May and June have provided us with an abundance of elderflowers which one of our wonderful staff, James, has been busily picking and transforming into our deliciously refreshing elderflower cordial. As soon as the sun shines our customers go mad for our sparkling or still homemade cordials (currently lemon or elderflower) and we're hard pressed to keep up with demand...or at least James is!
On the subject of seasonal picking, we'd like to thank Emma for her tender and tasty spinach and broad beans!
Now that the chilli, chocolate and beetroot cake is well-established at the café we thought it was time to extend our repertoire – you can now enjoy our clementine and almond cake as well as a slice of apple and sultana cake. Sticking with the sweet treats, we are offering more puddings on our specials menu including 'Summer in a Glass' – a light and airy confection of Chantilly cream, strawberries and our own homemade lemon curd. One of our customers came over all poetic after eating one claiming that it was, '...like eating clouds, and I could dive into the glass and swim in it...' I think there was more but you get the gist.
The events catering side of Peppercorn is going strong. We continue to feed, on an almost weekly basis, the hungry participants on the 'Team Teach' courses and at this point I think it is worth congratulating our lovely Ollie for single-handedly running the kitchen for one Team Teach day when 52 people attended. With a cool head and a steady hand Ollie served breakfast, lunch and afternoon tea and also completed the washing-up in record time. Normally, two Peppercorn people serving a mere 30 participants is no mean feat. Well done Ollie!
Other catering events in May and June have included a delightfully cosmopolitan 25th wedding anniversary in Newlyn (see photos) and an idyllic wedding held at Tomperrow Scout Ground near Truro. Congratulations to both the established married couple and to the newlyweds! Our wedding anniversary couple brought together family and friends from the UK, France, Spain and Italy and the sense of celebration was heightened with the lively babble of several languages and the colourfully decorated canopies framing the groaning trestle tables of food.
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| Carrot, orange & sesame salad with wild garlic |
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| Radish & broad bean salad with a green tahini dressing |
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| Spiced labneh |
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| Carrot & cumin terrine |
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| In the foreground, glimpses of green bean, hazelnut & orange salad; crab tart; goats' cheese tart; cucumber, poppyseed & chillis salad |
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| Peppercorn Kitchen Mezze: white bean hoummous; beetroot & orange hoummous; butternut & berber spice hoummous |
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| Rosewater & pistachio labneh with shortbread biscuits |
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| Roasted plum & star anis compote with creme fraiche |
Tom and Lucy's wedding day dawned sunny and warm – guests camped at the scout ground creating a mini-festival atmosphere complete with live music, plentiful salads (provided by us), a barbecue (provided by family) and even a puppet show (don't know who provided that one).
Away from catering and café, Jenni spent a relaxing week in France cycling and walking, and she may have forced down the odd glass of wine to keep friends and neighbours happy – what a trooper! Back on the home front, Lilla has progressed onto solid food – favourites of the moment are baby rice, avocado, soft-boiled egg and buttered soldiers and a bit of mango to satisfy her sweet tooth (currently 2 sweet teeth in fact).
