With all that’s going on in the world, it was great to be able to welcome some of our community to the farm to enjoy themselves. On a damp Autumn evening, we cosied up by roaring fire bowls in the draped tin-roof barn at Trefresa Farm, set among the wild hedgerows lit with festoon.
I’ve tried to get Andi Tuck cooking on the farm for some time. As anyone who has eaten at the St Kew Inn will know, his food is mind-blowing.
The philosophy of the distillery is rooted in collaboration and this feast is a shining example of that. Ingredients and contributions to the evening’s dishes were sourced from some of the many friends we’ve made, a small band of incredible local producers, growers and chefs.
The evening began with a warming Hot Buttered Rum from our online cocktail book as Andi Tuck and his team stoked the fire for the feast. The Porthilly rum-flamed oysters with nuts and nduja were delicious; followed by smoked pork rack with cider apples and burnt greens, baked pumpkin; smoked toffee with sticky apples and maple seeds, and cinnamon marshmallows with fermented damson. We finished up on a soulful note, with the lyrical genius of George Ogilvie.
Andi and I have often talked about smoke and rum, so we were delighted to share with our guests the result of another collaboration that evening: 5hr Smoked Porthilly Spirit Cask Aged Rum. Following months of experimentation we’ve successfully smoked our rum and the recipe for our Dark ‘n’ Smokey, our bonfire-inspired take on a traditional dark ‘n’ stormy, is featured below.
The evening’s drinks were provided in collaboration with the best of our neighbouring drink-makers: Rock residents Sauce Cornwall, BinTwo, Pentire Drinks, Harbour Brewing Co, Navas, and of course with spirits from our Porthilly Spirit range.
Locality and sense of place was at the heart of the menu design. In Andi’s words… “This time of year is a highlight for any chef, but here in Cornwall we are so lucky to have a bounty of local food and produce on our doorstep. Our veggies are picked from the fields just over the hills the same morning by Ross at Padstow Kitchen Garden, the oysters picked by Porthilly Shellfish from the Camel Estuary less than a mile from the farm. The pork is local outdoor reared from the amazing Phillip Warren Butchers and the Nduja is out of this world tasty and from Duchy Charcuterie. It’s mainly about working with the freshest local, seasonal ingredients but also building a great relationship with the suppliers and forging great friendships with fire”
We look forward to more — join us for the next one...!
PORTHILLY SPIRIT CASK AGED RUM DARK ‘N’ SMOKEY BY JACK BEVAN & ANDI TUCK
INGREDIENTS
- 50ml Smoked Porthilly Spirit Cask Aged Rum
- 10ml smoked sugar syrup (optional)
- 25ml lime juice
- Dash of Angostura bitters
- Fiery ginger beer
- Slice of fresh ginger
- Wedge of lime
For the Smoked Sugar Syrup
- 2 parts smoked sugar
- 1 part water
METHOD
To make the sugar syrup, bring the water to a simmer and then take off the heat before adding the sugar. Stir to dissolve and then cover and allow to cool before pouring into a sealed sterile container. Store in the fridge and use within two weeks.
The smoked sugar should be cold-smoked for 16 hours over cherry wood. We use cherry wood dust from a local woodturner and smoke it in a condemned fridge that we have emptied out, using a ProQ Cold Smoked generator — but a cardboard box and any source of cold smoke will do.
To make the Dark 'n' Smokey, combine the rum, lime and bitters in a highball stir add ice and top up with ginger beer.
Garnish with the ginger and lime.
EMBER BAKED PORTHILLY OYSTERS WITH NDUJA BY ANDI TUCK
INGREDIENTS
- 4x Porthilly oysters
- 100g nduja (Duchy Charcuterie) Pinch of thyme
- 10g finely chopped parsley 100g smoked butter
METHOD
Firstly, you'll need to light a fire, I use the top down method, start with 2 large bits of wood (I prefer beech or ash), then stack 2 more bits on top to make a square. Repeat for 4 layers using smaller bits of wood at the top. Then add 2 firelighters and light. It should take about 20 minutes to burn down embers.
In a pan add the nduja, butter, thyme and parsley and place near the fire, allowing it to all melt together. Try not to boil as you don’t want to cook the nduja, you just want to melt it.
Now your fire has burnt down, place oyster into medium heat embers until shell pops open. Be careful as sometimes they spit.
Drench the cooked oysters with the nduja and enjoy the salty, spicy goodness straight away.