The Old Vicarage: kitchen blog

After the cold winter months summer is finally with us and with that comes British fruits. As I'm
sure any pastry chef will say summer is a hugely inspirational time of year as the colours are
becoming more vibrant and there are hidden gems of inspiration all around the garden.
This year we’ve started summer with a beautiful apricot dish influenced by British bees. In this
dish we feature a Wildflower honey that is rich in flavour, amber in colour and has notes of
toffee and raisins. This is perfect for our dish as it really enhances our granola.
To complement this dish we gently poach our apricots to bring out the natural sweetness.
Also add a vanilla pod to give a real depth of flavour to the apricot. The method of poaching
means the fruit gets simmered in a sugar syrup allowing it to take on the infused flavours.

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As we begin to enjoy the gorgeous summer sun and the days are becoming lighter, the fruits on offer
for harvesting are in full swing as we go through the upcoming months. I find this time perfect to
start thinking about the Game season and making a great Rumtopf with all the different fruits as we
go through the year. I use strawberries, apricots, plums, red currants, raspberries, greengages,
pears, gooseberries, peaches and cherries to create our Rumtopf at the Old Vicarage.
I would certainly recommend you use a really good quality rich dark spiced rum to ferment the fruit
as it will give you the best results and the best flavours. It will marry so well with pigeon, partridge,

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At last Spring has finally arrived with all its exciting new season’s ingredients on  offer:- asparagus, Jersey Royals, wild morels, wild garlic, tarragon, chives, tender  lamb – the list grows daily and I need to cook with all of them. 

We have an abundance of wild garlic in our copse but you can look for it on  riverbanks and lakesides.
As a fisherman I often bring handfuls home with me and  love the little star shaped white flowers to scatter over the food. 

Here’s a very simple asparagus starter from Nathan for you to try at home.

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