I recently spent the day at Riverford, having been invited by Rob – the Head chef.
I really enjoyed my time there. I felt part of the team and learned lots. I made baked cheesecake, learned a fail-safe meringue recipe, chopped a lot of veg and butchered a lot of chicken.
Talking to Rob was really interesting. He told me about his interest in what other local businesses were doing and his desire to connect with Devon farmers, suppliers and producers. Most of his ingredients come from within Riverford – much of the organic meat and dairy from the other Watson’s brothers farms and the veg from just beyond the field kitchen. He showed me the delivery process whereby seasonal veg comes directly from the field to his back door! But he wants to know what else is being produced locally and use it where possible and applicable but most importantly, support and be a part of the Devon food scene.
They do have wonderful ingredients to play with! While I was there, Giles, the second-in-command that day came in from the back with beautiful stripey aubergines – pleased with todays fresh veg. I found a random mini-melon-looking vegetable in the fridge and asked Rob what it was – I can’t remember the name but it tasted like a cucumber! An experiment the farm was undertaking.
Craig, the salad alchemist, showed me the smoker they have out back in which he was smoking little cherry tomatoes. He experimented with quick pickling kholrabi and settled on a subtle flavour to match the smokiness of the tomatoes and served it all with crunchy and zesty veg which culminated into a delicous and strikingly beautiful salad.
What impressed me was the finesse with which all the chefs are cooking.. They are attentive to detail and almost obsessively conscious of taste, flavour matching and colour. We spent a full morning preparing lunch which was then served to long bench tables of customers and gone in minutes. In a flurry of activity all that hard work, creativity and planning has disappeared and is on tables being enjoyed by the 50+ diners. Because of the style of service (waitress table served but everyone gets the same food placed in the middle of the tables for people to help themselves to) it could be easy to loose sight of that attention and care but the chefs are dedicated to what they love – fresh, local produce being creatively turned into delicious, interesting and beautiful food. They also cater fantastically for all dietary needs which I think is a real credit to the restaurant.
I look forward to going back, in another season and seeing, participating in and learning from this fantastic team doing what they love to do with a new harvest. I love being inspired by chefs and look forward to implementing some lessons in my own catering. Thanks guys!!
