Where are you all? We seem to have been abandoned since the start of the school holidays while you pack your bags and head off for a change of scene. It is fabulous to have some consistent warm and sunny weather... a real Summer at last. Don't forget that both our Store and Cafe are fully air conditioned and, in July, gave some welcome respite to those of you who dined with us.
We had an enjoyable time picking fruit for our desserts and cream teas last month and now have a freezer full of redcurrants, blackcurrants and gooseberries ready for the winter months when we could do with a pick-me-up and a splash of colour. The year goes steadily by and today we baked our first Nectarine Tart of the season heralding the arrival of peaches, plums and all the late summer produce. This tart is very popular and a slice goes well with a cappuchino in the afternoon.
Our Evening openings are catching on. July 31st. was fully booked with a waiting list and we are already half full for both Saturday 14th. and 21st. August. You seem to love the menu and the cafe space creates a great ambiance. So do come and try us out. Dishes include Crab and Avocado Cocktail to start, followed by Lamb Rump with a Port and Redcurrant Sauce and Raspberry and Lavender Tart to finish. We would like to think that we could get enough support from you to open every Saturday night and to achieve this goal we will be closing the Store and Cafe on Sundays from Sunday 5th. September. Apologies to everyone especially our regulars who love to visit us and enjoy reading the Sunday papers with an espresso and a buttered scone. We hope you will manage to come on Saturdays instead and recover from shopping in Town or accompanied by friends staying for the weekend.
We are going to blow the trumpet on behalf of two of our suppliers! Vera Oxby who, as you know, provides us with all our eggs both for sale in the Store and to use in our baking and Brunches, has just won the Runner Up Prize in the Small Farm Category of the Wilkinson Environment Awards for Nottinghamshire 2010. Her conscientious approach to her animal husbandry extends to the maintenance of the woodland and pond margins of her farm and was duly recognised by the judges. Vera works tirelessly to give us the freshest eggs and throughly deserves this award.
In the same month, Shirevale Creamery in Cropwell Bishop won Silver and Bronze Medals at the Nantwich Show for their Traditional White Stilton which we stock on our cheese counter. Shirevale was set up by some of the employees when the Millway Dairy closed in Harby ten years ago and it is satisfying to see them succeed at this prestigious show. There has also been a spawning of another small producer set up by two of our ex employees, Ally Harper and Annette Shelton, called Youdessertit. Some of you may have enjoyed the exquisite cupcakes we sometimes had in the Cafe while Annette worked for us. Now she supplies these through the new company along with such delights as White Chocolate Cheesecake, Fruit Bundts and Blackberry and Coconut Slices.
Look on the website www.youdessertit.co.uk and be tempted. You may have a function coming up when you would like them to cater for you!
The long balmy summer evenings have enabled us to sit outside and enjoy all the fragrances of our summer gardens and plants such as honeysuckle and roses smell especially heady in the last hours of daylight. We have just received some wonderful candles at the Store which conjure up all these smells. True Grace candles include scents such as Meadow, Seashore and Soothing while Archipelago Botanics have mixtures of Sweet Basil with Rosemary or Rose and Bergamot, to name a few. They are both made of natural Soya Wax which is much more pleasant to burn and not harmful. They are selling fast . Come and have a sniff and extend your Summer into Autumn.
See you soon
Jan
