Honeybuns Cakes
Hi there,
Well Keith Floyd was ace, he just seemed to be a really genuine kind of a bloke.He freely admitted that if he were set up with a fabulous business he could toast it, financially, within about 18 months. I think he quite liked his gambling in his hey day & did not seem to be risk averse. He recalled how, when he first started to make money with his first restaurant he bought an E type.His wife was not happy & suggested a new commercial kitchen would have been more sensible.
I especially liked the normal, non flash way he talked about his menu in his first ever restaurant, robust French flavours using plenty of cream, brandy & cooking offal as tenderly as others would treat the more expensive cuts. He explained how to make a pig’s trotter terrine in really easy to follow detail.
Charlotte & I shyly approached him at the end, with a sort of quiet pincer movement.I handed him a piece of gluten free Almond Moon, which was a bit warm after sitting in my pocket all evening. He was very charming & let Char take a photo on her mobile of Keith & I. I know it’s a bit starry eyed & silly, but I was really chuffed to meet him & to have a kind of cuddle/photo op hug with the great man (this was all one sided from me).
Well,hows about our Christmas team outing? Weymouth on Saturday was action packed. Mallams on the quay was the restaurant we booked for our team meal. The food was delicious and superb value.Our Australian waitress was ace & enjoyed giving us a good kicking ref the Ashes.The owners, sadly, looked really nervous all night.There were over 20 of us so there was a lot of laughter etc but judging by their grimaces you’d think we were going to run amok naked. Still, they looked after us really well & we’ll recommend it to everyone. Just a shame they didn’t seem to enjoy it as much as we did!
After bowling, our delicious supper, afew drinks we migrated to Harrys club which is where we had a marked scattergun effect with our group. Us older ones nestled into the comfy seats, kicked back & gossiped.Alledgedly two younger members of our party got stuck into a bit of pole dancing upstairs- at least it wasn’t in the restaurant- that truly would have ruffled some feathers.
Lots of pulling of legs & un pc teasing was the general idea of the night & it was lush to see everyone getting on so well & having a laugh.
Sunday was such a great day weather wise that Aud ( part time Bee Shack helper & v. good friend from down the lane & Ted (has also worked at H’Buns) & I went to Kingston Lacy.It’s a stunning country House nestled in expansive parkland & gardens. The house was closed for the winter but we had a really good stomp around the gardens.There is a great book detailing the memoirs of Viola Banks who lived there as a child. It is called ‘ A Kingston Lacy Childhood’.In it, she writes fondly of her naughty pony ‘Silvertail’. as we were all walking back to the ubiquitous National Trust shop I spotted a gravestone tucked away behind some trees. It was ‘Silvertail’s’ grave, died 1915. I found that really moving- all those childhood memories & happy times-all disapperaed along with a whole way of life.
Anyroad, back to work: we’re doing up last orders for our trade customers this week. I’ll finish any outstanding annual reviews & I’m off for a pheasant plucking lesson with Dave Gibbs at 10 am this morning so I’d better shoot,
Love
Em x
