Mill's Restaurant Serves Weeds!

Otterton Mill's chef, known nationally for his seasonal game meat dishes, including grey squirrel, has now included weeds on the menu at the Mill. Ed Chester, Executive Chef, started serving dishes including wild plants sourced from forager Robin Harford of EatWeeds.co.uk as an extension of the Mill's strong local sourcing policy.

"It's very exciting to have a huge list of new ingredients to include in the dishes we prepare fresh each day for our customers. Robin has opened my eyes to a world of wild plants with massive nutritional and flavour value" said Ed. "The feedback from customers has been amazing and we're all enjoying tasting something different. This weekend our devon rarebit with wild mushrooms, adorned with pesto made with horseradish leaves, sold out in minutes." he added. Robin, who lives near Otterton Mill in East Devon, collects his bounty of over 40 edible seeds and plants from hedgerows, commons and footpaths in the local area. "I can't wait to see what Robin brings me each day. Invariably it's something I've never tried before and sometimes it's a plant I've never heard of. It's a wonderful test of my creativity to generate dishes with these plants which will appeal to our customers and not scare them. Most of us today have completely lost touch with our hunter gatherer roots. I am keen to use wild plants which would once have featured in the diets of our ancestors. Normally the flavours and nutritional value from these plants is fantastic, a real surprise" said the chef.

Mill owners Caroline and Simon Spiller are fully behind this new flavour to the menu. The Mill has a strong reputation for local sourcing, a policy implemented 30 years ago. "We're delighted to have wild plants on the menu. Ed's passion for wild food, including game and now weeds has been a very positive move for the Mill. It fits so well with our sustainable sourcing practices and customers have been very keen to try new dishes. Like our customers, we are looking forward to being introduced to the seasonal wild plants available on our doorstep" said Simon.

The public will have an opportunity to taste several wild food dishes at the Mill's annual Apple and Game Fair, to be held on Saturday 24th October. Wild plant foraging and cookery demonstrations will be some of the free events on offer during the fun filled day targeted at the whole family. For more information on Otterton Mill's Apple and Game Fair, go to....

Date added: Monday 5th October 2009
Latest updated: Friday 30th July 2010