The morning after the wedding we got to cook the Willowbrook Park breakfast for our guests for the first time. This
hearty cooked breakfast is a contemporary take on the classic full English
using only home grown and locally sourced produce. We served freshly baked artisan bread, beef sausages and bacon from Willowbrook
Farm, and free range eggs from our neighbours (until we get the hens we are after for our farm). It also has roasted potatoes, tomatoes, and basil from our potager garden.
We had several dry runs before the day, including deciding exactly how we wanted to set out the plate. We were very excited to be using our newly completed kitchen for the first time for guests.
I had even found a wonderful bottle of olive oil at duty free on the way out of Sydney, which reminded me more of a bottle of Chanel No. 5 than a bottle of oil...
It makes a wonderful addition to the cook-top, and I think will make a great decanter for our usual olive oil in time to come. We are loving our cooker by the way, and the subway tiles. The splashback was supposed to be quartzite to match the benches, but it never arrived, so we chose the tiles 2 weeks ago to get the job finished, and I think they work well.
Our guests chose to take their breakfast in the dining room, so we started to get that prepared. We served a
wide range of wholesome goodies including cereals, homemade breads and preserves,
and fruit harvested from our orchard, along with a selection of fruit juices (orange, apple and cranberry), and teas and coffee (I was on Barista duty). I prefer pink grapefruit juice above all other fruit juices for breakfast, but unfortunately our trees have not yet started to bear enough fruit to make a decent amount of juice, and there was no fresh pink grapefruit juice available at the local market. I will have to remedy the situation this autumn.
Above: The morning sun at dawn streaming through the French windows into the dining room as we started to set up the buffet, below.
Please join us again tomorrow when we invite you inside The Gold Drawing Room.
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Hello Lord Cowell,
ReplyDeleteFirstly, I adore your dining room. It reminds me of the great dining room at Chatsworth. It is such a beautiful shade of red and the room is perfectly accessorized. I love it! Secondly, the kitchen is amazing. I love the glass doors each side of the stove and the cabinetry is superb. I am a sucker for subway tiles and think they are perfect! I hope you keep these posts going for weeks! I so hope I will get to visit and stay and Willowbrook one day.
Big hug
Giac
kitchen looks marvelous and that olive oil container is really chic -I'll have to keep my eyes out for that! Not sure about near you but here in Washington, DC specialty little olive oil shops are opening all over the place which seems slightly odd and I have yet to be invited to a 'tasting party' so still unsure how solid this 'trend' is!
ReplyDeleteDo any guests opt for a lighter breakfast? I would be delighted with eggs, cheeses, tomato, breads, sliced fresh fruit, espresso etc.
ReplyDeleteWe have only had 6 guests so far, and most of them seem to start with the buffet of toast, cereals, fruit and jam, and then finish what they can of the cooked breakfast (it isn't mandatory!) We do offer a vegetarian option if they prefer.
DeleteI'm envious of your kitchen. The meals sound delicious and I'm impressed how many of the ingredients are from onsite or very locally. That first meal must have made it feel like you were really open for business.
ReplyDelete