My mum will be pleased to know I've had a night off as we booked ourselves into Hampton Manor as a treat whilst delivering the last of their order.


Above was our room, it was huge and so well thought out, massive bed, beautiful bathroom and lots of thoughtful additions. I would really recommend staying here.


Even a cute map of the 46 acres that belong to the hotel which your free to roam round on your visit, beautifully designing by Fjona, the wife of MD James, a lovely lady. We really enjoyed meeting Fjona and discussing the future plans for the hotel.




And dinner, we had a treat for dinner and made our way through the Taster Menu, delicious, inventive and in a room which was so beautifully decorated and relaxing. We were in heaven!


Above bread, warm, fresh and so tasty, so here's the dishes, I can't remember the names for all of them but each one was fab.

Starting with a muse bouche, you can tell me if I've spelt that wrong, in my bowl,


followed by Heirloom Tomato, Burrata and Basil, a truly tasty dish, my cut and altered dish,


Organic Salmon, cucumber, horseradish with lemon and dill,


Then, Foie Gras with Sweet and Sour onion and bacon,


followed by Wild Turbot, cauliflower, orange and Iberia ham,


And on to the duck dish where they even supplied the Laguiole knives, we visited the little town in France where these are made a few years ago.


Muscovy Duck, Lavender, carrot and golden raisins, I was struggling by now even though the portions were taster menu size, the flavours were incredible!


so onto desserts, Passion Fruit, white chocolate 'aero' and liquorice,


Hazelnuts and chocolate on my plate,


And finally, on another one of my plates, Strawberries with tarragon and buttermilk and yes by now I was stuffed!


Needless to say we had very little for breakfast. It was such a beautiful place, the foods incredible, all the decor is inspiring, all the staff were superb. I'm booking to go again. It was such a buzz too to be served on our products and in speaking to the staff to know how much they love them. 

I throughly enjoyed the day James brought the team over to meet us at Sytch Farm and design the pieces they wanted, a brilliant experience to see the finished dish.

And after a great night away we're back to work. This week I'm finishing another order for The Hand of Flowers, owned by Tom Kerridge and a restaurant in Harrogate, The Wild Plum. Also getting ready for Carfest next weekend, and hopefully getting a little more on top of stock supplies.

I'm also excited as Gill from River Cottage has received a selection of pieces for photography for a new River Cottage book, can't wait to see how they use them. 

Still pinch myself, how did all this happen! 







That's it! Schools out for summer and hopefully forever for me, got my card, flowers and nice words today. From here it's 100% pottery work. How mad is that! 

To start the ball rolling I've been testing new glazes. Lots of people asking for pinks and purples so trying one out, also a glossy blue which breaks into a light mauve colour.  A few more tests before we'll make decisions. 



 It's great to be able to work outside right now, to be able to enjoy the days weather. I find myself starting a little later in the day after a bit of gardening, and finishing later too as the warmth of the day hangs around. 

Finishing off a few big orders right now, waiting on the 'go' on another one and over excited to be asked for products for a photo shoot for the next River Cottage cook book. :) #happydays


The lovely James from Kiln Care is with me this morning looking at both kilns, one is firing too high and the other needs a few new elements fitting, he's cracking on with all of that forcing me to do something else on a Monday morning!


So I've been picking fruit and flowers instead, a nice way to spend a few hours.


But not for long, James is done, on his way and I need to load the kilns, prep the clay and start throwing, a small break, but a break no less!