I just wanted to let you know what’s in store for the next few months of The Supper Table. Although my main love is the supper clubs and private dining, it seems to have become a bit of a habit of mine to have a summer ‘venture’ – be that working at a wedding venue or setting up a pub kitchen. This year’s project is something totally new for me, the biggest adventure yet, although it does mean that supper club will pause for a few months while I am otherwise engaged. Those of you who haven’t been to a supper club recently, will not be aware that I have been baking a very special bun, due out the oven in the next couple of weeks!

However, I hope to be hosting supper clubs by the autumn, and already have a couple of private functions booked for the end of August and September. As soon as I have dates confirmed, I will let you all know.

A small sample of my recent ‘baking’ adventures!

Food photography and a blog post
I recently returned to Ashburton Chefs Academy in Devon where I trained, to take part in a Food Photography course. In these days of social media, it seems so important to be able to take good photos. It’s all very well if it tastes amazing, but I’m not going to entice you to come to supper club if my food looks a like a pile of splodge!While I was there, I was also interviewed by their PR manager, who has written a lovely profile about me, and what I’ve been up to since graduating three years ago. I do hope you enjoy reading the blog post.

There may not be a supper club in the next month or so, but there are plenty of foodie events going on for those interested. Great Malvern is holding its annual food festival on the late May Bank Holiday Monday, in the Priory grounds. I would usually be hosting a stall, for you to sample my wares, but sadly will have to give it a miss this year.

It’s also the RHS Malvern Spring Festival at the Three Counties next week, May 11-14, and if you are going, I thoroughly recommend visiting the Kitchen Garden Theatre. This year it is hosted by Mark Diacono, author and owner of Otter Farm in Devon, and one of the guest speakers is Naomi Devlin. Naomi is a wonderful teacher, full of knowledge and enthusiasm, and regularly hosts courses at River Cottage and Ashburton Cookery School. After being diagnosed with coeliac disease, she took on the challenge to discover tasty gluten-free recipes, the end result being her book River Cottage Gluten Free. I have no need to avoid gluten, but her recipes are delicious and her chocolate brownies are to die for! She has recently published her latest book Food for a Happy Gut, a great introduction to the world of fermented foods like miso, sauerkraut and kimchi.

I hope you have a wonderful summer, and look forward to seeing you in the not too distant future for a foodie evening at Chez Supper Table!

Best wishes

Clare

I’m very pleased to say that Supper Club is returning in January, after a few busy and exciting months working at The Brewers Arms, West Malvern. Now their pub kitchen is up and running, with some excellent staff, I’m very happy to leave the cooking in their capable hands and return to hosting dinner parties in my own home. I’m really looking forward to seeing you all for evenings of delicious menus and lively conversation.

The next supper club will be held on Saturday 28th January. You will have had a month to get over the Christmas excess, and might be suffering from ‘dry January’ so this will be a lovely opportunity to start stuffing your faces again! January’s menu is full of exotic influences, some of my favourite foods and lots of fresh and vibrant ingredients. Here’s the menu to whet your appetite:

As always, the evening starts at 7.30 with an aperitif and nibbles. The meal is followed by coffee and petits fours, all for £27.50. Come alone or with a group of friends, everyone is welcome. For those of you who signed up at the Malvern Food Festival, and may have forgotten what all of this is about, this will explain it. Please email me to book your place, and do let me know of any dietary requirements. I’m also very happy to turn the main course into a vegetarian option for those who require it.

Cakes and Tea Galore
Somehow in between shifts at the pub, I also found time this summer to deliver various cakes as well as throwing an afternoon tea for the wedding of a lovely couple I met. I am always very happy to make cake! My lovely friend Polly has some beautiful china, so we have teamed up on several occasions to provide our customers with a stunning tea. Please take a look at our afternoon tea menu on my website. Prices start at £15 per person, including crockery hire.

  

I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and New Year. I’ve been busy making and selling my whisky & muscovado marmalade – do let me know if you would like a jar for a Christmas present. Or if you are looking for unusual present ideas, how about a voucher for supper club? For those of you cooking on Christmas Day, I hope you get a chance to relax and enjoy your dinner. I am cooking goose for my family this year, fingers crossed they like it!
 

Hope to see you all at an event in the new year.

Best wishes

Clare

I have lots of exciting news for you this month, but first things first, I hope to tempt you with the next supper club menu, to be held on Saturday 11th June – less than three weeks away!

As always, the evening starts at 7.30 with an aperitif and nibbles. We serve the meal followed by coffee and petits fours, all for £27.50. Come alone or with a group of friends, everyone is welcome. Please email me to book your place, I still have some spaces left.

A couple of months ago Mr Supper Table and I dined at Rick Stein’s new restaurant in Winchester, where I had the best meal in ages. My main course was Indonesian seafood curry, absolutely delicious, and I thought it would be great to recreate it for my supper club guests. We are also entering a great time for an abundance of fruit and vegetables, even strawberries, so I have chosen a suitably fruity dessert to get us in the mood for summer.

The May supper club was a great success with the all veggie menu. Although I did slightly regret my decision to make homemade pasta on my 103rd basil & lemon raviolo! Although it sounds a slightly odd dessert, the carrot and white chocolate dessert was also a hit – no photos I’m afraid, it was eaten too quickly!

 

Afternoon Tea with Pollyanna

I’ve recently been asked to make afternoon tea for a few customers, and I have teamed up with Pollyanna’s Party Hire as she has some beautiful crockery to serve the sandwiches, scones and cakes on. Please take a look at our afternoon tea menu on my website. Prices start at £15 per person, including crockery hire.

  

Those of you with eagle eyes may have spotted my name in the Malvern Gazette last Friday! Alison, the new landlady of the Brewers Arms, is a previous supper club guest and, as an admirer of my cooking, has asked me to set up the pub kitchen for her. She opened for drinks last Friday so please pop in and see her, and currently you will find my cakes on the counter – perfect after a walk on the Malvern Hills. She has some wonderful ideas and I’m sure the Brewers will once again be the heart of the community.

We hope to be serving food daily from June 6th, and will be hosting a weekly curry night on Wednesdays, as well as a monthly supper club in the bizarrely named “Armpit” – if anyone knows the origin of this name, feel free to explain! Both of us are very keen on using local seasonal ingredients, so I’m currently busy organising supplies from Herefordshire & Worcestershire. The menu will have some pub classics, but we are also planning on adding lots of lovely fresh vegetables and salads.

I will be hosting a stall at the Great Malvern Food Festival this Bank Holiday Monday, and you will find me in the Abbey grounds. I will be selling lots of lovely chutneys and jams, as well as my macarons and marshmallows. If you get there early enough, there will be some tasters to try too – last year, we ran out by lunchtime, we were so busy!

Supper Club dates

Hope to see you all at an event soon.

Best wishes

Clare

Here is the menu for May 14th supper club, which I hope will leave your mouth watering…

As always, the evening starts at 7.30 with an aperitif and nibbles. We serve the meal followed by coffee and petits fours, all for £27.50. Come alone or with a group of friends, everyone is welcome. Please email me to book your place, half the seats have already gone!

You may have noticed that the menu is entirely vegetarian.  I have signed up to #MeatFreeMay, a campaign run by Friends of the Earth to highlight the damage that over-farming of fish and meat causes to the environment and to our health. I’m not sure I could ever give up meat & fish completely, but I think the key is to eat less, but better quality meat such as free range or organic. For anyone interested in the details, there is a useful document here. I can also thoroughly recommend the following books for interesting reading – Farmageddon by Philip Lymbery, Swallow This by Joanna Blythman and In Defence of Food by Michael Pollan. You will never look at a supermarket ready meal in the same way again!

 

If anyone is tempted to try something veggie but yummy, here is a recipe to get you started…

Caramelised red onion and goats cheese tart

Pastry
220g plain flour
110g cold, diced butter
1/4tsp salt
1 tsp fennel seeds, ground in a pestle and mortar

Onion and goats cheese fillling
1kg red onion
75g butter
1tbsp olive oil
1 star anise
150ml balsamic
4tbsp brown sugar
3 eggs
200g goats cheese
300ml double cream
handful of chives, finely chopped

1. To make the pastry, rub the cold butter cubes in to the flour until breadcrumbs are formed. Stir in the ground fennel seeds and salt, then add a couple of tablespoons of water until just combined. Knead for 30 seconds then wrap in clingfilm and chill for at least 30 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, make the red onion marmalade. Finely slice the onions, and gently fry in the butter and olive oil until really soft, but not browned. Add the star anise, balsamic and brown sugar, and continue to gently cook until all the liquid is absorbed and there is a jam consistency – this might take half an hour or so. Set aside to cool.
3. Roll out the dough and line a tart case. Prick the dough with a fork all over. Cover with clingfilm and rest in the fridge for another half an hour. Preheat the oven to 190 C (170 C fan).
4. It is now time to ‘blind bake’ the tart case. Rather than buy expensive baking beans, I do the following. Scrunch up a piece of greaseproof paper and place this over the pastry case. Pour in about a bag of uncooked rice to weigh down the paper. Bake like this for 25 minutes, then remove the paper and rice and bake for a final ten minutes.
5. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs and cream until combined. Break the goats cheese into small pieces and stir into the mix, along with the chives and a good helping of salt and pepper.
6. Time to assemble the tart! Spread a good layer of onion maramalade onto the pastry base, then pour over the cream mixture. Bake in oven for 20-30 minutes until the tart is set, but with a very slight wobble in the middle.

And enjoy! I would leave it to cool in the case for a little bit, as it makes it easier to slice.

Hope to see you all at an event soon. Or come and find me at the Great Malvern Food Festival on May 30th in the Abbey grounds.

Best wishes

Clare

I spent this morning planning the menu for April 16th supper club, which I hope will leave your mouth watering…

As always, the evening starts at 7.30 with an aperitif and nibbles. We serve a three-course meal followed by coffee and petits fours, all for £27.50. Come alone or with a group of friends, everyone is welcome. Please email me to book your place, half the seats have already gone!

We will have just entered the beginning of the short but sweet asparagus season, so I couldn’t resist including it on the menu. I will also be perusing the lanes and footpaths for wild garlic, which I have already spotted out and about. Now I just need a floppy hat and wicker basket to complete my foraging, fashionable look…

I have also made a start on the May menu, which will be totally vegetarian. I am always happy to cater for any dietary requirements, but I thought the veggies out there might like to know there is a supper club dedicated especially to you! I only have 5 spaces left for May, so please let me know if you would like to join us. I have signed up to #MeatFreeMay, a campaign run by Friends of the Earth to highlight the damage that over-farming of fish and meat causes to the environment and to our health. I’m not sure I could ever give up meat & fish completely, but there is growing evidence that we should be reducing the amount we eat.

A month of baking
I’ve had several requests this month for cakes and afternoon tea quotes, which gives me a great excuse to try out some new recipes. Naomi Devlin creates and teaches some wonderful gluten-free recipes, and has just released her first cookbook River Cottage Gluten Free. Her brownies are to die for, and I’ve been waiting for a valid reason (other than to stuff my face) to try out her latest suggestion of Rose & Orange Geranium brownies – my wish was granted this week by gluten-free guests at Dewsall Court! I’m not gluten-free personally, but these are some of the best brownies ever!

The preserving pan has also been busy, and my jam and chutney collection is now topped up. If you would like to buy some next time you are at supper club, don’t forget to bring a few pound coins along with you!

Hope to see you all at an event soon.

Best wishes

Clare

I am pleased to announce the menu for March 12th supper club which is in less than three weeks time – where do the months go?!

As always, the evening starts at 7.30 with an aperitif and nibbles. We serve a three-course meal followed by coffee and petits fours, all for £27.50. Come alone or with a group of friends, everyone is welcome. Please email me to book your place.

Despite vegetables being a bit thin on the ground at this time of year, I have chosen lots of lovely seasonal ingredients for the March menu. Rhubarb is in season, and in fact I have already made some jam with gorgeous pink forced rhubarb. Leeks are also plentiful so you will be served a beautiful puff pastry tart with a creamy leek and Taleggio filling – possibly my favourite cheese, all gooey and unctuous!

‘Skordalia’ is a Greek recipe for velvety, smooth, garlicky mash – perfect comfort food for these cold evenings. I discovered it in my new cookery book Nopi by Yotam Ottolenghi. We were lucky enough to visit this restaurant in London last year (and even saw the man himself!) so I couldn’t resist buying the book after trying his delicious food. Here we are in the restaurant – yes, we are much better looking in real life and yes, we are basically sitting in the store cupboard. It’s so trendy, that sitting in the basement between the dry stores and the kitchen is considered a treat!
Whisky and sweet treats
We’ve had a busy couple of months at Supper Table HQ, and our Burns Night supper club was a great success. Our local expert Ian Buxton, famous for his books on whisky and gin, was on hand to lead the festivities and a little whisky tasting after the meal.

Last weekend I hosted a private supper club for a group of twelve and had great fun making some new petits fours – homemade jaffa cakes with whisky marmalade, and coconut marshmallows.

The preserving pan has also been busy, and my jam and chutney collection is now topped up. If you would like to buy some next time you are at supper club, don’t forget to bring a few pound coins along with you!

Hope to see you all at an event soon.

Best wishes

Clare

My birthday present this year was a hot smoker, which has been great fun, and I’m looking forward to offering you some home-smoked fish.  The main course will have a slightly Oriental feel to it, and the dessert is one of my favourites – lots of yummy ingredients!

As always, the evening starts at 7.30 with an aperitif and nibbles. We serve a three-course meal followed by coffee and petits fours, all for £27.50. Come alone or with a group of friends, everyone is welcome.

Burns Night 2016

I have been planning ahead for next year, and I’m very pleased to announce that I’m hosting a Burns Night supper club on 23rd January 2016 with a special mystery guest. I’m working on the menu at the moment and will publish it soon, but undoubtedly it will feature wonderful Scottish ingredients including the inimitable haggis in one form or another. And a Scottish night would be incomplete without a wee dram or two, so our special guest will be leading the whisky tasting after dinner, imparting their wealth of knowledge on the subject of booze…

Final details to follow, but you can book seats for this special event now. Tickets are £40 per person, which includes the dinner, whisky tasting and a gift on the night.

I’ve also had a busy week making a wedding cake for my brother-in-law, and I’m really proud of the results despite some sacrifice along the way!      

Hope to see you all at an event soon.

Best wishes

Clare

I hope you are all enjoying the summer. I’ve been busy in the garden, attempting to bring the weeds under control and watching the courgette and tomato plants grow. It has also been prime elderflower season, so I now have litres of cordial in my fridge – including a pink elderflower from my very own garden!

We had lots of lovely new faces at the June supper club, and everyone got on like a house on fire. Despite all the chatting, lots of clean plates arrived back in the kitchen, so a great evening was had by all.

It is now less than three weeks until the next supper club on July 18th, and there are a few places left. Here is the menu below:

MENU:

Obviously, the tart will be homemade with my own cordial, and I’m hoping to pick the cherries from the lovely Clive’s Fruit Farm in Upton. With enough left over to make compote and jam – I do love a good preserve!

As always, the evening starts at 7.30 with aperitif and nibbles. We serve a three-course meal followed by coffee and petits fours, all for £27.50. Come alone or with a group of friends, everyone is welcome.

I have a lot of private events on in August, so the next supper clubs will be September 26th and October 17th. Hope to see you at a supper club soon!

Best wishes

Clare

Aperitif and nibbles
~
Roast cod, samphire, pickled apple, lemon mayonnaise
~
Moroccan slow-roast hogget, herby couscous, aubergine za’alouk, purple sprouting broccoli
~
Banoffee pie, banana & rum ice cream, caramelised banana and chocolate sauce
~
Coffee or tea with petits fours

Please email me to book your place. When booking, please let me know of any dietary requirements, as I am very happy to provide an alternative so you can enjoy the meal as much as everyone else. And don’t forget to bring a bottle!