Don't forget to pack your conscience!

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.

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

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

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

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!"

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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?

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!

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!

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

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!