Shrove Tuesday, pancake day, 21st February 2012

Being good Christians we just had to have pancakes on this Shrove Tuesday. This is the day preceding Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent. In most traditions the day is known for the eating of pancakes before the start of Lent. Pancakes are eaten as they are made out of the main foods available, sugar, fat, flour and eggs, whose consumption was traditionally restricted during the ritual fasting associated with Lent................So that's the excuse, a pity we don't have them every Tuesday. Yes, a definite 10/10

A choice, Goulash or Paprika Chicken, 20th February 2012

Can photographs lie?.......Looking at the Goulash photograph you could be forgiven for thinking it's something 'Cheviot' left behind!  This most certainly isn't the case, as it was a beautiful meal presented by our chef, Christine to our diners from the 'London Grill'. It consisted of; cubed beef, green peppers, onions, nutmeg, beef stock, paprika, & tomato puree.  Another choice was, Paprika Chicken which was equally delicious and made more savoury by being cooked in cider & sherry.
The sweet was our chefs newly created speciality; Home made lemon ice cream made with natural ingredients, none of that packet stuff.  All in all a well deserved 10/10. A lovely meal to end a lovely day. (you may note that while we ate baby Eden was being observed on the baby monitor, he doesn't know this but he has all this to look forward to.........when he can give his milk diet up!)
Final note;  Cheviot did actually pay us a visit earlier in the day!!

Roast Ham, also Salmon sandwiches, 19th February 2012

Mine hosts, Neil & Emma and baby Eden  from 'The London Grill' visited the Broadstairs Cafe for high-tea and were presented with a selection of Roast Honey Glazed Ham and John West's salmon sandwiches, plus sausage rolls from the newly opened 'Old Bake House' in Broadstairs. Although the meal was quite tasty I thought the granary bread from the Old Bake house was a disappointment. The large loaf was very light in weight, didn't have any substance to it, and gave the impression that air had been injected into it. Considering that the company appear to market themselves as an Artesian bakery their bread was just better than bread from 'Crusty's or  Tesco's, but nowhere near as good as that baked fresh by our chef, Christine .However their bread cakes and sausage rolls were pretty good. So, overall a mark of 7/10 was awarded

Home made Pizza, 16th February 2012

Our ex-Commis chef Elissa, now a chef in her own right with a good repertoire of meals, (mainly healthy options) stepped out of her comfort zone tonight and produced a completely home made pizza, using, freshly prepared dough, homemade tomato sauce, chorizo, spinach, yellow pepper, mushrooms, mozzarella, & goats cheese.
It was truly delicious, with a crispy edge, and a softer inside, with lots of variety in the topping. I travelled 250 miles to try out this meal at the Cafe Broadstairs, and it was worth every mile. However Elissa, ever the perfectionist, thought that there may have been too much tomato sauce or it needed baking for a few more minutes.This may have been so. Her meal was awarded a mark of 9/10 with
the hope she may produce another tomorrow night to gain full marks!
A great effort; eat your heart out Pizza Express.

Sea Bass, 15th February 2012

Pan seared locally caught fresh Sea Bass was today served up by chef Christine to two discerning diners. I enjoyed the fish with jacket potato, & a mixture of vegetables, the other diners enjoyed the fish with vegetables & ratatouille. A lovely meal enjoyed by all at the sea-side.
A mark of 9.5/10 was gained. One cheeky diner suggested the meal would have been marked higher if it had been served with french fries & peas! Completely untrue, as a fair mark was given.

Bacon & Onion Pasta, 14th February 2012

Yes, this meal tastes as good as it looks. Our chef, Christine has been cooking and delighting diners with this meal for years (some say as many as 30 years!) It originally came from an old fashioned cheese recipe book and was called, 'Italian Pasta'. It is made from spaghetti, cheese, herbs, bacon. After cooking it is topped off with cheese and crushed potato crisps which are then browned & crisped under a grill.
The second course was another old established recipe of Lemon Meringue Pie. I was lucky enough to be present during the preparation of this dish, and the smells of the freshly pared lemons and other ingredients was something to savour . (I was even luckier later to enjoy a slice of this pie!)
This combination of food easily gained a mark of 10/10
note; I've never known this meal to disappoint, its always excellent.

Baked Potato, 14th February 2012

Well, what do you eat at lunch time when driving? Today we called in at Downtown on the A1 to check out the sales, and to eat a light snack in their cafe. Our choice was baked potato with Cheddar cheese and Cottage cheese. The potatoes are cooked in one of those special ovens which crisp the skin and help the flavour, unfortunately today's offering wasn't up to previous standards. Neverthless it was as cheap as a sandwich, and warmer!! The event was not memorable and scored a poor 3/10. The sales however was very good with some quality purchases, (which meant our cheap meal ended up costing the price of a 5 star menu!)