Big British Food Map Scoffing on the South Coast

Date Published:

15/09/2008

Andrew rooted out the best in South Coast cuisine

Pig business

Spent a perfect afternoon with Chris and Bev at the Roundwood Orchard Pig company near Gravesend in Kent (take a look) at the weekend. I left with a stunning leg of pork which I cooked for friends yesterday. I roasted it on a bed of apples, pears and onions and, for extra oomph, also added the Italian sausages I made with the guys from the Art of Meat in Cambridge. Add to this potato Dauphinoise and pumpkin soup to start and all in all we had a cracking Sunday lunch. As for the crackling... OMG.

Spooky wood, spooky road

Went in search of the Plough yesterday, added to the Map by Fred. It's tucked away in the tiny village of Stalisfield Green, accessible via single track roads. Sadly, it was closed when I got there at 5pm and what, with it getting dark, I couldn't see much of the fabled 'views across Kent'. Also, I ran over a large female pheasant on the way to the B&B. Part of me felt sorry for it, the other wanted to stop, reverse, and pick it up and cook it - is that wrong? Is that even legal? For more on this sort of thing, try the Road Kill Cookbook.

Ladies who (serve) lunch

Tea, tea, everywhere… and yet, just try finding a proper tea shop in this day and age. I found one on the Scottish leg of my travels, and Betty's in Yorkshire of course, but they're few and far between compared to the coffee chains. Flying the tea flag for the South East however is Miss Mollett's High Class Tea Room added to the Map by Pierre.

A proper cup of problem solver

Sisters, Alex Cowell and Francis MacDonald, set up Miss Mollett's in May and haven't looked back. The original Miss Mollett ran a tea shop in the village between the wars and, in a further twist of history, turned out to be related to Alex and Francis! The cakes are all homemade by Francis, as are the soup and quiche (I had the latter and it was fab). There's always a gluten-free option and the teas all come from Kent and Sussex Tea Co. As Bernard-Paul Heroux says, "There is no trouble so great or grave that cannot be much diminished by a nice cup of tea."

Monster marrow

Popped into Macknade fine foods the other day, added to the Map by our very own Janet Street-Porter. Showing me round was son of the founder, Stefano Cuomo. He highlighted the large range of tomatoes on offer (both grown under glass in Kent or imported from Italy), as well as the huge range of potatoes, pastas, sauces, jams and a huge deli counter stocking some fine local hams and continental salamis. I have therefore done him a slight injustice by, instead, showing you this photo of me with a whopping marrow he also had in the shop. Look at the size of it! If you're in the area it's well worth a visit. The shop that is, not the marrow, though that's pretty cool too.

Please, no autographs

Today I was lucky enough to meet two titans of the pig world, Butch and Sundance, a.k.a The Tamworth Two. Back in 1998, the pair made off from an abattoir in Wiltshire and went on the run for over a week. They were eventually apprehended, but by this time had won a place in the nation's hearts.

They're now housed at the Rare Breeds Centre in Ashford and the Daily Mail pays for their upkeep. The centre is an educational charity, giving disadvantaged and disabled people the chance to work on a farm. As well as its conservation and charity work, it's also open to the public and a good family day out. What's more, if you head down today, you'll see the culmination of a week's worth of spooky Hallowe'en goings on.

Last week Andrew was in Essex.

Next week he's scouring more of the South Coast.

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