The idea of this blog is to share ideas for using hand-made pots to serve good food.

Eating with friends and family is one of life’s greatest pleasures. I hope to show how the warmth and character of hand made ceramics can really enhance the pleasure of cooking, serving and eating food.

This blog will include pots from other potters as well as my own and recipes for the food which I enjoy, hoping that you will like it too.

Sunday 31 March 2013

Soup with Svend Bayer



Today I went with my apprentice, Caro, to have lunch with Svend Bayer at his home in Sheepwash, North Devon.  He lives in a part of Devon which people in my village call 'mamba country' - 'mamba' standing for 'miles and miles of bugger all'!  So, a suitably rustic setting for a hearty, rustic soup, served in one of his comforting soup bowls.
The wooden spoon was made by his son, Bjorn, who showed me a collection of the beautiful spoons he has made.


They are made from apple and maple wood.  The finish is silky smooth and they are a joy to use.

We looked at the pots from his latest firing.  Many of them are destined for the shop, David Mellor, in London.  I especially liked these soup bowls with a beautiful pale celadon glaze inside.


I chose a lovely bowl with 'mishima' decoration.  This is a technique which involves texturing the clay surface with stamps and cords and filling the indentations with slip, which is scraped back to create a smooth, patterned surface.

It already feels very much at home on my table as a fruit bowl.  A tomato salad would also look delicious in it.  A new pot is always a good source of inspiration for cooking.  I want to make something special to complement such a lovely pot.

Sunday 17 March 2013

After the Food Festival




It is just a week now since the Food Festival and it seems to have taken that long to recover from all the hard work of preparation.
The Food Presentation Demonstration went well.  This photo shows the fruit platter which I put together.  I hope that I convinced people that using hand made pots to present food can make a beautiful centrepiece for the table, with a minimum of effort.

Below is the salad platter which I made.  Unfortunately, the photo was taken before the tomato and mozzarella had its final drizzle of olive oil and a scattering of basil leaves.


We enjoyed eating the completed dish that evening, with some hand-baked bread from one of the stalls at the festival.  Tom's Pies provided a couple of delicious pies for the next meal and a spring posy of daffodils and assorted greenery from The Husbandry School has brightened up my table all week.
The Food Festival seems to get better every year.  I just wish I had been able to see a bit more of it, but I shouldn't complain about having a busy showroom at this time of year.