A cook's mission to make the most of an island's fantastic natural produce...
To browse and buy An Island Food Mile - the recipe book from An Island Cook, please visit the Shop. To sample Piers's cooking in real life, visit Scilly Cottage - an island cottage with food.
(Read on to find out more...)
To browse and buy An Island Food Mile - the recipe book from An Island Cook, please visit the Shop. To sample Piers's cooking in real life, visit Scilly Cottage - an island cottage with food.
(Read on to find out more...)
An island Food Mile... (artwork by Rachel Lewin)
THE STORY...
St Agnes is an island obsessed by food: if you pass by a couple of islanders chatting on the path, the chances are they will be discussing what they are about to eat and drink, or have just eaten and drunk. Pretty much everyone is an excellent cook, whether they do so professionally or not, and the range and volume of produce that this tiny scrap of land and its inshore waters can muster is nothing short of extraordinary. World-class lobster and crab goes without saying, as does shiny mackerel in the summer months and delicious meaty grey mullet. There is beef reared on the island grass, and the dairy produce that comes with it - thick clotted cream and (of course!) the homemade ice cream at Troytown Farm. Piglets come and go, filling island freezers with proper pork and bacon, whilst there are always eggs of a newness that chefs can usually only dream of. Ultra-fresh vegetables too - whether from the organic fields and polytunnels of Tamarisk farm or in smaller batches from a garden glut. There is glossy sea spinach to forage on the foreshore, wild herbs in the hedgerows and no shortage of blackberries and apples in the autumn.
It is a source of huge pride for islanders to sit down to a Sunday lunch sourced entirely from within a radius of a mile from the table.
Collecting treasure from the Island Food Mile...
And what to drink with that? St Agnes is (fortunately, when the freight boat is confined to harbour by winter gales) pretty self-sufficient in the matter of high-quality booze. For an aperitif, try Westward Farm's delicious artisanal gin, flavoured with the aromatic botanicals grown on the farm. They also produce a crisp cyder which is perfect with food. Oh, and and proper apple juice too, if you're driving...
In the distant past, I trained as a chef in London working terrible hours in a small, hot, cramped kitchen. When I moved to St Agnes in 1997 to cook at Downs Cottage, I was expecting my working conditions to improve but I wasn't quite prepared for the quality of island ingredients I would have access to. It is these locally-sourced riches that have kept me inspired and motivated over the years and mean that I am still cooking on St Agnes nearly 25 years later, gaining the same satisfaction now in producing an exciting meal from the 'Island Food Mile' as I did then.
In the distant past, I trained as a chef in London working terrible hours in a small, hot, cramped kitchen. When I moved to St Agnes in 1997 to cook at Downs Cottage, I was expecting my working conditions to improve but I wasn't quite prepared for the quality of island ingredients I would have access to. It is these locally-sourced riches that have kept me inspired and motivated over the years and mean that I am still cooking on St Agnes nearly 25 years later, gaining the same satisfaction now in producing an exciting meal from the 'Island Food Mile' as I did then.
An Island Food Mile - A Commonplace Book of St Agnes
(with artwork by Amy Keelan)
(with artwork by Amy Keelan)
I have attempted to sum up my love for St Agnes and its food in a book - An Island Food Mile - which is partly a recipe book and partly a celebration of the place and its people; blending food writing with poetry, essays and music. Happy Eating!
There are a few sample recipes below, and you can buy the book HERE - in physical or digital form.
To sample Piers's cooking in real life, enquire about Scilly Cottage - an island cottage with food provided.
There are a few sample recipes below, and you can buy the book HERE - in physical or digital form.
To sample Piers's cooking in real life, enquire about Scilly Cottage - an island cottage with food provided.
AN ISLAND LIFE
Website photography by Rachel Lewin (An Island Wife)
Website photography by Rachel Lewin (An Island Wife)