The editor of Food Lifestyle magazine shares memorable moments from the year, including a jewellery workshop in the wilds of north Devon and a seafood feast in Falmouth
Like being asked to choose between your kids, it’s a hard call to pick your favourite experiences from an entire year but there have been some standout faves. These included journeying down rutted tracks in the Devon countryside to take part in a jewellery workshop at Praktyka. Emily Harmon of The Collective at Woolsery and I spent the afternoon with tutor Ania Wawrzkowicz, who revealed the ancient art of wax-carving to make jewellery. I love the little silver pinky ring I made and wear it every day; it’s extra special because it was fashioned with my own hands.
In late spring, I spent an idyllic sunny day with my colleague Rosanna and photographer Guy Harrop when we visited Iford Manor near Bath to meet its owners Marianne and William and do a photoshoot. We were utterly enchanted by the Italianate gardens and the food created by the manor’s exec chef Matthew Briddon, which included sensational fermented garlic (recipe coming in the spring issue) and wet walnuts (you read that right). It was just a couple of weeks before a few of the manor’s irreplaceable historical garden sculptures were stolen in an audacious heist. Happily, we got to include them in the photos but, as far as I know, they still haven’t been found.
In the summer, I drove down to St Michael’s Resort in Falmouth to see what their new head chef Dave Waters was cooking up in the kitchen. My main of a big fat lemon sole swimming in garlic, ginger and chilli butter was only rivalled by that afternoon’s session in the alfresco hot tub and icy plunge pool in the resort’s sub-tropical gardens. All the bases covered …
