washrooms - with lovely touches such as a string of pearls hung on the door to the ladies' room and a single, silk tie denoting the men's - and you can gaze out of the huge leaded windows at the well-tended kitchen garden, from which fresh produce is picked for the day's menu.

One of my lovely followers (and a local Cambridge foodie too) asked if I knew what to do with the delicious Mirabelle plums, which are in season in abundance right now. Hailing from the Alsace Lorraine region of France, the flavourful, mostly yellow, small plums are known for their versatility. Available from July to mid-September, and delicious in August, if you can get your hands on a fresh haul, they can be used for eating, cooking and making brandy! I promised some recipe ideas and I'll be the first to admit I'm not a great fan of making desserts so here are a couple of options from a quick internet search and a flick through Paul Waddington's book on Seasonal Food (my bible at the moment!)...

After a long week, mainly filled with dreaming up and cooking up seasonal summer dishes, The Boy and I were in need of a good curry and were determined not to give up on our newly found self-sustainable lifestyle in favour of a takeaway. I've made a number of Thai curries from scratch in the past but decided it was high-time I attempted to make an Indian curry paste. A trip to Radmore Farm Shop for some locally reared lamb was all the incentive I needed to give it a try. I also picked up some green beans (regrettably, a little early for the British season so imported would have to do) and some fresh ripe tomatoes (UK grown) to add to the sauce.

I picked up some great minted lamb burgers from Radmore Farm Shop on Chesterton Road a few days ago and thought a mix of seasonal vegetables and "second early" season potatoes, such as the waxy Charlotte variety, would be a fitting accompaniment. The home-reared meat supplied to the shop from a small, family-run farm in Northamptonshire, made fantastic burgers - substantial, chunky and containing good quality, lean meat and very little else. Next time I'd like to buy some of their fresh lamb mince and try making my own.

 

Following my discovery of an amazing book on seasonal eating last weekend, I spent an educational, tiring, yet very enjoyable week trying to create a tasty meal each evening using only home-grown, seasonal produce. I tried to stick to locally sourced ingredients, where possible, and avoided using anything made, grown, reared outside of the UK. 

The result of working so hard to avoid the supermarkets, over-packaging and miles and miles of unnecessary transportation? A handful of lovely recipes to share on the Blog (after a week of silence - sorry regular readers!)... like this Summer Spaghetti, with bacon, British mushrooms and seasonal greens. 

I'm reading an interesting and inspiring book at the moment called Seasonal Food by Paul Waddington (published by Eden Project books). It is essentially a food reference book which clearly sets out what's in season in the UK throughout the calendar year.