A Tasty Exmoor Wedding

Croydon Hall recently hosted a very special wedding celebration.

Our busy team of staff provided the venue, accommodation and a vegetarian celebration lunch.   

Here is just a sample of the lunch provided to our guests.

Our chef making the finishing touches to dessert.

Our chef Joe Pena Romero adds the finishing touches! 

Our Kitchen Team

From left to right: Adrian, Joe, Thomasine, Chris and Tom

Click here for more info about our venue :-)

Falafels - A Croydon Hall Recipe

Falafels
Served with Raita

Ingredients

500g Dried Chickpeas

1 Medium Onion

3 Cloves of Garlic

Half bunch of Flat Leaf Parsley

Half bunch of Mint

Half bunch of Coriander

Half of a Lemon

1tsp Cumin

1tsp Turmeric

Salt and Pepper

Method

1.     Soak the chickpeas overnight in cold water.

2.     Drain and blend the raw chickpeas in a blender until smooth.

3.     Blend the onion and garlic until smooth and mix with the chickpeas.

4.     Add the chopped herbs, lemon and seasoning.

5.     Mould in to balls and deep fry until golden brown.

6.     Eat as soon as possible.   :-)

Raita

250 ml Yoghurt

Half finely diced Cucumber

Half bunch of Mint, finely chopped

2 Cloves of Garlic, finely chopped

Juice of half a Lemon

Salt and Pepper

A Pinch of Ground Cumin

Simply mix together :-)

Spring Time at Croydon Hall

Spring is almost upon us and the season starts with a host of new and old friends running workshops and retreats at Croydon Hall.  The house was filled with music last weekend as we welcomed the Earthly Voices choir group here for the first time.  They thoroughly enjoyed their singing weekend and are already planning to come again next year.  A big thank you to our fantastic team of chefs who excelled themselves yet again “Excellent food, the talking point of the choir, the variety, quality and quantity was superb”.

In a couple of weeks Roxana Hewett returns with her Couples Soulmate Level 1 retreat and Chris Bowles is running the first ever Mindful Journey through Menopause workshop. Places are still available for both of these events. Contact info@croydonhall.co.uk for more information and to book your place.

We are thrilled to have been chosen as the venue for a new women’s health & fitness group Get Fit Love Life: www.getfitlovelife.co.uk. Their first trial session is fully booked and we look forward to hosting several more of their retreats throughout 2012. This year also welcomes back several festivals including the Way of the Heart Festival, HerbFest and Exmoor Yogafest as well as opening our doors to a new Art festival Call of the Wild Soul in September.

The team have been busy getting Croydon Hall ready for another great year of retreats and we are delighted to announce that we have budding new young apprentice chef, Adrian, who has joined our Head Chef Joe in the kitchen to continue wowing our guests with delicious and innovative vegetarian cuisine.

With so many exciting retreats taking place this year you will be spoilt for choice!  Come and experience the tranquillity and beauty of Croydon Hall for yourself and we look forward to welcoming you here very soon.

www.croydonhall.co.uk

A Healthy Start to 2012

The modern approach to meat free cookery is far removed from the traditional image of lentils and nut cutlets. Vegetarianism isn’t just about healthy living it is also about great tasting food. Locally renowned West Country chef Joseph Pena-Romero presents an inspirational collection of new seasonal menus from around the world here at Croydon hall, representing the very best in contemporary vegetarian and vegan food.
Each month our talented chef Joe will be creating seasonal recipes for all of you to create yourselves. He will keep you up to date with all the latest food trends, talk about what’s in season, how to use it and also what to do with it!
So keep a close eye on our kitchen recipe blogs if you want to be inspired...
January Recipe
What’s in season this month...
Blood orange, pomegranate, clementine, Seville oranges, kale, parsnips, Swede, cabbage, Jerusalem artichoke, Truffles, salsify, spinach, and beetroot.
Forget cabbage soup: inject colour into this grey month with this dazzling seasonal salad. Packed with vitamins. January is a crucial month for salads, just when you’re trying to eat better and more healthily after the indulgent festive period.
This warm delicious salad of grilled halloumi with roasted beetroots, Jerusalem artichoke and baby spinach with blood orange, pomegranate and herb dressing

Ingredients - Serves 4

1  Halloumi
500g  Beetroots
500g Jerusalem artichokes
500g Baby spinach
2  Blood oranges
2  Pomegranates
100ml  Walnut oil
Chives
Parsley
Coriander
Juice of one blood orange
Salt n pepper


1] Peel beetroot and cut into wedges, place on baking tray, drizzle over walnut oil, salt and pepper. Roast in pre heated oven 180c for 30 minutes or until soft.
2] Peel artichokes and place on baking tray, drizzle with oil walnut oil, salt and pepper. Roast in pre heated oven 170c for 25 minutes or until soft.
3] Wash spinach and dry. Place in a large bowl.
4] For the dressing, Whisk orange juice and walnut oil until glossy. Shred herbs and add to the whisked mixture. Season with little salt.
5] Cut pomegranate to quarters and scoop out seeds.
6] Peel off orange rind, cut out segments.
7] Add warm artichoke to spinach and half of the dressing and cover with cling film, leave for 5 min's allowing to wilt.
8] Add all other ingredients, gently toss, taste and season.
9] Divide between four plates, placing in the centre of each dish and pile high.
10] Cut Halloumi into four, coat in little dressing.
11] Heat dry pan until very hot, add Halloumi and cook 1 minute on each side or until golden.
12] Cut and place on top of salad.

Serve and enjoy!

I’ll be back soon with another seasonal recipe!

Joe

Exmoor Yogafest

November saw the first ever Exmoor Yogafest event held at Croydon Hall.  There were five yoga teachers all with different yoga disciplines giving participants the opportunity to experience something new each day.  Our chefs were kept busy providing three meals a day and what a wonderful job they did – the compliments just never stopped.

On the second evening we held a fun quiz, the first prize being a free place at next year’s Yogafest.  Everyone settled down with a complimentary glass of wine and the quizmaster was our very own, Peter Davies, owner of Croydon Hall who after a few glasses of wine had some difficulty in pronouncing some of the yoga terms!

The weather was glorious and during “free time” our guests enjoyed walking and discovering our surrounding area.

If you would like to join us next year for Yogafest the date is already on our website, you can follow the link below.   We are already taking bookings!

Exmoor Yogafest 2012



Once Upon A Time

Croydon Hall recently welcomed a very special guest.    When we discovered that our guest, Marion, had some personal history associated with Croydon Hall we were eager to hear all about it!

Once upon a time Croydon Hall was owned by a German Count.     All of the staff at Croydon Hall have heard about the Count, his is one of the most popular stories from it's history. 

The Count was related to the Kaiser and a member of the Royal House of Pless.    He owned the estate in the early part of the 20th century and  was quite an entertainer and attended popular local social events, including those arranged for his estate workers.   

The photo above, of the front of the house, is said to date from that period.

No one knows exactly when, but Marion's Uncle Charles, who worked for the Count as a chauffeur,  meet the woman he was to marry, perhaps in these very walls, or at the very least at one of the social events on the estate.   May be they walked together in the gardens, or in the country lanes?   Maybe Marion, as she strolled around the garden, trod in their footsteps?

Sadly the Count never married and had to leave Croydon Hall in 1914.   Marion remembers hearing many tales, there was some gossip, but Charles is recorded as describing the Count sympathetically,  saying,

' He was more like a friend than an employer.   His tastes were simple - those of a country gentleman.'  

   Marion's uncle and aunt lived on the area for many years, maybe they can be found in this photo.

A happy ending to their tale at least. :-)

For more history of Croydon Hall visit our website



 

TEAM BUILDING ADVENTURES IN SOMERSET

Croydon Hall's six acres of grounds became an adventure playground when we hosted a fun packed corporate event along with Dan French and his great team from Exmoor Adventures. The weather was kind to us and everyone had great fun in the great outdoors. The night ended with dancing in the Zen room... needless to say the bar was kept very busy, most people left the following day looking very spritely although there were a few guests slightly more jaded! 

Activities included archery, problem solving, treasure hunts, and of course great food, drink and accommodation provided by Croydon Hall.

Problem Solving in the Wild Garden.          

Team Games in the Italian Garden.

Roll on more adventures! Great fun and good for you!