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!

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

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

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!

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!

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!!

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!