Having just finished a collaborative cook book, Cornwall's latest generation of chefs were brought together at a local beach where David Griffen whipped up a few of their recipes
• Why not invite us to your get-together
*What was the occasion?*
I've been working on a big cook book project with some chefs in the south-west and it's finally come together, and I wanted to get everyone together to say thank you for all the hard work.
Watergate Bay is my favourite beach in Cornwall; it's so expansive and it really reminds me of the beaches where I grew up in Australia, so despite the cold I thought it'd be fun to make a bonfire and have a few beers down there. Six of the chefs who helped with the project came along, as well as a few friends and my wife and kids. We spent most of the afternoon there and only started packing up when the water was lapping at the legs of our deckchairs.
*What was on the menu?*
I decided to cook three recipes from the cook book: Neil Haydock's venison stew, Nathan Outlaw and Pete Biggs' Doom Bar bread, and Paul Ainsworth's sticky Cornish pudding with a caramel sauce.
Once we'd built the bonfire, I started making the stew – I'd cooked it with my sons on an open campfire in the woods opposite my house a few weeks ago, so I thought it would work on the beach, too. I made the beer bread the night before, then warmed it up on the fire just before serving. We were drinking lots of the same beer from Sharp's brewery so it worked out well.
The pudding is such a simple recipe and a real winner: people go nuts for it. I had to make that in advance, but luckily Watergate Bay's Beach Hut restaurant let me keep it warm in their oven. It was a really chilly day so I'm glad they did. Beach picnics involve a lot of carrying stuff back and forth, so it's always best to invite plenty of people, then there's someone on hand to help you!
*What did you talk about?*
After we lit the fire, the tide started coming in pretty fast, so we were all getting a bit distracted by the water slowly creeping towards us! We spoke a lot about the book, and how the best part was working on a project that really reflected the collaborative nature of having a business in Cornwall.
It's not like other parts of the UK; if you work in the same industry as someone else there's a sense of inclusiveness, as opposed to competition, and that's a much more positive way of doing things.
The initial idea behind the book was to highlight how much is happening in the south-west with food. I wanted to create a snapshot of where we are now, and how successful the past few years have been for food in Cornwall.
The West Country Cookbook (Diligence), davidgriffen.co.uk
*Venison stew*
Deer is a truly versatile, rich meat that's also low in cholesterol. You can also adapt this recipe with stewing beef. Instructions below are for an oven, but it also works well when cooked over a campfire.
Serves 6
*75ml vegetable oil*
*4 carrots, peeled and diced*
*3 medium onions, peeled and diced*
*1kg venison haunch, diced*
*250ml red wine*
*500ml beef stock*
*2 bay leaves*
*2 tbsp flour*
*1* Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4. Heat the oil in a large ovenproof saucepan, then add the carrots and onions and cook for around 2-3 minutes.
*2* Add the venison and raise the heat to colour the meat lightly.
*3* Add the red wine, stock, bay leaves and some seasoning to the saucepan, then stir the flour into a stew and bring to a simmer.
*4* Cover the saucepan with a lid and cook for at least 2 hours, until the meat is tender.
*Sticky Cornish fudge pudding with clotted cream*
This dish is really helped along with generous amounts of good-quality Cornish fudge, and a generous scoop of cold clotted cream on top of the warm pudding.
Serves 4
*50g unsalted butter*
*165g soft dark brown sugar*
*2 eggs*
*300ml water*
*175g stoned dates*
*1 tsp bicarbonate of soda*
*175g self-raising flour*
*250g good-quality Cornish fudge, diced*
For the sauce
*100g soft, light brown sugar*
*100g salted butter*
*150ml double cream*
*1* Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4. In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar together until the mixture turns light and creamy. Add the eggs slowly, beating again after each egg.
*2* Put the water and dates in a saucepan, and bring to the boil. Add the bicarbonate of soda. Use a stick blender or a food processor to blend, then combine with the butter mixture.
*3* Gently fold in the flour, mixing well, then add half the diced fudge.
*4* Butter a deep baking tray then line with greaseproof paper. Pour the mix into the tray then bake for 35-40 minutes: it should be just firm to the touch.
*5* To make the sauce, put all the ingredients into a pan and heat gently until all the sugar has dissolved. Simmer until it turns a beautiful golden colour.
*6* To serve, pour a little of the sauce over each piece of pudding, then scatter with the remaining fudge pieces and a spoonful of Cornish clotted cream.
*Invite us to your get-together...*
Would you like to feature on this page? Just email
cook@theguardian.com with "get-togethers" in the subject line and tell us what you've got planned.
For each get-together we feature, the host will receive a selection of delicious Hotel Chocolat chocolates. Reported by guardian.co.uk 13 hours ago.
• Why not invite us to your get-together
*What was the occasion?*
I've been working on a big cook book project with some chefs in the south-west and it's finally come together, and I wanted to get everyone together to say thank you for all the hard work.
Watergate Bay is my favourite beach in Cornwall; it's so expansive and it really reminds me of the beaches where I grew up in Australia, so despite the cold I thought it'd be fun to make a bonfire and have a few beers down there. Six of the chefs who helped with the project came along, as well as a few friends and my wife and kids. We spent most of the afternoon there and only started packing up when the water was lapping at the legs of our deckchairs.
*What was on the menu?*
I decided to cook three recipes from the cook book: Neil Haydock's venison stew, Nathan Outlaw and Pete Biggs' Doom Bar bread, and Paul Ainsworth's sticky Cornish pudding with a caramel sauce.
Once we'd built the bonfire, I started making the stew – I'd cooked it with my sons on an open campfire in the woods opposite my house a few weeks ago, so I thought it would work on the beach, too. I made the beer bread the night before, then warmed it up on the fire just before serving. We were drinking lots of the same beer from Sharp's brewery so it worked out well.
The pudding is such a simple recipe and a real winner: people go nuts for it. I had to make that in advance, but luckily Watergate Bay's Beach Hut restaurant let me keep it warm in their oven. It was a really chilly day so I'm glad they did. Beach picnics involve a lot of carrying stuff back and forth, so it's always best to invite plenty of people, then there's someone on hand to help you!
*What did you talk about?*
After we lit the fire, the tide started coming in pretty fast, so we were all getting a bit distracted by the water slowly creeping towards us! We spoke a lot about the book, and how the best part was working on a project that really reflected the collaborative nature of having a business in Cornwall.
It's not like other parts of the UK; if you work in the same industry as someone else there's a sense of inclusiveness, as opposed to competition, and that's a much more positive way of doing things.
The initial idea behind the book was to highlight how much is happening in the south-west with food. I wanted to create a snapshot of where we are now, and how successful the past few years have been for food in Cornwall.
The West Country Cookbook (Diligence), davidgriffen.co.uk
*Venison stew*
Deer is a truly versatile, rich meat that's also low in cholesterol. You can also adapt this recipe with stewing beef. Instructions below are for an oven, but it also works well when cooked over a campfire.
Serves 6
*75ml vegetable oil*
*4 carrots, peeled and diced*
*3 medium onions, peeled and diced*
*1kg venison haunch, diced*
*250ml red wine*
*500ml beef stock*
*2 bay leaves*
*2 tbsp flour*
*1* Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4. Heat the oil in a large ovenproof saucepan, then add the carrots and onions and cook for around 2-3 minutes.
*2* Add the venison and raise the heat to colour the meat lightly.
*3* Add the red wine, stock, bay leaves and some seasoning to the saucepan, then stir the flour into a stew and bring to a simmer.
*4* Cover the saucepan with a lid and cook for at least 2 hours, until the meat is tender.
*Sticky Cornish fudge pudding with clotted cream*
This dish is really helped along with generous amounts of good-quality Cornish fudge, and a generous scoop of cold clotted cream on top of the warm pudding.
Serves 4
*50g unsalted butter*
*165g soft dark brown sugar*
*2 eggs*
*300ml water*
*175g stoned dates*
*1 tsp bicarbonate of soda*
*175g self-raising flour*
*250g good-quality Cornish fudge, diced*
For the sauce
*100g soft, light brown sugar*
*100g salted butter*
*150ml double cream*
*1* Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4. In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar together until the mixture turns light and creamy. Add the eggs slowly, beating again after each egg.
*2* Put the water and dates in a saucepan, and bring to the boil. Add the bicarbonate of soda. Use a stick blender or a food processor to blend, then combine with the butter mixture.
*3* Gently fold in the flour, mixing well, then add half the diced fudge.
*4* Butter a deep baking tray then line with greaseproof paper. Pour the mix into the tray then bake for 35-40 minutes: it should be just firm to the touch.
*5* To make the sauce, put all the ingredients into a pan and heat gently until all the sugar has dissolved. Simmer until it turns a beautiful golden colour.
*6* To serve, pour a little of the sauce over each piece of pudding, then scatter with the remaining fudge pieces and a spoonful of Cornish clotted cream.
*Invite us to your get-together...*
Would you like to feature on this page? Just email
cook@theguardian.com with "get-togethers" in the subject line and tell us what you've got planned.
For each get-together we feature, the host will receive a selection of delicious Hotel Chocolat chocolates. Reported by guardian.co.uk 13 hours ago.