Devon


<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-lowdown">THE LOWDOWN</h2>



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<p>We&#8217;re at River Cottage HQ, the 44-acre smallholding of TV chef and author Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall. You can do cookery courses here, book in for a feast night, stay in their Farmhouse B&amp;B and even get married &#8211; unless you already are married because, y&#8217;know, that&#8217;s bigamy. </p>



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<p>Now there&#8217;s a new foodie reason to come: a daytime café and shop which opened in Easter 2022, the resurrection of the much-missed River Cottage Canteen which closed during lockdown in Axminster&#8217;s town centre.</p>



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<p>It&#8217;s in their former office, a wooden lean-to barn perched high on the ridge overlooking East Devon the Blackdown Hills. It might be slightly off the beaten track but it has fabulous countryside views and the chance to sneak a peek at that iconic white farmhouse, instantly recognisable from the Channel 4 series.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">THE VIBE</h2>



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<p>It&#8217;s rural and earthy, and given Fearnley-Whittingstall&#8217;s well-known activism, it&#8217;s no surprise to see a small wind turbine peeking out over the roof which is used for harvesting rainwater. </p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1500" height="1125" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2023/02/IMG_0398.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-52628" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2023/02/IMG_0398.jpg 1500w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2023/02/IMG_0398-800x600.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2023/02/IMG_0398-1000x750.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2023/02/IMG_0398-768x576.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2023/02/IMG_0398-700x525.jpg 700w" sizes="(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px" /></figure>



<p>To reach your seat you walk through the store, really just a few fridges and tables, stacked with RC branded food and merch, including Hugh&#8217;s signed books, quality tees and totes. Some local brands are there too, including The Recycled Candle Company who take the stubs and turn them into lovely new scented candles. Good to see a big name supporting the little local ones.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1500" height="1125" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2023/02/IMG_0401.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-52629" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2023/02/IMG_0401.jpg 1500w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2023/02/IMG_0401-800x600.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2023/02/IMG_0401-1000x750.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2023/02/IMG_0401-768x576.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2023/02/IMG_0401-700x525.jpg 700w" sizes="(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px" /></figure>



<p>Inside is much smaller than the old Canteen, painted in pea-soup green with house plants on the tables, cork tiles on the floor and contemporary zinc lampshades. </p>



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<p>The focus is the view as one whole side is glass, with sliding doors which open out into a terrace with urban-style zinc planters where it would be lovely to sit in summer.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">SCOFF &amp; QUAFF</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1500" height="1125" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2023/02/IMG_0418.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-52633" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2023/02/IMG_0418.jpg 1500w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2023/02/IMG_0418-800x600.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2023/02/IMG_0418-1000x750.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2023/02/IMG_0418-768x576.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2023/02/IMG_0418-700x525.jpg 700w" sizes="(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px" /></figure>



<p>Plans are afoot to get an evening licence but for now the offering is breakfast from 9am-11.30am and lunch from 12-3pm. During the week there&#8217;s a set menu (2 courses for £15) with a small choice of things like Mutton Cottage Pie or Mushroom Thyme &amp; British Barley Cobbler.</p>



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<p>The drinks list is fulsome, with organic and biodynamic wines, River Cottage own-brand ales, ciders, and lager (try the Stinger Ale!), organic Luscombe bubblies and hot drinks. I had River Cottage x Equinox Organic Kombucha as its good for yer gut flora: a fermented slightly sparkling cold tea with less than 5% sugar. It smells weird &#8211; oniony? &#8211; but tastes good, like a fruity herbal fizz, with the pleasant hit of something that could be alcoholic but isn&#8217;t.</p>



<p>On weekends (when I visited), there was a choice of seven mains and three desserts (but no placenta pâté&nbsp;&#8211; young readers, Google it). You can tell they care about the ingredients from the way the food is described: the open sandwich&#8217; is &#8216;Hot smoked onions, mushrooms, mozzarella, RC spicy kimkraut and beechup on seeded sourdough&#8217;. It takes a bit of reading and waiter-bothering &#8211; both manager Sean and waiter Noah were fast, friendly and super knowledgable. </p>



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<p>The menu channels the chef&#8217;s long-term foodie passions, like home grown organic food, but also newer ones &#8211; eating less meat to save the planet, sustainable fish, and healthy eating (he&#8217;s lost a reputed 75kg since filming <em>Britain&#8217;s Fat Fight</em> in 2019) and in 2021 published <em>Eat Better Forever: 7 Ways to Transform Your Diet</em>. It&#8217;s also really clearly labelled with suitability for intolerances and some info about the provenance which of course, is super-local and ethical: 85% organic, mostly from the RC farm, supplemented by local growers, Trill Farm, Haye Farm and Riverford Organic.</p>



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<p>For mains, I had really wholesome English lentil, squash and cauliflower patties which was dairy and gluten-free, and suitable for vegans. It was a very appetising golden colour, full of herby flavours like caraway and lovely textures of crunchy dukka adding a bit of pep.</p>



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<p>My friend went for kedgeree, the only fish dish on the menu which came in a bowl with a perfectly poached egg on top. He&#8217;d have liked more fish but described it as creamy and comforting, perfect for a a cold Feb day. Hugh F-W is a sustainable fishing advocate so all the fish is from small boats, mostly fishing in local Lyme Bay. </p>



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<p>Dessert was a choice of three: bread and butter pudding, chocolate torte or pear and apple fumble. I fancied a fumble (stop it) but on discovering it was a cold dish (a cross between a crumble and a fool) I opted for the warm pudding which channeled cinammonny Chelsea bun vibes, and could probably out-do their wind turbine for hearty energy-giving. </p>



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<p>He had the chocolate torte which, although the crust reminded me on an energy bar (nothing wrong with that) was properly chocolatey. It came on a bed of sunflower seed cream, which was creamy and tasted nutty. Given a choice I&#8217;d go with cream but still, it was very more&#8217;ish.  </p>



<p>All in all, the food was expertly cooked, perfectly pitched to meet the high ethical expectations Hugh&#8217;s tribe and made me think of what Cranks would be if it was still around. I think <em>really</em> good quality food makes you feel good too, and this definitely gives you a natural high. </p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">KID-FRIENDLY?</h2>



<p>Kids portions are available for half price although my kids when young would have preferred to eat their socks before eating this much veg and pulses, although they&#8217;d like the cakes and the laid-back vibe, for sure. </p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">DISABLED ACCESS</h2>



<p>Good parking right outside, a sloping ramp access down to the door, disabled toilet and plenty of room for wheelchairs, frames etc, and you can easily get outdoors onto the terrace.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">DOG-FRIENDLY?</h2>



<p>Yep, which I know is a boon for some and a bane for others and here they aren&#8217;t confined to any particular area. We&#8217;re in prime dog-walking territory so I counted at least four or five, including Sean&#8217;s grey-muzzled black lab, a real sweetie. </p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">OUT AND ABOUT</h2>



<p>If you want to walk off the vittles, you can have a wander down to the viewing point which only takes five minutes or so. Then drive a few minutes back towards the main road to Trinity Hill Nature Reserve where there&#8217;s good parking good views across Axe Valley. It&#8217;s also good for star spotting and I&#8217;m not talking about cute campaigning chefs &#8211; it&#8217;s a Dark Skies Discovery Site. Lyme Regis is ten minutes into Dorset and worth a visit for the beach, and little stores.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">THE MUDDY VERDICT</h2>



<p>I love this sort of food. It&#8217;s so clever to make chocolate and beetroot taste this naughty: give me Hugh F-W, Melissa Hemsley and Geetie Singh-Watson over Nigella any day. But some people might find it a bit worthy.</p>



<p><strong>Good for</strong>: clean eaters, veggies, vegans and healthy eaters who like to put their money where their ethics are; alfresco lunch with an organic Picpoul; a welcome change from boring old nut roast and risotto.</p>



<p><strong>Not for</strong>: carb-lovers, carnivores; fussy kids who only eat E numbers.</p>



<p><strong>The damage</strong>: Patties £15; Kedgeree £15; desserts, both £7.90; Garden Kombucha £4.50; Karma Gingerella Ginger Ale £3.45. Parking free. </p>



<p><em><strong><a href="https://www.rivercottage.net/kitchen-and-store" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">River Cottage Kitchen &amp; Store</a>, Trinity Hill Road, Axminster, EX13 8TB</strong></em>. <em><strong>Open 7 days a week. Call to book on 01297 630300 ext 1</strong></em></p>


Review: River Cottage Kitchen & Store, Axminster

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