My days off are usually filled with mountains of washing, cleaning our seemingly impossible to clean house (which we are currently renovating), and trying to catch up on blogging!
But not on a recent day off in September.
I was thrilled to get a space on the Foodies100 blogger day at the acclaimed River Cottage based in Axminster.
'Foodie experiences' are becoming increasingly popular. And I think they're a great idea, I love the concept of spending a day immersed in something you really enjoy. For all of us attending that day it included food, and blogging. Perfect!
It started with a car journey late on the Tuesday with fellow blogger (and sister in law) Munchies and Munchkins. To break up the long car journey down to Axminster, we stayed in a lovely BnB not far from River Cottage the night before the event.
After a short, well sign-posted drive the next morning, we arrived at River Cottage full of excitement for what lay ahead. This was only enhanced when, upon arrival, we were collected by a rather large tractor, which transported us down to the cottage itself.
The fires were lit in the Yurt where we congregated to eagerly find out the agenda for the event, and obtain the all important WiFi password! (Did I mention we were ALL bloggers?!).
Breakfast was omelette and palmiers, although I was too busy getting to know people and missed out on them - they didn't last long!
The day was planned brilliantly between River Cottage and Foodies100 with 3 sessions, arranged into smaller groups, so we could make the most of them.
These were:
- Photography workshop with CaptureByLucy
- Cookery session with Group Head Chef Gill Meller
- Tour of the grounds with assistant gardener Jim Budden.
We also had a beautiful two course lunch prepared by the team at River Cottage and introduced by the lovely Head Chef Gelf Alderson.
First up for our group was the tour with Jim Budden.
From first meeting Jim you could tell how passionate he was about maintaining the gardens at River Cottage, and the work they were doing.
I picked up so many great tips during the tour!
Jim told us that the gardens exclusively supplied the kitchen at River Cottage, and that it was all organic.
He explained the importance of crop rotation and composting to make sure the grounds were perfectly balanced nutritionally for whatever crop they were holing that year, in order to get the most out of it.
We learnt how getting crop rotation right can help reduce pests, and also boost nutrients. For example beans are nitrogen fixing, so are good for boosting the soil for the next crop. The brassicas are hungry and tend to deplete the nutrients, so are good to put in after the beans. And then any miscellaneous vegetables which aren't too fussy can go next.
He explained the use of 'good weeds' along the borders, which not only provides gorgeous edible flowers (which we used later in the day with Gill Meller), but also act as 'companion plants' to attract bugs away from the vegetables.
After touring the garden, we explored the rest of the land, which is all pasture.
The grounds surrounding the farm are quite steep and stony, so no good for ploughing. However this lends itself to mushrooms, wildflowers and boosting natural wildlife. In fact they cut the hay later than average to help encourage wildflowers.
This ethical focus is a benefit of not being a commercial farm.
All the produce is aimed at supporting the natural wildlife and for use in the kitchens. Although there are some sneaky practices needed in order to hide some of the herbs from the chefs! The further from the kitchens and more hidden they are the better chance they have of not being used up too quickly!
Next up was the cookery class with Gill Meller. And for me, something completely new – home made butter.
Which turned out to be incredibly easy to make; you should definitely give it a try!
However this was no ordinary butter.
They let us loose in the previously mentioned gardens to forage for edible wildflowers to decorate our creations. Nasternums proved the most popular, I also opted for some chive and garlic flowers to give a bit of flavour.
The final step in the process was rolling our flowers into pretty butter roulades. Definitely a great idea to try at home for a dinner party or even as a gift.
We also got to make a delicious soda bread using foraged blackberries. We added apples, goats cheese, honey, sage and fennel. It was sweet and spicy and the kitchens smelled gorgeous.
All this foraging and bread and butter making was hungry work.
Luckily, lunchtime at River Cottage was a massive hit. I didn't see a plate go back which wasn't empty.
One of their cattle had recently been sent to slaughter, after being reared for 2 1/2 years. It had then been hung for 5 weeks before being served to us in delicious wholemeal ravioli, with a rich ragu using their organic tomatoes, courgettes and beans.
They had also turned a glut of basil into pesto, which we had as a dollop on the top along with rocket and dill.
And it didn't stop there!
We also had amazing fresh bread and deliciously buttery and salty corn on the cob.
Dessert was a fennel meringue served with damsons, and coffee ice-cream with orange infused salted caramel. So Good!
Hungry no more, it was time for the final session with Lucy from CapturebyLucy.
Lucy runs an incredibly successful blog, is a queen of instagram and is now also a professional photographer with contracts with magazines, cookbooks and more.
The wonderful thing about Lucy's session is that you felt like you were asking advice from a friend, she was warm, friendly and natural.
The perfect host for a photography group.
Topics covered included the importance of inspiration, and keeping up with trends and news in the photography world. Also, composition and how to get the best angle.
Lucy made you think about WHY you were taking the photo and HOW it was going to be used. There's more to it than taking arbitrary photos of your food.
I couldn't wait to put all this brilliant advice into practice.
With a full stomach and a head full of ideas and inspiration, the day drew to a close with one last mingle and networking break (where quite a few of us bought their freshly packed honey).
The day ended in the same way it started – with a ride on the big tractor!
So, the big question, would I recommend a day at River Cottage?
As you can probably tell from my post – the answer is a definite YES!
The setting and layout are perfect for group sessions, but I can also imagine it would make a nice 'experience gift'. The quality of the food served and the advice and inspiration from the staff were top notch.
Having got married recently I also think it would make a beautiful wedding venue and you would be hard pressed to beat the catering!
