I spent Bank Holiday Monday 3rd May foraging West Cornwall's finest Wild Edibles to take up to Bristol to Flinty Red on Tuesday 4th.
Matt Williamson and his wife Claire, friends of mine, and also Fat Hen's chefs on our Gourmet Wild Food Weekends have recently opened this fabulous little restaurant in Cotham, Bristol. It's a collaboration between Dom and Rachel, wine merchants of Corks of Cotham, and Matt and Claire.
If you're thinking of coming down to Cornwall for a Gourmet Wild Food Weekend but want to be sure you're in for some good food then check out Flinty Red for lunch or Dinner Mon-Sat. www.flintyred.co.uk
Our 5 course tasting menu for the Wild Feast was matched with organic and biodynamic wines by Rachel and Dom. It was a great evening of interesting and wonderful flavours brimming with vitality.
We had:
- Roasted laver seaweed with chilli flakes & rock samphire fritti
- Wild greens with a butter sauce : wild cabbage, sea beet, alexanders, hogweed shoots
- Laver and bacon 'fishcake' with wild garlic, cider and mussel sauce
- Wild salad of black mustard, rock samphire, primroses, smooth sow thistle, hedge bedstraw, sorrel, navelwort, round leaved mint and three cornered garlic flowers
- Wild garlic and duck ravioli
- Carragheen pudding with poached japanese knotweed
I displayed all the wild ingredients on the bar for anyone to come and nibble, touch or smell and as each course was brought out I introduced the wild ingredients and explained a little about the background to each plant, its history and its uses and where it comes from.
Rachel introduced each wine and the night was a roaring success.
Look out for more Wild Feasts at Flinty Red in the future.
Matt and Claire, Grace and Ivy are all heading down West at the end of the month for our gourmet weekend. Lilly, Claire's fabulous chinese step mother is also coming and we're salivating here waiting to try out some more of Lilly's wonderful chinese seaweed salads, stews and stir fries. x
