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News and Features
Taunton temptations - part 2 For part 2 of our Taunton series, Annie Vickerstaff visited Clavelshay Barn. If you like surprises you’ll love this beautiful gem of a venue, tucked away in the heart of our glorious Somerset countryside at Clavelshay Farm, near North Petherton. Owned and run by Sue Milverton, this sensitively restored elm-framed barn dates from around 1700, and has oak floors, a cedar staircase and original artworks – not least some striking and unusual photographs by Sue herself. This working dairy farm, nestled in a peaceful valley on the edge of the Quantock hills, also provides some of the meat that appears on the varied menu, and there are plans for pigs and ice cream too (though not on the same plate). All the food is fresh, local, seasonal and cooked from start to finish by chef Guy Horley and his team. Home baked bread, free range eggs from their own hens, and seasonal veg, salad and fruit from the Clavelshay garden all contribute to this being a Low Impact Business; and Clavelshay Barn is on the shortlist for the Somerset Business Awards Environmental Responsibility category. Any food not directly produced on the premises is fully traceable to local farms, and the quality of the food and the cooking shines through. The seasonal menu changes monthly, and comprises appetisers, starters, mains, desserts, a West Country cheese platter and coffee with petits fours, complemented by a thoughtful wine list. Whether you want an intimate dinner for two, a sociable Sunday lunch or a wedding party, Clavelshay Barn can cater to your needs with competence, grace and originality. Corporate hospitality this is not: you get a genuinely warm welcome here, and there are few places that will go the extra mile for their clientele – literally in fact, as when two recent customers’ car broke down, Sue went to fetch them, and her husband towed the vehicle to the farm. So to the menu: September starters offer pressed ham hock and black pudding terrine with pear and chilli chutney, and Exmoor blue cheese tartlet with red onion and cassis marmalade and a walnut dressing, to name but two. If you’re game, try seared marinated duck breast sliced onto sesame noodles with peppered plums and light raspberry sauce, or go a touch more traditional with roast rack of Somerset lamb with onion and garlic potato cake and rosemary jus. I rather fancy the Somerset pork tenderloin wrapped in bacon, lemon and thyme on tomato and onion chutney with fondant potato, myself. If you’ve still got room, there’s dark chocolate and rum torte with clotted cream and lime sorbet; pecan and toffee crème brûlée with shortbread biscuits; redcurrant and mascarpone cheesecake with citrus syrup; yes please! You can enjoy the sunshine on the south-facing patio, sit inside on the oak designer chairs, take a walk down by the medieval fishponds, or just soak up the peaceful ambience of this rather special place: it’s up to you. One birthday-party guest commented that she’d experienced “the best time I’ve had in twenty years!” Clavelshay Barn North Petherton TA6 6PJ 01278 662629 Opening hours: Weds – Sat 7pm to 11pm; Sunday lunch 12pm to 4pm Group bookings by arrangement
Looking for Taunton part 1? One click of the mouse too many and it was gone, never to be retrieved! Don't you just hate it when that happens? I need to completely re-set the article from scratch and will do so as soon as possible. Sorry.
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