Medjool dates evoke a few fond memories for me. My grandmother and mother both love dates; I remember how grandmother and I would sit in front of the fire on a cold winters day with nothing sweet to nibble on in the larder apart from a packet of dried dates. I remember holding them in my warm hands to soften them and then nibbling on them until I’m left with the stone in my mouth. It was sweet and meaty just like a fresh plump medjool date. The other memory I have is when I spent time in Israel working at a moshav in Hazeva near Eilat. I was working there with a few friends and we often took the bus to Eilat, en-route we’d pass large date palm plantations – gosh these palm trees were beautiful and usually covered with heavy ripe fruits ready to be harvested. These fond childhood memories of dates come back vividly, even now I’m sitting here remembering the days sitting in the air- conditioned bus en-route to Eilat viewing the beautiful date palm trees. Memories!!

The meaty rich and creamy texture of the dates compliments the duck pastrami, it gives the dish that luxurious velvety texture whereas the zesty blood orange cuts through the richness of the duck and dates. It’s a lovely combination, not only delicious but colourful enough to brighten up colder days.

This dish is one of those faithful beauties that has graced the menus of the British Larder Suffolk for a few weeks and our customers love it! I should also take the opportunity to thank Maria Elia for inspiring us to put this dish on our menu, Maria is a very good friend of ours, spending many days working with us. Her presence here meant that we actually managed to get a day off and we are both very graceful for Maria’s kind input.

The parsnip is one of those amazing vegetables packed with natural sweetness and is the perfect vegetable to grow in colder countries. They rely on the frost to develop their sweetness and flavour. It’s said that parsnips were eaten long before the discovery of potatoes, and in ancient Roman times they used to be much smaller, more the size of a baby carrot when fully grown. As the Romans traveled further north they found that the parsnips grew bigger, more in line with the size of those we see today. They are a quick grower and easy to maintain, hence the popularity of growing them amongst gardeners. I have not given it a go – perhaps I should try growing them myself next year!

Parsnips have a distinctive earthy flavour, and hence work well with wild mushrooms and woodland flavours such as truffle. Girolles are a bit expensive and could easily been substituted for chestnut mushrooms which will give a similar effect.

I added the flavour of the Shipcord cheese which has a full, long lasting taste not dissimilar from Alpine cheeses, and toasted hazelnuts compliment the richness of the cheese. This Shipcord cheese is made here in Suffolk, the parsnips grow in a field 5 miles from our restaurant and the girolles only a tad further, from Norfolk. For us it’s perfect, local, and definitely seasonal.

This dish has a lot of complex layers of taste and flavour but then that is perfect for the colder days. Who said a salad should be boring?!

Pomegranates are coming into season and butternut squashes are perfect for harvesting and cooking. This dish is perfect at this time of year and can be tossed together simply and quickly. It’s a delicious recipe to pull out of the drawer on a miserable day, and brings a real splash of colour to dull wintry weather.

Autumn and Winter is not only about hearty stews and boiling hot soups but the occasional salad served either warm or cold is a refreshing break. We regularly enjoy meals without meat or fish and this dish is that all in one nutritious meal without the meat. Saying that it’s also perfect to be served as a side dish with whole baked wild sea bass or a joint of roasted shoulder of pork.

This really is an ideal one tray wonder recipe. If you like the “family style” presentation of food then it’s one of those pretty numbers to serve up in the same roasting tray that you used to roast the squash in. It’s a great idea, looks rustic and seriously home-made, and best of all is it saves time. Less washing up is always a preferred option!

I drizzled a wonderful and tasty yoghurt dressing over this salad. I used an interesting ingredient called tahini that is mixed in with the Greek yoghurt and the zest and juice of one lemon. Tahini is sesame paste and one of the main ingredients for making hummus. You can purchase tahini from most high street or middle eastern supermarkets.

Moving to Suffolk was not a difficult decision at all. Ross and I knew that this was the county for us; a bit of the unknown but simultaneously it’s an exciting experience, and we know that there is plenty of good food and an abundance of producers around to make the British Larder Suffolk venture a success. The building and business has been challenging to say the least, and we didn’t know exactly how the local residents and local businesses would accept us into their community. Well the answer is demonstrable by the picture below! This wonderful gift of five plump teals, damsons and woodland mushrooms where brought to us by David Grimwood.

David is the owner of the The Froize Inn, Chillesford, about 6 miles from us. David is a regular visitor and became a good friend who refers to us as his ‘local staff canteen”: that in my books is an accolade and title to be proud of. This basket of teal was truly inspirational, David shot and prepared the birds himself. David is an outstanding chef with a great knowledge of game cooking and when a wonderful gift like this lands in your hands you definitely do not think twice but to cook something wonderful with it.

We are fortunate enough to have a functional and fairly pretty building situated in the most beautiful surroundings, but this building is one with plenty of problems. The kitchen to start with was a bit on the small side for what we wanted to do so we had to expand. The barn outside had to get a new roof, and was plastered inside and turned into a preparation kitchen as we simply had not enough space inside the main kitchen to cook, bake and have lots of fun. It’s a slow process but as the days go by and we continue to work hard at it we can see the improvements, and are living physically through the reasons why we moved to Suffolk in the first place.

The rewards for our hard graft are in small things such as the privilege to have your own apple, damson and pear trees. We have harvested as many of the fruits as we could, and have happily explored all the avenues of using damsons and apples on our menus throughout the Autumn months. The damson vinaigrette is one that works incredibly well with this delicious wild duck.

We have some amazing people popping by with their wares and even the staff are working hard at it. We have Zac’s family, Kaz and Wane who regularly contribute their duck eggs, wild plums and puff ball mushrooms. Steve’s mum also picked and supplied rosehips for us.

Richard and Jan are known as the “funky squash people”; they regularly drop by with the most amazing squashes, and when we needed fig leaves for the amazing fig leaf ice cream that Brett made for Monday evening’s food festival celebration dinner; they were eager to supply us with wonderful fig leaves.

There is Jeremy who brought us a large load of elderberries, and Jon the forager, who regularly brings us some marvellous looking puffball mushrooms. Jon also supplied the Douglas fir tree for the 3 Michelin starred event.

The lovely Lin has become a good friend of the British larder Suffolk. She supplies us with fantastic organic fruit, herbs and vegetables from her rather large allotment nearby.

How lucky are we?? As chefs we are certainly living the “good life”. We are spoiled for choice on produce and wild foods, and most importantly we are so lucky to have our customers and staff contributing with so much enthusiasm and pride.

I call it fun cooking. We have fun most of the time as our menu changes on a daily basis from lunch to dinner, and we have the flexibility to change and adapt as we receive the wonderful produce.

Then again we must also point out that we do not just take anything from anyone. We are selective and if it’s not looking “safe” we simply say no!

It’s been three weeks since we have opened the doors to the British Larder Suffolk. It’s been hard work and I relied heavily on preparing dishes like this herring escabeche to help me through very busy days. The beauty is that you can make the salad early in the morning or even the day before, and when it comes to serving the dish it’s perfectly pickled. I like the simplicity and pureness of this recipe, it’s not at all complicated. I serve this herring escabeche salad with pickled green beans and plenty of buttered brown bread, and the pickled vegetables are just as delicious.

Herring is a very bony fish and it’s not easy to remove all the bones, however the richness of the oily flesh is perfect for pickling. Alternatively, you can use sardines or mackerel - I buy the really small sardines and butterfly them, but again you end up with a bone problem.

The pickled green beans is a recipe from my mother. When she visited last summer she gave me this recipe from my grandmother’s recipe book and I have been making it regularly throughout the summer. It not only adds the perfect crunch to this dish but also makes a fantastic partnership with a good bit of cheddar on malted brown bread.

English cheeses were never  looked at twice in my previous workplaces, mainly because these were establishments and restaurants specialising in modern French cuisine. It was not fashionable to serve English produce back then. It’s only recently, shall we say the past five/ six years, that British produce enjoys the focus and centre of attention. I’m very privileged to be in the thick of things at the minute and enjoy the best of British produce. Using produce, in season, is enjoying a Renaissance and I almost feel closer and even more proud to be British.

Laverstoke Park has a wonderful herd of water buffalo’s which enable them to make English buffalo mozzarella. I found the milk on sale in Waitrose, with the knowledge that they make their own mozzarella I was inspired to make my own fresh buffalo curd. It’s actually easy, all you need is a bit of time and an understanding of the processes. For me at first it was a bit of trial and error, but once mastered I got the hang of it and the second time I made it like a pro. It has the most amazing fresh taste. When I make  curd cheese and it’s ready to eat I put it into a clean sterilized jar, place fresh thyme leaves and coarse sea salt on the top and cover the cheese surface with good extra virgin olive oil. This locks in the freshness  and helps to retain the quality for up to 5 days in the fridge. I have now made this curd cheese with buffalo, goat and cows milk, each has their own characteristic and are all equally delicious.

I remember the first time I made  curd cheese and served it with warm fresh toasted sour dough bread for lunch, Mr.P’s original reaction was ‘no thanks I will only have ham and mustard on my toast’. Well the ugly face he pulled did not go down well with me. I sat down to enjoy the cheese and after a few moments he reconsidered and asked sheepishly if he could try some of my curd cheese. Well the rest is history as he polished off the jar of fresh curd cheese  and I did not get a second look in.

I get seriously excited when I discover a local producer making, growing or rearing something truly British. It’s influenced me to such an extent that I keep my own small kitchen garden. Doing so, taught me so much about food, I have this new found respect for how long it takes to grow fruit and vegetables. To my shame I do not know how most of the fruit and vegetables grow and what the plants look like. As a chef  it’s delivered in a box, perhaps wrapped in plastic bags and with the outer leaves  removed. The natural state of that item has been completely stripped away and it leaves you  uninformed on the plants lifecycle.

It was only after I planted kolhrabi did I realise that it’s not a root vegetable but it grows on top of the soil as the other members of the brassica family. I was also unaware of the wonderful flowers that most of the plants produce. As an ignorant young chef we used to give the suppliers a hard time when the produce arrived with flowers on, we used to say it meant the vegetables or herbs were old and past-it, now that is definitely ignorant!

I now love the flowering edible plants and cannot get enough of  them. These baby leaves were grown in a pot where I had sown my lettuce leaves. They are amazing and we enjoy dissecting them, looking at their perfect shapes and most importantly the magnificent colours. I never realised how easy it is to grow salad, all you need is soil in a shallow container, sow your seeds, water  regularly and wait, salad growing done! Simple!

As you know by now I’m not quite normal and find it hard to do things the standard way, there has to be a twist somewhere along the line. Perhaps I’m putting too much pressure on myself to be slightly different or perhaps it just comes naturally.

Mr.P and I enjoy eating a good chicken Caesar salad as it is satisfying and has lots of different textures and does not leave you feeling heavy and bloated.

I made this particular dish into a portion big enough for a main coarse but if you wish you can  make a smaller amount and serve  as a starter.

It’s not always about the gimmicks and twists  that make a great dish but it’s also about good quality ingredients that are to be enjoyed when in season. These baby gem lettuces are from my small kitchen garden and this year I had better success as I introduced kolhrabi, a member of the brassicas. This was planted next to the lettuces and this helped to minimise  the pest problems which allowed us to enjoy a lovely harvest of baby gems. The chicken is from a farm near Sutton Hoo in Suffolk, I go specially to the Snape farmers market to buy these chickens as they are plump and delicious.

These Sutton Hoo Chickens are very big, the average weight is 2kg. This is enough to make stock from the bones and at least two meals for the two of us from the legs and breast or alternatively its sufficient for four people. I roasted the legs, flaked the meat down and then made the small pots of chicken. It’s fun and adds that extra texture and enjoyment into eating the dish. The Caesar dressing and Parmesan cheese also found itself revamped into a mousse textured foam, I served that in a small glass jar on the plate.

It’s great fun, gets a wow at the dinner table and would also make a great dish to take along on a picnic.

At first I thought it would be a quick cook like the wonder couscous, where you add hot water  and it is ready in a flash, but no you must boil it as you do with pasta. I’m not sure if I am disappointed as the preparation is not snappy, however cooking it for 15 – 20 minutes is not that time consuming and it gives me enough time to prepare the rest of the ingredients and make a delicious vinaigrette.

If you cook quinoa it’s got a fairly pale and un-appetising look so I add a teaspoon of turmeric to the boiling water to stain the quinoa a bright yellow colour, perfect for summer.

What is Quinoa? It originated from South America and from the goosefoot specie, a grain like crop mainly grown for its seeds. Quinoa is closely related to beetroot and spinach and has great nutritional value and can be eaten either hot or cold in salads or as part of a main meal or in soups. It’s also makes a delicious high power breakfast mixed with honey, almonds and berries.

This salad is one high powered meal suitable for lunch time, packed with the high protein quinoa, chickpeas and haricot beans along with the crisp celery and peppers. Quinoa has a nutty taste and for that reason I added this lemon tahini vinaigrette. The lemon lifts the nutty taste and the tahini gives the salad that roasted sesame flavour.

This salad is one of those that matures well, I like to make a large quantity and take some to work the following day. It  goes a long way and is perfect for large number of people at a BBQ or a picnic.

Granddad only knew farming and  how to drive a bus, but due to severe diabetes he had to give them up and consequently the illness took him away from us. He was a firm man with very strong morals and beliefs, however he had a heart made of one giant marshmallow.

They had a half an acre of land to the side of the house and granddad tried to grow nearly everything. From paw paws, mangoes, avocados, pecan nuts, tomatoes, cucumbers, plums, peaches, physalis also know as Cape Gooseberries, he tried them all. The house bordered onto a river and amazingly there was enough space on the bank for nasturtiums to grow in abundance. I remember visiting during the summer school holidays and picking these pretty little flowers and putting them in a vase for my gran.

These are the fantastic memories I have of my grandparents, amazingly one does not realise how fortunate you are when your actually living the dream but how invaluable those memories are today.

What is Borage? Borage is a edible plant and both it’s flowers and leaves are enjoyed throughout Europe and the Mediterranean. The flowers are traditionally used in Pimms drinks as it has a ‘cucumber’ taste which can  be substituted with fresh cucumber and mint. The leaves are commonly used in Germany for making a green sauce. In Liguria ,the northern region of Italy, its  used to fill raviolis. Borage is also known for it’s medicinal and cosmetic uses.

I have a bit of everything in my garden and the main aim is to have a large percentage of plants that are edible or have edible fruits. It’s not all successful, however gardening gives me great pleasure. I was suprised when the horseradish re-appeared this year, it’s going wild alongside the lemon balm under the olive tree, which  also bore fruits last year. I planted the borage and nastirtium into pots to liven the patio up and to disguise the very ordinary wooden panel fence.

Last year I also grew carrots but this year I simply ran out of time and did not get round to sow the seeds. So I have to do with carrots from our local farmers market. This dish is made up of two elements, the recipe is mainly about the pickled carrots and the use of the borage flowers and not so much about the gravalax, so I would not be offended at the slightest if you  substituted the gravalax  with smoked salmon.

I’m a pickling and jam making fan, so I  pop anything into a jar which is good for me to keep. These pickled carrots are great, the chillies provide  a bite, which means it’s spicy but nice. It keeps for a long time and comes in ever so handy when you are short of time and need to rustle up an amazing lunch in minutes. I even used the pickled carrots to spice up a stir fry which is unusual but it adds that absolute unexpected and exciting element to the dish.

My motto is ‘make the most of the season’…… happy pickling and jam making!

A few of my other favourtie pickled recipes:

• Sweet & Sour Pickled Green Beans
• Star Anise and Cinnamon Pickled Beetroot
• Cauliflower and Shallot Piccalilli