Archives for July 2012

Give a Fig!

Much like the fruit, fig season is short, but sweet. We absolutely love them! Simply sliced, they perfectly compliment a cheese board or summer salad.

If you fancy something a little more adventurous, this recipe makes a wonderful and impressive starter for a dinner party.


Split them, stuff them with blue cheese and wrap them with prosciutto. See the full recipe here

Jar Foods

Last week we shared a link on our Facebook page which featured a fantastic lunch idea – a layered salad in a jar. Portable, easy, fresh and healthy. What could be better for a tasty lunch on the go?

You readers seemed to love the idea, so we looked further in to it and found some more fantastic, jar food ideas. Today we share some of our favourite recipes. Click on the links below each picture for the full recipe details.


~ Courgette and Goat Cheese Tarts in a Jar ~


~ Banana Split Cake in Jars ~


~ Mini Apple Pies ~


~ Peach Cobbler ~


~ Whole Wheat Buttermilk Rolls in a Jar ~


~ Caprese Salad ~

Why not get expreimental and see what you vcan create for a delicious jar meal? Let us know how you get on!

Cwtch Restaurant – A Review

As you may have guessed, we love food! Which is very useful in our line of work. From researching local suppliers, tasting new ingredients and trying out new combinations, our work is our passion. We also love to sample new restaurants. Not only is it enjoyable, it’s a fantastic way to pick up new ideas.

We decided to share this knowledge with you! Lizzie and Simon, our Dynamic Dining Duo will be reviewing. From highly recommended to named and shamed, we will be bringing you the lowdown on restaurants across the country.

This week, it’s Cwtch, a beautiful restaurant in Britain’s smallest city, St Davids in Pembrokeshire.

Cwtch (pronounced Cutch) is quite literally, making waves. Winning two prestigious awards this year alone – the Wales True Taste Restaurant of the Year 2012 and the Good Food Guide 2012 ‘Readers Restaurant of the Year Wales’ they are well renowned for their fantastic atmosphere, great service and wonderful menu.

The Cwtch Website states –

“Cwtch was born from a passion for good honest food and great service. Working alongside Rachael is Head Chef, Andy Holcroft. Andy and his team make everything on the menu from scratch – working closely with the local farmers and fishermen to ensure our ingredients are the best we can find”

“Come here and you’ll discover that our ingredients are always fresh, delicious and locally sourced”

Well this sounds right up our street. Fresh, locally sourced and delicious? That’s the Vanilla in Allseasons way, and something we could not resist!

It seems that news travels, and we were not alone in our curiosity. Initially, we struggled to book a table. All earlier slots had gone, but they fitted us in for a slightly later sitting of 8.30. All three dining rooms were full to capacity throughout the evening, always a good sign!

We opted for the 3 courses deal for £30, not particularly low priced but we hoped that the food would live up to it’s repuatation. We weren’t disappointed.

After homemade bread topped with black olives and sea salt, our drinks arrived with an icy jug of water. We hadn’t asked for the water, but I liked that it came as a standard to every guest. A small, but thoughtful touch that I’m sure the majority of diners would appreciate.

Starters

As we were dining by the sea, we thought we’d be topical. For starters, I chose a delicious smoked haddock pate, which came with toast, a sweet red onion chutney and some peppery rocket salad. Simon selected a crab pate. This arrived with crème fraiche, toast and fresh rocket. The presentation of the dishes was neat, elegant and clean cut. Both were extremely tasty.

Mains

When it came to the main course, I stuck to a seafood theme and chose sea bass with a chunky red salsa, salty samphire and a fresh salsa verde. All of the elements of the meal combined beautifully and the dish was cooked to perfection.

Simon selected the Welsh sirloin steak with horseradish butter, slow roasted tomato and triple cooked beef dripping chips. The steak was cooked exactly medium rare as asked, and the homemade peppercorn sauce was delicious.

Sides of vegetables came as standard with both main courses, no need to order them as extras.

Desserts

A dessert was perhaps unnecessary after the two courses, but of course, we weren’t going to resist! After all, how could we bring you the full run down without sampling the sweets? Just for you, readers, we soldiered on.

Simon opted for sticky toffee Bara Brith pudding with full diary ice cream and an accompanying dessert wine. I stuck to the savouries and went for the local cheeseboard with crackers and homemade piccalilli.

As you may know, Simon is something of a dessert master and not easily impressed, however, the sticky toffee was exactly what he wanted it to be – light, sweet and melt in the mouth without being too dry or heavy, perfectly complimented by the accompanying dessert wine.

I had a selection of five (yes five!) different cheeses. These were beautifully presented on an olive wood board, served with crackers, apple, celery and the homemade piccalilli. Although it was rather a lot of cheese, it was great to sample such a varied selection.

Service & Atmosphere

The service utterly reflected the standard of food. Our waitress was happy and friendly but also efficient and subtle. Checking on us regularly, without being obtrusive.

Despite the busy evening, and large number of diners, we felt valued and well looked after. I noticed only two other front of house staff on that busy night, a sign of a well-run venue and a very well organised team.

Over all, we were both very impressed by the entire night. The restaurant is smart enough to feel like an occasion, yet has a wonderful, relaxed feel, which creates a great atmosphere.

As picky diners with a keen eye for service and detail, I am pleased to say that we really could not find fault with Cwtch. Fantastic, unpretentious food, cooked to perfection and served with style. This one comes highly recommended!

Take a look at thier website for more information here

Until next time!
Lizzie & Simon – The Dynamic Dining Duo.

Peaks & Plains Party – Some Wonderful Feedback

Last week we told you about our upcoming event for Peaks and Plains, hobnobbing with the great and the good for a special opening party for Peaks & Plains. We are pleased to tell you that the party was a great success. We really enjoyed providing the guests with our service, and of course some fantastic food!

We had some excellent feedback, take a look…

“Hi Adam,

On behalf of the Executive Team, I just wanted to thank you and all your staff for helping make the event on Friday a great success. The quality of the service provided by everyone from Vanilla was excellent and we had many compliments about the catering. One of our Board e-mailed us after the event

“What a proud occasion we’ve just enjoyed. …would you kindly send a note to all involved saying how appreciative I am of the quality of service they provided, which was so clearly evidenced today”.

Many thanks once again – and I look forward to working with you in the not too distant future.
Kind regards

Gill MacDonald, Executive PA
Peaks & Plains Housing Trust ”

It is always wonderful to receive feedback from our clients. We know how busy everyone is, so it means a great deal to us when people take the time to show their appreciation. It all spurs us on to keep pushing the limits of what we can do. Really proud of our team who all work so hard to ensure that our events, no matter the size, run smoothly. Thanks team!

Ciao Bella! A Beautiful Italian Wedding

Last Sunday we catered for a wonderful wedding, held at the beautiful, Heaton House Farm. The styling was so pretty, we loved the birdcage floral table decorations and fantastic mint green birdcage wedding cake!

The lovely couple, Jennie and Tom, are of Italian descent and we experienced some true Italian traditions we had not seen before. We found this quite fascinating! Traditionally, marriages held on a Sunday are considered by the Italians to be the luckiest, so our lovely bride and groom certainly got off on the right footing. Green is also considered to be very lucky, so that gorgeous cake had that one covered.

What we found most intriguing was the reception traditions, over dinner the guests shouted for the Bride and Groom to kiss. Shouts of “Evviva gli sposi” – (“hurray for the newlyweds.”) were toasted regularly and responded to with thundering applause!

It is also traditional for guests to bang glasses with spoons to encourage the Bride and Groom to kiss several times. This was very rowdy, some glasses were broken! The atmosphere was wonderful and everyone seemed to have great fun. We did too! We loved watching it all.

We consider ourselves very lucky that our work allows us to be part of such special occasions. We take great pride in being instrumental in ensuring these happy events run smoothly and that all the guests enjoy something extra special. A huge congratulations to Tom and Jennie, thanks for making us a part of your fantastic day.

Like a Bowl of Cherries…

Did you know that cherries are in season at the moment? Sweet, delicious and oh-so good for you, cherries are perfect on their own or served with ice cream and summer puddings.

There are lots of fantastic recipes which incorporate these sweet and pretty fruits, and not just for desserts. They also work fantastically well when whipped up into a sauce or puree to compliment meats, such as Duck or Pigeon. Why not make the most of the season and enjoy a punnet or two?

Take a look here for some brilliant recipes from Great British Chefs.

Cooking for the crème de la crème!

Well it’s shaping up to be a very busy week for the team here at Vanilla in Allseasons!

As well as corporate lunches and fabulous weddings, we will also be providing a canapé reception for ICC Solutions, a company based in Warrington. They have achieved the high accolade of receiving not one, but two Queen’s Awards for Enterprise in International Trade and Innovation. Our good friend, David Briggs, Lord Lieutenant of Cheshire, is set to arrive with Prince Richard, The Duke of Gloucester, who will be presenting the awards.

On Friday, The Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Gideon Osborne, will be opening a new venture for Cheshire Peaks and Plains in Handforth. Can you guess who will be providing the food?

Here is Mr Osborne, looking rather dapper.

On Friday we will be collaborating with the fantastic team at Heaton House Events. We will be putting on a barbeque for a company celebrating their 20th birthday.

Phew! A very busy week ahead. We will keep you updated with how we get on.

That’s a Wrap!

Last week we provided a corporate working lunch for a company in Handforth, who were rewarding their staff with a party.

The casual and fun nature of the party called for easy grazing food. We put on a wrap bar so that guests could help themselves and choose from a varied selection of delicious hot fillings. Chicken satay, Beef with mushrooms and horseradish and a vegetarian option of Tomato, Mozzarella and pesto were perfectly complimented with a selection of fresh and crunchy salads and tasty cheeses.

These sort of grazing food options are excellent for more relaxed parties. They can be dressed up or down with signs and decorations and make it easy to please everyone – healthy eaters, picky eaters, big eaters, slimmers & vegetarians alike.

Food stations work well for all manner of events and can incorporate a wide variety of food, depending on your preference. Fruit, nibbles, salads and cold meats can be picked at throughout a party and can also add colour and a stylish look. Here are some great food station ideas to inspire you –

Heaton House Events Launch Party

Last night we joined the team at Heaton House Events and served food for 160 guests at their official launch party. From delicate canapes on the terrace to hearty bowl food dishes served in the venue’s beautiful dining rooms, lucky guests were able to sample a vast array of delicious food from our extensive menus.

We wanted to offer guests the opportunity to try a broad selection of our food to give them a good idea of what we are all about – fresh, locally sourced and unpretentious dishes that can be enjoyed by all. Party goers enjoyed the evening sunshine and stunning views from the Heaton House Farm grounds and our team chatted with guests as we served small canapes on our welsh slate boards. These small dishes perfectly complimented the refreshing summer cocktails. We served –

Chilled summer gazpacho served in shot glasses, tiger prawns with garlic, chilli & pak choi, mini ham hock terrine wrapped in savoy cabbage and served with a spicy homemade piccalilli, croûte with red onion chutney, sun blush tomatoes, mozzarella and pesto and JJJ Heatcote Cumberland sausage with whole grain mustard & honey.

The relaxed feel of the party called for casual, tasty bowl foods that allowed guests to sit and graze or stand and chat. As the evening sun faded and the party moved inside, we served –

• Roast pumpkin & parmesan soup, finished with white truffle oil
• Pan fried chicken livers and chestnut mushroom toasted brushetta with a Madeira cream
• Goats cheese and mozzarella, with roast pepper & aubergine roulade on a rocket salad

We followed with a selection of main course dishes including –

• Individual turkey ballotine stuffed with sausage meat, roast chestnuts & fruits, wrapped in oak smoked bacon
• Thai chicken curry with sticky rice
• Local lamb cutlet & individual lamb casserole with a parsnip puree
• Christmas vegetable pudding of field mushrooms, roast onion, chestnuts & prunes with a port wine sauce
• Pea and asparagus risotto and pork fillet wrapped in air dried ham on a Tuscan bean stew

Just as everyone was fit to burst, we brought out the dishes that no one can ever resist, the desserts! These included –

• Apple mincemeat strudel with a warm brandy cream sauce
• Moist chocolate and cherry brownie with cherry syrup
• Cinder toffee cheesecake
• “Yule Log” with a dark chocolate mousse
• Individual meringues with a sweet vanilla cream seasonal berry compote
• Slate of local cheeses with an apple and fig jam

Adam

All in all, the party was a huge success and we received a great deal of compliments about our fantastic food and friendly service. Heaton House Farm is a venue that we love to to work with, not only because of their fantastic facilities and breathtaking surroundings, but also because they share our values when it comes to business.

Like us, they take great pride in providing top quality services and products. Their staff are trained to the highest standards and their eye for detail is unsurpassed. We feel, and have always felt, that these things are non negotiable. Our team takes pride in their work, we all feel passionate about what we do and we love to showcase our skills at events like last nights party. If you were there, you will understand what we mean, if you weren’t, then why not give us a try for your next event? Let us show you what we mean!

Tea & Scones at Peaks & Plains

Yesterday, we provided the lucky guests at the CPPHT annual garden in bloom awards with a delicious afternoon tea.

Fresh savoury tarts and sandwiches were served throughout the afternoon. Warm scones with clotted cream and jam, homemade cakes and delicious summer strawberries kept the guests happy, as green fingered Peaks & Plains residents received awards for their well kept gardens.

A great day was had by all and the sunshine even made a brief appearance!

If this has got your taste buds tingling, and you fancy knocking up your own afternoon tea, some great recipes can be found here, on the Good Food website.

If that seems like too much hard work, give us a call! A classic British afternoon tea works well for many events and occasions. After all, who can resist a proper cup of tea and delicious warm scone?

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