Dorset's top crop
Deprivation comes in many forms. On the face of it, Dorset has plenty to make other counties jealous. Rolling countryside, picturesque villages, fantastic beaches, and great local produce are all in the mix.
Decent beer and pubs are also in good supply, thanks in the large part to family brewer Hall & Woodhouse, which produces the Badger ales range at its brewery in Blandford.
Where Dorset falls down, the thing that keeps it off the A-list of culinary counties, is the lack of an official county dish. Lancashire can be proud of its hotpot, Yorkshire has it pudding, and Cumberland its sausage.
All this has been changed, thanks to the challenge thrown down by Hall & Woodhouse to identify Dorset's 'national' dish. Joining forces with The Publican, as well as local press, the brewery put out a call for recipes, targeting both amateur and professional chefs.
At the same time, the company polled consumers to find out which dish they most associated with Dorset. Despite high hopes for the Dorset Knob, a scone-like biscuit which can be served with sweet and savoury fillings, it barely scraped into the top 10. Embarrassingly, it turned out that many people even think Dorset is home to the cream tea - a claim which, if pressed, would be likely to spark a border war with neighbouring Devon.
Hall & Woodhouse's experience with creating special recipes to match Badger ales inspired the company to hold the competition.
Rick Payne, marketing manager for Badger Ales, says: "There is clearly no single food or dish identified with Dorset in the way that there is with other counties.
"Dorset boasts some of the finest local produce to be found anywhere in the country, but it is our belief that we needed a signature dish to raise its profile as a mecca for foodies."
So, at the start of Dorset Food Week in October, a panel of judges including Alec Howard, food director of Hall & Woodhouse, Gill Meller, head chef at River Cottage, former Masterchef finalist Rose Bentley, Emma Joseph of the Daily Echo, Fanny Charles from Blackmore Vale magazine, and Pub Food editor John Porter, settled down to the serious business of tasting the seven shortlisted recipes.
There was undoubtedly plenty of imagination and flair on display. Among the contenders were local wild boar sausages and Dorset blue vinnie cheese mash, prepared by the True Lovers Knot pub in Hall & Woodhouse's home town, Blandford.
The most unusual entry by some way was John's Dorset Panhandle, created by food enthusiast John Parkes. Using foraged ingredients such as Poole Bay cockles, wild mushrooms and seabeet, a spinach-like coastal vegetable, the dish was served in a flat iron skillet.
All this creativity led to some robust debate once we got down to the serious business of judging. The brief included a requirement that the dish shouldn't be too complicated, as well as being easily recognisable as coming from Dorset.
Although it was a close call, the best dish on the day was a traditional Dorset apple cake, created by Bournemouth chef Greg Coomer. Apple cake had also topped the consumer poll, with 21 per cent of the vote. Of the many apple cake recipes submitted, Greg's, which includes raisins, sultanas and lemon juice, won through to the final.
As judges, we had to ask ourselves though, whether going for the obvious was what was required of us. Ultimately, we decided that confirming the people's choice was the right call - popular dishes are popular for a reason. Greg said: "There are so many variations of this cake. This version is my favourite because the lemon juice keeps it moist and light. I'm delighted to have won."
The judges also highly commended Dorset Golden Ham, a home cured gammon glazed with Dorset honey and Badger ale, submitted by Daniel Green from Wareham.
The winning dishes will be featured on a series of Badger Brewery recipe cards.
The finalists:
- Braised Dorset Pork Loin with real ale glaze and Dorset Blue Vinny Sauce: Ben Thebe from Sturminster Marshall
- Dorset Apple Cake: Greg Coomer, Bournemouth
- Dorset Golden Ham: Daniel Green, Wareham
- Dorset Country Lamb Pie: Martin Aldridge, Bridport
- Great Dorset Sausage Fayre: David Wootton, Tarrant Keyneston
- John's Dorset Panhandle: John Parkes, Boscombe
- Melcombe Toasted Venison: Janet Pook, Melcombe Bingham
