Are You Looking for a Great Place to Eat?

We know that consumers want fresh food, made with quality produce that represents good value for money and of course from local business who use fresh local ingredients. 

Perhaps most importantly is that consumers want this information to be easily accessible and at their fingertips. Now it's even easier to find a great place to eat in Devon!

Our new mobile site is now live simply scan the QR code or visit mobile.atasteofdevon.co.uk
For our desktop site go to www.atasteofdevon.co.uk  

Our new look mobile site has launched today

How To Hull a Strawberry with a Straw (Remove the Stem)

#KitchenHack It's that time of year again! this handy kitchen hack will have you enjoying your strawberries in no time 

Happy Father's Day

Father's Day is always a little bittersweet for me. I lost my Dad when I was little and a few years ago I lost my Father-in-Law, but I have 2 wonderful sons and we look forward to today as an excuse to spoil their Dad, my hubby.

Unsurprisingly food always plays a central role in any event in our house, and today is no exception.

We've kicked off the day with Eggs Benedict - toasted English muffins with bacon, poached egg and Hollandaise sauce. Hollandaise is a rich emulsion sauce made with butter, egg yolks and flavoured with lemon juice. 

Here's my recipe:

125g Unsalted butter

2 Egg yolks

2 tsp White wine vinegar

Salt & Pepper

You'll need a saucepan, glass bowl and a whisk. Cut the butter into cubes and leave in the fridge until you need it.

Place the egg yolks and vinegar in the bowl and whisk until the mixture is pale and fluffy, this should take about 2-3 minutes and by this time the volume should have doubled.

Set the bowl in the saucepan over simmering water, the water should not touch the bottom of the bowl. Add one of the cubes of butter and whisk until it has dissolved, add another cube and repeat - once the first few cubes have been incorporated you can add a few at a time until all have been used.

Keep an eye on the heat as you don't want the sauce to split, if it starts to look grainy remove from the heat immediately and whisk in an ice cube to save.

Once all the butter has been added season to taste with salt, pepper and lemon juice. 

Breakfast over with my thoughts now move to dinner, I picked up a lovely roasting joint of beef from the butcher - I would always recommend going to a local butcher over a supermarket. The meat tends to be local and of better quality. I'll be making a traditional roast complete with potatoes, Yorkshire puddings, a rich pan gravy and vegetables. 

For the vegetables I'll be serving sliced mange tout and wild mushrooms sauted in butter. 

The only decision left to make, is what to have for pudding....

A Taste of Devon on The Voice FM

So, what's it all about?

Let's get straight to the point - who am I and what am I doing?

Well... I've always loved food with a passion, I've spent my whole life developing recipes, learning new techniques and cooking every spare minute I get, in 2014 I appeared on MasterChef (UK Series 10) where I received very positive feedback from John Torode for my traditional Devon Squab Pie (after filming was complete he told me that he was going to keep the recipe) Series 2 Winner Peter Bayless enjoyed my Chocolate Orange Fondant commenting that I could come round his house and cook that for him any time! Sadly due to some timing issues I didn't make it to the quarter-finals, but being part of the competition really made me reevaluate my life, and what I wanted to do with it, and A Taste of Devon was born.

My website features

* A Directory of hand-picked Devon Restaurants, Cafes and independent food producers

Unlike other resources, A Taste of Devon is run by human beings, ones that live in Devon - the businesses featured have been investigated, and where possible visited, so that you know you can trust the quality of your search. As well as finding Devon Restaurants, Cafes and Pubs you'll also find Cakes and Bakers, Beer & Cider, Meat, Cheese, Seafood, Spices, Jams... in fact you'll be spoiled for choice :)

I didn't want the site to be just about the directory - I want to share my passion for food and for Devon, with the world.
So, you'll also find

* Restaurant and Product Reviews
* Seasonal, Traditional and Rebooted Recipes
* Interviews, Events, Articles, Special Offers, Competitions and More

The website launches on Friday 13th June 2014 and we've got some great interviews coming up, including the lovely Glenn Cosby from the Great British Bake Off, and my friend and MasterChef Finalist, Jack - and that's just for starters!

I will be updating this Blog on a regular basis to keep you in touch with all the new and exciting things happening in Devon, as well as bringing you seasonal recipes
and kitchen hacks. Be sure to check back regularly for more information about A Taste of Devon as well as Competitions, Special Offers and Foodie News.

If you have any questions, comments or suggestions please email me, and please visit the website www.atasteofdevon.co.uk