A NEW European-style cheese, La Fresca Margarita, made at Feltham’s Farm near Wincanton, has won Best British Cheese at the Virtual Cheese Awards 2021 For cheese-maker Marcus Fergusson, it was his second year as supreme champion, following the success of his Renegade Monk as the best British cheese in the first Virtual Cheese Awards in…
A NEW competition to find the Affineur of the Year competition has been launched by Devon-based cheesemaker, Quicke’s, and the Academy of Cheese, to help celebrate the age-old art of maturing cheese and guiding it to its full potential. Eight three-month matured 27kg truckles of Quicke’s cheddar are now in place at maturing rooms across…
JACK the Treacle Eater, one of Yeovil’s legendary characters, is famed for running long distances at high speed and fuelling himself with treacle. But in the Yeovil College end of year show for performing arts students, that fuel was friendship. It must have been a horrendous year for students, with classes happening and then not…
GATHERING together in Bath for the annual festival had a uniquely poignant atmosphere, enhanced by the ancient setting of the Roman Baths, when the Gesualdo Six sang a programme of 14 songs with a watery theme last night. After months of lock-downs and cancellations, the joy of live performance was shared equally by the singers…
MARSH samphire – sometimes known as “the mermaid’s kiss” – has been making its salty, crunchy presence felt on restaurant and domestic tables in recent years, and now you can grow your own seashore delicacy, thanks to Wincanton-based Somerset Samphire. Samphire is already a native of Somerset, loving the salt marshes, where local farmers also…
AS restaurants, pubs and other hospitality businesses in Devon open their doors again, the county’s food group, Food Drink Devon, has announced the support off wine buff and television personality Oz Clarke, and a new video and website. Award-winning chef Peter Gorton (pictured), a recently appointed Food Drink Devon board member, says: “It has been…
ONE of the most beautiful gardens in the West Country, Springhead at Fontmell Magna in North Dorset, is open over the May Day bank holiday weekend for visitors to admire the blossom. The gardens will be open on Sunday 2nd May and Monday 3rd, from 11.30am to 4.30pm. There is no charge, but donations are…
BERE Marsh Farm, the Countryside Restoration Trust’s showcase farm by the Stour near Shillingstone in Dorset, will be at the heart of a pioneering project to make the Blackmore Vale a hive of activity for bees and bee enthusiasts. Gardening clubs, schools, parish councils, allotment holders, indeed any organisation or group, will be invited to…
DORSET farmer George Streatfeild, the 2020-21 High Sheriff of Dorset, has had a short film produced to highlight the dangers of county lines drug gangs to young people in Dorset. It is the true story of ‘Sam’ (name changed) and aims to show the scale of the problem in Dorset, and to educate and improve…
AFTER months of lockdowns, and with the gradual reopening of pubs, cafes and restaurants, we can now look forward to enjoying eating out. But it is also a chance to look back at how we all spent our time and for many it seems that Cheese On Toast was an important part of our lockdown…