An Edible Voyage

October 2021 If there's one thing that the Scilly Isles aren't short of, other than incredible views, endless white sand beaches and an abundance of turquoise sea, it's homemade cakes.  St Mary's is dotted with cafes, commandeering beautiful coastal views and hidden along woodland paths, and one could be forgiven for thinking there's a inter-cafe cake competition going on.   Having spent a very strenuous week sampling many of them, I can conclude that Longstone Cafe wins it for me.  Vegan lime and homegrown courgette sits alongside an ingenious banoffee cake - think banoffee pie but with a banana bread base, and the absolute star of the show, the simple but absolutely perfect Victoria Sponge - an enormous wedge of the lightest, fluffiest sponge, filled with strawberry jam and oozing a generous layer of whipped cream. Redruth roasted Cornish Coffee beans are used in the espresso based beverages, with milk steamed well to make a delicious flat white.  In the drink...

June 2021 Along the bustling Ormeau Road, amongst the gelaterias, restaurants and cafes, is an artisan bakery who hand make everything in house.  And it's definitely popular - I could see the queue before I could see the shop!  The great thing about this place though, is that they seem to bake throughout the day, so despite not getting there until early afternoon, there was still a plentiful array of sourdough bread and pillowy soft cinnamon buns.  Scones and bombolini seem to be a speciality with several flavours of each - think toffee popcorn, and rhubarb and rose, alongside the most flavoursome soft and chewy bagels.  The poppy seed one was so good I ate it straight from the bag, and Malaysian spice and roasted garlic sounded very intriguing. Find Bread and Banjo on Ormeau Road, then take your haul a few steps down the road to Ormeau Park and enjoy it in the dappled light of a shady tree. If you find yourself east of Ormeau Park, check out Lazy Claire Patisserie f...

November 2020 Arriving in Torridon on an atmospheric grey day, I was determined to get out on my bike and cycle up to the Bealach na Gaoithe view point despite the impending drizzle.  Just before the top, the drizzle started and I arrived back at the youth hostel soggy. cold and unable to check in for several hours.  I remembered that just a few metres up the road I'd seen a colourful little sign for a cafe but hadn't thought much of it.  I decided that, if nothing else, there would likely be a pot of tea and somewhere warm and dry to thaw out for a while. And I was right! Nestled in to one end of the community hall was the popular and inviting Wee Whistle Stop cafe with a wall of windows overlooking the loch (or low cloud in my case), with an impressive selection of homemade cakes and scones, and a whole tea menu! The cakes are the towering but oh so light and fluffy kind that you wish you could make, and there's a selection of light meals too.  Find it at the Loch ...

March 2020 Afternoon tea always feels so decadent  but they can be quite samey.  I jazzed mine up with some exotic flavours.   'Sandwiches' of Red Leicester and Lincolnshire Poacher with home pickled rhubarb adding a crunch and cutting through the richness off the cheese, on deliciously chewy Yorkshire Levain bread.  Scones with sweet and spicy pineapple and pink peppercorn jam, kefir lime to freshen it up, and coconut cream for that luxurious creaminess.  Light, zingy and gluten free pistachio, rosemary and almond polenta cake with orange and thyme syrup, offset by malty assam tea.  The sparkle of prosecco bubbles fizzing on the tongue...

November 2019 If you’re on the hunt for picnic supplies to soak up the wine on a day exploring Sonoma’s vineyards, be sure to stop at Freestone.   This village is tiny with only a handful of houses but it’s big on artisan produce.   There’s a queue out of the door at Wild Flour Bread which makes many exciting flavours of sourdough, including lemon, olive and tarragon; Greek olive and zaatar; and caramelised smoked garlic – absolutely delicious with a crisp crust contrasting with the slightly chewy inside, and the sweet and smokey garlic balanced with the sour tang of the loaf.   In the queue, there was a lot of excited chatter about the cinnamon, walnut and raisin sticky bun.   I was envisioning a bun sized offering but it was in fact an entire loaf.   The filling wasn’t evenly distributed which meant some bites were overly sweet, and the cinnamon eclipsed the other flavours.   But maybe that’s just me as this loaf certainly had a fan club! They al...