Wilderness Festival

Music, Food & Swimming

Charlbury is a pretty little village just outside Woodstock in Oxfordshire, it happens to be home to the vast estate of Cornbury Park where over the weekend the first Wilderness Festival took place.

What is known I believe as a “boutique” festival, i.e. it’s fairly small and not overrun with pissed teenagers, Wilderness had a compelling mix of music, food, discussion, workshops and a lake to swim in! Highlights on the main stage were Gogol Bordello’s gypsy punk, Mercury Rev’s complete run through of Deserter’s Song, the beauty of Laura Marling’s voice and the low-fi sweetness of the Low Anthem.

But it was the unexpected that sticks most in the memory: French 3 piece We Were Evergreen on a tiny outside stage under an Oak tree playing pop/folk tunes to the delight of everyone seated on the grass around them; coming across a crooning reggae singer at 2a.m. on an even tinier stage outside, on the hill above the lake making the small crowd smile and dance; a choir singing Beatles tunes, a honky tonk piano amongst hay bales in the middle of the site; an hilarious cricket match complete with Test Match Special spoof commentary.

Lucky enough to be friends with the couple who live in the gatehouse we camped outside their house with 12 other friends, enjoying bacon sarnies each morning, washed down with Rum & Coke. With access to the grounds of the estate, Russell our host was kind enough to provide a taxi service practically to the main stage. In fact at one point Mandy and I became terribly confused when we found ourselves backstage, able to join in with Gogol Bordello if we’d wished!

Amongst this weekend of highlights was the wonderful idea of having a feast each day, provided by a first rate restaurant. Friday was Thomas Hunt, Saturday, Moro and Sunday, Michelin Star Skye Gyngell of Petersham Nurseries. Mass catering, for 300 odd people (that’s odd in both senses, it is a festival after all) can be difficult as I’ve mentioned before, but when you have a reputation for excellence it really does get put on the line. Petersham Nurseries however don’t need to worry. This was one of the most enjoyable and memorable meals, with unexpected twists, just like the rest of the festival, in interesting company and all with the sound of the Guillemots playing in the background.

Sharing plates while sitting on hay bales, Parma ham on melon with feta and rose syrup not only looked beautiful, with rose petals scattered on the dish, but tasted of a Mediterranean summer. A very good Buffalo Mozzarella with finely sliced courgette and dried chilli cleansed and pleased in equal measure. Then while discussing the best places to live in London whole grilled sea bass with aioli arrived, looking impressive, to be followed by chunks of sirloin with horseradish and chimmichurri sauces. The steak was perfect, the fish delightful. In fact all the dishes were delightful, especially in the context of the occasion.

Nice too at a festival to have a good bottle of wine, a Spanish Verdeho, and to throw in a surprise at the end with some salty pecorino drizzled with honey.

Wilderness is a lovely festival, great bands, quirky stages, plenty to do and an excellent banquet.  Great food and music seem to go together it would be great to see more of this initiative at other small festivals.

Join the Caravan

Small plates of pleasure in London’s Exmouth Market

Working in Farringdon over 20 years ago I used to pay the occasional visit to Exmouth Market, especially when a greasy spoon was called for. This was in the days before The Eagle, around the corner, created the gastro pub, when the Quality Chop House on Farringdon Road was in sad decline and the best thing in the market was a fabulous little off-license selling very old single malts and Polish Bison Grass vodka. Since those drab days Exmouth Market, alongside its neighbours in Clerkenwell, Smithfield and Farringdon have been transformed. Twee furniture boutiques, shops that sell hand crafted greetings cards and of course restaurants now dominate the street.

Sam & Sam Clark’s Moro is largely responsible for the Exmouth dining transformation, towing other entrepreneurial restaurateurs in its wake. One of the latest is Caravan. Describing itself as a cafe, bar and coffee roastery, the premises sit on the corner of Exmouth Market and Farringdon Rd, and on a warm summer’s evening, make a superb early dining location prior to a trip to Sadler’s Wells a few minutes away. Tables spill onto the street, large bi-fold doors expose a clean efficient but warm dining room with cheerful, friendly and heavily tattooed staff (as is the modern way). Sitting outside amongst the trendy bustle of the street with a menu combining dishes and flavours from around the world our party of five chose a selection of small plates.

Amongst the excellent were Aubergine and Onion Bhaji, Tomato Jam and Yoghurt; soft, warm, slightly spicy. Delightfully salted, very tiny Sichuan Pepper Baby Squid had me elbowing my friends out of the way to mop up the last few. Serrano Ham came with smoked almonds, ginger wine figs, and the richest spicy La Bandiera olive oil, the whole dish melting with sweet, salty combinations. Those dishes that were still well executed yet not particularly memorable were the enticing sounding Deep-Fried Duck Egg, Capers, Olives and Anchovy Toast, a good rich egg but the olives and toast didn’t add much. A gypsy bun filled with Hoisin Lamb was pleasant as was the grilled tomatillo, feta, chilli, kikones and cumin. (Kikones by the way are salted corn kernels).

What made us all smile, apart from the sweet Camden Town Brewery beer and a lovely Pinot Blanc was the melt in the mouth Braised Beef Cheek with rich Espresso Mole sauce, Rosemary, Polenta and Plantain; the incredibly affable service, beautiful big bright green olives and quite remarkably lovely Cornbread.

Caravan 11-13 Exmouth Market, London EC1R 4QD
Tel: 0208 78338115

Dancing Fela lacks the Afrobeat

 Fela has been much praised and garlanded with awards and I can see why. Lively, colourful, a mixture of music, dance and politics, Fela tells the story of Fela Kuti, Nigerian  Afrobeat pioneer, polygamist and thorn in the side of the ruling regime. There is an awful lot of fantastic dancing. There is not enough of the music. Snatches of songs played by a superb band, tease the audience prior to dancing erupting once more. Frankly its a bit exhausting. I know its Sadlers Wells but songs like Zombie deserve to be heard in full, especially when leading man Adesola Osakalumi is so compelling as Fela.

Upturn and downgrade

The Three Tuns in Henley re-emerges as the foodie pub the town needs, while the Mountain View fails to see the writing on the wall.

Henley diners have been given a few more options of late with La Barca opening down by the riverside, The Three Tuns emerging from a period in the doldrums and the rebranding of Henley institution The Himalaya.  

This last shouldn’t occupy us for long. If anything the newly named Mountain View has downgraded. While it may have a new sign, carpet and whitewashed walls the budget, of which there wasn’t much in the first place, obviously didn’t extend to spice. Quite possibly the blandest Tandoori mixed grill and Sag Aloo I’ve ever had. Best I think to let the place die a quick death. Henley has too many Indian restaurants, this is by far the worst in so many ways, it’s never busy, apart from Henley week, and would do us all a favour if it disappeared.

I’ll review La Barca properly in a few weeks. I’ve been a few times since it opened and apart from a decent glass of white Rioja haven’t been very impressed. I hear the quality of everything has improved so will visit again shortly.

The Three Tuns in Henley’s market place, next to the region’s best butcher, Gabriel Machin, has had a varied history over the last 10 years. From drug filled student dive to profit guzzling landlord it was transformed around five years ago to a respectable gastro pub with an excellent menu. That venture was disappointingly short lived though, as was the most recent option which had very passable rustic French food but was rarely open. It must be a difficult space to make a living, there aren’t quite enough covers, the bar is in the middle of the room, separating the space in two; three if you consider there is a huge fireplace in the small dining room concealing a few more tables. Then there are the virtually outside ancient loo’s and a barn like space, well hidden in the back garden, plus a tiny kitchen.

So hats off to chef Mark Duggan and his wife Sandra who are working their butts off to make the place work, ably assisted by the their son who must be the politest barman in the business. There are different menus for bar and dining room, though that shouldn’t stop you ordering whatever you fancy in either room. On the bar menu it’s the homemade bread and pies that really impress. Foccacia with Cherry Tomatoes was beautifully salty and oily, while both the Chicken & Mushroom and Steak & Ale pies are meaty with rich sauces that perfectly complement a lovely mash, rich in olive oil. My only criticism of the pies is a lack of accompanying vegetables even as a garnish.

In the dining area I have only tried the Rib-Eye Steak with Café de Paris butter and this was pretty late in the evening so top marks for accommodating us with a charred yet still tender hunk of cow. The chunky chips were not the best. Sandra explained there was a problem obtaining the right quality of potatoes at this time of year. It’s a problem that needs fixing but I can’t imagine it won’t be.

The wine list has had a bit more thought than most pub’s and its pleasing to see both affordable and interesting options available by the glass as well as the bottle. The Rare Vineyards Pinot Noir, Vin de France is a good example of a regional French Pinot, with elegance, cherries and spice while the Argentine Etchart Privado Malbec, Valle de Cafayate is exactly what you want from a deep, plumy Malbec at a great price point.

A great deal of hard work is going into making this difficult space a success. It’s not flashy gastro food, but it is exactly what you want from a good local pub.

The Three Tuns, 5 The Market Place, Henley on Thames RG9 2AA 01491 410138
www.threetunshenley.co.uk

Leiths Food Writing Course - Pantry Newsletter

For 12 weeks this spring & summer I attended a weekly writing course at Leiths School of Food & Wine. One of the results is the newsletter Pantry, compiled and written by one small group of us.

You may notice that a couple of my contributions have previously appeared on this blog.

Many thanks to Lulu Grimes for leading the course and to Morgan, Lindsey, Angela and Jenny for making the collaboration such fun.

Pantry Leiths Newsletter