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Posted by: admin	Sunday, March 09, 2008
Each month we now send Cumbria Tourism four pieces of Food News, this is put on their website and ends up in various newsletters and marketing material. We get fully credited for our contribution and traffic is sent back to our site from the Cumbria Tourism site. The piece below is about Peter Sidwell from Keswick, a great chef who has just published his own book, be sure to visit the Cafe in Keswick if you get a chance, we certainly will be exploring more. ! “Welcome to my world, a world of mouth-watering food and breathtaking scenery”. The words are Keswick chef Peter Sidwell’s, author and publisher of a refreshing new cookbook, written to be enjoyed in the Lake District and beyond. "For chefs, Cumbria is just one big playground", says Peter Sidwell, owner of the Good Taste Cafe in Keswick. His new cookbook oozes a love of the Lake District and a love of food. Peter's enthusiasm is infectious – he is a grafter, he is confident and he is obviously a good chef. As a photographer and a foodie, this book has instant appeal for me, the standard of both are really excellent. If you want fine dining, i e white tablecloth type of food, then look elsewhere. Peter’s book contains down to earth, rustic, wholesome types of dishes. I like Peter’s take on this; “It's simply good taste”. Peter also says that "great food always seems to taste better in the open air", which is why many of the recipes in the book are designed to be eaten and enjoyed outdoors. A roasted vegetable and feta pocket is guaranteed to bring a packed lunch to life with some great fragrant flavours, just perfect for a days walking in the fells. Another practical addition to the rucksack might be the courgette and pesto quesadillas, in the book’s “Out and About section”. One of Peter’s passions is fly-fishing and of course the book contains some great recipes for fish. Lemon and horseradish are natural partners with trout or salmon. Peter’s twist here is to combine these ingredients with the potato gratin served alongside the fish and simply cook the salmon in olive oil, salt, pepper and a few fennel seeds. Or what about salmon by the lake, each fillet sprinkled with a marinade of smoked paprika, five spice, sugar and salt. It's hard to figure out what the main influences are in Peter’s cooking, if anything it feels very Mediterranean to me, with a strong emphasis on using local produce, but prepare to be surprised, there is even a Thai recipe in the book. My favourite section has to be the one covering outdoor food – that’s barbecuing to you and me. As Peter says, "There's plenty of space for everyone in the Lake District. So pick your favourite spot – just remember to leave it as you found it – and combine the great outdoors with some great food. I love setting up a little barbeque on the lakeside in time for supper at sunset." – Who wouldn’t? Entitled Simply Good Taste, the book costs £15.99 and is available from the Good Taste Cafe in Keswick, as well as independent bookshops throughout the Lakes, Booths Supermarkets and Tourist Information Centres. The remarkable thing about this book, aside from its refreshingly crisp approach, is that Peter has published it himself. When I went to visit Peter, he had already written his second book and is now negotiating deals with the vying publishers keen to get in on his very successful second act. As for me, I’ve joined the bandwagon – I'm looking forward to going out foraging with him, cooking the spoils and finding out a lot more. – Martin (Here is the article on the Cumbria Tourism site!)

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Re: Keswick's Simply Good Taste....

By admin on Saturday, March 22, 2008

I took Luke in here last week, he was just recovering from a bad stomach bug. I ordered a chicken ciabatta sandwich, it was perfect, with a lovely pesto dressing. Luke tried it and was not phased by the pesto. Upstairs there is a bookcase of great recipe books you can browse, including some of our favourites, such a Moro and Rick Stein's books. I didn't have too much time to read them as Luke was getting rather tired, this being his first day out for a week after spending the earlier days just lying on the couch....most unusual for a normally active Luke. We plan to make a special trip over the Easter weekend so that Cecilia can sample Peters food. Right now it's sunny and snowing, so we'll try the cafe and then go for a walk at Derwentwater if it's not too cold! - Martin

Re: Keswick's Simply Good Taste....	By Anonymous on Sunday, April 06, 2008
The cafe was full up over Easter, so we missed out, but returned the following week. It delivered just what we needed a couple of great sandwiches, on home made bread, with a well dressed and interesting salad to complement the tasty filling. The smoothie was perfect too! - Martin

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