Crab house news
Plans for the future.
The Crab House at Babbacombe is one of our newest and most exciting ventures with the opportunity to build a restaurant on the Downs. The Downs are home to some of the most fantastic views of the local coastline stretching about 200 meters, and on a really clear day you can see all the way to Portland in Dorset!
We would be taking over an old public toilet block which is in disrepair and home to many kinds of anti social behaviour, including problems involving -drink, drugs and cottaging. Part of the agreement with the local council is that we would provide all year round public toilet facilities which we hope would be the best public toilets in the country. This is due to the fact that both the public and our restaurant patrons would use the same toilets and thus they would be finished to the same level you would expect in any upper class restaurant or hotel. We would be very disappointed if they did not win any awards.
The philosophy of The Crab House at Babbacome would be exactly the same as at The Crab House in Weymouth, Dorset; fresh local produce caught/farmed in a responsible, sustainable way. We are also big believers in slow food (www.slowfood.com <http://www.slowfood.com/>) being organic and bio dynamic (See heritage prime article what is bio dynamic).
We would be looking not just to offer fantastic local food at a reasonable price, but to enhance the local income by bringing at least 20 jobs and indirectly supporting hundreds of jobs in the area by using local producers and suppliers though out Devon.
As we are a local family to Torbay and have been employing in the bay for over 25years (and hope to still be employing for another 25years you can tell we have already shown we can withstand the test of time and that we are not just 'a fur coat without the knickers' as so to speak! We really do have a great desire and ambition to put Torbay back on the map! We are hoping that our new venture will generate a lot of national press, as we have had before with The Crab House in Weymouth.
We believe that working with local schools to encourage our children to be more involved with what they eat and where it comes from and in supporting school gardens is something we are very interested in as well.
We have decided to use a local award winning arcitect Stan Bolt from Brixham for this project as we feel he is the best man for the job. He is local and he has won several awards and had much national press.
Please do follow some of our progress on www.thisissouthdevon.co.uk simply just type Bloxham in to the search and all the articles should come up which you can comment on. Anyone visting this page to learn more about us please do take a look at our reviews section at www.crabhousecafe.co.uk.
Please support us at http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=319517782212&ref=mf
Working with the community and local businesses
Here at the crab house cafe we believe strongly in supporting and working with local businesses and try our utmost to use and source local skills and produce. Here are some of the more exiting and interesting locals and there businesses that we are working with Aidan Chapman at “The phoenix bakery” is the newest addition to our bread suppliers along with the delicious bread we get from “sergeant bun bakery” another one of the local business we have been using for years.
After meeting Aidan and trying his bread we knew it was a must have. We are now serving Aidan’s bread warm before every meal.
The Phoenix Bakery supports healthy eating and delivers products that complement a healthy lifestyle. The sponge dough process of making bread allows low salt and yeast content to be used. The slow fermentation process required for the sponge dough process allows the wheat to fully absorb the water which is better for the digestive system.
Aidan Chapman
Aidan is a passionate baker who thrives off sharing his passion for baking. He was trained by Master Baker Steve Cooper at the Granary Bakery in Surrey before working at The Celtic Bakery in London. Whilst in London he was heavily influenced by the sour dough cultures and learnt techniques from the French, German and Italian baking methods that he experienced. He set up Leaker’s Bakers after relocating to Dorset in 2003 and The Town Mill Bakery in Lyme Regis.
If you want to learn more about phoenix visit their website http://www.phoenixbakery.co.uk/
Heritage prime Biodynamic farm
We have just bought half a side of biodynamic ox (see below for what biodynamic is) why we did this is because we feel that even though we are totally fish orientated we would also like to offer something deferent to those non fish eaters that really struggle when going to a fish restaurant. Even though it will still only be the one meat option a night we want them to go away be just as wowed. We will be butchering the animal ourselves with a local butcher as we have never butchered anything quite as big as this before! We are all very exited about getting are hands on the meat and learning more about why biodynamic is the way forward.
What is Biodynamic?
Biodynamic farming methods are all about understanding and, working with, the dynamics that affect the natural world that we observe.
Special preparations, derived from herbal and mineral sources, are used across the entire farm as well as in its composts and manures, with the objective of revitalising the soils and plants which sustain the farm's livestock and whose meat, in turn, we are to be nourished by.
Heritage Prime has pioneered this method right here in Dorset and, further expertise in managing herd health by means solely of homoeopathic remedies allows us to grow our beef animals to full maturity, entirely free of any pharmaceutical or chemical residues.
Our pure Aberdeen Angus bulls sire cows of the same breed and pure Beef shorthorns too, producing slow-growing young, reared in family groups on our chalk grasslands to the age of five years, all of these aspects combining to give meat that is nutritionally sound, of wonderful texture and complexity of flavour.
Chefs reciepes
Saffron infused yoghurt
Pinch of saffron
2tbsp hot water (add together to infuse)
180g yoghurt or sour cream
1 finely chopped garlic clove
The zest of two lemons
3tbsp olive oil
1tsp sugar
Once the saffron colour has enhanced in the water, mix everything together. Leave in the fridge for two hours then mix again for a deeper colour- or use right away.
Pollock fillet with ham hock and whole grain mustard
(Serves 2)
4tsp whole grain mustard
1 ham hock (small)
Salt and pepper
Pear chutney or other fruity chutney
2x 200g fillet of Pollock or cod try to use the lion of a larger fish if possible
1 white onion finely sliced
First you need to boil the ham hock slowly for around 3 hours until the meat is perfectly tender, once this is done leave to cool and then flake the ham off the bone.
Take a baking tray and sprinkle the bottom with the sliced onion, not to much. Add a drizzle of oil this will prevent the fish from sticking to the bottom. Then place the two fillets on top of the onion and coat the tops with 2tsp of whole grain mustard each. Then cook for about 8 minuets at 180°c just so the fish is on the edge of being cooked then take out and add the ham hock and cook for a further 2mins then serve with the pear or other fruity chutney.
Any left over ham use the next day in a sandwich
Recant closure of water within the fleet lagoon Weymouth 15/02/10
Wednesday, 17 February 2010
DSP in Molluscan Shellfish
Naturally occurring phytoplankton of the species Dinophysis and Prorocentrum lima can intermittently produce a toxin that can, when consumed by humans, cause Diarrhetic Shellfish Poisoning (DSP).
When the waters around our shores are warm enough for the plankton to bloom and there is enough nutrients and light these species of phytoplankton are common. Thankfully the toxin is less common.
In order to protect consumers, the Food Standards Agency is tasked with analysing shellfish regularly in search of the toxin and the harvesting waters are regularly tested for presence of the plankton.
Unfortunately the test used (the Mouse Bioassay or MBA) to determine the presence of the toxin and the plankton is unreliable.
The European Food Standards Authority has recently concluded that the MBA is:
“Not considered an appropriate tool for control purposes because of the high variability in results, the insufficient detection capability and the limited specificity.”
French Authorities have banned the use of the MBA (from early January 2010) although it does remain the European standard reference method.
In the UK the protocol for the use the MBA has recently changed and now the test is run over a 24hr period instead of the 5hr test (as used until the beginning of February 2010).
This potentially gives rise to significantly more ‘false’ positives which lead to unnecessary closures of shellfish beds.
In the past week there have been two closures in England (Dorset and Essex) and one in Scotland due to the presence of DSP as found by the MBA, HOWEVER no toxin producing phytoplankton have been found in ANY samples taken from around the UK.
The sea water temperature is very likely to be too low for the survival of the phytoplankton in question.
As a consequence the SAGB believes that the recent closures are unnecessary and believes the results to be ‘false’ positives.
The SAGB is working with the FSA to find a workable solution and to mitigate against closures whilst protecting public health.
David L. Jarrad
Assistant Director
Shellfish Association of Great Britain
Fishmongers’ Hall, London Bridge, London, EC4R 9EL
Which good food Guide restaurant of the year award
Vote for us on line at www.which.co.uk/gfgfeedback
Voting starts on the 1st March till the 21st of April
Supporting charities close to our hearts here at the Crab House Café :
We have just started this week, after talking with the fantastic team at the Fishermen’s mission a fundraising campaign to raise the profile and funds for the mission. We have decided to raise funds by having a charity dish of the day, where every time someone purchases the selected dish, one full pound will be donated to the mission. To also help raise the profile of the charity we are giving out leaflets all about the organisation and have an additional donations box and gift aid envelopes for anyone that is interested. Why not check out some of the great work they are doing on their web site: http://www.fishermensmission.org.uk/ and see why we think it is such a valuable course.
Thank you for all your support and help.
All of the team at the Crab House Café.
Nigel Bloxham.
Chef proprietor
Having been involved in the wet fish industry for over thirty years, I have come to rely upon the fishermen for my livelihood. Over this time I have become personally involved with many of the fishermen that risk their lives on a daily basis for us to enjoy the bounty of the sea. Whilst tucked up in a nice cosy restaurant overlooking the coast we often forget about the tragedies that occur every year. Having a selected dish of the day ensures that we do our bit in supporting the charity in every aspect of their work, which is incredibly far reaching. A full pound will be donated, which I feel will make a huge difference for many, and I thank you for your support.
Jos Standerwick, Regional Fundraising Manager for the Fishermen’s Mission says “We’re delighted that the Crab House Café has chosen to support the Mission – the partnership we have with them is incredibly exciting and will certainly help many fishermen at their time of need”
