‘Autumn Olive’

Over the last couple of weeks I’ve visited some inspirational local places, starting with the Riverford Field Kitchen. It was a pleasure simply to walk there, past a field of monster pumpkins and the apple press and then to sit down in the sunny barn at the long refectory tables and meet our fellow diners. Because I am a very small person who likes simple, organic food it’s unusual for me to really enjoy eating out. Everything seems too heavy and rich, over flavoured and the portions are too large. So it was just perfect for me to be able to help myself from a selection of dishes brought to the table and to find that this was essentially really fresh, good quality food that was naturally full of flavour and cooked with care and imagination. I can’t remember the last time I so enjoyed a meal out…why has it taken me so long to visit the Field Kitchen?

The next highlight was a tour of the Agroforestry Research Trust Trial Site, which is right here in Week so naturally Ian and I were the last ones to arrive and had to sneak in at the back of the group. The tour was led by Trust founder Martin Crawford, who generously allowed us to graze our way through a remarkable collection of tree crops including giant walnuts, chestnuts, plums, apples and more. My personal favourites were the ‘Autumn Olives’ and ‘Himalayan Buckthorn’. The former is a beautiful grey-green leafed shrub with jewel like red berries which are like eating the ultimate sour sweet…the first impression is like being hit with a lemon followed by a delicious sweet aftertaste.

Himalayan Buckthorn

I remember watching Ray Mears wax lyrical on the health giving qualities of Sea Buckthorn, which has been native to England for thousands of years. Quite which sea the Himalayan version grows by is anyone’s guess but they do taste slightly less astringent than our native ones, though still very like neat vitamin C tablets. If you have any ground of your own, why not consider some permanent agriculture? Martin has a wonderful nursery of plants to help you get started. Check out the links to his and the Riverford site at the side of this blog…