Wherever possible, produce is sourced locally, supporting local artisan businesses, and reducing our
impact on the environment. In addition, food must be produced ethically, such
as free range and organic.
Menus include traditional options, such as a hearty cooked breakfast
with a range of choices, but also some lighter energy options, such as fruit
smoothies, smoked salmon and melon and ‘Croc Messieurs’ croissants.
Breads include locally produced Chilli and Cheese and Pumpkin sourdough
breads, as well as traditional multigrain and white for a naughty treat! When
available we support Trewithen Cornish butter, although it’s hard to find their
unsalted version. Organic products include West Country milk, cereals and nuts,
and our own home grown apple juice from our orchard, pressed locally by ‘Tamar
Valley Apple Juice’, in St Dominick.
The apple juice’s sweetness depends on the mix of apples currently,
because crops have been poor. Known varieties are: Lanes Prince Albert , Bramley Seedling, Egremont
Russett, James Grieves, Cornish Aromatic, Cox’s Orange Pippin, Howgate Wonder,
Worcester Permain, unknown but small and red. In a good year we hope to produce
both a dry apple juice based on the ‘cookers’ and a medium based on our
‘eaters’. Sadly, despite a late Spring,
no frost and visible bees, which was a relief, it wasn't a brilliant good crop again this year but we did double the number of bottles of organic apple juice to 62.
We are sourcing water for guests rooms and breakfast from www.justwater.biz, near Bodmin
We are sourcing water for guests rooms and breakfast from www.justwater.biz, near Bodmin
We did indeed have a slightly better Derbyshire Plum
damsons crop this year, so our very special organic, pickled
damsons are almost ready to go on our menu. The recipe was given to us by a wonderful
lady we knew in Cardiff ,
which had been handed down to her by her mother. They go brilliantly with bacon
or Halloumi cheese.
We did indeed have a great crop of home grown 'Brown Turkey' figs; better than any you buy in the shops on the proviso you got to them before the 'bumper crop of wasps' and the birds.
We did indeed have a great crop of home grown 'Brown Turkey' figs; better than any you buy in the shops on the proviso you got to them before the 'bumper crop of wasps' and the birds.
Meat products, where possible, are free range, though we have to admit
that sadly it is hard to find free range meat in this predominantly farming
area. Bacon currently has to come from Hampshire! We have now found rare breed
sausages, but we have to go to Launceston for them, so not what you call local,
local. All our eggs are free range being supplied by Pete Maunder, a local
light haulage company, based in Gulsworthy, on ‘the other side’! Their chickens
spend their days in the fields amongst the hedgerows and run home at night (I
keep seeing the picture of their little legs kicking out) for their last feed
before being locked up for their own safety, for the night.
If you have booked a true retreat in The Tamar Orchard Barn, you are very welcome to book a cooked breakfast, for one morning or all, for £7.95 or indeed, we can offer a luxury Continental Breakfast hamper delivered to your door.
If you have booked a true retreat in The Tamar Orchard Barn, you are very welcome to book a cooked breakfast, for one morning or all, for £7.95 or indeed, we can offer a luxury Continental Breakfast hamper delivered to your door.
We are also offering truly Cornish Cream teas, with locally made
strawberry jam and Trewithen or Roddas Cornish clotted cream for those
afternoons when you have come back from ‘discovering the extraordinary’, and
all you want is a truly English cup of tea, but can’t resist the temptation of
a holiday treat!
We are still
looking for interesting, ethical and inspirational ideas and products so 'watch this space', as this page will continually evolve through our 'journey of discovery' in the beautiful Tamar Valley and Cornwall.
Our general environmental
policy is to follow but in the meantime, we only use laundry and cleaning
products that have not been tested on animals, predominantly the Co-operative’s
own branded products which carry the BUAV logo www.buav.org. We do not use duck or goose feather or down duvets because the trade is founded on cruelty and thanks to the well planted gardens, we only use 'no air mile' flowers in guest rooms and the house. Our soaps are handmade locally, with natural ingredients, by Odds & Suds in Tavistock www.oddsandsuds.com.
