Somehow July slipped by in a whirlwind of amazing food, festivals and wordcounts and suddenly it’s almost Port Eliot, almost August, and there’s an awesome showdown of events to put in the diary.
So sleepy in the winter, I had sort of forgotten the immense mayhem of summer in Cornwall. Friends running restaurants are trying to make a year’s takings in just a few short months, weaving in and out of human traffic is suddenly a travesty in town, and the dolphins are taking up all the space in the water!
It’s a good job there’s so much summer fun to be had with everything from festivals by the river to cider and beer. Grab a cool one, because this list is buff, and there’s probably a stack of stuff I know nothing about either. There’s no point in reinventing the wheel, so Cornwall Bites has a pretty good list of foodie events too.
Rebel Open Day
To launch a membership club, Penryn’s Rebel Brewing Company are opening their doors to the public for an open day. With tours running continuously, any fans over 18 can learn about the brewing process, and get to sample some world class beers too. The Rebel team have ensured that sustenance needs will be met by getting a burger van on site too, so if beers and burgers and some seriously cool merch are your thing, get to Penryn on 1st of August and see the brewing process take place.
Old Ale House Summer Menu
Full review to follow when scheduling will allow, but the Old Ale House have launched their summer menu. Having honed an intelligent hark back to childhood with its fish bites, there is also lots of lovely sticky barbecue-y bits that smell of summer and call out for the rolls of kitchen towel on the tables. This unpretentious dining is what summer’s all about, and each of the dishes created with the River Cottage team use seasonal produce and simplicity to bring really good food. The best thing? Affordable for everyone.
Hidden Kitchen supper clubs
Also having just opened, The Hidden Kitchen in St.Ives are hosting evening wine clubs on a Tuesday and supper clubs Wednesday to Saturday. From the food pictures on their website, it looks as though diners will be in for a real treat, as St.Ives continues to be a hotspot for foodies. Trained in chefing and hospitality, The Hidden Kitchen is a husband and wife team who also cater for private functions.
Port Eliot
Sprawling its way across July and August, Port Eliot is this weekend, and I’ll be on a mission to write about the best food I can find in the festival. Naturally, I already lean towards The Oyster Shack, since they have a reputation for excellent seafood, and I am pretty excited to see what James Strawbridge and Inkie’s will be cooking up in The Orangery Restaurant. I’ve heard it’ll be seafood-y too!
Star and Garter reopens with top menu
It’s all new openings this summer, and one of the ones I’m most excited about is the reopening of Falmouth’s Star and Garter pub. In its old incarnation, this pub had millions of teapots on the shelves around the pub, and made a mean G’n’T. Its new guise promises seasonal produce,even better views and and smokery and pickling area. With plans to use Warren’s butchers, revered by chefs such as Nathan Outlaw, and Newlyn fish, this is an exciting development for Falmouth’s foodie scene.
The restoration project has been several months in the making and we cannot wait to pop in and see how it’s all going next week!
Norton Barton
Are having Asado nights as part of their supper clubs at their artisan food village just outside Bush, near Bude. We went and sampled the first one, a Spanish themed night of great food and company. What was truly special was the atmosphere, as we sat among new friends and enjoyed the social sharing of food. Plenty of artisan bread and gorgeous locally sourced produce. The Gaucho grill night is on the 21st August.
Prior to that, they have a pig roast and cider night on the 6th of August to relaunch North Coast Cider. Mmmm, cider…
Curio release cardamom vodka
And oh my days this is AMAZING. Again, a full review will follow when I’ve finished flouncing around in fields, and when the labels have been properly released. This relatively new kid on the artisan spirit block, based in Mullion are impressing crowds with their interesting flavour combinations.
Holifair
Has a host of lovely veggie delights, as well as bands, dancing and circus. There’s something for everyone. This festival started as a few of us having a rootin’ tootin’ time in a barn. One year I spent the whole night arm in arm with my ‘soul mate’ who proceeded to hand out melon as the sun came up. It also revealed that he was essentially Brian from Spaced, and we, er… drifted apart! But it’s a lovely, family friendly festival.
North South
In Helston, a refurbishment sees the North South Restaurant reopening its doors. They are keen to use the very best produce on offer in Cornwall,and are providing seriously beautiful looking dishes for superb bargain prices. Like any self respecting Cornish eatery, they focus on provenance and localism, and have stripped the restaurant back to evoke a classic Cornish, nautical themed vibe.
We’ll be popping over there soon to check out the menu.
Thyme and Tide Pop Ups
Food in Cornwall is exciting at the best of times. We really like it when Pop ups come along to surprise us. Chef Lee Lake has got several different popups organised throughout August, including a complete sell out paella night this Friday. They are to be held in the Q Tea Rooms in St. Agnes. The following week he will be hosting a seafood BBQ on the 7th, with an Indonesian Nasi Goreng night on the 21st and a lobster BBQ at the end of August on the 28th.
Philleigh Way & 7th Rise
Have teamed up together to create a foraging course in Cornwall, over here on the South coast. With a lunch included, the day takes attendees through woodland, pastures, tidal estuary and hedgerows, meaning all bases are covered for foraging as much as possible. This runs on the 8th of September at Philleigh Way.
Bystro at the Bank opens
Over in St. Austell, the team at Bystro have been working hard to get ready for a soft launch this week. The new eatery plans to be a place for memories to be made, although with the craft beers and cocktails, possibly some will be lost too! 😉 We wish the team every success with their launch, and look forward to popping over sometime soon.