Families Love Food

Our food has an incredible journey.

It begins in the soil, passes through many hands, fills our kitchens with tempting smells, and somehow ends up bringing everyone happily to the same table.

Food is so much more than what appears on the plate.

For children especially, it can be an adventure, a science experiment, a geography lesson, and an opportunity to get gloriously messy.[Practicing knife skills with dad – carefully.]

If we’re lucky, the experience is a valuable opportunity to discover that vegetables are considerably more interesting when you’ve helped choose them, grown them, chopped them, or argued passionately about how much cheese should go on top and what sauces might make it all taste better still.[Just how many different types of beans are there and which sauces would you prefer to add favourite flavours to this multi-bean special. RECIPE HERE.]

When the whole family gets involved in finding, choosing, preparing and cooking food, eating becomes an experience rather than simply a necessity.

Your children begin to understand where food comes from, why quality matters, what makes something nutritious, and how flavours, textures and aromas can transform a handful of ordinary ingredients into something … extraordinary.[Who knew there were so many different types, sizes and colours of tomatoes to choose from? Which would you choose for our award-winning Tomato Ketchup?]

Just as our own quest for the very best ingredients supports our passion to create premium sauces that are always … extraordinary.

And then there is the best bit – sitting down together to eat it.

The family table is one of the simplest places to create, develop and bond connection. It is where stories are swapped, opinions tested, laughter erupts, recipes are judged, and joy spreads.[What would you choose to top your quarter of the pizza with – tomatoes, mushrooms, sausage, salami, onions, cheese (and which cheese?), Red Onion Marmalade, Fig Relish, Chilli Jam?]

So perhaps the secret ingredient in family food isn’t a pinch of salt or a splash of olive oil.

Perhaps it’s involvement.

Give everyone a role, give them permission to explore, and give them a seat at the table.[You’ve earned it. You choose. What’s your topping of choice for a juicy hot dog.]

After all, food tastes even better when you’ve had a hand in making it, and family meals are considerably more fun when nobody is merely waiting to be served.

Let’s begin with something new and perfect for practicing those knife skills (carefully).

Knife skills?

Summer Ratatouille.

This is a classic, vibrant summer dish fit for any table. Eaten on its own with crusty bread, or accompanying just about anything from the BBQ or grill.

Adding Stokes Bloody Mary Tomato Ketchup with its BM spices and shot of vodka, gives it a wonderful depth, pulling all the delicious summery flavours together.

You will find this BRAND NEW RECIPE HERE.

Learning to follow a recipe?

Some recipes are relatively simple such as the ‘Rat’ (above). Others are more involved and the ingredients’ list seemingly off-putting.

Complicated Recipes?

This is a wonderful plate of food that’s worth the effort and a good one for learning to prepare the ingredients and follow a recipe:Crispy Chilli Beef

It’s not quite as hard and the lengthy ingredients list suggests it might be.

Get your ingredients together, double checking you have them all. Now prep them ready for the off. Read the method a couple of times, have a glass of wine, and away.

You’ll find the RECIPE – HERE.

Technique?

Don’t let technique, knowledge, or apparent lack of it put you off trying something new.

There are You Tube videos galore to help you. For this one, just Google ‘Spatchcocking a small chicken‘.Spatchcock Poussin.

Spatchcocking removes the backbone from the bird, enabling you to flip it over and flatten it out by pushing down on the breastbone.

Why bother?

The bird will cook quicker and evenly across its brown and white meats as the underside is now on top / alongside the breast.

You’ll find the recipe, technical tips and the recipe for a delicious Coriander Salsa Verde – HERE.

How’s your pastry?

This is a smile-raising dish if ever there was one. But, I wouldn’t have tried it if it wasn’t for the instructions in Andy’s recipe.Mushroom & Pancetta Strudel.

But, as usual with Resident Chef, Andy, it’s more than that. It combines white beans with wild mushrooms and Gruyere cheese in a white chicken sauce with our smooth, flavourful Dijon Mustard, all wrapped in layers of crispy filo pastry.

Treat yourself and beat those pastry blues with the RECIPE HERE.

Marinades – are they worth it?

This recipe illustrates the importance of a good marinade to soften the meat and add real depth of flavour.

DID YOU KNOW: you marinate meat in a marinade. Marinate / Marinade.

Simple Seduction.Asian Spiced Duck.

These juicy duck breasts carry a beautiful Asian spice and are served with yummy Miso & Coriander Mayonnaise.

A marinade seduces the gently bathing meat into giving more … taste, texture and tears of joy.

You’ll find this amazing RECIPE HERE.

Fancy a Cuppa?

Afternoon tea is not just a tasty meal but a fabulous excuse to enjoy cake, scones and crumpets before supper, excusing it as ‘tradition‘, not greed.

In a country where understatement is an artform, afternoon tea may be Britain’s most charmingly extravagant contradiction.

This is Anna (Mrs Stokes) and pals in her kitchen, preparing a feast of fruity joy for a Staff Tea Party.

Chaos – but delicious.We don’t intend to try to teach you how to bake, but do hope to inspire you to try.Classic Scones.

Clotted Cream, or Jam first?

Our late Queen (Elizabeth II) insisted on having it served ‘the Cornish way’ – jam first, with clotted cream on top. The Devon method is cream then jam.

Personally, I’m with the the Cornish way – how about you?Chocolate & Raspberry Jam Brownies.

CHEF’S TIP:

‘For a squidgy brownie, bake so that the centre of the brownies still “wobbles” a bit. Don’t worry, it will set as it cools.‘

Thanks Andy. squidgy indeed, but still with a crunch as you bite into it.

See Andy’s ‘best brownie’ recipe – HERE.Blackcurrant & Vanilla Cheesecake.

I know I’m bias but, our Blackcurrant EXTRA Jam has got to be the best in the business, packed to the gunwales with big juicy blackcurrants – magic.

CHEAT’S TIP:

Buy a plain vanilla cheesecake, spoon plenty of Stokes Blackcurrant Jam over it, and serve it with a nice cuppa … another tough day in the kitchen!

OR:

Follow Andy’s personal magic in his recipe – HERE.