Review by Collette
Last weekend Taste of the West Gold medal winners Vanilla Sky Deli & Titley Green came together to host a Spring Pop-up evening at Colaton Raleigh Village Hall. Chefs Nick and Paula have honed their culinary skills over the years and together with their partners they’re bringing high quality home-cooked food to the East Devon community using fresh local ingredients.
As we arrived at the event we were treated to Rhubarb and White Rum Mojitos before making our way into the hall itself. The venue was decorated with fairy lights – giving the whole place a warm and welcoming atmosphere – and the tables were dressed with bright and cheery daffodils, catkins & blossoms that reminded us of that Spring had sprung (despite the recent weather suggesting otherwise).
After drinks and canapés everyone took their seats and dinner was served ‘sharing style’. First off we got to enjoy a selection of Vinnicombe breads. One of these was stuffed with olives and was really rather delicious. There was also a thyme infused curds and crouts Boy laity Camembert with herby croutons; a Pork Terrine with local chutney; and a selection of antipasti.
Vanilla Sky Deli is well known locally for their vegetarian & vegan offerings and one of our fellow veggie diners remarked that the selection on the evening was absolutely fantastic.
Delivered to our table next was a whole roasted chicken with jerusalam artichokes and a lemon & sage butter. There was also a sticky slow roasted shoulder of lamb with rosemary & chilli jam; Mushroom and spinach stroganoff; Crown prince pumpkin tagine; crushed new potatoes & roasted root vegetables with herbs and Cornish sea salt.
We also got to indulge in a selection of puddings, including a warm Devon apple cake, a rhubarb & ginger fool & a Colaton Raleigh honey and walnut tart.
Throughout the night we got to enjoy a truly delicious selection of food, with lots of variety and plenty of fresh ingredients. If this meal is anything to go by, i’m sure future pop-up events will be well worth the cost of a ticket (this event was £30pp or £27pp for vegetarians). The hosts were brilliant as always – always on hand to top up our water jugs – and there was even enough food for seconds!
We’ll keep you updated on future Vanilla Sky x Titley Green Pop-up events, but in the meantime why not give them a follow:
Vanilla Sky – www.facebook.com/VanillaSkyDeli/
Titley Green – www.facebook.com/paulajanemccloy