Cromer’s Favourite Place to Meet and Eat!

Bolton’s Bistro is located at the Cliftonville Hotel on the seafront, opposite the sunken gardens. This busy and thriving bistro specialises in fresh fish dishes including the world renowned Cromer Crab and locally caught lobster (when in season), as well as a variety of meat dishes, seasonal salads, steaks and also vegetarian choices. The vast Specials Board changes on a daily basis, and with desserts to die for and tempting liqueur coffees, a visit to Bolton’s is a must for anyone visiting the area.

All of our dishes are freshly prepared to order, whether choosing from the menu or the blackboards. Our insistence on using only the best local produce from land and sea means you are certain to enjoy your meal whatever you choose. Being located in the Victorian seaside town of Cromer we are exceptionally fortunate to have at hand a wealth of locally caught seafood. During the summer months the obvious choice are crabs and lobsters and alongside the traditional cod and chips these are most certainly our best sellers.

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Editorial by: Bolton’s Bistro, CromerOpen Daily 12noon to 2pm and 6pm to 10pm. Booking is essentialTel: 01263512543     www.boltonsbistro.co.uk

Back to the Garden

An alternative to strip-lighting and counterfeit food: a locally based choice of very good groceries. At Barney, just off the A148, organic beef, lamb and a flock of garrulous French chickens are raised to supply Back to the Garden, its farm shop and Barn Restaurant. For Christmas, numbers swell with turkeys and geese. Every kind of vegetable is grown in the organic garden and most fruits too. Each morning Ron makes his way down the road to the store, piled with the day’s crop.

At about the same time Chris, Rob and Lee are warming the ovens in the kitchen and Paul is inspecting and laying out meat, local
pork and bacon he has cured himself, rabbit, wild game and venison from the estate woods, as well as steaks, ribs, joints of Aberdeen Angus-sired beef, and the lamb from the Barney pastures. Behind the delicatessen, Peter assesses the maturity of cheeses, something he has been doing for over twenty-five years; running his eye over the organic charcuterie and ham. Jean takes charge of the vegetables. Coffee will be on, the smell of fresh bread in the air.

At Back to the Garden you’ll find the beers of hard-working local brewers, pickles, conserves, jam, a range of organic wine for all pockets, fresh bread and pastries, artisan and wild food. Visit first thing any day (except Monday) for coffee and home-baked cake and the chances are you’ll meet one of the local producers dropping off goods.

In the evening there could be a private party going on in the oak- beamed barn, a book launch or an exhibition. Private events can
be catered for in the Barn or just about anywhere in Norfolk by our catering team. On Friday and Saturday evenings we now have candle lit fine-dining in the Barn Restaurant.

If you’re in a hurry, ring through an order. Pre-order through the website, or choose a gift to be sent on your behalf. If chopping and washing, grilling and baking are not what you want to do, buy a Back to the Garden ready meal. Embankment Beef with Yetman’s Stout, for example, named after the long-gone railway line, now covered in vetches, harebells and grass, where the sheep and cattle roam.

Like other farm shop owners, Delaval and Veronica Astley wanted to get back to farming on a human scale. Growing for friends and neighbours, knowing that the animals are not ending up under supermarket lights miles away, and that the vegetables are being tasted at their best, is a reward in itself. Being voted Best Farm Shop 2011/12 is another.

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Editorial by: Back to the Garden, LetheringsettFresh Local food, organic produce, cafe and restaurant in North NorfolkTel: 01263715996       www.back-to-the-garden.co.uk

Local Line Up Confirmed For The Big Onion

The Big Onion Food and Drink Festival at Elveden Estate on 25th August has confirmed a line-up of over 50 regional producers of food and drink, plus some great local bands and chefs.

Named ‘The Big Onion’ after the volume of onions grown on the farm at Elveden, visitors will be treated to tractor and trailer rides on the farm and learn all sorts of facts and figures about onions. Elveden Estate is one of the country’s leading vegetable growers and produces 20,000 tonnes of onions every year.

The festival will be host to the very best of East Anglian food and
drink, music and chefs. The festival will run from 10.00am-7.00pm.
Visitors can expect to browse the stalls, watch food demonstrations
and enjoy live music into the evening. Held in the Estate’s traditional
walled garden the hand-picked stalls, offer the very best of local food from a variety of artisan producers.

There are many producers from around Norfolk already confirmed including;

Bhaji Man, Big Skies Food Company, Breckland Orchard, Citron Presse , Cocoa Delicious, Crush Foods Ltd, Ethnic Fusion, Fudgulous , Glu-10-3, Gnaw, Guancheros Sauce Co. Little Melton Gourmet Yogurt, Norfolk Cordials , Norfolk Natterjacks,
Ole Slewfoot Brewing Company, Pinneys of Orford , Pepperbellies Chillis,

Raw Nibbles and Ronaldo’s Ices.

Frances Armstrong, marketing manager at Elveden says, “The Big Onion is now in its second year, and is host to an exciting mix of local producers, for many this will be their first food festival. We are pleased to be able to showcase the very best produce our region has to offer.”

For children, Madame Zuccini’s unique vegetable theatre show, starring Lois Leek and Peter Parsnip, and interactive vegetable creature workshops are sure to entertain. There are also mini tractors and a bouncy castle.

Live music will start at 1.00pm and continue through to the evening, with everything from the acoustic duo ‘The Luck’ to modern Norfolk folk band Crumbs for Comfort. The evening will be rounded off by Killamonjambo who recently toured with Ed Sheeran, the band have an exciting, energetic jazz style.

Demonstrating chefs so far include Richard Bainbridge of The Great British Menu and head chef at Morston Hall, following on from his training under Galton Blackiston. The kitchen will also host Justin Kett, head chef from The Swan in Lavenham. Plus, Elveden’s own executive chef, Peter McBurnie will be cooking up some classic recipes using estate produce.

Tickets cost £5 for adults, £3 for children and £14 for a family ticket. Tickets can be purchased online at www.bigonionfestival.com, calling 01842 898068 or by visiting Elveden Shopping Courtyard.

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Editorial by: Elveden Estate, Elveden
Elveden is a world-class producer and purveyor of local and regional food excellence.
Restaurant: 01842 898066     Food Hall: 01842 898064     www.elveden.com

Sophistication And A Warm Welcome

We visited The Crown on Saturday 16th June with friends, with it’s village green setting, from the outside the first impression was that The Crown is a traditional English pub/restaurant.

However that soon changed when we stepped inside what we found was a layout that combined sophistication and a very warm and welcoming atmosphere.

Having arrived slightly early we decided to have a drink before being shown to our table, we couldn’t help but notice that the tables were well spaced apart, this allowing for a degree of privacy, and the friendly woodburner formed a feature and focus of the room.

The menu and specials board were more than inviting and must admit we were spoilt for choice. Flexibility in the menu, substitutions no problem for the staff or kitchen, and despite a mistake being made on order for the starter, our waitress realising her mistake offered to replace the served starters for the correct choice, however when this was declined due the appealing look of what was served an adjustment was made on the bill without prompting.

We must say that we were all served decent sized portions, on each course, our food was beautifully presented, all ingredients seemed to be good quality and locally sourced and freshly cooked, there was no sign of that unmistakable taste of microwaved food

We were not rushed, and all courses were served within an acceptable time scale and all the very attentive staff couldn’t do enough for you.

Prices on the upper end of the scale

Summary:- a pleasant relaxed location in comfortable, convivial surroundings. Good food and drink with attentive service. Perhaps not every day choice, but nice for a special occasions and meeting friends.

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Reviewed by: Len Casey and Phil Rigby, Eat Out Norfolk

Visit www.eatoutnorfolk.co.uk to review where you have eaten.

Email: sales@eatoutnorfolk.co.uk www.eatoutnorfolk.co.uk

The Crown, East Rudham

Norfolk Dining Pub of the Year 2012

Tel:01485 528530    Email: crowninn@flyingkiwiinns.co.uk    www.crowninnnorfolk.co.uk

Our Local Larder

Norfolk. Huge skies, enormous horizons and big hedges!

Within those horizons, over the hedges and under those skies, Norfolk produces the most sensational things that we could ever want to eat.

We see, every day the fields of wheat and Barley, Potatoes and oilseed rape that are carefully grown by our farmers and then sent off out of the county. They are just camouflage! But we, like they say that the French always keep the best wine for themselves, are lucky enough to be able to do the same here with what is grown and reared. The lamb that has been in the fields for the last 3 months feeding on such lush grass has to be at its prime. The beef, as ever is to die for, well reared and cared for, there are so many different breeds that all give you that little something different. The Norfolk coast is bursting with goodness, Crabs and Lobsters, Samphire is popping up through the mud at Morston and the fishermen are catching Sea Bass and trout off Mundesley .

The dairy herds, although they are getting fewer and fewer have been making the most of our rather wet spring and producing the milk for Mrs Temple to make here cheeses, Mr Dann (Norfolk Farmhouse) to make his Ice Cream and Mr Pointen to produce the cream, milk and yoghurts that we all enjoy so much.

The market gardens, vegetable patches and allotments are all racing ahead and the beans and peas, courgettes salad and radishes are being harvested. The fruit is waiting for a little more sun, but will soon be ready!

But, all in good time. Everything has its season, because that’s when it’s at its best. We’ve all been tempted to buy strawberries from the supermarket in February, and probably have, but weren’t they a disappointment, not delicious, sweet and juicy.

Enjoy what our local larder has to offer now and look forward to what it will be on offer very soon.

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Editorial by: Tim Elwes, The Saracens Head

Well known for it’s delicious style of cooking, using the best local produce

Email: info@saracenshead-norfolk.co.uk www.saracenshead-norfolk.co.uk

Let’s Get The Conversation Started

Social Media - it’s on everyone’s minds at the moment wether they’re using it, or not. Did you know that
60% of B2B transactions now have had some form
of contact with the internet? With that and the knowledge that there are over 1.5 billion people now using the web it’s no good putting your head in the sand and hoping the internet phase is going to pass - it’s here to stay and there’s a huge market out there just waiting for you to take action.

So where do you start and how do you know what the
strategy or social network is best for your business?
Well to start with, do some research - where do your
customers go? What sites do they use and how do
they use them? What are they looking for and what would encourage them to come to you? When was the last time you asked one of your customers any of these questions? If never or rarely is your answer then I suggest you give it a go, and soon.

Have you noticed how many massive companies now tell their customers to connect with them on Facebook? All the big boys are doing it and reaping the rewards for their efforts so if you’re not already getting up close and personal with your customers and potential customers with a Facebook page then head on over and get one set up and start the conversation - you never know, you may just get more business from it and it’s free!

What should you say? Well this is a subject that we could cover all day but the key points are that you don’t want to be selling to your customers and you do want them to be active on your wall. So why not tell them about upcoming events at your eatery or in the local area? Keep them up to date with new food on the menu- and include photos! Let them know what’s in season and what’s not, maybe even post a recipe or two. Make sure you have a gallery of photos of your restaurant/pub/cafe and also post some great shots of your delicious food. Run competitions, think outside the box - anything that encourages people to keep an eye on your posts, join in the conversation and ultimately think of you next time their minds turn to eating out.

Where to start? I would suggest your first port of call is setting up a Facebook page, then once you’ve mastered that look at the world of Twitter and the 140 character ‘tweet.’ Then you could look at other
sites like LinkedIn, Pinterest, iPatter, Digg... the list goes on. Commit to making one work well before you over-stretch yourself by trying to update lots all at once. When social media is working for you it can have remarkable effects so definitely give it a go, if you’re already online and not really using it to its full potential then why not work out a strategy of how you will use it to get your company name on everyone’s minds this summer?

Remember too that we’re pretty prolific on Facebook and Twitter so if you’re one of our eateries make sure you connect with us and we will follow you and re-post and re-tweet to all our followers too. All part of the service!

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Editorial by: Sophie Jewry, EatoutNorfolk

The online directory of places to eat in Norfolk - Explore and enjoy!

Email: services@eatoutnorfolk.co.uk www.eatoutnorfolk.co.uk

Historic Hotel and Restaurant

Welcome to the historic Northrepps Cottage Country Hotel and Restaurant which is one of East Anglia’s finest, from which you can enjoy the delights of beautiful North Norfolk.

The atmosphere inside ‘the Cottage’ is one of luxurious warmth, and our friendly staff are here to help you, Enjoy a drink in Humphry’s bar whilst browsing through the menu before dining in Repton’s restaurant.

Humphrey’s Bar has an extensive drinks menu including fines from around the world. Guests can take drinks into the huge gardens, which surround Northrepps Cottage and enjoy some of Norfolk’s finest countryside.

Crisp white tablecloths cover dark wooden tables in the stylish restaurant. Delicious English and international dishes are on the menu including local duck and guinea fowl, our Sunday carvary is very popular.

All our food is freshly prepared and we use only the finest local produce when wherever possible, we also have a fine selection of Beers and Wines.

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Editorial by: Northrepps Cottage Country Hotel and Restaurant, Northrepps

A hideaway located in a stunning Repton landscape, simply beautiful.

Tel: 01263 579202 www.northreppscottagehotel.co.uk