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Friday, 31 January 2014 00:00

Bury's got talent

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I was invited to the West Suffolk College this week to speak to the 1st year BTEC students in the morning and the Introduction to Catering students in the afternoon.  Which meant lunch at Zest Restaurant and a tour of the kitchens in the middle.  It never ceases to amaze me of the high standards and professionalism achieved by both the students and the lecturers in the Catering and Hospitalty Faculty. Bury definitely has got talent!

Saturday, 21 December 2013 18:45

A mini break in Cambridge

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afternoontease

If you get the chance to spend a day or two in Cambridge then here is my mini food tour. Arrive in the afternoon and start with Afternoon Tease in King Street.  It is very close to the bus station in Drummer Street and as the name suggests serves tea and cake.  You can also get breakfast, brunch and lunch.  It stays open until 6pm in the week. I had a big slice of stout Christmas cake with homemade marzipan and icing. The dark molasses flavoured cake had huge juicy chunks of stem ginger and figs which made me go straight out and buy figs, because sometimes you just forget how nice they are.

pintshop

After a good long walk around the city, a little retail therapy perhaps and working up an appetite, then go for supper at Pint Shop, another new restaurant to the Cambridge scene and just off the market by the Corn Exchange. Meat, bread, beer, about 50 types of gin, 30 whiskies and a very good wine list. The bar was full but I got a glimpse of some scotch eggs and sausage rolls on the bar top as I walked through to the restaurant. I was by myself, but had a good time.  Staff are friendly and welcoming and bring a plate of bread to the table once you are seated. I had half a pint of so'hop moor ultra pale keg beer, with triple cooked smoked ox cheek, horseradish gremolata and sprouting broccoli.  The side order of mash was perfect to mop up the gravy. The puddings sounded really good and included a sticky figgy pudding, but you can only eat so many figs in a day. And so to bed..... there are loads of places to stay, look at Quality in Tourism for rated properties.

 adilia

In the morning find your way to Norfolk Street Bakery. it is an easy walk from the Grafton shopping centre. Do not leave Cambridge without visiting this delightful, bijou, Portuguese bakery.  Adilia bakes with her cousin Daniel and the window alone just calls you in.  It is bang in the middle of a residential part of town and a little terraced property.  You can get coffee to drink in or take away.  I tried salt cod pie, a meat croquette , a suckling pork rissole and cod fish cake. Yes, I am a pig, but how can you resist, and they were still warm!  I brought home a box of  cinnamon topped pastel de nata (custard tarts) to eat later.

window

 

Wednesday, 13 November 2013 15:15

Earsham Street Cafe

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We like Bungay.  This pretty little town has some great independent shops and a market every Thursday.

It also has The Earsham Street Cafe.  We were too late for lunch, but liked the idea of the savoury afternoon tea with local Shipcord cheese and homemade carrot chutney.

Sunday, 01 December 2013 00:00

Burgers in Bury

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Why have we been eating so many burgers? Suddenly everyone in Bury St Edmunds has burgers on the menu so we have been out to try some.

Benson Blakes were the first on the scene and are the established burger and cocktail bar in the town. They have won many awards ( deservedly so) for their offerings and we tried the Caprese (£7.85) a dirty great burger with sweet potato fries. Cocktails are damn good too.  Staff are very friendly and the atmosphere lively and fun, especially when a band is playing.

More sedate is Graze Kitchen and Bar, known for their small plate, informal dining and established in the town for high quality, mix and match plates. But now big plates have arrived and include a Graze burger, pickles and chips. (£9.) We drank a bottle of Chenin Blanc from South Africa which was very good and added some small plates to our late evening meal.  Service was slick, but annoyingly we were reminded throughout the meal that the kitchen closed at 10pm. 

Third up is The Picturehouse cinema in Hatter Street. They serve a build your own burger.  Choose a bun, a burger, a side and salad.(£8.80).  Note pads and pens are placed on the table for you to write, then place your order at the bar and the burger is delivered to the table. Service is cheerful but it gets a bit busy when a film is about to start, so allow plenty of time to eat first. 

Tuesday, 19 November 2013 11:48

One to watch!

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Benson Blakes in Bury St Edmunds has just taken over a country pub; not  to make it into a burger bar but for a very exciting project. The pub is owned by the local farmer who will be supplying the pub with rare breed pork (Oxford Sandy & Black) with beef, lamb, free range turkey, wild venison and local game. There will be a small holding established early next year for herbs, salads and vegetables. The farmer will also be growing wheat, barley & hops for a microbrewery that will be established in the farm. They are also setting up a smokery and doing a full range of charcuterie meats and chutneys... Real Suffolk food !!

Wednesday, 13 November 2013 15:16

Pennoyer Centre

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This multi function and award winning community building has a cafe, with enthusiastic staff and lots of homemade cakes. They tried to persuade me to have a full English breakfast, but for the sake of my arteries I settled for a capuccino.

Go upstairs to find out about the Pulham Pigs.

Wednesday, 13 November 2013 15:05

Maria's dream has come true

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Maria Crick has always wanted to run her own restaurant and now her dream has come true.  The new Cafe del Mar in Bury St Edmunds offers a tapas/meze menu with 3 dishes for £10.  At the moment it is BYO wine, allowing for a very affordable night out.

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