Geronimo Festival - food for vegetarian families

We're really excited to be attending Geronimo Festival at Tatton Park on May 29th! As a family of vegetarians, attending events can sometimes pose a problem when it comes to eating. All too often vegetarians and vegans aren't catered for, but I'm pleased to say Geronimo has got it covered.

Returning to Tatton Park over the weekend of 29th – 30th May and debuting at Harewood House from 1st – 2nd May, the Geronimo Festival features a great range of food sellers to suit every taste.

Duke’s Pizzas are made on site straight out of a 1972 Dodge Tradesman – and cooked to perfection in a traditional wood fired oven in under 2 minutes.

Poffertjesking is an authentic Dutch company who bake Dutch mini pancakes, Belgian waffles and crazy milkshakes. With toppings including Oreo, Cadbury fudge, Nutella and the classic lemon and sugar, there’s something for everyone to enjoy.

Nourish aims to provide both adults and children with a nutritious alternative to traditional fast food. With meals made fresh every day from locally sourced ingredients, Nourish’s menu lists every ingredient included in each dish, and no salt or sugar is added to any of their food. Nourish will be serving food from their brand new children’s menu at Geronimo, including  sweet potato mash with homemade chipotle beans and mozzarella, wholewheat flatbreads, fresh fruit smoothies and more.

Mezani Grill will be offering something a little different – bringing a taste of Kenyan street food to Geronimo.  This includes a lentil curry with biryani rice.

Castaway Kitchen will be serving the best in Mediterranean street food – with flatbreads filled with a range of vegetarian and vegan delights combined with a salad of tomatoes, red onion, lettuce and Tzatziki, all locally sourced.

Sno Fro is the home of authentic Hawaiian shave ice – perfect for sunny afternoons. Unlike a slushie, Sno Fro is made of finely shaved ice with an exotic choice of flavours and collected in a pretty flower cup.

Smoothie Mania will be offering a wide range of juices and smoothies with no added sugar, no syrups and 100% fruit.  Gluten free and diary free, all smoothies are made in front of you, great for your five a day.

 Not having to worry about what we're going to eat, means we'll have more time for quality family fun as we share in the exciting activities that Geronimo has on offer.

Geronimo is aimed at families with children aged between 2 and 12 years old.  Tickets are priced at £25.00 p.p. for a one-day ticket with under 2’s going free. Visit www.geronimofest.com for more information.

A Family Meal at The Harvester

If you are looking for a family friendly restaurant to take the kids for a festive treat or somewhere to grab some food after a day's Christmas shopping, then The Harvester is a great choice.  We were invited to try out the new Harvester restaurant in Southwater, Telford. We booked a table for 4.45pm on the Wednesday, so the restaurant was quite quiet with just a few other families eating an early evening meal. It's a good time to eat when you have kids to avoid the busy, dinner time rush, giving yourself time to relax. The venue itself is large and spacious and is laid out with a touch of a rustic farmhouse theme, but with some modern, quirky twists, making it really interesting and fun. 

We were greeted at the door, shown to our seats and given menus. Minutes later the waitress took our orders - using nothing but her memory to record our meal choices, which was an impressive feat!

We opted for refillable drinks and this proved a highlight of the meal!  The drinks station was a funky, touchscreen affair that allowed you to choose your drink (including branded  Pepsi, Tango and R Whites) then let you add a twist of flavouring. Strawberry, lime, vanilla and cherry flavourings were added to Pepsi Max, lemonade and orange Tango, much to the delight of the kids and to Ian who got quite a taste for Tango with a twist of strawberry.

We then collected our salad from the salad bar. There were some lovely things to choose from including black olives, silverskin pickled onions, gherkins, rice salad, pickled red cabbage and noodles alongside traditional salad items such as lettuce, cucumber, potato salad and coleslaw. Everything was well stocked and the area was clean. Next we added our choice of dressings and topped our salad with croutons, seeds and onion bits. The bread station had both brown and white rolls with a choice of butter or sunflower margarine. Again it was well stocked and clean.

Everybody enjoyed their salad, which we had while waiting for our main course. It was fresh and we enjoyed the variety. Our food arrived at our table within 15 minutes. Everything was hot and the portions were very generous. We had herb battered halloumi, chips and mushy peas served with a little bowl of tartare sauce. It was presented well. I was very pleased to see such an innovative menu option for vegetarians, offering some good, tasty comfort food. Freddy ate from the kids' menu and ended up with the default kids' vegetarian option of pasta with tomato sauce and cheese, served with a side of fries and sweetcorn, which was OK, but not as exciting or adventurous as our meals. (They do also offer soy and leek sausages on the kids' menu, but Freddy is a Quorn sausage boy and not a fan of the vegetable based ones, so that limited his options.)

When we had finished our tables were promptly cleared and we were given the menus for dessert. To be honest we were pretty full from our mains, but Freddy had an ice cream with strawberry sauce, which came in a little jar and looked really cute. Kezia opted for the lemon meringue pie with cream and raspberry coulis, which was very well presented. We all had a nibble and it was very nice. The real Cornish style dairy ice cream that they serve in the Harvester is really good and the variety of sundaes on offer is quite extensive, and includes their famous Rocky Horror,  Eton Mess or Oreo Cookies and Cream.

Overall, we were impressed with the surroundings, found the staff quite friendly and helpful and we enjoyed the food. The salad bar and unlimited drinks were both highlights, but we were also impressed with the speed of service and the size of the portions. It was nice to see several vegetarian options on the adult menu. Our mains cost £7.69 and Freddy's Bigger Appetites kids' meal was £4.99, both including unlimited salad, making it good value.

The Harvester is definitely a good venue for feeding the family. They have a festive menu on offer over the Christmas period, (with three courses from £14.99 for adults and two courses for £5.99 for the kids) perfect for a special meal out.

Harvester also have a take-away menu, which includes a box of salad from the salad bar. Perfect for those nights where you want a nice meal and a night in and don't want to cook! A breakfast menu is also available, with unlimited cooked or continental breakfast options and unlimited drinks. A nice way to start the day.

Check out your local Harvester and look at the menus online at www.harvester.co.uk.

A Veggie Vacation in Leicester

When you think of cities for a gastronomically themed UK break, I doubt that many people would think of Leicester in the first instance. However, we have just returned from a weekend in the city to celebrate Ian's birthday, enjoying the wonderful food on offer for vegetarian families like ourselves. The Veggie Vacation is one of the Stay, Play and Explore short breaks that you can enjoy in Leicester. Each break includes a hotel stay with breakfast at the Ramada Encore in the city centre, as well as some additional experiences all included in the price.

The Veggie Vacation includes a choice of three out of five experience options. You can choose between a three course meal and hot drink at Mirch Masala; a cocktail making class with two drinks each at 33 Cank Street; buffet lunch and drink at Shivalli; afternoon tea at White Peacock and a consultation and shop tour with arm massage at Lush. You can pre-book your three choices before you travel and print off your voucher online to take with you on the day.

It was great to have an all-inclusive package to look forward to, helping us to plan our weekend, knowing that most of our food was taken care of and pre-paid for. As vegetarians, it was lovely to be able to take the hassle out of eating out. All the experiences offered provide a tried and tested vegetarian option (and in some cases vegan), so we knew we could enjoy them with confidence.

Our first port of call in Leicester was the White Peacock where we had booked a vegetarian afternoon tea. The place was lovely with attentive staff and stylish decor. It was a real posh treat! We were served tea or coffee followed by a slate plate of quartered or fingered sandwiches with fillings such as brie, cucumber, egg, feta & roast pepper and grated cheese with fruity pickle. They were elegantly presented. A pair of two tiered plates of cakes followed including warm tonka bean and saffron scones with clotted cream and fruit compote, salted caramel panna cotta, strawberry tart, chocolate and parma violet cream cake, chocolate truffle and iced fruit and almond cake. There was plenty of food to go round and it was all in easy to manage portion sizes, meaning we got to try everything.

Mirch Masala is a completely vegetarian restaurant serving food from India, Mexico, Indo-China and Italy. The menu is staggeringly huge and we were utterly spoiled for choice with their huge array of starters and mains from around the world. Usually in restaurants we get to choose between two or three options at the best, so having a whole menu at our disposal was brilliant. However it took us ages to choose, but thankfully our waiter was very patient and on hand to answer our questions. We finally decided on an eclectic mix of world cuisines including Chinese dim sum, Mexican nachos, Italian lasagne and Indian curries.

The food was really very good and the portion sizes were massive. Leftovers were boxed up and returned at the end of the meal to take home for later. Mirch Masala is a real gem in the city centre for vegetarians and vegans alike, with reasonable prices, great choices, good food and excellent service.

Shivalli was our destination for our lunch on Sunday. From the outside the restaurant looks quite unassuming, but once inside it was lovely. The buffet of Southern Indian curries, rice, dosa, appetisers, popadoms and salads looked and smelled so appetising. We were shown to our table and brought drinks and a jug of water. We loved that we could select our choices from the buffet in little silver bowls and serve ourselves at the table. One pet hate of mine is having a plateful of mix and match food on my plate, so this worked so well, allowing us to savour each dish. In addition to the buffet, which had some incredible tasting veggie curries, we were also brought some freshly prepared pancakes filled with spicy potato curry and some puffy breads. Everything was divine and the attentive, friendly service made this a wonderful experience.

In addition to our fantastic food, we also enjoyed shopping in some of Leicester's quirky and independent shops (and in their big shopping centre too). It is a really nice city and there was lots going on with buskers and street performers doing their thing as well as the Sky Ride cycle event taking place. The Ramada Encore was a good place to rest our heads. The rooms were clean and well equipped with tea and coffee making, a hairdryer and big TV. The bathroom was superb with a huge walk in, wet room style shower. We had a selection of Lush samples in our room to test out too, which was a real treat.

Overall, we had a brilliant weekend. The cost of the Veggie Vacation with overnight stay, breakfast and the three experiences per person is just £129 for two adults sharing. Such a great value way to explore a new city!

We had two rooms, one for Ian and I and one for Ella and Kezia, and we also took Freddy with us, who slept in a sofa bed for a supplement of £15. (He was too young to go to the White Peacock as that is for 12's and overs, but was welcomed everywhere else. This gave us the chance to take Ian's sister, who doesn't live too far from Leicester, for an girlie afternoon tea with us, while Ian took Freddy to Costa for his lunch, so it worked perfectly for us. )

With Family Fun, Family Adventure, Heritage, City Treats, Gourmet Taste and Richard III vacations also available, there is an option to suit most people's needs.

Find out more about these exciting short breaks in Leicester at www.stayplayexplore.co.uk.

Kitchen Magic with #OXOHerbsandMore

When it comes to cooking, I have some very willing helpers in my kitchen.  My children have always been encouraged to pick up a spoon and join me for some baking or cookery in the kitchen.  I think it is a really important thing for them to learn from a young age, and they really enjoy it.

When we were challenged by OXO to take part in the OXO Herbs and More Kitchen Magician's project, my 12 year old Kizzy was happy to don the Kitchen Magician apron and wield the Kitchen Magician's Wand (aka a wooden spoon) to come up with some family meals using the OXO Herbs and More Flavour Pots to add a little magic to the recipes.

OXO Herbs & More are all about the perfect pairings of herbs and flavour reductions such as lemon and thyme, rosemary and red wine, tarragon and chive, rosemary and thyme and roast garlic and parsley, conveniently sealed into little pots for freshness, helping you to add a bit of magic to your family meals.  They make it easy to make tasty family meals and the exciting flavour combinations inspire you to try something new.  The flavour pots are extremely versatile and can be melted over vegetables, stirred into sauces or added to any favourite recipe. They transform everyday meals into something special that will become new family favourites.

Kezia  decided to make a quick and easy Quorn bolognese sauce using the OXO Herbs and More Red Wine and Rosemary flavour pots to add a rich flavour.  The recipe can also be used to make the sauce for a vegetarian lasagne.

As her Kitchen Magician's Assistant, I cut up the onions and mushrooms and supervised her as she cooked the bolognese sauce on the hob.  I'm lucky to have such a capable and willing budding chef in my kitchen, making dinner for the family!

Kezia melted the OXO Herbs and More Red Wine and Rosemary flavour pot into the dish while it was cooking, stirring the contents of one pot through the Quorn Mince.  It is such an easy way to get a perfect dose of seasoning into a dish, and Kezia was excited trying out the new product.

Quick and Easy Bolognese Recipe

1 pack of frozen Quorn Mince

olive oil to fry

1 chopped onion

2 cloves crushed garlic

5-6 sliced white mushrooms

1 carton of tomato passata

1 pot of OXO Herbs & More Red Wine and Rosemary flavour pot

Method

Fry the chopped onion and garlic until golden brown.

Add the mushrooms and Quorn Mince and cook through.

Add the carton of tomato passata.

Stir through the OXO Herbs and More flavour pot.

Simmer for 15-20 minutes. (Add a little water if needed.)

Serve with pasta.

                            

As it was Kezia's big sister Megan's birthday on Monday, she wanted to cook her favourite home cooked meal, which is a mushroom pie.  Inspired by the OXO Herbs and More range, Kezia decided to adapt the recipe to make a Garlic Mushroom Pie using a Roasted Garlic and Parsley flavour pot. The different flavoured pots allow you to add a twist to any dish, putting a new spin on an old favourite!

The Roast Garlic and Parsley added a deliciously tasty flavour to the mushroom and cream cheese filling.  It really did work exceptionally well!

The pie was served with carrots, cabbage and mashed potato.  You can use the OXO Herbs & More to season side dishes by melting over hot vegetables or adding to mashed potato - I prefer it used sparingly so the flavour is not too overpowering.  We tried some mash seasoned with Roasted Garlic and Parsley, which made a really interesting change to an everyday food.

Garlic Mushroom Pie Recipe

2 sheets of ready rolled puff pastry

olive oil to fry

300 g sliced mushrooms

1 sliced onion

1 chopped clove of garlic

75g cooked rice

150g cream cheese

1 pot OXO Herbs and More Roasted Garlic and Parsley

twist of pepper

squirt of lemon juice

milk wash

1 teaspoon marmite

Fry onion and garlic.

Stir through the flavour pot.

Add mushrooms and fry down until liquid evaporates.

Add cooked rice.

Stir through cream cheese and season with pepper and lemon juice.

Pile filling onto a sheet of pastry and spread towards edges.

Pop on second sheet and seal edges using a little brushed milk.

Glaze with milk and marmite mixed together for a savoury crust.

Cook at GM 6 for about 30 minutes.

                           


Kezia was impressed with the OXO Herbs and More Flavour Pots as they made it so very easy to season dishes with a well complemented blend of herbs and flavourings.  They definitely inspired some culinary experimentation and Kezia enjoyed thinking of ways of using the different flavours. It's nice to get kids enthusiastic about cookery and I enjoy having another pair of hands in the kitchen helping me to conjure up some memorable family meals!


I'm working with BritMums and OXO on this project and have been compensated. All opinions and editorial are my own.

Frankie and Benny's Specials Menu - Our Review

Frankie and Benny's have a new Specials Menu where diners can select two courses for £10.95 (a third course can be included for an extra £2.25)  Drinks are not included in the Specials Menu and a fizzy drink costs £2.55.  The offer is available all day Sunday to Friday.  

As a family of vegetarians, I was pleased to be see not one, but two veggie options in both the starters and the main course options.  We were looking forward to sampling them when we were sent to test out the Specials Menu!

Our closest F & B's is about 20 miles away from home in Telford.  The menu was well advertised both indoors and out, and the sound of old rock n roll songs being played over the loud speaker got us well in the mood!  We really like the layout and decor of Frankie and Benny's with its New York Italian styling.  We were greeted at the door and escorted to a comfortable booth where we were given the menus to look through.

Our orders were taken and the starters arrived very promptly.  The Cajun Blue Cheese Mushroom Crostini looked good.  A good portion of creamy mushrooms was heaped on two slices of garlic ciabatta bread.  My only criticism was that by the time it reached the table the bread under the mushrooms was really soggy.  Other than that it was a tasty and well conceived starter.

The Warm Dough Sticks with Philly Cheese Dip consisted of four large freshly baked dough sticks and a pot of spicy cheese sauce.  I really liked this starter as the dough sticks were perfectly cooked and still warm.  The cheese sauce complemented them well but you couldn't eat too much of it as it was so intensely flavoured.

For the main course, we sampled the Cajun Mushroom Pizza. The thin base was topped with a handful of spiced sauteed mushrooms, chopped red onion and tomato bruschetta mix and a drizzle of philly cheese sauce.  It was a good pizza and I enjoyed the mix of toppings.  However it was basically the same as the children's margherita pizza except with the toppings added on top.  Given that the kids' pizza comes with a dessert and a full size drink and costs just £3.95, it would be nice to add a side dish to the adult's pizza to justify the huge difference in price.

The Veggie Gnocchi Bake was a bowl of gnocchi tossed in Neapolitan tomato sauce, red onion and green chillies, topped with Mozarella and glazed in the oven.  The gnocchi itself was incredibly filling.  I feel it could have done with a bit more sauce to make it more palatable and less heavy to eat.  The tomato sauce tasted nice and the red onion was crunchy and added texture. It had hardly any cheese on top which was a shame.  It had a sprinkling rather than a topping.  It was almost a nice dish, but was just too dense and was a bit of a struggle to eat.  A higher sauce to gnocchi ratio would have definitely helped.

Our meal that consisted of the above two specials meals of two courses and two glasses of fizzy drinks cost £27.00.   We were two full for pudding but could have added a cheesecake, waffle, brownie or crumble for an extra £2.25 each, which is great value.

The service we received  was attentive, friendly, speedy and efficient.  The surroundings are attractive and well maintained and the atmosphere is fun and relaxed with the added bonus of a great soundtrack.  The food was mostly pretty good and I was glad to have some new and different vegetarian choices to choose from on the Specials Menu.

Find out more at www.frankieandbennys.com

January In Pictures

January in Pictures

It's National Vegetarian Week

Food For Thought...Veggie Shepherd's Pie

This week is National Vegetarian Week and I'm sharing one of my recipes for a Cheesey Topped Veggie Shepherd's Pie which is packed with veggies that are hidden so even the kids will love it.  When Iit comes to cooking I take a more artistic approach than a scientific one...adding extras, adjusting seasonings to taste, swapping ingredients.  I'm an 'anything-goes' cook!  But this is the gist of one of my regular meals!

Veggie Shepherd's Pie

Ingredients

2 onions
4 carrots
2 cloves garlic
2 courgettes
veggie stock cube
2 handfuls of red lentils
1 carton of tomato passata
mixed herbs
ground pepper
1 bag of Quorn Mince
1 tspn Marmite

8 peeled and chopped potatoes
veggie stock cube
grated cheese

Method

Put all the veggies into a food processor and whizz up until finely chopped. Put in saucepan and cover with cold water.  Add stock cube and lentils and bring to boil until lentils are cooked (about 20 minutes).  Add passata and seasoning and return to boil.  Add Quorn Mince and continue cooking for about 10 minutes.  If the mixture is too watery, spoon off some of the liquid that collects on top, or simply add a few teaspoons of veggie gravy granules to thicken it.

Meanwhile chop the potatoes and put into a pan of water.  Add veggie stock cube and bring to boil, cooking until tender.  Mash (adding butter and milk and pepper to taste).

Put base into oven-proof dish and dollop on mash.  Grate cheese on top and put into an oven at GM6 for about 15-20 minutes until all bubbling and brown.

It's simple, inexpensive, adaptable, nutritious and tasty!

Get creative in the kitchen and cook up something for your family for National Vegetarian Week!

Healthier Meals With Quorn

Everyone wants to give their family a healthy diet, but at the same time we still want to give our partners and children the foods they love.  With Quorn you can do both!  Cutting out the meat in your diet, needn't mean compromising on meal choice or losing out on a key source of protein, vitamins and minerals.  All you need to do is swap the meat in most recipes for Quorn.  It is not only delicious, it is a good source of essential nutrients and is low in saturated fat and has no cholesterol.  You can cook all sorts of recipes from scratch and discover new dishes, expanding your repertoire of  fabulous, tasty and healthy family favourites.  What's more, you can hardly tell the difference so there is no compromise on taste at all!  It's an easy change to make.

Whether you are a seasoned vegetarian or someone looking to cut down on meat, the Quorn website is full of recipe ideas to give you inspiration.  From family favourites such as Cottage Pie and Spaghetti Bolgnese using Quorn Mince to an exciting Risotto or Thai Green Curry using Quorn Pieces, there are plenty of suggestions for feeding your family healthier, tastier dinners.  Quorn also makes a range of ready meals, deli products and snacks giving a wide range of options for all mealtimes.

Quorn Tikka Masala

You can share your own recipes and photos of Quorn dishes on their Facebook Page and share your favourite meals to inspire other families who are trying to make the change to a healthier lifestyle.  

Thai Green Curry

  My family has been vegetarian for over 10 years.  My two youngest children have been vegetarian since they were in-utero!   Quorn products make it so easy to serve up healthy, interesting and delicious dinners for us all.  I can cook in confidence knowing my family are getting all the protein and nutrients they need.  I love the extensive range which means that  I can feed my children many traditional kids' favourites such as burgers, nuggets, sausages, meatballs and the incredibly yummy Fishless Fingers!  The mince and the pieces are so versatile that I enjoy being experimental. Our family favourite cuisine is Mexican and we love making Fajitas, Enchiladas and Tacos using Quorn products. I swear by it!

Fishless Fingers

Quorn really is a great choice and is many things to many people.

• For the food lover it is a simple way to make favourite dishes ...healthier.
• For anyone looking to reduce their meat intake Quorn means you don't need to give up choice or taste.
• For the weight watcher it drastically reduces the fat and calorie content of meals without compromising on favourite meals.
• For the healthy eater it is a cholesterol free source of protein, fibre and essential nutrients.
• For vegetarians it is a great source of protein which causes no suffering to animals.
• For the busy mum like me, it is convenient, versatile, easy to use, nutritious and delicious...who could ask for more?!

Find out more at Quorn.co.uk

Featured post in conjunction with Quorn.

My "Moment" with Rachel's and Hand-Picked Hotels

Sometimes in life, perfect pairings are created...such as Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, strawberries and cream or Brad and Angelina.  One other such perfect pairing that has recently come to my attention is the delightful union of Hand Picked Hotels and Rachel's Organic!

Culinary expert and Hand Picked Hotel's Head Chef Lucy Hyder has partnered with Rachel's as part of their "Moments" campaign.  Celebrating that moment in the day when you can relax and unwind with your favourite, luxurious Rachel's Organic product, the "Moments" campaign asks us to reflect on that special time when time stands still and we can enjoy an oasis of calm in the storm of our hectic day!

I was absolutely over the moon to be chosen to enjoy my own special moment with Rachel's and Hand Picked Hotels, when I was invited to the sumptuous 4* Buxted Park Hotel in East Sussex for an exclusive cookery and dining experience to help celebrate the partnership.

I am already a big fan of Rachel's.  I love their passion and commitment to producing gorgeous organic products in harmony with nature. Ever since reviewing a selection of Rachel's products back in March, the brand has been a firm family favourite.  The superior tasting dairy products made with love and the company ethos make Rachel's a quality brand with a big heart.

Hand Picked Hotels boast seventeen superb country house hotels throughout the UK, Scotland and Jersey, where elegant architecture and exquisite interiors blend seamlessly with modern comforts and technology and you are encouraged to kick off your shoes, feel at home and relax.  They stand at the forefront of a renaissance in fine British hospitality.  These hotels are built for pleasure and enjoyment with attentive friendly staff who really care.  They offer a fine dining  experience with emphasis on sourcing local produce where possible, creating a better quality and flavour of food made with creative passion and culinary flair.  Combining such luxury with the relaxed atmosphere of home is a perfect combination for those of us who enjoy the finer things in life without any pretensions.

It makes perfect sense that these two brands, who do so much to indulge us in blissful "me time",  should go hand in hand!  A perfect pairing indeed!

On October 5th, I drove the 4 hours down to East Sussex accompanied by my eldest daughter Megan to be guests at Buxted Park Hotel with Rachel's.  From the moment I arrived at my VIP parking space in the courtyard I knew I was in for something special.  When we were shown to the King George V Suite, our home for the night, my feelings were confirmed! This two roomed suite was fit for royalty!  Antique furnishings, original features, works of art, a marble fireplace and outstanding views of the estate make this a truly indulgent experience.  But there is no feeling of intimidation...it is relaxing, homely and comfortable.

Buxted Park Hotel

Our view of some of Buxted Park's 312 acres!

We were treated to a cocktail reception and an introductory presentation in the hotel's cinema.  From there we made our way into the kitchens to enjoy a cookery demonstration with Head Chef Lucy Hyder.  She was amazing.  A visionary who transforms simple, quality ingredients into outstanding dishes where textures and flavours combine to deliver a contemporary gourmet meal.  She was down to earth, with a passion for home cooked comfort foods and home grown, seasonal produce. Her attitude to sustainability was wholesome and honest and I loved how she spoke so passionately about food.  Lucy has created some inspiring recipes using Rachel's Organic Yogurts that she demonstrated to us.  Gourmet Cookery Schools are held at the Buxted Park Hotel where you can learn the tips of the trade needed to cook gourmet dinner party dinners at home.

Lucy Hyder (and me!)

I will be sharing a recipe from Lucy Hyder using Rachel's Organic yogurt in another blog post coming soon!

Using Rachel's Natural Yogurt on Lamb Tagine

In the evening we gathered in the Crystal Bar for exquisite canapes and champagne.  From there we made our way into the sophisticated and contemporary Dining Room where we ate from the bespoke Rachel's Menu.  We were served food matched wines throughout and were overwhelmed by the amazing dining experience that we were given.

Vegetarian Canapes

Gazpacho, Celery Sorbet and Vodka Jelly

Goat's Cheese Risotto and Cherry Tomatoes with Balsamic Glaze

Mediterranean Vegetable Pave with Chick Pea and Apricot Cassoulet

Cranberry Sorbet

Chocolate and Almond Tart with Apricot Sorbet

I can honestly say I have never enjoyed a dining experience like this in my life...it was exquisite.  The vegetarian options were inspired.  The flavours in each dish worked so well together. I was really blown away by the attention to detail, the skill and the craftsmanship involved in the production of this meal.  My compliments to the chef Lucy Hyder and her team!!

Check out the Hand Picked Hotels website for details of locations, dining experiences, events and special offers available at the seventeen locations.

Go to the Rachel's Facebook Page for a great competition...just share your moment and create your very own pot!  Here's mine!

Find out more about Rachel's on the website. Look out for the Rachel's new TV ad too!

**The experience was completely complimentary...I feel so privileged to have had my moment with Rachel's and Hand Picked Hotels! It was wonderful! **