Christmas Cheer to all of you!

We have had a lovely run up to Christmas - busy lunches and time to chat to customers as well - a real treat. Lisa and I have been told many times that we are "never at Peppercorn" - but we are, honestly. We start work at 8-30 am and finish at around 3pm and there are only two days a week when we are not there - so please do come and chat to us - but early in the day is the best time - whilst we are prepping the dishes for the day ahead and before the lunch rush hits! We do occasionally take an admin day to plan menus, events, staff  rotas and training plans for our wonderful apprentices - but otherwise we are at Peppercorn having fun - and would absolutely love to see you!
We have a lovely Christmas menu to tempt you - REAL chilli hot chocolate, fabulous Festive Cranberry and Almond cake (with edible glitter atop!), Lamb Tagine, Moroccan meatballs, Green fritters, Sausage Hotpot, Pork Terrine, Smokes mackerel pate, Hoummous, Carrot and Parmesan fritters, Vegetable broth with dumplings, Fish Provencal, Bread and butter pudding, Warm spiced oranges and figs with star anise, Creamy rice pudding with cardamom and rose water, Semolina, lemon and marmalade cake, Giant caramel meringues and much, much more - so come along and warm yourselves beside the log burner and join us for a very merry Christmas.
Remember - we are open EVERY DAY EXCEPT CHRISTMAS DAY!!
See you soon - and have fun!

Christmas fun!

Today we had the Stitchers Lunch. What a lovely group of ladies they are - we provided lunch for 17 of them at the church rooms in the village and were serenaded by their whistle playing and laughter. We loved it!
On Friday it's carols around the tree at 7pm - but before that we hope that as many people as possible pop in to Peppercorn for a complimentary carrot, coriander, lentil and coconut soup or Bangladeshi Dal to warm you on your way. After the carols we shall stoke up the log burner, lock the door, close the blinds and embark on the hilarity of our staff Christmas party! Everyone will be bringing a game but we know which game we'll start with  - it involves rugby socks and oranges - enough said!! I PROMISE we'll post some illustrations here after the event. What fun is to be had!!

Time to get jolly!

I think it's time to get a little bit jolly!

The weather is taking its toll on us all, and we're fed up with it! It stops people coming out and and makes us all feel dark and gloomy; so let's change the mood- I think it's time to get the fairy lights up at Peppercorn and for you all to come and indulge yourselves a little.
We have a new cake that we're testing - it's Boozy Lime and Cocoa marble cake. It's has a tangy and rather heady juiciness to it (could be something to do with the brandy...?) and curiously, after a slice, one's mood brightens palpably. I think some chantilly could possibly complete the experience.

As you know - we intend to open every day apart from Christmas day; and our opening hours over the two week festive period will be 11am 'til 3pm (from January 6th it'll be back to 10am 'til 4pm). We shall be offering the usual real hot chocolate with chilli as a popular option and if there's anything we've made during the year that has taken your fancy and that you'd really like us to put onto the menu over Christmas and the New Year- then let us know and we'll give it our best shot.

The secret Supper Club is really taking off. We had a full house for our Indian themed evening last week and we are really looking forward to the next one, which will be in January. The date and the theme is yet to be finalised, but Persian is taking my fancy..... - we shall probably decide tomorrow during our admin day.

We have made some lovely and rather unusual chutneys which will be available to buy within the next few weeks and we may even get time to make some of our Peppercorn mini Christmas cakes -  if we get enough requests for them, that is.........

Need ideas for Christmas?

We have come up with an idea for Christmas gifts for those people who are tricky to buy for- or who simply have everything! Why not buy them a Peppercorn Kitchen Cafe Voucher?
We have printed some lovely voucher  cards which come in their own envelope ready for you to send in the post or simply to put under the tree.
You choose the value of the voucher - anything from £5 (for a coffee and meringue, perhaps??) up to as much as your generosity (and pocket) will allow.
Our lemon curd is still available for you to buy at £3-50 a jar; and our packets of Peppercorn Kitchen Meringue Kisses are only £2-50  per pack.

Also - there are now only 2 tickets left for this Fridays Secret Supper Club. We are really looking forward to the evening- it's a lovely way to be able to spend some time with our lovely customers - instead of just shouting a quick hello over the passe during a busy lunch service.
We'll try to post some 'photos of the evening - and the food!
We think we won't have a Secret Supper Club in December because everyone has far too much on their social calendar already - but the New Year will find us trying out a new style of cuisine with which to tempt you. Not sure what yet ....so watch this space....
 

Secret Supper Menu for November

Here's the menu for November, as promised.

 Do please let us know what you think.

Secret Supper Club Menu for  Friday November 23rd 2012

A mixed platter starter of:
Mint paneer tikka‚ Spiced fishcakes and bhajis with pickles & chutneys

Mains

Southern Indian butterbean curry
( A smooth‚ creamy and slightly sweet curry with coconut and tamarind)

Punjabi chicken curry
(Tagged as ‘Soul food for the Punjabis’ it is a balanced dish of whole spice and Garam Masala to give a harmony of flavours that complement the flavour of the chicken)

Goan fish curry
(Layers of depth‚ tartness and a hint of sweetness)

Puddings

Coconut Bebinca
(A rich Goan dessert made up of coconut pancakes stacked with layers of coconut custard)

Spiced poached pears with star anis syrup

Mango mousse

Log fires, chutney and Happy Anniversary!

Winter is here...and we love it!
There's nothing lovelier than coming into the cafe at 8-30am and lighting the log burner; the small of the woodsmoke and freshly ground coffee and the  comforting crackle of the logs burning is a great accompaniment to the daily chore of early morning scone and meringue making, and that's before the real prep for lunch starts!
The first Secret Supper Club was a resounding success and so we've planned the next for Friday November 23rd. We will be creating a feast of Indian food and the menu will be posted here for you as soon as we've created it...! Again, the price will be £25 per head for three courses and a free cold drink and/or hot drink, plus you get to bring your own wine and there's no corkage fee. There will be a choice of three dishes for mains and pudding and a selection of starters to which you may help yourselves.
Our three apprentices are now well into their stride and doing really well. Toby is astounding us with all that he's learning during his one day a week at college; he has now begun to help with food prep and has even worked a couple of shifts as commis chef! Becca is getting to grips with the front of house requirements and has regular targets to meet and the lovely Amy - our precious manager is taking on even more responsibility - which is freeing Lisa and me up to have an entire admin day- we can plan menus, training schedules and even spend some time planning our book...more about that another time, but it is happening slowly but surely - we have begun to write our story (interspersed with recipes, of course). We have our title but can't decide which way round it should read:

The Afghan Princess and the Fishmonger's Daughter
or
The Fishmonger's Daughter and the Afghan Princess

what do you think....?

This 'photo is of Lisa and a ghostly Ollie during lunch service - sometimes Ollie is only half with us...

and this is Lisa - post coffee!

Meanwhile we are cashing in on seasonal, reasonably priced veg for our supplier - John Skewes, and so Orange, Apricot, Carrot and Vanilla Chutney is on the stove at the moment. If it works - it will be on sale at Peppercorn form the end of the week. Pop in and buy some - it'll make fabulous Christmas gifts along with our bags of Peppercorn Kisses!!
Finally - today is the two year anniversary of Peppercorn Kitchen Cafe - happy birthday to us- and many happy returns!

Secret Supper Club Menu for October

The take up for our Secret Supper Club was tremendous - in fact there are only 4 tickets left. Here's the menu so that you can see what you're getting (or what you're missing...?)

Secret Supper Club Menu

Friday 26^th October 2012

Starters

A Mezze of Hoummous:

Parsnip‚ fenugreek & nigella

Beetroot & orange

Pumpkin & za’atar

All served with warm pitta

Mains

Slow-cooked lamb and cherry tagine with Bohorat and honey

Prawn & ling tagine with capers‚ roasted aubergine & Ras el Hanout

Butternut & chickpea tagine with Berber spice and pine nuts

All served with saffron cous cous and yoghurt flatbread

Puddings

Honey spice cake with orange blossom & honey syrup

Date & rum ice cream with a cinnamon biscuit

Orange & dried fig salad with rosewater & crème fraîche

An idea...

Wouldn't mind some feedback on this one.
We've been asked so many times about our Blue Moon evenings and whether we'll ever revive them. Well, we've thought about it and have come up with an idea. How about a Secret Supper Club? The idea is basically that we host a dinner party at Peppercorn Kitchen once a month. We'll provide a three course meal (there will be a choice of dishes and guests will have chosen beforehand) and you can bring your own wine/beer. There will only be about 22 tickets available for each event and everyone would eat at the same time at one huge table.
We may even theme some or all of the evenings; so we could start with a Moroccan evening and next time maybe move on to the Middle East etc.
 It's a way for us to see you in a more relaxed, convivial and social setting, and it's also a way for us to pilot some of our new recipes.
At the moment we're compiling a database of contacts who are interested in hearing more about the idea, so if you'd like to be on the list- please let us have your e mail and if there's enough interest for the idea to run then we shall e mail you with the menu for the first evening and any further details.
Other than that it's business as usual at Peppercorn. The recession is really affecting us all now, the price of raw materials has rocketed and so some of our prices have gone up a little- but we hope that we still offer real value for money and dishes that you won't find anywhere else! We are so appreciative of our loyal local trade - we absolutely love seeing our regulars and value your friendship as well as your custom! Trade is still good at Peppercorn and we love coming to work every day - we have such FUN!
Amy (our wonderful manager), Becca and Toby have all officially started their various apprenticeships now. Toby attends Cornwall College once a week and works with us for the rest of the week, whereas Amy and Becca are both completing their courses in house.
The Lamb Kofte disappeared pretty darned quickly so we'll be making more of that soon, but meanwhile how do you feel about Parsnip and Potato Latkes (a bit like a rosti) with soured cream and salad, or Spiced Salmon fritters with sweet chilli sauce, pitta and salad, or local Sausage Hotpot with crusty bread to name but a few; and follow them up with Cardamom and rosewater rice pudding with pistachios, or Caramel giant meringues and clotted cream- and Lisa is really keen to make a Sticky Toffee Pudding........

Gorgeous September

What a stunning week of sunshine we've had - truly champagne days.

 Trade is still pretty darned good - the garden is full every day and we are blessed with people who really seem to love the food we offer, rather then asking us for something which isn't on our menu!

We've had a busy time of it this week - catering for teachers in Nancledra on Monday, catering for more teachers in Ladock on Thursday and Friday and a beautiful wedding feast tomorrow for 36 guests. The food for the wedding has been an absolute joy to plan and prepare because the bride and groom want Middle Eastern food - hummus, mackerel pate (OK- bit of a local twist, that one!)lamb kofte with a pistachio and tahini sauce, roasted aubergine salad with feta and a fresh herb and olive oil dressing, sweet labneh with rose petals and cardamom, rich yoghourt with dried fruits and honey - it will be beautiful to the eye and in the mouth! We'll post some pictures of the dishes so that you can salivate! We also wish Gail and Chris every happiness for their wedding and their future  life together.
We'll be losing some of our staff soon as they go off to university and start a new year of exciting developments in their lives. We shall hear all about their adventures when we see them again at Christmas - and then we shall tell them all about OUR adventures at Peppercorn - we have quite a few exciting things planned ourselves which we shall be revealing in the fullness of time.......!

Lavender Blue!

We have at long last discovered culinary pure lavender extract - we have one for hot food and one for cold (don't ask us what the difference is - we simply do what we're told!).
So - the latest additions to our summer menu are:

• Lavender meringues  - snowy white and beautifully fragrant
• Lavender and honey ice cream - a rich blend of the two flavours- very evocative of lazy hot summer afternoons.

We also have a new dish on the savoury menu this week - Pan fried blue shark with a rose petal salt and black pepper crust and served with an avocado and crisp leaf salad.

We had never tasted shark before and were impressed with the softness of the raw flesh - almost like scallop - and the meaty toothsomeness of the cooked fish - it's lovely!

For the sweet toothed, we have individual Summer puddings on at the moment. They are - as are the meringues - entirely fat free.....until you add the oodles of Chantilly or clotted cream, of course!

Business is thriving - and we seem to have just as many of our lovely local customers this summer as we normally expect at the end of the season, it's just what we'd hoped really; it's great to meet new customers and fantastic to see loyal and valued friends- a perfect balance.

We seem to be attracting more and more gluten intolerant eaters, too - since the majority of our dishes contain no gluten.  This is great news - although we do always point out that all food is prepared in the same kitchen so we can't claim to be a gluten free kitchen, but we do make delicious dishes which do not contain gluten. (Does that make sense?)

Thank heavens that the weather has perked up a bit and the children (and adults!) can have some outdoor fun before they get back to school in September. Here's to the rest of the summer - may it remain warm, sunny and full of fun and colour.

Sunshine Salad!

Hoping for some magic- we have created Sunshine Salad. If it doesn't bring out the sun, it should at least bring a smile and some sunshine into your life.
Also - Beetroot, cardamom and cherry salad.....really middle eastern flavours, with beautiful rich and glistening reds and purples; absolutely gorgeous.- and topped with some creamy, thick Greek yoghurt.
The geraniums outside the cafe are flowering at last, and our favourite - the fragrant and edible Pelargonium Graveolens - is making an appearance as a garnish for several of the Peppercorn Puddings.
We are delighted to welcome the delightful Toby Costelloe onto our staff (and hopefully as another apprentice). We count ourselves very lucky to attract such loyal, diligent, fun loving and honest staff - maybe we should post a staff photo onto our blog - what do you reckon?????

Last week we entered the world of preserving our own meat - we rubbed rose petal salt into a large piece of beef and then left it covered in the fridge to marinate for 4 days; we finished the process by washing off the salt and braising the meat gently for a few hours. We then pressed it for a couple of days and today we were rewarded with a delicious piece of home salted beef which we are slicing very thinly and serving in another of our Peppercorn salads.
By the way - if you haven't yet tried our new salads then you should get down here post haste; they're the most popular thing on our menu!

Oh yes- and a very Happy Birthday to Lisa!

Flaming June???

Hmmmm - June's been a bit of a damp squid so far; let's hope that today was the start of summer proper. Worrying that midsummer's day is only 3 days away though.....! However, trade at Peppercorn has been better than ever so there's a lot to be thankful for.
The ice cream machine is on nearly every day now- and we have added apricot and cardamom; and raspberry, vanilla and white chocolate (very rich and very, very yummy!) to the pudding menu. We also tried a new middle eastern dish called Turkish rose pudding; it's basically a smooth rice pudding flavoured with rose petals and cream and topped with fresh raspberries.

The selection of salads is also going down a storm, we now offer a very colourful Greek salad (whilst the sun is shining) and sesame crusted halloumi slices topped with roasted vine tomatoes and home made pesto on a chilli couscous base. They really do look spectacular displayed in our huge white bowls.
The amount of fresh veg that John Skewes is delivering to us daily has now reached impressive proportions. Every day we arrive to a display of butternut squash, boxes of shiny purple aubergines, scarlet fragrant vine tomatoes and cherry tomatoes, huge red chillies and the usual carrots, lettuce and red onion for our house salads.
So - since writing the last couple of paragraphs we have made dark chocolate and cardamom ice cream which is extremely rich and fragrant and has a mousse-like texture.When I finally learn how to work this b..... blog I shall add a few photos of the dishes mentioned here, because they really are spectacular; but in the meantime please enjoy the over-sized  (why? WHY?) pictures of our cafe open sign and some figs ready to be baked

a taste of summer....

It's been really warm for a few days - is this what summer will be like?

We have finally bought an ice cream maker- and it's very exciting! So far we are offering Orange Curd ice cream and today we've made Lime and Basil ice cream (so far, this one is my favourite). These are on sale as part of our pudding menu and we are full of ideas for more delicious flavours. We both absolutely love the opportunity to invent new and unusual produce for our cafe and with the gorgeous fruit which is available at the moment, the ice cream future for Peppercorn looks promising!

Speaking of inventing - Ollie is a bit of an inventor, too - if unintentionally!

 He has been known to confuse a clove of garlic with a bulb of garlic. There is quite a significant difference between the two. About 25 cloves worth of difference, in fact! So when Ollie prepared a surprise Mothers' Day meal for his unsuspecting parents, you can imagine what the surprise was. I think they had a take away that evening, and had to fumigate the house........!
SO - when I found a tub of interesting looking sauce in the fridge and was told that Ollie had made it to accompany one of our new salads, I should have been prepared - but I wasn't. Neither was Faye; nor Amy - it nearly blew our heads off! It dawned on me that I was about to leave work to go to a singing rehearsal in someones house and that Faye would be dealing closely (!) with the public at the cafe for the rest of the afternoon - so we really had to do something about our horrendously garlicky breath. Faye reminded us that parsley was nature's answer to our problem - so we ate about 3 tablespoons of parsley, each............
have you ever tried to chew 3 tablespoons of parsley?
Or swallow it?
Or get it out of your teeth?
 Don't ever, ever try this at home -  unless it's a party game!

Or you'll end up looking something like this!!

Salads to die for!

You have to come and try the salads - they're amazing. We have 4 main course salads at the moment and they have been receiving great reviews. They are all vegetarian at the moment and all but one of them is gluten free - so to add to the 

• Butterbeans with sweet chilli sauce and fresh herbs
• Marinated aubergines with fresh oregano and chilli

we have

• Couscous with dried apricots, butternut squash and almonds
• Fennel, Feta and pomegranate with roasted potatoes, lemon and fresh sage

Miss them and it's your loss - honestly!

We are wishing madly that the warmer weather would arrive and stay awhile - I'm sure it will....soon!

Having had my two days off - I feel refreshed and can't wait to get back to work tomorrow!
I had a fun day today - cooking!
 We've acknowledged that we need to develop our pudding menu - so I had a little play at home. The rhubarb in the garden needed cutting, so I made Rhubarb and Vanilla Yoghurt ice cream and it's really delicious - so that's an idea for Peppercorn. We've also made a really delicious Orange ice cream which could go onto the Bank Holiday menu.
 Blackcurrant Leaf cordial sounded yummy, so we tried it, but it's so delicate that it doesn't really bear diluting- so seems hardly worth making again. A shame because it sounded wonderful!
We have also been looking at some new salads to serve as main courses and they seem to be very popular;
Butterbean and roasted butternut squash with  herbs and a sweet chilli dressing has sold really well and the latest new addition is Roasted aubergine with a herb dressing and crumbled feta. I shall post a couple of photos soon to tempt you!

Meanwhile here are some Peppercorn Kisses we are currently giving away with coffee!


We have decided to look at the world of Apprenticeships here at Peppercorn!
Amy - our lovely manager- is with us for another year, which is fabulous news; and Becca will be spending a year with us full time from September.  Becca has worked with us for 4 years now on a part time basis - so we have a couple of really experienced ladies to help us develop Peppercorn as well as our wonderful part timers. Ollie will be leaving us at some stage later in the year to begin a new career, and although we are thrilled for him - we are gutted at the thought of losing him and really don't want to think about it too much! Apart from being charming, considerate, handsome and extremely able - he is also bloody funny!
Anyways - back to the apprenticeships - Amy and Becca are looking at the scheme as a way to develop their front of house and management skills and we are advertising for an apprentice who will work in the kitchen with us and who we hope will have a particular penchant for patisserie......so you can see which way we're headed...!

We leave you with Angela - zesting those oranges for all she's worth!

Wedding frenzy!

Well - the wedding went without a hitch!
 Ludgvan church looked glorious in the sunshine and inside it was awash with anemones. The whole of Peppercorn staff was there (apart from Jordan who was skiing and Emily, who was away with her family) and the party in the evening was great fun - all catering run by Izzy, Becky and Sophie; pizza bases and toppings prepped by Ollie; Amy (our manager) taking the official photos and running around supporting the catering too; the Johanna Graham Jazz Trio wowing us with their music followed by DJ Jack Curnow getting everyone onto their feet later in the proceedings. We will post a couple of photos onto the blog just as soon as I've vetted them!!
Incidentally - if you want an utterly fabulous wedding reception with food to die for - go to Ben's Cornish Kitchen in Marazion. I did - and the family is still talking about it - thank you Ben and staff!

I think Peppercorn is just about ready for Easter, we have some new menu ideas to try out on you. Six main course salads to offer alongside our usual hot and cold offerings. More details in the next blog - but feedback always gratefully recieved. It's lovely that we can begin to use wild flowers in our food again. They look pretty and taste great too!
We are now open from 10am 'til 5pm, and last food orders are at 4pm. We need the final hour to stock take, plan and order for the next day - apart from cleaning the cafe to within an inch of its life!
Alex came to try out a work experience with us last week, and we're all delighted to welcome him onto the permanent staff rota now. Well done, Alex.
We've had some great reviews on Tripadvisor- it's so lovely to hear that what we offer works for our customers. We have also had two enormous ads in the Cornishman as a result of the Accelerate Cornwall competition which we entered last autumn - so check that out if you haven't already seen it.

We have all sorts of staff training in the pipeline - a teambuilding day in the summer, a landscape management walk and talk on April 15th (run by Colin Nankervis of Towednack) and we are about to join the Apprenticeship Scheme which allows us to train staff to gain an official accreditation in areas such as Front of House management, Patisserie etc - how exciting!

Well - I think we're ready for Mothers' Day.
 We've planned a menu that offers a variety of flavours so that it will appeal to every age group and to both men and women - at least, we think we have.....?
We are offering Fish Provencal as a light and tasty lunch, Organic Lamb Tagine with apricots and served with couscous as a more substantial and aromatic meal, Carrot, Parmesan and Chick Pea Fritters for a fresh and obviously vegetarian option, Local Sausage Hotpot for the traditionalists and Creamy Chicken and Sweetcorn Chowder for comfort food. We shall also have some gorgeous puddings as well as the obvious meringues and cakes. Feel free to bring a bottle of wine if you wish - there's a £1 corkage charge and we'll provide the glasses!
We are closed on Monday 19th for our annual spring clean. we have a deep clean every week, but this time we shall be painting the walls and bleaching the outside tiles and hopefully planting out some herbs and annuals to enhance the outdoor dining experience.
We are also closed on March 24th because Jenni is getting married and all the staff will be there!
Otherwise we are open every day as usual. It won't be long 'til we open until 5pm - we'll keep you posted on that.
Meanwhile - Amy's in Paris, Izzy's off to London and has been forbidden to go anywhere near Ottoleghi's, Angela is moving house, Georgia's off on a cruise, Abbi and Becca are just back from skiing, Richard's off on an amazing rugby tour to exotic places ( clearly I can't remember where, but will post the details soon) and Lisa and Jenni are still here.
This Saturday we are catering for the Hookers Day at Marazion Community Centre. It's open from 10am and there will be lots of wonderful knitwear, hooked and proddy'd rugs and many other craft items to buy- as well as the delicious Peppercorn cuisine, of course! Hope to see you there.

Lynfield Yard

I meant to mention this yesterday! Whenever we have a group of customers who arrive at our busiest time and need to wait for 5 or so minutes for a table- we always direct them to our neighbouring businesses in Lynfield Yard. Literally within a few seconds you can be in the lovely Cowhouse Gallery admiring the jewellery, fine art, photography, ceramics and sculpture for sale. They have a selection of delightful greetings cards too. The gallery is run as a co operative, so you can often chat to the very artist of the piece you are interested in!

 Right next door to the Cowhouse gallery is Toppers Too, a bijou hairdressers, owned by Jenny, which is very popular.
 There is also The Beauty Retreat - Lucy's beauty salon offering a wide selection of treatments and pampering.

 The Sewing Box - run by Rose - will alter items of clothing, curtains etc, or make to order, on request.

Last but by no means least is the Craft Centre and Cornish Wools both businesses are Val's - it's a great place to go to buy gifts, clothing, jewellery, cards, ice creams, milk, eggs, cream etc - and the selection and quality of wools available (many dyed by Val herself) are astounding. People drive from the other side of Cornwall to buy wool from here so it's really worth a visit.

Of course - if you'd rather, you can sit in our garden sipping a cordial or other drink of your choice, and wait for us to get your table ready for you. You can bring your own bottle of wine if you wish - we charge a £1 corkage fee. See you soon!

Winter Blues!

We have been struggling with staff absence this past couple of weeks - winter colds have pretty much got all of us at some point and even Lisa and I had a day off each to sit at home feeling sorry for ourselves. Thank goodness the first day of Spring is just around the corner!
Speaking of Spring  - we have planned a complete Spring Clean for Monday March 19th - so we will be closed on that day. Advance warning - we will also be closed on March 24th - because Jenni's getting married!! We shall be open again on Sunday March 25th as usual.
The menu is gradually changing as the new spring vegetables appear - our Vegetable Broth with dumplings is still really popular, Spiced Parsnip soup is being made as we speak by the lovely Amy (the spices on the roasting vegetables for this soup really do give a rich and aromatic flavour to the dish.).

   We have Lamb Tagine on at the moment, served with a tian of crushed new potatoes and salad- we get nearly all our meat products from Vivian Olds in St Just - it's just lovely to serve local produce whenever we can, and Spring lamb is simply delicious.

 We also get our local veg and fruit from John Skewes at St Hilary, he delivers first thing in the morning and we love to see him for a quick chat - and a very accurate weather forecast!
We've introduced a rich Chocolate Mousse and a Pear Frangipani tart this week so do let us know what you think of them.
We have had a few large groups wanting to book tables for lunch - so we've made a decision to accept bookings for 10 or more people.
Off now to plan a delicious Mothering Sunday menu - let's hope it's sunny so that you can enjoy a yummy lunch whilst watching the sea and listening to the birds!

What a review!

What a fabulous review in the Western Morning News - we had a full page spread of lovely comments and scores of 10 out of 10 in every category! We've had many new customers this week, on the strength of the review. One couple came down from Launceston for lunch and another couple drove 120 miles - wow!

We had a visit from GB Boardriders Shifting Horizons Transition Programme last week - they're working with young people and introducing them to a variey of different work environments. We spent a very interesting couple of hours answering questions about Peppercorn Kitchen, how it all started, our vision for the future, how we find and enrol our wonderful staff etc.
They also offered some really helpful comments regarding our blog and website. For instance - we have never mentioned that we recycle our plastics, glass and cardboard; our waste vegetable peelings and any stale bread goes to a local pig farm and our take away containers are all bio-degradable and some are made from recycled materials. We have also now joined Facebook and Twitter - thanks to you guys!

We received a wonderful gift from the heavenly Di Cox - Hooker Supreme - here it is - the Peppercorn Girls wall hanging- decide for yourselves who is who!!

So this week our Moroccan Briks have been really popular. They take an age to prepare, but Amy is meticulous and they look beautifully symmetrical when she makes them. We have tried Spinach and Feta Briks, Chocolate Ganache and Banana Briks (obviously a pudding dish!) and today we made Lamb Kofte and mashed potato Briks. The Venison Casserole with creamy mash is a more rib-sticking option for those needing a more substantial lunch - possibly followed by Star Anise Rice Pudding?

Lisa has perfected the art of piping meringue for the Pavlova bases. Mine were an extraordinary shape when I tried them - a bit like an upside down thimble! I shall have to get some practise in, I think!

We're off for a press release photo shoot tomorrow - with Ben from Ben's Cornish Kitchen in Marazion. I had what was definitely the most delicious meal of my life so far - at Ben's last Saturday evening.

 If you haven't been there yet - BOOK A TABLE!!

Publicity!

What a magical week!

It's been great fun at Peppercorn - busy, busy lunches; cards and e mails from appreciative customers (how absolutely lovely is that?); we've joined Taste of the West, applied to join the West Cornwall Food Guide and tomorrow we have a review coming out in the Western Morning News.....let's hope it's a good one!

I have to say that our staff training on Thursday evening was a joy - Di came along as our baking consultant and tutored the lovely Angela - who now makes sponges to die for!
Honestly - they're huge!!! Photos to follow I think.

The dish of the week has to be the Peppercorn Pavlova - an individual circle if piped meringue, with tangy lemon and lime curd topped with delicate peaks of chantilly cream and drizzled with a blackberry and blackcurrant coulis. There are still a handful left, if you're quick.....!

Next week we have a Children's Morning Birthday Party - so I anticipate some stupendous 'photo opportunities coming up.

Fritter heaven!

So this week has been largely about Fritters....
The Green Fritters with Lime, Chilli and Coriander butter is a real favourite with our customers, but sometimes change is good. Carrots are currently cheap, tasty and readily available and chickpeas provide a lovely creamy texture so Carrot, Chickpea and Parmesan Fritters were creatd by the lovely Lisa this week. They are wonderful! They rise like scotch pancakes and are very light; they have a crunch from the carrot, creaminess from the chickpeas and a salty tang from the parmesan. Of course - they contain a little cumin too - Lisa made them after all, and cumin is her trademark!!
Next will be the  Beetroot , Butterbean and Cardamom Fritters - I can't wait!

Today, Amy and I have ben making vatloads of Lime and Lemon curd - we sold three jars within an hour - so hurry down if you want to buy some before it all disappears.

In the summmer we picked lots of blackberries and blackcurrants and froze them. January seems a good time to transform them into a scrummy red fruit coulis with which to top our Peppercorn Pavlovas. They are individual Pavlovas which contain home made lime and lemon curd, freshly whipped and piped chantilly cream and our gorgeous summery coulis. Can you afford to miss out on this treat?

Amy - our fabulous manager - is going to add some photos to our weekly blog so that you can see more clearly the tempting offerings available at Peppercorn each week. Watch this space.......

here's a picture of the Butterbean, Beetroot and Cardamom Fritters!!!!!

It has been a busy week at Peppercorn with lots of catering for Team Teach as well as a full cafe for lunches.

My favourite dish of the week?  Spanish pork & almond stew - simple, full of flavour of bay, thyme, garlic and obviously pork and almonds!

Apparently there are some huge mackerel ripe for the catching so if anyone fancies jumping in the nearest kayak and bagging a few we'd be more than happy to take them.

Forecasts are predicting cold and clear this weekend, so a good walk ending with a roaring fire and a hearty dish at Peppercorn may be just the ticket!