Bedruthan Steps Hotel, Spa & Events Venue

Traditional Family Christmas is Best

2011-12-14T03:18:00.000-08:00

Children really do prefer a traditional family Christmas and spending time with mum and dad to countless expensive presents.

 A new study has suggested that what makes children happy at Christmas is being with their family, not receiving sack loads of presents.   Researchers found that 40 per cent of children would rather Father Christmas brought them time with their parents and immediate family, instead of being given their annual treat of stocking fillers.  

A quarter of children are also hoping that they will get festive visits from family members that they rarely see during the year, according to the research by holiday company Butlins.  

Board games and quizzes are popular among children, with one in five saying they would be happier if their families played traditional games.  

"Seeing mum and dad work hard throughout the year, and not being able to spend as much time with them as they'd like, is prompting kids to think about the bigger picture," according to Mark Hunter, of Butlins.  

"Of course they are looking forward to Santa's arrival, but they are also hoping for quality family time - the chance to reconnect and enjoy each other's company," he added.  However, 15 per cent of them worry that this will lead to arguments during family gatherings.

Research was done for Butlins by www.onepoll.com among a sample of 1,000 children aged six to 16 from September 13-26 2011.

2011-12-05T08:28:00.000-08:00

Here's culinary adventurer Adam Clark and co-cooking conspirator Adrian Foulkes at the Padstow Christmas Festival demonstrating their panfrying prowess.

If you missed their bravura performance at the festival, here's a little reprise of their recipes.

INGREDIENTS

· 250g of courgette grated

· Salt and black pepper

· 600g minced turkey

· 2 medium free-range eggs

· 1 ½ tsp ground cumin

· 3 tbsp chopped coriander

· 3 tbsp chopped mint

· 2 garlic cloves crushed

· 60g chopped spring onion

· Sunflower oil for frying

DIPPING SAUCE

· 2 tsp sweet chilli sauce

· 1½ tsp toasted sesame seeds

· Zest and juice from 1 lime

· 1 tsp soy sauce

· 1 tsp honey

· 10g fresh ginger minced

· 2 tbsp blended sesame and vegetable oil

· 1 spring onion finely sliced

METHOD

1. Heat the oven to 180*C.

2. Put the grated courgette in a sieve, mixed with a ¼ teaspoon of salt, and leave to drain for 15 minutes.

3. Squeeze out as much liquid as possible with your hands, then put the courgette in a large mixing bowl along with the turkey, eggs, cumin, coriander, mint, garlic, ¾ of the spring onion, a teaspoon of salt and some black pepper. Mix together well and shape into 12 patties weighing about 80g each.

4. Heat some sunflower oil in a large frying pan and fry the patties for four minutes, turning once, until nice and brown on both sides. Transfer to a baking tray and finish off in the oven for a further 10 minutes.

5. To make the dipping sauce just combine all the ingredients and put into dipping bowls.

6. Mix some of the sweet chilli and sesame oil in a separate bowl and brush this over the turkey cakes as soon as they come out of the oven. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve with dipping sauce.

CRANBERRY, ORANGE & PORT SAUCE

INGREDIENTS FOR TWO 12 OZ JARS

· 225g fresh cranberries

· 4 whole cloves

· 1 whole cinnamon stick

· 1 onion, peeled and finely diced

· 50g fresh ginger, peeled and minced

· 1 clove of garlic, minced

· 100ml red wine vinegar

· 100ml port wine

· 250g unrefined caster sugar

· Juice and zest of one orange

· Salt and freshly cracked black pepper

METHOD

1. Peel and finely dice the onion, mince the garlic and fresh ginger and mix it all together.

2. Place all the ingredients apart from the orange zest into a medium size saucepan and season lightly with salt and freshly cracked black pepper.

3. Over a low heat, bring to the simmer, stirring occasionally.

4. Cook the sauce until a thickened drip consistency; this takes about 20 minutes, add the orange zest, remove from the heat and leave to cool. It will thicken as it cools, so don’t let it get too thick.

5. Pour the cranberry sauce into a sterilized jar and seal.

6. Try adding a spoonful of the sauce into a casserole, especially lamb or game.

GLUTEN-FREE SUNFLOWER & YOGHURT SCONES

INGREDIENTS FOR 10 – 12

· 225g Doves gluten free self-raising flour

· 1 tsp baking powder

· 25g sunflower margarine

· 2 tbsp golden caster sugar

· 50g raisins

· 4 tbsp sunflower seeds

· 100ml natural yoghurt

· 1 egg

· About 2 tbsp milk

METHOD

1. Preheat oven to 200*C.

2. Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper.

3. Sift the baking powder and flour into a large bowl and rub in the sunflower margarine evenly.

4. Stir in the caster sugar, raisins and about half the sunflower seeds, then mix in the yoghurt and egg beaten together, adding just enough milk to make a soft but not sticky dough.

5. Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface to about 3cm thickness.

6. Cut into 6cm rounds and lift onto prepared baking tray.

7. Brush with milk and sprinkle with the reserved sunflower seeds.

8. Bake for 10 – 12 minutes until well-risen and golden brown.

9. Cool on a wire rack. Serve split and spread with Red Stuff jam and Cornish clotted cream.

SAUCE BASE FOR CORNISH FISH STEW

INGREDIENTS

· 1 red gurnard, head removed, gutted & chopped through the bone into chunks

· 1 pinch of saffron

· 1 star anise

· 1 branch of thyme

· 2 cloves garlic – cut in half

· 1 tsp fennel seeds

· 2 tbsp olive oil

METHOD

1. Place all this into a container, mix well and leave to marinade over night.

2. The next day roast off this fish mixture until golden brown. Set aside.

3. In a large heavy based saucepan roast together: 3 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped, 2 sticks of sliced celery, 1 small leek, washed and roughly chopped, 1 onion or 2 banana shallots, peeled and diced, 1 bulb of garlic cut in half across the cloves and a branch of thyme

4. When all of this is roasted golden brown, add the fish mixture to it and stir in 1 tbsp of tomato purée and 1 baking potato peeled and coarsely grated. Mix together well.

5. De-glaze the pan with 50ml brandy and 50ml Pernod and allow pan to flame.

6. Then add 1 tin of chopped tomatoes and 750ml of fish stock, or water with fish bouillon cube.

7. Bring this slowly to the boil and simmer for 1 ½ - 2 hours, stirring gently.

8. Remove from heat and allow to cool before blending until smooth in a strong food processor.

9. Pass this through a fine strainer, pressing well to ensure you are left with a beautiful silky fish sauce / soup. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

10. Roast what fish and shellfish of your choice in a large pan, add the sauce base and place a lid on top. Pop this in the oven at 180oC for 8 to 10 minutes.

11. Remove lid. Serve into suitable bowls with saffron dumplings, say, or croutons, chopped parsley and rouille.

COME OVER FOR LUNCH OR DINNER SOON

You don’t have to be an overnight guest at Bedruthan or our sister hotel the Scarlet to enjoy our seriously good food. We are committed to well-sourced, simply cooked seasonal food, and if you tuck into lunch or dinner at either of our hotels you are guaranteed a feast for your eyes as well as your taste buds. Our cliff top restaurants overlook beautiful Mawgan Porth Beach with stunning views of the Atlantic beyond. So come and experience the Scarlet’s superb menus for £19.50 for three courses. For your special locals lunch offer code, please go to www.scarlethotel.co.uk/localoffer Bedruthan has an exciting new all day bistro café opening in February 2012 and a seafood restaurant opening in April 2012. Keep an eye on our website at www.bedruthan.com for further details of menus and prices.

To book, please call Bedruthan Steps on 01637 860 555 or the Scarlet on 01637 861 800.

@RedStuffChef @ChefMattBurns @JmEcoChef @BedruthanSteps @theScarletHotel

Homemade Christmas Gifts

2011-11-11T04:01:00.000-08:00

Homemade Christmas Gifts

by Genevra Fletcher

Homemade Christmas gifts…a wonderful idea in theory. But how do you pull it off in poised and elegant Kirsty’s Homemade Home style as opposed to DIY bodge disaster?

Bedruthan Steps Hotel has come up with a great way to help you with creating your Christmas crafts this year so you can make some wonderful homemade presents for your family and friends.

Our Cornish Christmas Craft Fair Weekend (25th - 27th November) at beautiful Bedruthan Steps in Cornwall is a chance to stay in luxury and enjoy all sorts of inspiring craft sessions and food demonstrations.

We’re guarantee to get you and your family making a whole range of beautiful handmade presents; we’re talking the sort of bespoke, handcrafted gift your friends and family will treasure and feel blessed to receive.

Our head chef is going to show you how to create the most delicious Christmas dinner - with all the trimmings, but at a fraction of the price and with everything ready prepared so you can have a relaxing Christmas Day. Come to our Christmas Preserving class and we’ll teach you how to create your own festive flavours to add another homemade and personal touch to your Christmas table.

And what’s more, to make your life really simple, we’re hosting a Cornish Christmas Fair at the hotel. Our aim is to make it easy to get your Christmas shopping done and find just the right presents for family and friends. There really will be something for everyone, with plenty of inspiration for gifts that will leave all those ubiquitous and expensive shop bought ‘must have’ presents out in the cold.

We are offering a very special rate from £74 per person per night including dinner, bed and breakfast for two night stays during our Homemade Christmas Weekend of November 25th, 26th and 27th.

The weekends are suitable for every generation.

To find out more, please call us on 01637 860 555 or email stay@bedruthan.com. To book now, please click here.

Homemade jams, sloe gin and vodka anyone?

2011-11-02T09:47:00.000-07:00

Culinary adventurer Adam Clark

Adam's gooseberry jam.

Nature's bounty.

The family that forages together stays together!

by Culinary Adventurer Adam Clark

You may not know this yet, but I decided a little while ago to stand down as head chef of Bedruthan Steps Hotel. Why? An exciting new culinary adventure was calling me.

I've taken up a new role as food development chef for Red Hotels (the company that runs Bedruthan and its sister hotel the Scarlet) and my ambition is to create a range of Red Hotels own branded products.

Wooden spoon in hand, I've got off to a good start by creating preserves for both hotels to serve with breakfast, afternoon tea etc.

And I've been lucky enough to have spent quite a bit of my working day food foraging some of Cornwall’s most beautiful spots, gathering edible hedgerow treasures from which to create some wonderful Red Hotels fare.

On days off, I've taken my family on food foraging expeditions, gathering the most wonderful sloes, so abundant this year and so early. I've never seen them so big. I've also discovered the merits of the wild plum, and squirrelled away a bumper crop.

Back in the busy Bedruthan kitchen, I set to work with my finds. Now, if you stop for a drink at Bedruthan's bar, and you will see on the spirits shelf our very own sloe gin - a wonderful liquor with a lovely flavour and wonderfully warm feel to it. Just what you need on your return from a windy beach walk.

Excited by my success with the sloe gin, I used some of the wild plums to make a flavoured vodka, which after just a few days is already looking enticing. I can only imagine how quickly that is going to go once I put it in the bar. Be sure to look out for it when you next visit us.

Hopefully, with all the sloes I picked with the help of my family, there will be enough to go round. My children Archie and Daisy, my wife Tania, my brother Nick, sister Penny, niece Anna and I all really got stuck into the picking and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves on a beautiful sunny day in St. Agnes. We had walked over the beacon with views as far as St Ives one way and Newquay the other, and the colours of the heather and gorse over one of the highest points for miles was incredible. The different shades of purple and golden yellows were really lovely.

It hasn’t all been a blue skies ideal life though, I've been in my full on wet weather and bramble protection gear as I took on some seriously spiky bushes.

Firstly, the blackberries. Well, I had to get stuck in didn’t i? So in I went and came out laden but truly scratched and bloodied. It was worth it though, and our apple and bramble jam is a real seasonal treat.

Then there was the rosehips and the sea buckthorn, discovered on our own sand dunes below the hotel, so in i went again. If the prickles from the roses weren’t bad enough, have you seen the thorns on a sea buckthorn? There is no easy way of gathering these as the thorns are massive and not easily seen in amongst the berries and leaves but i managed to get myself a little routine going on and got a little savvy in how to handle this plant. And again it was well worth it after using a River Cottage recipe to make sea Buckthorn and apple jam, a real special jam that I will be making for our speciality range.

As for apples, I have never seen so many wild apples as I did this year. I have taken up most of the conference fridge with crates of crab apples and am slowly working my way through them.

I'm enjoying my new role; it's very satisfying to be providing both hotels with their preserves and I have been receiving good feedback too.

We have been spending time getting our labels and jars organised so that we are able to let our guests have some memories of their stay to take back home with them, so please ask when you visit if you love tasting our preserved Cornish countryside.

Seaweed Crisps Recipe

2011-08-22T06:42:00.000-07:00

Seaweed Crisps Recipe
By Adam Clark

I thought it might be nice to share some knowledge with you about our beautiful Cornish countryside. As some of you know, I have a passion for wild food and enjoy getting out and spotting ingredients that can be bought back to the kitchen.

There's great joy to be had in making the most of our local larder.

I’m sure as kids you all used to love looking, feeling and playing with the different seaweeds on the beach. Well, who knew that some of them can be turned into something delicious?

Here I am going to talk about sugar kelp, so called because of it’s lovely sweet flavour. It is also known as sweet oarweed.

It is a very common member of the kelp family and is distinctive for its long, dark brown curly edged belts. It's usual a good six inches wide and sometimes over six feet long.

You can normally find it very near or below the low tide mark, as it does not like too much exposure by the tide. You can normally see them hanging vertically in the water, swaying in the current.

So, to make delicious crispy sugar kelp crisps

1. Rinse the seaweed well in fresh water
2. Hang the fronds up to dry; they don't need to be completely brittle when you cook it, but they should at least be shrivelled and leathery (yes, really).
3. Cut across into two cm strips and fry in batches in at least one cm of hot sunflower oil.
4. In a matter of seconds the strips will puff up and change colour.
5. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper.

So, there you have it…delicious sugar kelp crisps.

Bedruthan salutes The Loose Salute

2011-08-22T05:43:00.000-07:00

We are very proud of our local musical talent. The Loose Salute, a band from just up the road in Newquay, were on Dermot O'Leary's Radio 2 show this weekend.

Listen here from about 13:40.

Spare 2 minutes and Keep Cornwall Beautiful

2011-06-29T05:14:00.000-07:00

Bedruthan Steps

Have you visited Cornwall? Do you care about keeping our natural environment beautiful?

Can you spare 2 minutes, then, to do your bit to protect Cornwall's areas of outstanding natural beauty?

All we want you to do is fill in a short online survey about your trip to Cornwall.

Red Hotels Ltd, owners of Bedruthan Steps and the Scarlet hotels, is supporting sustainable tourism enterprise CoaST with its project comparing sustainable practices in national parks and protected areas in Europe. CoaST's aim is to discover how we can improve our practices here in Cornwall.

CoaST is an independent body and social enterprise based in a refurbished barn in Cornwall. CoaST consists of 3 women and 1 man who variously:

• encourage,

• inform,

• network,

• research,

• lobby,

• measure,

• persuade,

• object,

• question,

• bend ears,

• break boundaries and

• never knowingly give up.

Most of Cornwall's visitors come for the environment and visit one or more of the 12 distinctive Cornwall Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) during their stay.

We are asking you - followers and friends of Bedruthan Steps and the Scarlet hotels, and as visitors to Cornwall - to answer a few simple questions about how we can develop sustainable tourism in Cornwall's beautiful protected areas.

CoaST's short survey only takes 2 minutes of your time, and we would really appreciate it if you could complete in the survey online. The deadline is 31st July 2011.

Click here to complete the survey.

And click here to find out more about what Bedruthan Steps and the Scarlet's sustainable practices.

Click on the following links to read more about our commitment to the environment in various different guises:

Bedruthan and the Scarlet's Sustainable Travel Press Trip

Simple pleasures and Upcycling

Bedruthan wins Green Tourism Awards

Thank you so much for helping. If you have any questions, please contact:

Marja

At CoaST

01872-562057

info@coastproject.co.uk

Baby Swimming

2011-06-24T02:31:00.000-07:00

by Genevra Fletcher

Here's a lovely moment captured at Bedruthan's baby swimming class on Tuesday. Gorgeous Georgia seems to be lapping up every moment of her swimming lesson.

She, her big brother Reuben and her mum and dad all had a whale of a time with baby swim teacher Lisa Zachary of Swim Academy for Babies.

I like the authentic swimming pool steam-on-the-lens quality of these photos.

The underwater shot demonstrates in action the mammalian dive reflex (which stops a baby taking an immediate inhalation of breath when submerged in water).

I always get this baby reflex mixed up with the moro reflex - the one where a baby throws up its arms when it feels unsupported.

We are running baby swimming sessions as part of our programme of activities for Bedruthan's Young Families Month - our June long celebration of mum, dad and baby bonding!

The baby swim lessons are for Bedruthan guests only, and are for 0-5 year-olds. We run 2 classes, each for half an hour.

What's so good about swimming for young babies?

Warm water and gentle exercise can help your baby sleep and stimulate your baby’s appetite.
Babies are more relaxed in water, and it’s a fun environment for babies to develop strength, to exercise, and to explore balance and buoyancy.
Babies are well adapted to swimming and are born with a swimming reflex. When placed on their tummies in warm water, babies will move their arms and legs in a swimming motion. By encouraging this, you can help baby transfer these involuntary movements into coordinated swimming movements.
Water play is a multi-sensory activity. Babies use all of their senses to explore water: sight, sound, touch. They also engage their sense of balance and muscular movements and pressure.
Your baby’s brain is developing rapidly. When you expose your baby to water environments, your baby is more likely to have successful water experiences in the future.

More useful information about baby swimming here.

And also:

Swim Academy for Babies

www.birthlight.com

www.littledippers.co.uk

www.starfishswimming.org

www.swimbabes.co.uk

www.waterbabies.co.uk

Should Cornwall Council Tax Tourists £1 per night to say here?

2011-06-15T06:55:00.000-07:00

Should Cornwall Council Tax Tourists £1 per night to say here?

Click here for more information.

2011-06-15T06:37:00.000-07:00

Bedruthan Steps is about as beautiful as beautiful comes.

Land locked? For your very own sea view, where ever you may be at the moment - click here.

Surfboard Competition Winner!

2011-05-27T01:50:00.001-07:00

The winner of the Bedruthan Quiver Surfboard Competition is Kelvin White. Congratulations Kelvin!   The Quiver team are now busy putting the winning design on Kelvin’s board. We will be updating the website, so keep logging on to see the board’s progress as it takes shape and colour.

In second place is Claire Bugler’s design. We loved this Claire, it gave us all a good chuckle and sharing laughter is one of our favourite things here at Bedruthan.

In third place is Elle Hiller’s design. We loved your use of colour Elle, and all the imagination that went into it. Luke was especially fond of the rabbit.

And one of our absolute favourites was this design by Rose, aged 5. We loved your brilliant bold use of colour and materials. You are a great artist, Rose.

Thank you so much to everyone who took the time to create a design and enter. We really appreciate the trouble and care you went to.  

Bedruthan owner Emma Stratton and Quiver designer Luke Hart found it really had to choose the winner, as there were so many great designs. They really were all exceptional!  

We will be mounting all your designs on a surfboard to go on display at Bedruthan this summer to showcase them all.  

“Picking a winner was really hard,” said Luke. “I know all of them would look great on a surfboard.The winner of the Bedruthan Quiver Surfboard Competition is Kelvin White. Congratulations Kelvin!

  The Quiver team are now busy putting the winning design on Kelvin’s board. We will be updating the website, so keep logging on to see the board’s progress as it takes shape and colour.

We like local companies
Quiver Surfboards are based in Newquay, Cornwall, and have been in the industry for over 25 years. All Quiver Surfboards are made at the Seabase factory, where custom made performance shortboards & longboards, retro fishes, and mini-mals are famous world wide. www.quiversurfboards.co.uk
  

It's the journey, not the destination

2011-05-25T05:24:00.000-07:00

Well, in the case of Bedruthan Steps and the Scarlet hotels' Sustainable Travel press trip, the journey was as important as the destination.

We wanted to show journalists and bloggers from up country just how accessible Cornwall can be and encourage them to promote sustainable forms of travel.

And as champions of simple pleasures, we wanted to make the journey itself a part of the holiday experience, rather than something to be endured until reaching the hotels.

So what did we do?

We invited various members of her majesty's press to embark on a good old fashioned adventure. They boarded their train at Paddington at 5am - early, I grant you, but the immediate administration of hot coffee and croissants helped to ease their pain, and besides, there's something exciting about being up and about at that time.

After watching out the window as the home counties galloped by and the seeing the sea reached right up to the train tracks at Exeter, the group arrived at Bodmin Station at noon.

Waiting on the platform to meet them was Timo, of Cornwall cycling specialists Mobius Bikes, with mountain bikes for each of them.

Timo guided the bloggers and journalists along country lanes and back roads to the start of the Camel Trail at Bodmin, then along the trail itself past Camel Valley Wines.

A fudge stop helped everyone to enjoy their journey that little bit more, followed by a fish and chip lunch in Padstow. The cycling element of their sustainable journey was rewarded at 7pm with a well deserved hot tub on the cliffs outside the Scarlet.

Then a Biotravel green taxi whisked them back to Bodmin for their train back to London.

Bodmin station has rarely - if ever - seen so many bicycling bloggers and

sustainable travel journalists.

With the free, fresh wind in your, life comes without care when your biking.

Stopping for a breather.

A well deserved glass of wine wouldn't go a miss, but there is such a crime as being drunk in charge of a bicycle.

Sew fantastic: go on, try the crack cocaine of craft

2011-05-18T02:32:00.000-07:00

Bedruthan's sewing course with Poppy Treffry could transform the most needle phobic individual into a superlative stitcher.

In fact, Poppy's style of freehand machine embroidery is so addictive that TV home making guru Kirstie Allsop once described it as the 'crack cocaine of craft'.

Read on here for a fix of the ultimate textile temptation.

Knit one, pearl one at Bedruthan

2011-05-18T01:49:00.000-07:00

Never realised that knitting can be political? Read here to find out how.

Funky Doodle Do: simple pleasures and upcycling

2011-05-11T02:39:00.000-07:00

By Genevra Fletcher

Funky doodle do, mouthwatering, fabulous - these are just a few of the adjectives I hear guests and other members of the Bedruthan massif mutter as I tread the freshly carpeted corridors of the hotel.

No, they have not all run mad. They are referring to our new furniture: cheerfully-hued sofas set with jewell-coloured cushions, stylish reclaimed Ercol-style sideboards and tables.

Although I should be back at my desk, I cannot resist stopping in the Bedruthan Ballroom to sink deep into one of those perfectly plumped cushions.

Skyving I'm not. One of many wonderful things about working at Bedruthan Steps is that the hotel promotes a strong ethos of well being, known as the Bedruthan Philosophy. One strand of this philosophy, which the owners encourage all employees and guests to embrace, is the enjoyment of life's simple pleasures.

A perfectly plumped cushion must, surely, be one of life's greatest simple pleasures, so I do not feel too guilty about sinking into one of the new sofas and savouring the moment. I am, after all, living one of Bedruthan's dictums.

Beauty is another Bedruthan principle, brought to mind by The Ballroom's new sideboards and tables. They were created by uber upcycler Lucy Turner, a furniture and surface design artist from Penryn. We like supporting Cornish artists. Read more here.

Lucy specialises in transforming old pieces of furniture, in particular 50s and 60s tables and sideboards, with the clever use of laser cut laminates. Her work is the perfect complement to Bedruthan's 60s architecture and sustainable ethos. We are interested in all things sustainable, especially where tourism is concerned. Read more here.

I particularly love her sea jade sideboard.

For more information about Lucy, see her website here and take a look at her blog here.

Royal Wedding Street Party at Bedruthan

2011-04-29T07:26:00.001-07:00

Our Royal Wedding celebration - with its seagulls, pasties and cream teas - was perhaps more cliff path party than street party, situated as it was overlooking Mawgan Porth Beach and the Atlantic Ocean.

It had all the best elements of a traditional street party, though, with an added Bedruthan twist.

Bunting billowed in the gentle sea breeze. Sunlight - glinting off the waves below - dazzled us. Even the seagulls seemed suitably reverend about the occasion with the Union Jacks, fluttering overhead, keeping them at a respectful distance from the food.

Ah, the food.

Spread out over red gingham covered tables - platter after delectable platter of pasties, mixed foraged leaf salads, baked ham hock, poached salmon, Jemima Puddleduck eggs with saffron and lemon mayonnaise, English jellies and trifles, mini meringues and scones with strawberry jams, rhubarb Victoria sponges…

Guests and members of the Bedruthan team gathered together to watch the screening of the ceremony, sipping our specially mixed Bedruthan Royal Wedding tipple and waving their Union Jacks.

Once the ceremony was over, the newly weds were safely back at Buckingham Palace and the balcony kiss had taken place, we all made our way outside for our Bedruthan style street party, winding our way along a path made up of beach windbreakers. Hotel director Debbie Wakefield snipped the red ribbon and some good old fashioned British marching band music got the party started.

After the traditional British and Cornish fayre it was time for some traditional British fun - games of skittles on the lawn, tug-of-war and face painting.

The guests carried on the party while the Bedruthan team went back to work - after a sneaky peak at replays of the balcony kiss.

Easter recipe: hot cross buns

2011-04-25T01:06:00.000-07:00

Click here for Tom Herbert's Hot Cross Bun recipe

Bedruthan wins sustainable tourism award

2011-04-18T03:11:00.000-07:00

Bedruthan wins gold for its green credentials in the Enjoy England tourism awards.

Hairy Hot Wax Torment

2011-03-28T01:49:00.000-07:00

Hairy Hot Wax Torment

by Genevra Fletcher

Bedruthan's head chef Adam Clark is a man of rare qualities and rare hairiness too.

It was this hirsute quality of his that made his Comic Relief commitment to have his back waxed in public all the more valiant.

But was his demonstration of bravery not bordering on Bedlam?

You decide.

Click here to witness Adam's gallantry / insanity as he subjected himself to his hairy hot wax torment.

Adam, we salute you.

Genevra Fletcher

Spring has sprung!

2011-03-18T02:50:00.001-07:00

Tin mine near St Agnes.

Gorse bushes and a quintessential Cornish tin mine.

Man and his Man!

Common sorrel tastes like apples.

Lesser celandine, aka spring messenger!

Head chef Adam Clark enjoyed a beautiful sunny walk in St Agnes this week.

Spring has arrived in Cornwall. The landscape is beginning to burst into colour - lots of lush greens dotted with beautiful yellow flowers. Out on my walk I took in fields of daffodils, dandelions, gorse and some lovely lesser celandine. The little yellow flowers on this very common perennial herb are among the first to show in the spring. The lesser celandine is also known as the spring messenger, as it appears - without fail - in the last week of February. The flowers and leaves are edible and taste good raw in salads. Its small leaves are shaped like horseshoes or love hearts - depending on your viewpoint - and make an attractive garnish on starter dishes.

Just outside my dad’s house, I found some great patches of hairy bittercress, which is not hairy at all! Nor sharp to the taste! In fact, when young as it is at the moment hairy bittercress can be eaten whole - flower, leaf and stem - and has an excellent spicy flavour, somewhere between mustard and cress. It's lovely raw in sandwiches, great in any salad or mixed with cream cheese.

Out on my walk I found sorrel in abundance, which is very common throughout the British Isles. Sorrel has a real tang to it that reminds me of apples. Yes, it's like eating the skin on apples - quite refreshing to eat while your on a long, hot sunny walk. The leaves are great for shredding and folding into an omelette at the last moment. I have also found that a fish sorrel sauce goes very well as an accompaniment to fishcakes.

I couldn’t resist taking a photo of some bright gorse flowers growing in front of a quintessential Cornish tin mine beneath a clear blue sky. Look carefully at the photo and you will see, just above the roof, the moon still high in the sky at 2pm! Gorse flowers get quite a bit of kitchen attention at Bedruthan too. Last year, we made a great ice cream and this year we will be adding its delicate flavour - reminiscent of coconut - to other recipes too, so watch this space!

I have included for you a nice photo of the famous rock near St Agnes head called ‘Man and his Man’. If you have never done the cliff walk at St Agnes, I recommend it; the scenery is breathtaking. And hey, keep an eye out for some of the aforementioned little treasures - you might be able to collect your tea on your way home!

Well, that’s it for this week, apart from to tell you that Sous Chef Adrian has made some delicious Alexanders Vodka that you will be able to find in the bar at Bedruthan. Pop along one evening to try a Forager's Mojito and feel inspired to take a foraging walk of your own.

Food foraging around Bedruthan Steps

2011-03-14T02:20:00.001-07:00

Three cornered garlic.

Pennywort.

Early nettles.

Alexanders by the sea.

Our head chef Adam Clark was called on recently to do a spot of moonlighting. Three of our guests were keen for a food foraging walk but our usual expert wasn't able to make it.

Adam was caught on the back foot, as he had never actually done the usual Bedruthan food foraging walk before and didn't know the route.

Luckily, he had a walk of his own that he was old friends with that shows a fairly decent bounty of our local area, and becomes a lovely stroll with great views of our beautiful cliff top surroundings.

Adam set off a little worried that it was too early to show our guests anything much of interest, as it still felt a little like winter. But with a book clutched in his hands and a bit of luck on his side, he managed to put on a pretty decent tour.

They started right outside the hotel with pennywort growing freely along our stone walls; it's a common native plant of England and flowers from May to September. The leaves can be eaten in salads. Adam always says the crisp freshness has a likeness to iceberg lettuce.

Adam noticed that the first nettles have started popping up, so that next evening he put a nettle risotto with wild garlic on the menu. The garlic was picked from the hotel grounds.

He was lulled into believing spring had sprung. The sun had been bright in the sky, he had found a bounty of sea spinach and on his walk back to the hotel found some beautiful lush green Alexanders.

"I can’t wait to get them on the menu as seaside vegetables," said Adam.

"The best thing to do with these is to trim them to pan size lengths and peel with a knife as you would rhubarb. Then you boil them in salted water for about 8 minutes until completely tender, serve with fresh ground black pepper and butter. The young leaves can be used in salads.

"Well, now I know that spring is here…..almost…it’s still a bit frosty in the mornings mind, I can look forward to getting down the valley and getting into the fresh ramsons known as wild garlic."

Adam is booked into Marcus Harrison's wild food school to educate himself further later this month, and is really looking forward to it.

Berlin here we come!

2011-03-09T03:20:00.000-08:00

The Euro Star leaves every hour(ish) from London St Pancras for Paris and Brussels, so your guess is as good as ours as to why we decided that the 06.19hrs departure was the best option!

A little bleary eyed, we were delighted at the ease and speed of our check in – flash of a ticket, bags through a scanner, show of a passport, up an escalator, and 12 minutes later we were sat in large, comfy chairs with our small picnic breakfast unpacked.

We sedately changed trains at Brussels and Koln, the leg room and squishiness of the headrests increasing with each move.

At each change over we had time to stretch, buy coffee, lunch, European plug adapters (least we remembered before actually running out of battery) and for Suzie to do a spot of recycling - she just can’t help herself and actually rummaged through her bag to find something to place in the right, colour coded bin at Brussels Station.

We had bought a pack of cards, books and magazines to keep ourselves occupied, I think we read about 5 pages between us; there was too much distraction outside the window...

Our distractions:

Sunrise over the frosty south east of England.
Church spires watching protectively over surrounding houses and the French countryside.
Weak, wintery sun creating shadows in the furrows of pale green and yellow fields.
Claire, camera at the ready, waiting for something stereotypically French, such as a man wearing a beret and a string of onions cycling on his bike, to appear.
Wind turbines adding movement and height to the otherwise vast and flat landscape.
Rivers meandering, slow and steady.
The pitched roofs of so many red brick houses being covered with solar panels.
If honest – we did also watch the insides of our eye lids for a short while!
The everyday-ness of life: canal boats with curls of smoke lingering on chimney pots, tractors in far off fields being chased by clouds of birds, people in towns and villages shopping for groceries, 4 railway workers having a break with sandwiches and hot drinks, 2 boys racing bikes, cars glinting in the sun waiting at level crossings as we rush on by, small children outside their school at playtime, a paraglider dipping on the thermals above an ancient hill side monument, other passengers (on their way to work? on holiday? visiting friends?) waiting at stations we whizzed through, an old man leaning on his bike watching his dog forage in a hedge row, two women walking arm in arm whiling away the afternoon, people on their balconies drinking coffee, watching us watching the world (well, France, Belgium and Germany) go by.

We arrived in Berlin on time, feeling relaxed and like the journey had gone by quickly.

Just wish we would have included a little stop over in Brussels or Koln to add to the adventure – but we can always do that next time...

The Journey Begins...

2011-03-08T14:45:00.000-08:00

With a suitcase brimming with far too many clothes for a week and a handbag full of too many books for the journey, I felt my arms breathe a sigh of relief as my train to London came round the corner and pulled into the station.

Once settled on the train the time soon passed with views of Dawlish by the sea and the rolling countryside passing me by. There were no changes so I could comfortably sit back in my seat, cup of coffee in hand, until we arrived in Paddington.

As the train approached the ‘big city’ I felt myself wishing that the silhouette of the rooftops in the bright sunshine were the dark shadows cast by the rugged cliffs at Mawgan Porth. Then I reminded myself that the whole reason for this trip was for myself and Suzie to spread the word about two special hotels with that beautiful view of those cliffs and beach below. I was inspired with the feeling of wanting to share our not so well kept secret….it was just as well as we had to get up at 5am the next morning to get our train to Berlin.

Auf Wiedersehen Cornwall!

2011-03-04T07:42:00.000-08:00

It is my last day in the office today before embarking on the journey to Berlin next week! My mission is to go and spread the word about our two fabulous hotels, the Scarlet and Bedruthan Steps, and tell everyone what we have to offer (I think the view is going to be a good talking point!)

Luckily I am not tackling this trip alone- Suzie Newham, our Sustainability Manager otherwise known as Queen of all things green, is coming with me. Suzie is always full of great ideas and one day when I was talking to her about going to Berlin she had a eureka moment…‘Why don’t we go by train!?’

The more we thought about it the more it felt like a great plan was about to be hatched. Instead of waiting in a brightly lit airport staring at a departures board and buying expensive perfume that we didn’t need, we could be sitting listening to the steady rhythm of a train whisking it’s way through Europe whilst watching the scenery pass us by. We were sold.

We want to try and inspire some of our German visitors that travelling to us need not be a chore, it can be an adventure as well as a little kinder to our planet. Watch this space to see how the journey goes, what we see along the way and how many German phrases Suzie can teach me before we arrive in Berlin!

Claire Invest, Marketing Manager

Christabelle's Pasties Stolen by Pesky Piskies

2011-02-25T02:31:00.000-08:00

By Bedruthan Head Chef Adam Clark

Today, I received a lovely handmade card from a young guest called Christabelle. She is a member of the Bowler family who took part in our pasty-making day. Unfortunately, it seems that the Cornish piskies ran off with Christabelle’s pasties, they were that well made! And they happened to be stolen on the day that the Cornish pasty got international status; I can assure you ours were all authentic!

Well, after looking everywhere for the spot where these pesky piskies may have hidden the pasties, we decided that Christabelle and her mum should come back and help me make some more. So today, after breakfast, we had a mini pasty-making session down in Café Indigo and yet again, the pasties that Christabelle and her mum made were awesome!

I was not going to let these ones out of my sight. So I got them straight in the oven and they were lovely and warm when I delivered them to the ballroom where Christabelle’s grandparents were just about to set out on their long journey home. I am sure they enjoyed their stop off with Christabelle’s beautifully crafted pasties to keep them going.

Also you will see some bread I've made recently - move over Baker Tom - and one of the largest lemons I have ever seen. I found a tree of them in the Mediterranean dome at Eden!

Oh, and one last photo. This one was taken outside Kingsley village in Fraddon. There's a huge sign up selling my friend Tim’s mackerel baps in aid of ‘fish fight’ - Hugh Fearnley Whitingstall's Channel 4 eye-opener about fish farming. Tim, who is head chef at River Cottage Axeminister and stayed with us last October, has had a large part to play in getting fish shops across the country to put sustainable fish on their menus and it's something we care about very much here at Bedruthan too.

2011-02-11T01:47:00.000-08:00

Lady Bakes Bread in Cornwall

Billy Whiz Keeps Younger Guests Giggling

2011-01-21T01:32:00.000-08:00

Billy Whiz is one of our favourite children's entertainers here at the hotel. He and his naughty rabbit Dusty are often to be found chasing each other round the ballroom here at Bedruthan and keeping our younger guests giggling.

Watch him in action here.

Get in step with Nordic Walking

2011-01-17T04:33:00.000-08:00

For me, Nordic walking has always conjured up images of healthy, Scandinavian outdoorsy types trekking across Alpine backdrops beneath brilliant blue skies.

Take the coastal path around Mawgan Porth and there may not be a snowy mountain range in sight, but you are still likely to come across clusters of Nordic walkers - wielding their trademark poles with aplomb.

This is down to Bedruthan Steps and the Scarlet hotels, perched on the cliff top above Mawgan Porth Beach, which run free taster sessions for their guests.

These glowing individuals are not, as I once thought, strange people with poles pretending to ski without snow. Oh no, they are enjoying all the benefits of a gym workout, but in the great outdoors – and managing to carry on a conversation while they do it.

So what is the difference between Nordic walking and normal walking? Can you really Nordic walk in England, and why would you want to do it anyway?

For starters, Nordic walking is a fun, sociable, efficient and low impact way to work on your fitness or lose weight.

Kate Weaving, of Walk Fit Cornwall, runs the free sessions for the Scarlet and Bedruthan Steps. She originally got into Nordic walking after trouble with her knees ruled out running.

After reading about the sport in a magazine, she signed up for a course in London and spent three days on Hampstead Heath learning all about the technique and its benefits.

“It was really good fun, I loved it and got into the rhythm of Nordic walking really quickly,” she says. “It’s a great hobby.”

She has been a committed Nordic walker ever since and is now a qualified instructor and member of the International Nordic Walking Federation.

The biggest difference between walking and Nordic walking is that you use carbon poles to propel you along, extending your stride and using a greater percentage of your muscles than when you walk normally.

The technique is a simple enhancement of normal arm swing when walking. It also works like cross training in the gym, working your upper and lower body.

Better than the gym, though, Nordic walking takes place outside and can be as sociable as you want it to be.

“What’s so great about Nordic walking around the Scarlet and Bedruthan is the sensational views,” says Kate.

“You can’t beat them. The beach is the best surface I’ve found for teaching people the techniques. It’s a perfect terrain.

“You’ve also got coastal paths and hills to vary the ground. It’s ideal territory.”

Like normal walking, people of all fitness levels, including pregnant women, can Nordic walk, but the health benefits are much greater.

A study by the University of Brighton in East Sussex has shown that, among healthy people aged 60 and over, the amount of energy used and the heart rate level were on average 40% higher when Nordic walking compared to walking naturally*.

Individuals with differing abilities and fitness levels can all exercise in the same group allowing people to walk together and talk at the same time.

As you use your legs, arms, shoulders and chest/back muscles when Nordic walking, up to 90% of the body’s muscles are actively working**.

On average, you will, therefore, expend 20% more calories than when naturally walking at the same walking speed**.

Moreover, it can actually feel easier and less tiring Nordic walking than natural walking**. This is because, although you are using more muscles and doing more exercise, the effort is spread across the whole body.

What do you need to Nordic walk? You don’t have to buy lots of fancy or expensive equipment, just trainers or walking shoes.

Kate provides adjustable poles for her groups. Gloves are also a good idea, especially in cold weather. If you layer up in cold weather, you can remove windbreakers and sweatshirts as you warm up.

Kate takes groups of up to eight out for 45 minutes to an hour for taster sessions and, depending on your energy levels that day, will take you up the coastal path or show you some resistance exercises using the poles.

The walks are free to Scarlet and Bedruthan Steps Hotel guests – just sign up at reception. Private lessons are also available on request.

Genevra Fletcher

International Nordic Walking Federation UK

Walk Fit Cornwall

* Nordic Walking for Healthy Hearts
** Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport. 73 (3), 296-300. September 2002

Don't forget to pack your conscience!

2010-11-15T03:36:00.000-08:00

Responsible tourism - once dismissed as a little, well, drab - has ditched its old reputation as a holiday choice of dullness and self-denial and is taking off as a global trend.

Operators, destinations and industry organisations in the UK, United States, South Africa, the Gambia, India and Sri Lanka are already practicing responsible tourism and the list is growing, with offerings becoming more diverse and flexible.

“It’s a bit like when the organic food movement started and all you could get was an odd-looking carrot,” says Justin Francis, co-founder of web-based travel agent Responsible Travel. “There are choices now. Whatever you want to do, and whatever your budget, there’s nearly always an alternative holiday that has been thoughtfully created.”

Recognising the global significance of Responsible Tourism is World Travel Market (WTM), one of the world’s largest travel exhibitions. WTM has created World Responsible Tourism Day and the Responsible Tourism Awards, to be celebrated annually during November to recognise hotels, resorts and operators who conduct themselves with care and consideration.

All of us who work at Bedruthan are feeling proud this week that the hotel has been highly commended in the awards. Our special mention is in the category of Best Accommodation for the Environment. We can honestly say that, 50 years ago when the hotel opened, we were doing our utmost to operate in a way that respected and enhanced our local community and environment. We have also understood from the beginning that it is possible to create an experience for our guests that is both luxurious and sustainable. Being a responsible hotel does not mean forcing our guests to wear hair shirts and eat lentils, unless of course, they want to.

So what exactly is responsible tourism?

According to the Wikipedia, responsible tourism is tourism ‘that creates better places for people to live in, and better places to visit’.

The 2002 Cape Town Declaration on Responsible Tourism in Destinations defines responsible tourism as tourism that:

minimises negative economic, environmental and social impacts
generates greater economic benefits for local people and enhances the well being of host communities
improves working conditions and access to the industry
involves local people in decisions that affect their lives and life chances
makes positive contributions to the conservation of natural and cultural heritage embracing diversity
provides more enjoyable experiences for tourists through more meaningful connections with local people, and a greater understanding of local cultural, social and environmental issues
provides access for physically challenged people

is culturally sensitive, encourages respect between tourists and hosts, and builds local pride and confidence.

2010-10-27T02:57:00.000-07:00

Pumpkin Pie

If the thought of making pumpkin pie spooks you a bit, try our executive chef Adam Clark's easy Pumpkin Pie recipe for a healthy Halloween or Harvest celebration treat.

Ingredients

1 Medium Pumpkin or 350 ml cooked flesh
7 oz Soft Brown Sugar
4 Eggs lightly beaten
1 1/2 tsp Ground Cinnamon
1/2 tsp Grated Nutmeg
1 tsp Ground Ginger
175 ml Double Cream
3 tbsp Brandy or Cognac

Method

Bake the pumpkin in a roasting tin, flesh side down and skin side up, for 1 hour at 160 degrees.
Sieve the flesh and measure out 350 ml
Whisk sugar, eggs, spices until dissolved
Add pumpkin then cream
Stir and add brandy, then pour into a blind baked sweet pastry case
Bake for 30-35 minutes until firm

If you go down to the woods today...Chef Adam found a few surprises

2010-10-15T01:35:00.000-07:00

A sinister Yellow Stainer

Bay Boletes, Weeping Boletes, Dark Cap Cep, Slippery Jacks and Saffron Milk Caps and a few Woodland Puffballs

Field Mushrooms found on the roof of Cafe Indigo

Bay Boletes

Fly Agaric - the fairy tale mushroom

If you go down in the woods today... you're sure of a surprise or two.

Autumn tends to be all about mushrooms and our executive head chef Adam Clark has certainly found plenty on his woodland foraging trips. Adam has been keeping his eyes down on the look out for all manner of interesting fungi and found the edible, poisonous and hallucinogenic variety.

"I absolutely don’t claim to know everything there is to know about mushrooms," says Adam. "So it's been an educational experience and one we've approached with much caution. We only taste once we have had a positive identification.

"Even Michael, our food and beverage manager, has popped in on his days off with some very exciting findings.

"On Tuesday he came in with some great Shaggy Parasols that looked like drumsticks. We knew these guys, and were happy to try them, as they had been recommended to me.

"I was told to stuff these with some bacon, get them bread crumbed and fry… delicious.

"On Wednesday Michael turned up with another basket full of mushrooms, this time more sinister. They were Yellow Stainers. They look just like field mushrooms, which is why they are the single most common cause of mushroom poisoning in Britain, the stalks are slightly longer though and when broken an intense yellowing appears.

"Steer well clear of these."

Adam has found some rich pickings in the fields and woods near where he lives. He's harvested and soundly identified lots of different varieties including Bay Bolete and Weeping Bolete, Dark Cap Cep, Slippery Jacks and Saffron Milk Caps, a few Woodland Puffballs as well as a couple of Field ones.

He will serve these dried and reconstituted in a consomme soup. "By the way," he adds to anyone thinking of doing a little mushroom hunting of their own, "the Weeping Bolete and Slippery Jack have a mildly poisonous skin which peel, or it may work as a laxative on you!"

Adam has even found the famous Fly Agaric - the fairy tale mushroom with its bright red hood covered in white, moveable spots. "Beautiful, magical," he says "and not seriously poisonous, but should definitely be avoided. If you want to know why…look them up in a mushroom book. I highly recommend the River Cottage Handbook No.1 by John Wright."

"I only had one iffy moment when my dog Slinky wouldn’t return when I called him in the woods. I hauled myself through the trees and bushes only to find him barking at a huge dead badger which couldn’t of been dead for long. I did have a heart in mouth moment of what kind of body he had found!"

2010-09-27T08:40:00.000-07:00

Our executive chef Adam Clark gave a bravura performance at this year's Cornwall Food & Drink Festival.

Adam gave a cooking demo at the festival, demonstrating how to make Gunnard Steamed on a Bed of Bladderwrack with Wild Mussels, Sauce Vierge and Organic Marrow with Bacon and Herbs.

The marquee was packed with keen cooks eager to hear more about how to make the most of Cornwall's native ingredients.

Sally Jamieson, who came to Cornwall from Devon especially for the festival, said: "I loved Adam's demonstration, he was so down to earth. When he first told us what he was going to cook, I was a bit intimidated. What do you do with seaweed? But he made it all seem so easy and manageable. I am definitely going to collect some seaweed while we're here and have a go at making it."

Adam's passion for local, seasonal produce means he is often to be found wild food foraging the cliff top and shoreline below the hotel. He regularly rustles his way along hedgerows and through bushes, treetops and rock pools looking for inspiration.

His use of wild ingredients including gorse, ramsons, rock samphire, sea beet and sea vegetables lifts his menus above the usual humdrum hotel fayre.

“I’m always on the look-out, poking through hedgerows,” he says. “Nature tells you what ingredients make good bedfellows for a dish."

Adam takes enormous pride in preparing dishes using a wide range of quality Cornish produce.

Adam’s tip: “Experiment with foraged ingredients. When you are out and about, walking the dog say, open your eyes and see what’s cropping up.
“If you come across blackberries and crab apples, grab a recipe book and experiment. A blackberry and apple jelly works really well.

“Don’t peel or deseed the apples, just chop them roughly and cook them until tender. They are packed with pectin, which is great for jams and jellies.”

A wonderful wedding that didn’t cost the earth

2010-09-08T05:20:00.000-07:00

The words ‘green wedding’ can conjure up visions of a bare foot bride in a hemp sack banqueting on brown rice.

Not so at Bedruthan Steps. The hotel takes great pleasure in hosting weddings, and great pride in ensuring that sustainable does not mean drab, over-priced or lacking in luxury.

Bedruthan was witness to a beautiful wedding here last month that was as stylish, fun and eco-conscious as the couple getting married.

Chrissie and Jonno Page live in Newquay and have a quintessentially Cornish ‘how we met’ story. Jonno, a chef and surf instructor on Tolcarne Beach, asked Chrissie out after coming to her rescue when her nose came into closer contact with her board than is usually advised.

A few years later when they decided to marry, the couple knew they wanted a sustainable wedding. For Bedruthan, that meant working with them to create a celebration that reflected their personalities and respected their budget, the environment and the comfort and enjoyment of their guests.

The couple are surfers, so the environment matters to them as much as it does to us. From 100% biodegradable sheep poo paper invitations to borrowing and returning shells from the beach for their table decorations, this couple wanted to celebrate without impacting negatively on the environment.

And they did. The menu was carefully chosen to be as sustainable as possible - all our ingredients are sourced as locally as possible and in line with our responsible purchasing policy.

Chrissie’s mum’s family is French, so instead of the usual dessert, our chef surprised her with a croquembouche, a stunning French cake made of a pyramid of profiteroles.

Transport is usually the biggest factor in a wedding's carbon footprint, but our eco-hero and heroine chose the most sustainable mode of transport around. Guests staying in Newquay were ferried to and from the wedding using a Bio Travel mini bus, which meant a smaller carbon footprint and fewer cars on the road.

Chrissie said: “Where do we start to thank you?
“Our day was perfect. We had the most wonderful time.
“The venue looked beautiful, the food was simply out of this world and chef's croquembouche actually reduced me, my mum and my entire French family to tears (and then set off the next table too).
“It was magnificent.
“To the French, it is such a tradition, and they were so honoured to have the cake, but none of us were expecting something so stunning and intricate, it really made the day.
“People are still talking about the food now. It was a hugely important part of our day and chef exceeded all our expectations.”

Congratulations Chrissie and Jonno. We are so pleased your day was perfect and wish you many more perfect days together.

Bread is good for you

2010-09-03T06:22:00.000-07:00

Toast, sandwiches, bagels, naan, wraps, pitta…whichever way you butter it, bread is a splendid invention.

A slice or two contains many of the vital elements that fuel our bodies through the day, supplying B vitamins, calories, fibre, protein, iron and minerals. Knead we say more?

So keen are we on bread here at Bedruthan that we've organised a bread-making break especially for those of you who want to learn the art of leavening, kneading and fermenting.

The course is taught by Tom Hazzledine, aka Baker Tom. He started bread-making at the age of six, mixing up flour and water in the bathroom sink with his brother and baking it in the family oven. “We made a hell of a mess,” says Tom.

Now he bakes more than 200 organic loaves a day at his shop in Truro, and supplies Jamie Oliver’s 15 restaurant just down the road from us at Watergate Bay.

Tom’s been working hard to change bread’s bad wrap. His aim is to encourage people to rediscover bread in all its glorious forms and flavours, and to realise that bread can be good for you as well as delicious.

He believes industrially-made bread may be behind many of today’s wheat intolerances. “Supermarket bread has no real crust, so you don’t chew it properly,” he says. “Chewing triggers the enzymes needed to fully break down the bread in our stomachs.”

Tom makes a mean carrot, mustard and thyme bloomer, not to mention a fantastic foccacia and his Guinness and black treacle bread won the 2008 Royal Cornwall Show best new product award.

Tom is passionate about bread and loves running his master classes. “I help people produce better bread using their own oven and things they’ve probably got lying around already.

“Things like water sprays to create steam, garden tiles as pizza stones and terracotta pots instead of tins.

“Bread should be like any other food: you regularly make it yourself at home and get it from a restaurant or bakery when you don’t have time or fancy something special.”

Bedruthan’s Bread Making Break runs from the 5th to 7th of November and costs from £297 (£60 course fee).

http://www.bakertom.co.uk

2010-08-25T02:02:00.000-07:00

Bedruthan the Giant saw some strange and wonderful sights on Mawgan Porth Beach this week:

A mermaid lolling on the sand.

A moated castle, one of many new developments going up across Cornwall.

A fortress bedecked with a feathered flag.

A couple of cuddly snakes, slithering and sliding down to the sea.

Another beautiful mermaid reclining gracefully on the sand.

A gigantic one-eyed sea monster.

How! A noble-looking Red Indian.

A plump snow man with big hair.

No, Bedruthan has not been hallucinating. These marvels were created by children and their parents staying at the hotel as part of Bedruthan's weekly beach combing and family art activity.

Well done indeed to all the artists...I was staggered by your ingenuity as I strode across the bay the other day.

2010-08-06T03:39:00.000-07:00

Our Sustainability Manager Suzannah Newham loves leading expeditions of guests and staff down onto the beach below the hotel to explore the rock pools.

2010-07-19T04:21:00.001-07:00

Wild strawberries

Black mustard flowers

Cornish cherries

Cornish figs

Crab apples

Even while on holiday our chef Adam Clark has been rustling through bushes, treetops and hedgerows to see what food he can forage. He's very happy indeed with what he turned up ….

Black mustard flowers: We use these in some salads, especially with meat dishes. You can eat the young leaves, though shredding them finely is advisable as they could be a little course and overpowering. The flowers pack a very strong mustard punch and can be deceptive. When you take your first bite, the flavour starts off delicately but can come on quite strong. They are quite delicious though!

Wild strawberries: Wow! I've found not one, but three three different places where I can harvest these little beauties and says they are quite a delicacy. My dad has them growing along the fence in his driveway and I've also found them growing on some Cornish stone walls near Trevaunance Cove - a quite beautiful setting near woodland. They taste great on their own, and if you can get enough, you can make a flavoured vinegar for salads.

My first Cornish fig tree! Never seen them in this country before. They are still quite green at the mo but the leaves were very impressive and I kept one for the beach to keep me covered! Then there was a beautiful cherry tree, very colourful and inspiring. Then I had a good look at the hedgerow apples.Crab apples are great for me too as I start to think of all the jams and jellies that I will be making over the next couple of months. I’ll start with some berry ones, then will move onto apple, then rosehip. Exciting times for a cook!

Try Shakespeare’s weight loss vegetable

2010-06-24T02:24:00.000-07:00

Our head chef Adam Clark has been foraging on the cliff top outside the hotel again and this time he’s been harvesting rock samphire.

The name samphire comes ‘sampierre’ or ‘herbe de St. Pierre’, the herb of the fisherman’s saint. It can be used in salads or cooked as a vegetable.

Rich in omega-3 oils, anti-oxidants, vitamin C and minerals, rock samphire oil is popular in anti-ageing cosmetics. In traditional folk medicine, it was used to help weight loss and was a popular vegetable in Shakespeare's time. In King Lear, Shakespeare refers to the dangerous practice of collecting rock samphire from cliffs: "Half-way down / Hangs one that gathers samphire; dreadful trade!"

The flavour of rock samphire is distinctive and quite a delicacy and should be cooked to bring out the best flavour. Don't try it raw - you won't like it!

Adam said: “When I was first tried it, I have to say I was not really a fan. I found the flavour a little strange.
“That, however, did not put me off foraging some for myself.
“In search of a solution to the strange flavour problem, I found a recipe for pickling it and that seems to be the best way to deal with this plant.
“Apparently, in Mallorca rock samphire is sold in every supermarket, pickled in jars. The locals adore it and eat it for breakfast!
“Maybe we should include it as part of our Cornish breakfast.” 

The tastes of summer

2010-06-11T07:54:00.000-07:00

The taste of summer

This is our new BBQ being fired up for the first time - a little taster of what our guests have to look forward too.

Ox eye daisies

Look what we have right here on our doorstep. This photo was taken just outside the hotel. We use the leaves on salads. It makes a lovely interesting salad leaf, you can eat the closed buds, and the petals are great sprinkled over salads. They have a lovely fragrance and flavour to them. The leaves can be tough, so pick young fresh ones.

Yesterday our chef Adam got really excited while out walking with his family. Not only did he find a bountiful supply of sea purslane, he got his first glimpse of local marsh samphire, or sea asparagus.

The season is just beginning, so the purslane and samphire is still young, but there’s plenty of it, so our menus will feature them heavily over the next few weeks as one of our seashore vegetables served with different species of local best market fish.

Young plants can be eaten raw, but older ones should be cooked in boiling unsalted water. You can also fold them into an omelet, toss in salads or deep fry for a snack.

Gorse icecream, anyone?

2010-05-26T05:18:00.000-07:00

Ever wondered what gorse-flavoured icecream would taste like? We did, so we went foraging for some on the cliff overlooking Mawgan Porth beach.

While we were there picking gorse flowers and lapping up the view, we spotted a smiley face someone had drawn in the sand and that seemed to sum things up here at Bedruthan.

Gorse flowers have a unique scent and flavour that really comes through in icecream. Our chef Adam Clark dried the flowers overnight, then infused them into an icecream base. The result was a banana and coconut-like flavour. He served it with spiced pineapple tart.

Adam also found some three cornered garlic, which is different to wild garlic (Ramsons. The stalks give a lovely garlicky chive flavour and the flowers are bursting little buds of garlic just delicious on salads or, as we used them on Saturday night, to garnish our spring chickens.

It's Purslane today!

2010-05-11T02:25:00.000-07:00

This morning chef has been foraging down at the cliff path again and found some beautiful sea Purslane .

Purslane is an excellent seashore vegetable that we are really lucky to find on the cliffs around here. It is usually found growing on salt marshes below the high tide mark and especially fringing channels and pools in salt marshes.

Now we're really looking forward to our lunch! Chef's been telling us how these leaves have a very interesting flavour and are excellent either just raw through salads, or quickly blanched in boiling water then served with butter, parsley, lemon juice and seasoning. Yummy.

Another great excursion to do on your holiday!

2010-05-10T02:03:00.000-07:00

Another great tip from chef, although not food related this time! He has been back to his youth on a 2hr BMX ride!

"It was brilliant! It was an adrenalin rush. I experienced a range of terrain, most of which is off road bridleways, farm tracks, back lanes, byways and woodland single track. The circular route (between 10 and 25km) twists and turns around scenic countryside and whilst riding I got to see many traditional tin mines as we rode in and around areas such as witches woods, the disused quarries and Mars! It was called Mars because of the terrain and the water in the disused quarry is deep red!

It started over in Scorrier, near Truro and took me through all the Countryside near St.Day and Caharrick, the Bissoe trail ran nearby which is a bit like the Camel trail - handy for those that would like an easier cycle!"

The bike ride was organised with Mobius and is a great way to see some Cornish countryside. It certainly left me feeling exhilarated!

http://www.itsadventuresouthwest.co.uk/main/en/provider-15058.html

Chef's been Foraging Again

2010-05-03T07:12:00.000-07:00

We're perfectly placed here on the coast to forage the best seaside veg Cornwall has to offer. Infact I think we need to spare a thought for Paul the barman who looked up from the beach to see Chef hanging from the clif! But for the benefit of our guests, he has been returning with some fresh sea beet, ramsons (or wild garlic) and Alexander's. Amongst other dishes, guests have enjoyed an amazing Braised shin of beef with a nettle and ramson risotto. For those of you who can go yourselves, Sea beet is bang on season and can be found around the cliffs; it cooks like spinach and chef has been using it with fish and other seaside veg. Ramson's are nearing the end of their season as they are starting to flower but can still be used, like us, in risotto's, soup and as a garnish. If you find Alexanders, chef's tip is to blanch the stems for a good 10 minutes, ensuring the strong tough taste is replaced with something soft and angelic.

Pancakes stuffed with seabeet:
Large bunch of seabeet
150g Cheddar Cheese (grated)
2 peeled tomatoes
Salt & pepper

Wash the sea beet and pull the leaves from the stems. Cook for 10 minutes in a sealed pan, drain and chop. When cool, mix together with the grated cheese, salt and pepper. Peel the tomatoes and slice. Use the filling to stuff in cooked pancakes. (Make sure you wrap the mixture up well by putting the filling in the middle of the pancake and folding two facing edges over and tucking the remaining two underneath). Heat for a couple of mins each side before serving. Delicious!

2010-04-16T07:24:00.000-07:00

Our chef Adam Clark can't stop cooking even when he's left the kitchen. He spent his weekend roasting, drizzling and seasoning in a marquee in St Austell when he dished up a cookery demonstration to visitors to the local farmers market.

"It was a bit challenging," said Adam. "All I had was two burners and a table top to work with, but the crowd were really good. They came up with some good banter and asked some really good questions."

Adam's emphasis was - as ever - on local and seasonal produce. Adam foraged mussels* from Mawgan Porth beach for the event and also prepared Fresh Mackerel with Roasted Rhubarb followed by Celery Cornish Blue Cheese and Pickled Walnut Salad.

Happy Birthday to Adam, who celebrated his 41st birthday last Friday with a trip to The Ferry Boat Inn in Mawnan Smith to suprise his old chef, the magnificent Mark Hix who was guest chef at The Ferry Boat for the evening.

Mark is a renowned restaurateur and food writer who has become widely known for his pioneering role in reviving interest in British gastronomy. His unrivalled passion in sourcing and cooking with great British ingredients has inspired chefs across the country, Adam included.

"I used to work with Mark and saw in the Cornish Guardian that he was coming down," said Adam. "Mark is one of my inspirations and mentors. He's all about good, British, seasonal food, which is everything The Bedruthan Steps Hotel is about too."

*Please note that the season for foraging for mussels safely (September to April) is coming to a close.

Come cook with us

2010-04-07T05:59:00.000-07:00

Our chef Adam Clark will be roasting, drizzling and seasoning away this weekend when he dishes up a cookery demonstration at St Austell's Farmers Market.

The emphasis is on local and seasonal produce; Adam will prepare:
Fresh Mackerel with Roasted Rhubarb
Celery Cornish Blue Cheese and Pickled Walnut Salad
Pavlova with Roasted Rhubarb Fool.

Yummeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

New Year at Bedruthan

2010-01-15T07:08:00.000-08:00

New Year at Bedruthan was just like a house party - a whole load of families and couples in the hotel having a great time and joining in with lots of fun activities.

There was something for everyone to get involved in; the children especially enjoyed the puppet show, a huge game of hide and seek and most of all getting stuck into making sweets with Head Chef Adam, Mandy and Suzie. To celebrate New Year the children enjoyed a fancy dress party with a special guest appearance from the one and only Bedster Bunny and a few of his furry friends. The Newman family fedback; 'the creche/ children's club staff were just great...this has been the best New Years we've had as a family in a long time!'.

Adults enjoyed a giggle with fantastic comedian Johnny Cowling. There was high praise for our Indigo Bay restaurant from the Keys family; 'Great food, lots of choice and always served up with genuine warmth and friendliness...(Bedruthan) offers such a great family experience.'

We were pleased to see the families getting to know each other during the various activities and meal times - the Goldburn family mentioned; 'the table arrangement on New Years Eve, where we joined a table of 8, resulted in making new friends.' A huge thank you to all the Bedruthan guests and staff who made the New Year celebration such a huge success - may 2010 be your best year yet!

2009-11-23T04:17:00.000-08:00

Make sure you don't miss out on our Christmas parties! Running every Fri & Sat in December we can also offer exclusive dates in Jan aswell. An all request disco follows our sumptious 5 course meal and is great for work-dos and a special night out with mates! Prices are £30 per person and include all the trimmings! We're even offering specially reduced rate rooms for those of you wanting to make a night of it and a whopping 20% off spa treatments for that pre-party pampering we all love so much! Please go to the main website for all the details or call our events team on 01637 861227 for all the info! See you soon!

2009-09-23T03:01:00.000-07:00

Following on from the succes of Newquay Fish Festival, our chefs, Adam & Adrian are kindly sharing their recipes with us! Served with Mackerel, try this delicious pesto:

Cobnut pesto

20 shelled cobnuts
150ml local hemp oil the good oil co.
Leaves from a sprig of marjoram
15g parsley leaves
15g freshly grated Lyburn cheese (or parmesan)
½ garlic clove
A few drops of lemon juice

Put all the ingredients together and blend until smooth, season to taste.

Or this amazing relish, served with your favourite piece of fish:
Green Tomato and Lovage relish, serves 4

4 large green tomatoes
4 tbsp hemp oil
1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
1 tbsp cider vinegar
1 tbsp caster sugar
A few lovage leaves, shredded

Halve the tomatoes, squeeze out the seeds and roughly chop the flesh.
Heat the oil in a pan and gently cook the onion for 4 – 5 minutes stirring regularly, until softened.
Add the cider vinegar and sugar and simmer, stirring, for a minute.
Add the chopped tomatoes, season with salt and pepper, and continue cooking for 2 – 3 minutes, stirring regularly. Remove from the heat, stir in the lovage and leave to cool.

Enjoy!

We raised over £2600 for charity!!

2009-09-22T04:12:00.000-07:00

Thanks to all of you that took part in the Cornwall Twestival local charity night which raised a whopping amount for CHICKS (Countryside Holidays for Inner City Kids) this amount will go towards giving disadvantaged and vulnerable children the chance to enjoy a free fun-filled break in Devon or Cornwall. The charity relies entirely on donations, so are extremely thrilled with the kind support of everyone involved.

For those of you that could not join us at the event, our beach-chic themed evening was a pleasure to host and we hope to see you next time!

Local Cornish Artist Gallery @ Bedruthan Venue

2009-08-21T03:26:00.000-07:00

The evening of Thursday 20th saw the launch evening of the Bedruthan Steps Local Artist Gallery at the Venue. Many people are not aware that we have a wonderful Events and Conference Centre at Bedruthan, which in the summer we like to offer to talented local artists to show their work. We have many weddings, parties and conferences held at the Venue throughout the year which has a gorgeous view out to Mawgan Porth beach and the surrounding countryside.

This year Stuart Rowe and Sophie Edwards-East are exhibiting their work. Both artists are inspired by the dramatic and beautiful Cornish landscape which comes across in a fresh and vibrant way through their work. The launch evening was a great success enjoyed by hotel guests as well as local Cornish residents. There was a free glass of bubbly for all in the bar and canapes and a chat with the artists in the exhibition room itself. The artwork was very well received and perhaps even a few purchases made - be quick if you fancy a peek yourself as there may not be many left at the end of the exhibition!

If you haven't seen the exhibition or the Venue please feel free to drop in anytime during the day from now until September 3rd.

Cornwall Twestival Local @ Bedruthan Venue

2009-08-13T08:44:00.000-07:00

Here at Bedruthan we are just as dedicated to social media marketing as we are to supporting the local community and local charities - therefore hosting Cornwall Twestival Local 2009 gave us the perfect opportunity to combine the two and have a beach party at the same time!

Twestival is a Twitter Festival which was born out of the idea that if locations around the world could collaborate on an international scale, but work from a local level, it would have a spectacular impact. 100% of the proceeds from this event will go to a local charity and everyone involved in Twestival is a volunteer; majority are crowdsourced using Twitter. The Twestival concept aims to connect people offline at the same time as raising money for worthy causes.

As this event is at the beach side Bedruthan Venue with stunning sea views a theme of Beach Chic was decided - smart evening wear with a beach inspired twist. The event will run on 12th September from 7.30pm - midnight - there will be live music, a DJ and charity auction featuring the top prize as a two night stay at eco luxury The Scarlet Hotel.

Click here to buy tickets and join us with a hoola and cocktail on the balcony overlooking Mawgan Porth!

See the New Year in, in style at Bedruthan!

2009-08-10T05:59:00.000-07:00

Now is the time to start thinking about your plans for the New Year and to book a great stay with us! Prices starting at £545 per peson, for a 3 night stay including all the trimmings and entertainment you would expect, we have lined up everything you need and every-one's talking about it!
http://www.bedruthan.com/venue/parties/christmas-and-new-year-events

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/travel/your_say/article6724772.ece

Another beautiful day in Cornwall!

2009-06-26T07:26:00.000-07:00

Yet another beautiful day here on the North Cornish coast - see for yourself on our beach webcam.

Awards, Awards, Awards!

2009-05-19T04:12:00.000-07:00

Our Marketing Manager, Claire Invest was proud to represent The Bedruthan Steps Hotel at Cornwall's Tourism Awards last week as we were runners-up in the 'Best Website of the Year' category!

AA rating goes up

2009-04-29T03:11:00.000-07:00

We're pleased to announce that following a visit from an AA inspector, our 4 star rating has increased to 76%!

Earth Hour Candle Lit Dinner

2009-04-01T01:16:00.000-07:00

Thanks to those of you who helped make our Earth Hour Candlelit Dinner an amazing success, it was great to see all of you so happy. As promised, here is a pic of the night.

Mother's Day at Bedruthan

2009-03-10T08:02:00.000-07:00

Go on spoil her with a delicious 3 course lunch, sea view, free swim, face painting with Bedster Bunny and no washing up! Only £19.50pp, children 7-12 yrs £12.95, children younger than 6yrs £6.95. See the attachment at the bottom of the email to look at the menu and get your taste buds tingling.

Spoil her even more with a ‘Perfectly Polished’ Ocean Spa treat: a mini manicure, mini pedicure, free swim, hydro spa and afterwards homemade cake and cappuccino for just £30pp! (Available all of March) See our spa special offer section of our website for more details www.bedruthan.com/spaoffers

What are we giving up for Lent?

2009-02-23T01:28:00.000-08:00

Here are just some of the emails I received back when I asked what some of the Bedruthan team was giving up…
Kate, Marketing Manager

Michelle (Acting Manager of Children’s Clubs and red Jelly Bean fiend)
Goodness give up red jellybeans – you HAVE to be kidding!!!!!!!! Is that even possible? Can I see myself do this for the entirety of Lent?! OK lets give it a go, the Jellybean Queen is going to give up red jellybeans for Lent this year….aarrggh what have I said!?!

Lisa (Best Dancer award winner at the staff Christmas party)
I thought I might just give up my life long dream of being a comedian as not sure it's working ;0) Could I give up my car? I do have a bike! Do I want thighs like a body builder? UMM NO! So I will give up nothing but I will start dancing every day ;0) xx

Anne-Sofie (A Great Dane)
Something as trivial as stop using sugar in my coffee…it does seem to keep the ‘have to have a sweet with the coffee’ need at bay.

Claire (Horse riding enthusiast)
Trashy celeb gossip magazines! Now, Heat, Closer, Look, Reveal to name but a few! Out of the loop on celebrity fashion and gossip for 40 days…this is going to be hard!!!

Kate (Domestic Goddess)
Sweet things. Let’s face it this is never going to happen in my life time and especially after receiving the new issue of Olive magazine! How about I give up rubbish TV? Yeah that sounds better.

Emma (A very busy lady!)
Too many commitments in the diary. Oh and sarcasm!

Suzie (Green Goddess)
Late night snacking on Edam on Toast and Marmite. Currently eaten every day.

Reception
We at reception will be giving up the following for lent:
1. our new years resolutions
2. kindness toward seagulls
3. remembering other people’s birthdays
4. Jack Daniels and coke whilst at work
5. what is left of our sanity
And possibly answering marketing emails whilst busy lest we be forced to resort to breaking #4
P.S. Michelle wants you to think they are just red jellybeans but once we saw a seagull eat one and it started speaking perfect Italian. It now works over at Sands Resort. Re: #5

James (Director)
Sarcasm

Mandy (Front of House Manager)
Pav and I are going to give up chocolate. We have attempted this in previous years but with not much success (as you know how much we love chocolate). We are going to really give it a try this year and I suppose there will be not much chance of cheating whilst at work now that I have declared it to you all…

Dave (Maintenance)
Sugar and Fizzy Drinks

A blues busting bumper offer from Hotel of the Year

2008-11-05T07:04:00.000-08:00

Cornwall's Hotel of the Year 2008 is introducing Sundays @ Bedruthan for locals to add to their four star offerings over the winter season. With a new look Ocean Spa and pool, beautiful sea views and an indoor play area Bedruthan is a great place the whole family to relax and spend time together on a wintery Sunday afternoon.

Bedruthan’s hearty lunch includes either roast beef with Yorkshires and horseradish or roast chicken and homemade stuffing, both served with Bedruthan roasties and seasonal vegetables. Starters such as butternut squash soup and chicken liver parfait will be on offer and traditional desserts like orchard fruit crumble and sunken chocolate cake will complete this delicious feast.

As an added bonus Bedruthan are offering a complimentary swimming session included in the price of just £14.95 per person. As an introductory offer, however, the price for Sundays @ Bedruthan will be just £12.95 per person!* Children’s portions are available at a discounted price of £6.95 for big kids and £4.95 for the little ones. Lunch is served from 12:30-2pm.

To top it all parents have the chance to experience the new spa or simply spend quality time together while the children enjoy Bedruthan’s unrivalled childcare with a special supervised play room available in the afternoon (additional cost applies).

As well as this great new Sunday offer, Bedruthan is offering locals a Gym & Swim membership of just £35.00 a month to include use of all leisure facilities plus other benefits, or just visit for a one off for just £15.00 for adults and £5.00 for children. During winter locals receive a 20% discount off all Ocean Spa Treatments to the value for £40 and over.

Please note that bookings for lunch, children’s play and Ocean Spa treatments are essential, please call today on 01637 860555 and visit our website www.bedruthan.com for a full list of spa treatments.

Sundays @ Bedruthan - a reason to be cheerful this winter!

*until further notice

Bedruthan scores a hat trick at Cornwall Tourism Awards

2008-10-29T08:23:00.001-07:00

Bedruthan has bagged three fantastic awards at the Cornwall Tourism Awards. We are very proud to have won Gold in the Large Hotel of the Year and Sustainable Business of the Year categories. We also won the silver award in the Website of the Year category. Thank you to all those who have visited us, supported us and helped us achieve this.

The Space at Bedruthan

2008-10-29T08:20:00.000-07:00

A new room has been unveiled at Bedruthan called The Space. The room is just for adults and gives them a chance to relax, have a game of pool or poker and read some humorous books. The room is stylishy designed with contemporary furniture and amusing imagery on the walls. We hope you enjoy the room.

1st blog

2008-05-07T03:57:00.000-07:00

Welcome to our new Bedruthan blog. We are very excited to write up about what is going on here at the hotel and what may be new for guests to enjoy. Watch this space!