However even thought I’m writing the book life goes on here at the British Larder Suffolk. The weather has been good to us during the high season in comparison to last year, the snow has now only arrived and frankly we can do without the snow. It’s pretty and makes me look at life, country and county with different eyes but for business it’s pretty rubbish. Today it’s snowing outside and we have lost 40% of our bookings for this evening, it’s upsetting but we shall take it in our stride and get on with it in a true British fashion.

This has sparked my thoughts to revamp one of our favourite classics the Kedgeree. This time of the year there is a natural lack of seasonal foods and there is not much available to be creative with, changing seasons is never easy. We turn to our larder and with the delicious smoked haddock from a local smokehouse and a packet of risotto rice this delicious take on a traditional classic has emerged.

Technically it’s not a traditional kedgeree as the rice is using risotto rice instead of long grain rice and they are turned into balls and then fried, unlike the tradition, however the flavours are there, presented in a slighting different way. We serve this dish here at the British Larder as a pretty lunchtime starter or you could make this recipe at home, making the rice balls slightly bigger and serve it as a hearty lunch for two.

These small individual lemon meringue pies not only look great but we have the advantage of being able to serve them in the restaurant. We prepare them to the pastry and lemon filling stage and then on the day, when needed we then top them up with the meringue topping and bake them before each service. It keeps them fresh and easy to manage, as well as reducing wastage.

They are also perfect for our bar counter; they look great on a glass stand with a big glass dome lid perfect for that Sunday afternoon cup of tea and the taste of something sweet.

We have a perfect location for walking, especially dog walking. There are several routes that can be followed from our pub front door, one route goes past the fishing lakes, the other over the bridleway passing the golf club and then another one goes through a mini nature reserve, Bromeswell green and can be followed all the way to the river. All these walks are safe, some of them are fairly taxing as the hills can be quite steep and some parts the soft sandy soil makes walking a bit harder. All this hard work requires a pleasant reward at the end and these lemon meringue pies are just the thing for a post-energetic walk.

The beauty about lemon meringue pies is that they do not really have a season; we get lemons all year round. These individual pies are perfect for any occasion from a picnic to a sophisticated tea party.

Mulberries are fragile fruits and start to wilt and deteriorate as soon as they are picked. I had a tree in our garden in our last home before we moved here and as soon as the fruits ripened I picked them and froze them immediately to ensure that they do not get wasted in any way.

These where given to us by a very generous customer this season, the season is very short and come and go so quickly.

Our bartering system is definitely working and it’s heartwarming to get the whole community involved. We are fast approaching our first year anniversary here in Suffolk, it feels almost like a life time. We have made lots of good solid friends. The question remains “was it worth while?”…the answer is yes!

In early Spring the British Larder team took a day trip to the new Adnams distillery in Southwold. It’s been a great experience and we think the gin is rather delicious too. One can get carried away with plenty of ideas as to what to do with the gin and vodka, apart from drinking it, it also makes a great cooking companion. They use up to 16 botanicals to purify the gin which means it’s packed with fantastic aromatics and perfect for this mulberry bakewell tart.

At first I looked at them thinking oh gosh, what can I do with these boys. Let’s face it - a turnip is not the most exciting ingredient. Well then we learned that it can and will actually become rather delicious if used and cooked with a few of my favourite foodie ingredients. Mixing horseradish, Aspall Cyder, bacon, cream and turnips together with a bit of seasoning and baking it in the oven makes a rather delicious side dish. It’s rather rich, so serving and enjoying it in small quantities is advisable.

Horseradish is a perennial plant from the brassicaceae family, which includes mustard, wasabi, turnips and cabbages. Horseradish grows wild around the British Isles and if you ever make the mistake of planting it in your garden then you should be prepared to live with the consequences as it does spread, and let’s just say it becomes lively and gets everywhere…

The root itself has no aroma, however once cut or grated the enzyme sinigryn develops and produces allyl isothiocyanate, also known as mustard oil, which irritates human sinuses and eyes. I think I might be slightly addicted to horseradish as I simply cannot get enough of it, especially freshly grated raw over pan-seared mackerel. Delicious!!

A big thank you to Mr.Notcut for dropping by this load of freshly dug horseradish (yes, it comes from his garden!!). We are very privileged to have such food loving customers that want to participate in our passion for food and have a little bit of fun with us along the way. Here at the British Larder we have a bartering system where customers can bring a bit of their glut and proudly produced items such as this wonderful horseradish. We write on the black board what we require, and hey presto, the customers and friends of the British Larder drop it in for us to create delicious dishes with.

As with everything else we believe in and in line with our ethos here at the British Larder, we buy and use the best ingredients we can possibly afford and lay our hands on.

Moving to Suffolk was in one way very easy, as we knew that the produce, ingredients and suppliers are second to none. When we were first introduced to Chris Brennan it was like a breath of fresh air swept us off our feet and landed us on the bread wagon made for gods. Pump Street Bakery and its very capable baker Chris is a godsend for us. Ross and I believe that we should buy a product if it’s better than that which we can personally make, and THIS bread is definitely a product which we will never be able to make better.

With Chris’s bread used in our restaurant every day, one acquires rather a lot of leftovers. My solution is to whizz it up into breadcrumbs and then start thinking of a 101 recipes on how to use it all up. I used Chris’s bread in my Christmas puddings and even to this day I’m still convinced that it’s my secret ingredient which makes it the best Christmas pudding I ever baked. I freeze the rest of the crumbs and then when needed, we whip them out to use as and when required.

I have had this treacle tart recipe for years, and it’s been a saviour at many occasions in the past. When the breadcrumb frenzy started I was digging out this good trusty old friend of a recipe, and tadaaa! here it is.

It’s now described by our regular customers as a true delight! Well they are either talking the truth or they are  just simply polite… I think it’s perhaps both!?

My top tips:

• I recommend using a long fluted pastry tart case instead of a round one – the reason for this is that the tart cooks more evenly and it’s easier to cut and handle.
• Use fresh bread that is at least one day old, cut the crust off and use the insides only. Do not use dried breadcrumbs.
• Use the best ingredients you can possibly buy, free-range eggs and a good quality bread is highly recommended. I prefer sourdough as it give the tart that extra special taste.
• Be patient: leave the mixture to rest over night, do not over-cook the tart and leave it to cool completely before cutting and eating.

In light of this, however, I think we managed perfectly well. From quince chutney and purees to crumbles, curds and jellies, quinces featured on everything and anything from breakfast items, soups, starters, mains, desserts and also on the cheese boards. We even managed a seasonal cocktail we called a Quince Collins, using a quince vanilla puree mixed with gin and topped with soda water and plenty of ice.

We are now to the bare bones and the last tray of stored quinces. It’s almost sad and I’m slightly panicking as I’m not sure what the next glut is going to be!

Steve and I are flipping coins as to who is getting the final few. Well, as two grown ups we decided that we should share it equally, how civilised!?

I made the final batch of medlar and quince jelly with quince curd for desserts and Steve is serving his quinces up in this delicious and dare I say very festive starter.

We have already discussed that once the quinces run out we shall change over to pears.

If like us you have a glut of quinces, try these recipes:

• Medlar and Quince Jelly, Quince Curd and Garibaldi Biscuits
• Twice Baked Quince and Hazelnut Crumble with Quince Custard
• Quince Brule Tarts
• Quince Curd

It’s not as simple as counting in the in-laws and hey presto cooking for a family of six, no, it’s a bit more complicated than that. It’s true as the expression “finger in the wind” guess work. I had to guess how many turkeys we will need. I have now finally made all the Christmas puddings. After a panic I baked a few more…. I now have 102 individual Christmas puddings soaking and 24 large ones for Christmas day itself! As for the mince pie mixture I made 40kg and I hope it’s going to be enough. I have now documented all of this information and hopefully next year the calculations will be easier….I hope!

I did contemplate for a while weather or not I should put Christmas puddings and mince pies on the Christmas menus at all. I decided at first to try and be different and not to, but now the big doubt is setting in and I made it after all. Making these one bite mince pies is very time consuming but when people eat them and you can see them enjoying them, you realise that the hard work was all in the name of ‘being festive’.

Along with the Warm Ginger Spiced Cider, these little mince pies will be served slightly warm with a jar of brandy cream from the beginning of December.

I so desperately tried to be different last year and made this delicious mince pie mixture into various other mince pie delights such as Festive Power Bars and Luxury Mincemeat Biscuits. They are all good but you simply cannot beat the good old classic mince pie. Saying that, if I do have plenty of the mixture left these recipes might just come in handy after all….

Before our arrival we had the privilege to have meet with Mark and Paul Hayward from Dingley Dell Pig farm, two men on a serious mission. Their pork is welfare friendly and they rear happy pigs producing great tasting pork. We know that all too well, as the Dingley Dell Pork Belly dish is the best selling main course dish at the British Larder Suffolk to date. We are very fortunate as the pigs are reared 2 miles from us.

On our mission to meet and find Suffolk producers we came across Emmet’s of Peasenhall. It’s a beautifully presented delicatessen selling and producing the most delicious Suffolk black hams and sweet cured bacon. We visited Emmet’s the Saturday before we received the keys to the pub. It was a lovely day and a lovely discovery too. We met with Mark Thomas the owner who handed over the keys to his shed in the back yard inviting us to go and have a look how he cures his bacon and hams. Ross took the keys eagerly and I must say, you could smell the wonderful sweet marinade from outside the locked door. When Ross unlocked the shed door the most wonderful array of cured meats was lying in wait to be discovered in a marvellous Aladdin’s cave of cured pork.

Of course we bought some of the black ham and made a wonderful filling to go with warm freshly baked bread for a late afternoon snack, and also the sweet cured bacon which we used to make this delicious smoked bacon, artichoke and hens egg tart. I had a few of the cooked baby artichokes left in the fridge from the previous week, and I have to say, the combination of the smoked sweet cured bacon and the artichokes is for me a luxurious bit of foodie heaven - in fact it’s my idea of a delicacy.

Preparing artichokes is not the easiest thing to do. It has tested my patience as a chef over the years but intriguingly, it’s one of the most satisfying and gratifying jobs to do. Bizarrely, I cannot put my finger on it. It’s hard work and if your’e not careful you could easily get stabbed by the sharp spikes at the tops of the leaves, and yes, you end up with stained, sticky hands. I do not really like wearing gloves but for this task I highly recommend that one does!

As I said it’s a complicated job, so there are a few rules you must remember:

1. Work as quick as you possibly can.

2. Be organised – prepare as much as possible in advance before you make the first cut. The reason for this is because the artichokes start to oxidise as soon as you cut into them.

3. Prepare a large bowl of ice cold water with plenty of lemon juice beforehand, to submerge the artichokes in while you are preparing the rest.

4. Look after the cooked chokes, they keep well in the fridge for up to 5 days in the cooking liquid.

5. Most importantly, enjoy every single one!

I have prepared a slideshow of how to turn baby artichokes – hopefully it will make the process easier to understand and follow.

Click here to view the embedded video.

This tart makes a delicious light lunch option on our menu. It could be served either warm or at room temperature, either way it’s delicious.

Elderflower cordial has so many wonderful uses and is not only good for a refreshing elderflower drink on a hot summers day but is also perfect for delicious jellies and works a treat in sorbets and ice-creams. The flowers  could be dipped in a light tempura batter and fried until crisp to serve as a garnish for added texture.

I used the elderflower cordial to flavour this delicious crème fraîche tart and paired it up with a lovely array of strawberry treats. Its great fun, you might not have all the tools to make all the garnishing bits, but if you can give the tart a go as it’s simply wonderful.

The recipe for this tart has been in Mr.P’s little black recipe book since he began cooking in 1996. This recipe did cause us a bit of drama and distress as we had filed it’ in a safe place’. We must have  tipped the house upside down looking for it, you can imagine as I do not quite know what it looks like, all I know it’s written in pen on a small piece of paper belonging to this little black book that had lost its cover. We were searching high and low for about a week, Mr.P hardly spoke to me as I obviously got the blame for it’s disappearance. He was walking around like a bear with a sore head who had just lost his best friend. Finally we found the piece of paper and  we could actually get on with making this dish.

To top it all off, the ingredients that we had purchased to make this dish had gone off by the time we found the recipe, so back to the beginning and we started the journey again from scratch. It was definitely worth the effort as it’s delicious and well worth the time, tears, tantrums and effort. I think the lesson learned was not to store things’ in safe places’ or do not purchase your ingredients until you have located the recipe. We are now giggling over the chaos that we caused ourselves; at the time it was quite a traumatic event. Boy’s and their….not really toy’s…but …..well recipes!

This cheesecake is not a traditional recipe using cream cheese but is a mixture of mascarpone cheese and crème fraîche. I had some ingredients in the fridge and did not want them go to waste so I made a cheesecake. I made the base by mixing hobnob biscuits with a good helping of my home made Seville orange marmalade and melted butter. You might think I’m a cheat for using hobnob biscuits, perhaps I am but time was not quite on my side. I had to get it baked and cooled in daylight so I had the right conditions to take a photograph.The  reason  being is that this cheesecake would not have seen dusk as Mr.P would never be able to keep his hands off and it would have been a divorce situation.

I was right, there was only an hour between baking the cheesecake, completing the decoration, allowing it to cool and taking the photographs and eating our first slice. It was still slightly warm…… mmmmm, delicious! Tummy ache heaven! It was interesting how different yet delicious it was both warm or cold.

Mr.P has a very sweet tooth and has a special affinity for crunchy chocolate bars so when the opportunity arose to play and recreate one of his favourites he was ready and rearing to go.

Click here to view the embedded video.

This method of making honeycomb was a trick they taught us at catering college. When the teachers demonstrated this, we all went ooh, wow and aah as it’s almost like magic. I remember the vigorous bubbling hot caramel reacting with the bicarbonate of soda, it expands and froths like a caramel monster, almost like a scene out of Harry Potter. It is very dangerous though and it’s incredibly important to have all the items you need ready to hand. The most important  are a heat resistant pot rest, a wooden or heat resistant plastic spoon and a lined baking tray in which to decant the hot honeycomb. All of this must be done in close proximity to the cooker as you should not move about too much with hot caramel as it can cause serious and very painful burns. Now you are aware of all the precautions it’s time have fun and make honeycomb.

The honeycomb makes a great garnish for this baked cheesecake, the textures works well together and with the final touch of the melted chocolate it’s a dream for all any cheesecake connoisseurs.