Autumn 2022 highlights: my food and drink favourites

I’d love to be able to write full blog posts about all the great local, independent food and drink I enjoy. But, if I did, I’d have no time for anything else. So, here’s one of my occasional round-up posts: this time featuring my autumn 2022 highlights.

Here you’ll find news, recommended independent places to eat and drink plus outstanding producers and suppliers.

I hope you enjoy these highlights and try some of my recommendations. Or perhaps revisit a few you haven’t been to in a while.

A PERFECT PLATE OF FOOD

Autumn 2022 got off to an incredible start at Duck Goose. Back in the spring, I’d eaten dinner at this fab little bistro in Leek and gave it a glowing review. But I was still unprepared for the exceptional dish I ate when I popped in for lunch one Saturday.

For some people, a stirring piece of music or a beautiful painting can bring a tear to the eye. For me, a perfect plate of food can do the same thing. And I experienced that rarity when I ordered the hake and chowder dish. On paper it sounded right up my street. What arrived was even better.

The seared fillet of hake was expertly cooked. Flaky white flesh and irresistibly crispy skin. The broccoli was neither too crunchy nor too soft. The perfectly seasoned, lightly creamy chowder was studded with little cubes of potato, diced bacon and sweet, juicy clams. Scattered over the top were succulent brown shrimp. I loved the salty, crisply fried capers.

The amount of work and care that had obviously gone into the dish speaks volumes about this wonderful, unpretentious bistro. But the quality will be exactly the same even if you order a seemingly simple soup, homemade pie, or a steak.

I hadn’t planned on having dessert, but that wonderful main had got me wanting to try more. My buttermilk panna cotta was nicely creamy with a lovely tangy edge from the buttermilk. Charred poached peach plus blackberries and matching sauces added refreshing fruitiness. Hazelnut crumble brought contrasting texture.

Other half, who raved about the hake just as I had, chose an indulgent sundae. Vanilla and chocolate ice creams, crunchy honeycomb, rich chocolate fudge brownie pieces, and pistachio cake. Topping it off were crispy shards of tart candied orange.

If you haven’t eaten at Duck Goose yet, you’re really missing something special.

NEWS: DUNWOOD FARM BUTCHERY

In its guise as The Village Butcher Ipstones, Dunwood Farm Butchery was one of my first recommended producers and suppliers when I started this blog.

Will Pearson’s family have been farming in the Staffordshire Moorlands since 1973 and the butcher’s shop opened in 2015 to help support the farm. Specialising in locally sourced, native breed meat, produce in the shop included their own excellent grass-fed beef.

Since then, their online sales plus supplying top quality, high-welfare meat to pubs and restaurants has boomed under the Dunwood Farm Butchery brand. So, in September, it was announced that they’d be leaving the Ipstones shop to focus on that and their farming business.

But don’t worry. They still deliver nationally and there’s free local delivery to every ST postcode. Later in this post I’ll share the good news about who’s taken over the shop.

Coincidentally, the day I heard the news I’d cooked some of their beef. Home alone, I fancied something super-easy, quick but tasty. In my previous Dunwood order I’d included stir-fried steak strips which fitted the bill perfectly. I cooked them with butter, onion, garlic, mushrooms, and a splash of soy sauce. Lovely served with a couple of fried eggs, Aleppo pepper flakes and parsley.

Visit Dunwood Farm’s online shop here.

SMOKED BEEF BRISKET BURGER AT THE OLD MILL

The next of my autumn 2022 highlights combines themes from the last two. A cracking Saturday lunch in the town of Leek and a a helping of beef.

Since it opened towards the end of 2018, the Old Mill Smokehouse, and the hearty food it serves up, has become a real favourite of mine. So, fancying a satisfying plateful, it was the obvious choice.

I went for the BBQ Smokehouse Burger. This was a juicy beef patty topped with generous slices of tender, home-smoked beef brisket. Stacked on that were melting Staffordshire cheese, spicy BBQ sauce, plus salad. Served with crispy onion ring, perfect fries, house slaw, and pickles, I somehow managed to scoff the lot.

Not just a restaurant, the Old Mill offers a huge range of craft beers. I loved my dry stout from Full Circle Brew Co.

LITTLE DUMPLING KING, STOKE-ON-TRENT

Serving up its take on well-loved East Asian favourites like Chinese dumplings and bao buns with tasty fillings, Little Dumpling King opened in Hanley during the summer.

I went along in September and enjoyed some great flavours. The truly memorable, lip-smacking bao with Korean crispy fried chicken, creamy slaw and sriracha mayo is a shining star of my autumn 2022 highlights.

READ MY FULL REVIEW OF LITTLE DUMPLING KING HERE

NORTHUMBERLAND: SEAFOOD-LOVER’S HEAVEN

After all that meaty goodness, the next of my autumn 2022 highlights returns to seafood. At the beginning of October, I had a week’s holiday in Northumberland. This part of the country has some of the best seafood. And I ate lots of it.

From fresh sardines with mustard butter, beer-battered monkfish, hake with a tomatoey cassoulet of beans and clams, scallops, giant langoustines with garlic and chilli, local specialities like kippers, to good old fish and chips, I’d never had it so good.

You can read all about it in my post Northumberland: seafood-lover’s heaven which includes a heartfelt thanks to the hard-working fishing community who make it all possible.

HOME & AWAY: TWO GREAT ARTISAN CHEESES

While it was pretty much seafood all the way on my Northumberland holiday, I did bring back one of their exceptional local cheeses. Oak Smoked Cuddy’s Cave from Doddington Dairy.

Its robust, smoky flavour was perfect alongside another artisan cheese: creamy Staffordshire Cheese handmade in my village by the Staffordshire Cheese Company

I used both cheeses in a photoshoot for my Seeded Scottish Oatcakes recipes and, eating them up afterwards, thought they were lovely with the toasty, almost nutty flavoured oatcakes.

FRIDAY NIGHT TAKEAWAY

Although other half and I both love to cook, we do have the occasional takeaway at home. And especially on Friday nights when we just want to kick back and relax. We’ve had some great stuff from Mill Street Kitchen in Leek, and for my latest order I gave one of their flatbreads a try.

I really fancied the one with fried chicken. But I was sceptical whether the hoped-for crispiness would survive the journey home. I needn’t have worried though. I got a whole chicken breast, sliced, with its golden-brown coating wonderfully crunchy.

It came in a good quality flatbread with lots of fresh salad, Caesar dressing, homemade slaw, plus intensively flavoured little tomatoes. I also snaffled some of the good, fat chips that came with other half’s tasty lasagne, salad, and garlic bread.

SPRINKS FARM SHOP

Shortly after Dunwood Farm left their Ipstones shop, I was pleased to hear that the site had reopened as Sprinks Farm Shop. I nipped over the very next day to take a look.

Selling local, rare breed, organic and free-range produce, I found great looking meat, pies, cheeses, veg, honey, plus bread and pastries from the fab Elnor Lane Artisan Produce. They’re adding to their range all the time, including Staffordshire Savoury Scotch Eggs, lovely free-range eggs from Sam’s Hen’s, and mixes from The Staffordshire Oatcake Company,

On my first visit, I came away with venison from their own farm, a joint of beef for Sunday lunch, breast of lamb, chicken pies, plus pork belly.

The free-range, Packington pork was lovely and tender in a batch of my richly flavoured Five Spice Pork Belly. Perfect with plain rice plus Romanesco cauliflower from my Moorland Veg Box, stir-fried with sesame oil and light soy sauce.

I stashed two individual roast chicken pies in the freezer, ready for an easy dinner another day.

Served with leek and chive cheesy mash and buttered steamed broccoli, they made perfect comfort food. The shortcrust pastry was crisp and very good. The filling was lightly creamy with chunky pieces of chicken.

I had a rather special stew in mind for the organic venison and it turned out even better than I’d hoped. Nip over to my post for Venison Bourguignon and I think you’ll agree.

Impressed with what I’ve seen and tasted so far, I’m thrilled to be able to include Sprinks in my autumn 2022 highlights and recommend you give them a try.

SPICE MERCHANT, LEEK

Autumn 2022 saw the opening of a new Indian and Bangladeshi restaurant in Leek, headed by some familiar faces. Based in Cross Street Mill, Spice Merchant is a joint venture between the old Qarma team and a former restaurant in Congleton.

I had dinner there one Saturday night and found dishes of a high standard with beautifully judged spicing. With a combination of old favourites and not so familiar dishes, I think this friendly restaurant, bar, and takeaway represents great value.

READ MY FULL REVIEW OF SPICE MERCHANT HERE

A MILESTONE FOR ONE OF MY FAVOURITE BEERS

This autumn, Burslem based Titanic Brewery reached an impressive milestone. They asked us to raise a pint to celebrate selling over 10 MILLION pints of their delicious Plum Porter. Not bad for what started out, back in 2011, as a seasonal beer.

But I’m not surprised it became their best-seller. It’s one of my favourites and I certainly did my bit in helping them reach this impressive landmark.

Coincidentally, my most recent blog recipe features Plum Porter.

Porter Cake is a fruity, spicy cake originating from Ireland that’s perfect with a glass of the beer on the side. You can even eat it as a lighter alternative to Christmas cake.

FARM TO TABLE

It was a beautiful autumn morning here in the Moorlands when I went to pick up my latest box of fantastic lamb from Troutsdale Farm. I’ve been buying their lamb since 2018 and love it. Heritage Shropshire-Staffordshire breed, it’s pasture fed, slow grown, and raised traditionally by the lovely Turnock family. It’s also absolutely delicious.

My box contained half a butchered lamb: Troutsdale will have it prepared into whatever cuts you want. I had the bones and trimmings as well so I could make stock. But without these it can take up surprisingly little space. Mine all fit into a single drawer of an under-the-worktop freezer.

Buying like this means what you pay goes straight to supporting a family farm. You also get top quality meat at a fair price. For £85 it will make loads of meals. Compare that to the supermarket where you might pay £20-£40 just for a leg of bog-standard lamb that may well be from New Zealand, frozen for months. There’s really no contest in my book.

The first cuts we ate were some of the chops. Simply fast roasted with a squeeze of lemon, salt and pepper, they were fabulous and flavoursome. Crusty on the outside, juicy in the middle.

Only available at certain times, contact Troutsdale on 01538 300101 or email stay@troutsdalefarm.co.uk to hear when more lamb boxes are available.

To finish this round-up of my autumn 2022 highlights, I’m going to pop in a recommendation you need for the coming winter festivities.

FARM GROWN CHRISTMAS TREES

If buying locally while supporting independent businesses and family farms are important to you, have you considered buying a farm-grown Christmas tree?

Last year, I got my tree from Troutsdale Farm and will be doing it again this Christmas. Apparently, some families come back year after year to select their own tree, bring the children, and make a day of it.

At Troutsdale, the trees are the perfect partner to the Shropshire-Staffordshire sheep: they’ll graze beneath without damaging them. This keeps down grass and weeds without the need for sprays. The result is beautiful trees, naturally grown.

Read more and book your Christmas tree slot here.

SUPPORT LOCAL & INDEPENDENT

I’ve so enjoyed looking back at my food and drink autumn 2022 highlights and hope I’ve inspired you to try some of them. Or maybe re-visit those you haven’t used for a while.

Wherever you live, please support local independent food, drink and other businesses. If we don’t use them, we lose them.

Follow me on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to see my latest recommendations.

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