We took a few packets of our westcountry beef jerky down to Exeter to be judged by the people from Taste of the West, fingers crossed!

On another note the woods around King Alfred’s tower are beginning to show the first signs of spring which puts us in mind of a recipe for beach tree gin that we’ve been meaning to try for some years.  The beach leaves need to be harvested when they’re young and still vibrant green.  If you fancy trying it the recipe is very simple:

1: Pick enough beach leaves to fill a large jar leaving some room in the top (make sure you remove any insects etc). Fill the jar with gin, making sure there are no bubbles left in the leaves.

2: Allow this to infuse for a couple of weeks, strain off the gin and then add a simple sugar syrup to the newly green gin! (3/4 pound of sugar and half a pint of water for roughly every pint of gin- although this can be varied depending on the sweetness of your tooth)

3: The idea is that the gin is quite tasty and you feel that you have done something useful as well as produced a potent after dinner warmer for the winter months. We’ll let you know how we get on!