Newsletter

September 2013

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Contents

3) Welcome

4) This Month’s Event

5) Competition Question

6) Alnwick Food Festival

7) Terrific Tastes at Truffle

8) Bespoke Gift Basket Service

9) The Bay Horse, Hurworth

10) What’s Next?

11) 30 Years Celebration Cookbook

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Welcome .....

How is the summer treating you? The weather is good (mostly!), the

seasonal produce is beautiful, making cooking a delight and, eating even

more so! Obviously, we feel that dining out is more than just eating out.

For us, our dining events are definitely about the wonderful dishes our

local chefs create but, they're also about the lovely settings and, of

course, the people we share them with. While having a coffee with one

of our members the other day and chatting about the ideas for future

events, it was lovely to hear that, for her, "going out with Opus is great

because it's like going out with friends only even better because there

are always new people to meet too".

Our most recent event; dinner at Truffle in Darlington, would certainly

bear that out too; we had a really terrific night. You can read about it

below in my review of the evening.

You'll also find a review of the new cookbook from The Beamish Park

Hotel. Read on to find out how I did! I hate to mention this really but,

Christmas is fast approaching and we are already taking orders for our

Bespoke Gift Baskets so if you'd like to treat yourself, a loved one or

give a corporate gift with a difference, give us a call and we'll fill your

basket of choice with just what will tickle their taste-buds most!

We have a competition this month too. A simple question for a great prize!

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This month's event:

Dinner in the Rib Room, Ramside Hall Hotel

29 August 2013

We're really looking forward

to our second visit to the Rib

Room Restaurant at

Ramside Hall this month

after a well-attended first

event earlier in the year.

The food was delicious, the

service was excellent and there was a lovely, cosy feel to the restaurant.

Although, the actual menu isn't available until the evening, Ramside Hall

has provided us with a sample menu as an example of the delicious dishes

on offer. On our last visit I chose a steak and, as the beef used is locally

reared and hung for the optimum time before being cooked to my exact

taste, I thoroughly enjoyed it and am looking forward to trying something

different this time. We'll be meeting in the lounge for a glass of bubbly and

mouth-watering canapés so, if you'd like to come along please get in touch

by email; [email protected] or phone; 07588 596 795 to reserve

your place! Our events are a lot of fun but, don't take my word for it, come

along and find out for yourself!

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Competition Question!

What is the name of the Head Chef at The Beamish Park

Hotel?

The first person to email the correct answer to

[email protected] will receive a copy of the new

cookbook worth £24.99 which is full of delicious and easy to

follow recipes. Don't be slow or it will go!!

Making an exhibition of Opus!

We can be found at Stockton Summer Show this coming Bank

Holiday weekend, 25th and 26th August. The weather is

supposed to be warm and sunny so we're looking forward to

meeting lots of new people and maybe seeing a few faces we

know too. We'll have a display of our beautiful gift baskets for

you to get an idea of just how the hamper has changed!! We'd

love to see you so come and say hello!

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Alnwick Food Festival 20th - 22nd September 2013

We’re really looking forward to this year's Food Festival with great

anticipation. This is as an annual event and is particularly well attended

by thousands of visitors over 3 days with lots happening such as

cookery demonstrations from chefs including Jean-Christophe Novelli, a

tea dance, a great market place selling delicious produce and a gourmet

dinner plus much more.

The gourmet dinner is being served at the White Swan, a really lovely

venue in the centre of Alnwick. Details of this sumptuous dining

experience can be found on the website and in the programme.

I hope we've whetted your appetite for this fantastic event and look

forward to seeing you there!

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Terrific Tastes at Truffle!

Our first event in the relaxed atmosphere of this fine dining restaurant in

Darlington was amazing! Our members and guests helped to make this

a night to be remembered with fun and interesting conversation while

dining on some of the finest food in our region. After being treated to a

cocktail, a glass of champagne or wine we were seated and dined on

starters of juicy, ripe figs, delicate and tasty scallops, salmon mousse

that melted on the tongue; all beautifully presented and more

importantly, delicious! My mouth is watering again now with the memory!

I chose beef for my entree which was cooked perfectly pink, just the way

I like it and no-one was disappointed with their choice although there

was a lot of food envy that night! The dessert menu was filled with

creamy, chocolately, biscuity and fruity goodness and it was very difficult

to choose just one. Each dish was matched to a dessert wine and my

choice was a match made in food heaven!

Truffle is definitely a delicacy we will be partaking of again! Thank you to

all the team who made our first visit such a special occas

The Perfect Gift!

Okay, so vouchers aren't everyone's cup of tea as a gift but, if you're

looking for something meaningful for a foodie friend or loved one this

year why not one that is as unique as Opus? Vouchers can be used to

come along to one of our events, such as dinner, Sunday lunch, wine

tasting, a cocktail party, spa day, etc. They can also be used against the

membership fee. You never know, it may be the beginning of a beautiful

friendship!

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Bespoke Gift Basket Service

An ideal gift for those foodies in your life, whether family, friends or

colleagues. We tailor our service to meet your needs. So, whoever it's

for, whatever occasion we can create a beautiful and delicious gift for

you. Using locally produced or supplied goodies, we will fill your basket

of choice with just what will tickle their taste-buds most!

Tell us how much you'd like to spend, who it's for, what they like and the

occasion and let us create a masterpiece of taste! As our gift baskets

are put together by hand, you can also add a little something extra if you

wish. Just let us know when you place your order and we'll collect and

add it to your gift.

For information on prices and delivery, please call us on 07588 596 795

or drop us an email at [email protected].

We look forward to your order. We're sure you'll get a huge thank you for

this beautiful gift!

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The Bay Horse, Hurworth

28 September 2014

We're off to Hurworth and the Bay Horse for another lunchtime visit but

this time on a Saturday for a taste of France but made with the same

great quality, locally produced ingredients we love. Is it just me or does

food actually taste better when it has a French name? Or, is it simply the

mystery of the language no matter what it is being said?! That aside, we

are tempted by such things as Medallions of beef fillet on pomme puree

with buttered cabbage, roasted celeriac and wild mushrooms; Pan fried

salmon filet with creamed clams, olive tapenade and sauce vierge and

always delicious desserts such as Raspberry and white chocolate

mousse with toasted oats & almonds with raspberry sorbet. These are

merely an example of the lovely sounding, beautifully presented and

even better tasting dishes on offer for us to enjoy at one of our usually

very long and very leisurely lunches as guests of the Bay Horse. Always

a pleasure!

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What’s Next?

We are always searching for the best food, venues and service in our

region and look forward to tempting you with some interesting, inspiring

and lip smacking experiences throughout 2013. We're already in the

process of planning events for 2014 too!

Do you have a favourite place to eat, want to try somewhere or

something new? We'd be happy to consider suggestions for future

events and venues so please, get in touch.

Are you a restaurant or hotel that prides itself on service as well as the

best quality ingredients presented by your amazing chef? If you think

you can offer our members a great experience, give us a call on 07588

596 795. It would be great to hear from you.

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30 Years Celebration Cookbook!

By way of celebration, The Beamish Park Hotel has produced a

cookbook highlighting the talent and skills of its head chef, Chris Walker

and his team. Chris, is the son of owner Bill Walker and started his

career at the Hotel when he was 16 as Commis Chef. As a home cook

with reasonable skills in the kitchen I decided to try out some of the

recipes looking at the availability of ingredients, how easy the recipe was

to follow, etc. One of the first things to note is the high quality of

photography giving you, the cook, and a great opportunity to see just

how best to plate up the dishes to wow your guests. There is a contents

list at the beginning of each chapter which makes it easy to find the

recipe you want.

The first dish I cooked was Cauliflower Cheese Soup. This is a great

starter for a dinner party at home and the instructions were easy to

follow making the dish a joy to cook. I loved this dish! It was creamy and

cheesey but the cauliflower wasn’t overpowered which is proof of the

balance of the dish. This is a simple but elegant dish that even a rooky

cook could achieve at home and present to their guests with pride.

I moved on to the Blackened Salmon, fresh crab cakes with citrus

yoghurt and salted cucumbers. At first glance this appears to be a fairly

complex dish but as you can prepare parts of the dish in advance, it's

really quite easy to put together at home. Again, the instructions were

clear and easy to follow and, as you can see from the photo above, it's

art on a plate! A great looking dish that tasted absolutely divine too!

The finale, the dessert, Italian Peach Bakewell, was a pleasure to make

and even better to eat! Again, you can prepare this dish in stages and

put it together on the day of your dinner party. If you take away the ice

cream and marmalade, the Bakewell makes a lovely teatime treat too!

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Having a huge collection of cookbooks I have come across many

recipes that just don't work for the home cook as well as those that are a

dream to cook by. This book certainly belongs in the latter category. It's

a lovely read and I'm going to enjoy many happy hours of cooking and

eating thanks to Chris and his team!

Well done and best wishes for the next 30 years!!

You can get a copy of the Celebration Cookbook from the Hotel for

£24.99 but, if you're an Opus member give us a call to get your copy at a

preferential price.

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