Last Friday night, along with a gang of 20-odd hungry and visibly well wrapped up folks, mum and I optimistically braved the elements for the first of Hotel du Vin’s 2011 BBQ events. The theme for this one was of particular interest for those who like their food local, organic/free-range and tasty. Frankly, if you don’t fall in to this category, you should really be asking yourself some questions!
Peelham Farm itself, based near Berwick Upon Tweed, has been running the scheme to encourage individuals and families to become more involved in understanding how animal rearing on a 21st century farm committed to a compassionate organic methods works More information on the Farm and the POATers scheme can be found at this link.
Back to Hotel du Vin and Chef had decided to celebrate Queenie and Prince Charming by organising the event, which was billed as an end of winter ‘pig out’. Priced at £35pp for as much sexy organic pork as you could eat, not to mention booze, this seemed to be a bit of a bargain. We were shown through to the back courtyard (that I hadn’t noticed before on previous visits) which was stacked with a beast of an industrial grill/bbq, and lots of tables and chairs under strategically placed outdoor heaters.
The first part of the evening was a convivial welcome by Chef, who told us about Peelham Farm and POATers, a bit about he sources his kitchens’ meat and produce, and lastly (and most temptingly) a verbal tour of the buffet and BBQ items on the menu that night.
To say a feast was laid out before us is something just shy of ridiculous understatement. Peelham not only work in traditional butchery, but also specialise in European style charcuterie methods. The result was laid out before us on the cold buffet in a kind of ‘who’s who’ of the best, tastiest things you can do with pork.
There was chorizo, a fabulously rich salami with punchy peppercorns and fennel seeds through it, a superbly silky prosciutto, and pig’s head brawn which I admit I was too lame to try. The triumph? Definitely the potted rillettes . As fellow diner (5pm Blogger and foodie writer) Jonathon Trew pointed out on his way back for seconds ‘-pork slow-cooked in duck fat. It just doesn’t get any better…’.
So far, the flavours of the evening’s eats were eliciting Homer Simpson style ‘aggggggggg’ sounds all round. Special mention has to also go to the accompanying salads which were all designed with pork’s sometimes fatty qualities in mind, For example, the crunchy Waldorf was made with plain yoghurt instead of mayonnaise, and the best of all was the freshest-tasting salad I’ve ever had. At risk of bad imitations appearing elsewhere, it had thinly shaved fennel, crisp haricots verts, tons of excellent pitted black olives and the masterstroke which was the lemony dressing with proper shavings of lemon zest. Top dollar. There was also a cold leg of pork which had been stuffed with Stornoway black pudding. Secret plans of strategy exits with giant sides of pork in handbag/under coat were hard to resist…
On to the grill. In all honesty, there was no way we could have tried everything without insisting on a room for the night on medical grounds, however we did manage to try the ribs, and the pork chops which were elegant little Frenched chops with giant tasty BBQ flavour. Next some leg meat which had the most perfect crackling. The best description I came up with on the night was that it was reminiscent of the cinema in that it was super crunchy and buttery like popcorn kernels. Lastly, I had a small taste of the pork loin, wrapped in bacon which had a sweet apple-y stuffing. We didn’t get round to trying the sausages, pork belly or the burgers, but by no means feel like we missed out!
With the generous pouring of crisp Spanish white wine by the friendly team, and the amazing food, this was a wonderful night for ‘thinking whilst you eat’. Mum and I had a great old blether about how great it was to know where everything we were eating came from. She had started buying and teaching us about free-range and organic meats around 20 years ago, and so this really was the perfect event to bring her along to.
Three cheers for those piggies (in this case us, and our appetites), and for the Tamworths too!
…and finally, a little word about that courtyard, which will be turned into the Veuve Clicquot outdoor bar for the summer. Bring on those balmy (gas-burner fueled) nights.
For more info on Hotel du Vin and their events go to their website at http://www.hotelduvin.com/hotels/edinburgh/edinburgh.aspx
Leila, Thanks so much for this excellent blog post, and your continued brand love. All at Hotel du Vin in Edinburgh.
You're most welcome peeps! Thanks for making such tasty food! xxx
Thanks again Leila! So glad you could make it… Here's to more joyus foodie occasions!
Your new Hotel du Vin friend,
Cherry ; )