Dinner at Oddfellows

Last week we had our first restaurant social at an old Slow Food favourite, Oddfellows.

They pride themselves on crafting delicious meals from fresh, local ingredients and have recently started brewing their own beer too! Whilst none of us got round to trying any that night, we did conduct a rather thorough investigation of their menu; here's how we got on...

By 7:30pm, we were all sat down and ready to go! Our table was right next to the kitchen (this photo in fact was practically taken from inside the kitchen) so we could see everything that was going on. 

Sometimes open kitchens can detract from a night out; the clashing of pans and personalities can be a bit too noisy and make the evening feel stressful rather than fun. There is none of this at Oddfellows and so the open kitchen experience is quite an enjoyable one.

Most of us plumped for wine; there's a nice wide selection for those of you who know a thing or two about wine (not me...). There's even a Brut from Devon for those really looking to keep things local!

But now onto the food...

The Starters:

Top to bottom: 

Rabbit and smoked bacon bon bons, English mustard mayo and mustard cress (£6)

Pigeon breast, roasted beetroot, artichoke and red chard salad, honey & cider dressing (£5.50)

Celeriac soup, roasted garlic oil and crusty bread (£4.75)

As soon as the starters arrived, cutlery was seized in anticipation and those of us who hadn't ordered looked on in jealousy as the lucky ones tucked in.

Luckily though, it was soon our turn. The starters were polished off at an impressive speed (with many exclaims of delight in between) and soon we were getting ready for the next course...

The Mains:

From top to bottom:

Roasted cod with pommel puree, roasted tomatoes and mustard butter sauce (£15.50)

Fig, shallot and goat's cheese, rosemary polenta and Madeira dressing (£13)

Pan roasted duck breast, confit leg croquette, peach taste satin, sautéed kale and peach jus (£16)

Oven roasted venison loin, celeriac fondant, mini wild mushroom pie, heritage carrots and damson jus (£16.50)

The mains were even more delicious than the starters. There was a lot of excitement surrounding the mini wild mushroom pie that came with the venison but apart from that, the table pretty much fell silent apart from the sound of blissed-out munching.

I had the cod; the first mouthful was heavenly. It tasted like real comfort food with the roasted fish, the wonderful potato puree and the sauce adding that extra kick. However I do feel that the dish would have benefited from a little less potato and some extra vegetables in its place. There was a lot of potato to get through (don't worry, I did the job) and the flavours became a bit monotonic after a while, especially as there wasn't much sauce to go with the potato. I'd like to see a little more variety on my plate next time but I think this was just down to the dish in question as the meat dishes were much more creative.

My little niggles aside, it should probably be emphasised that as soon as the mains were over, absolutely everyone at the table who hadn't ordered a dessert then proceeded to do so.

The hero of the day was the white chocolate and vanilla panna cotta with elderflower poached raspberries and shortbread (£5.50):

Pretty much everybody had this (until the kitchen ran out! So sad!) and scraped their jars clean.

The flavours were brilliant and half of the texture was absolutely dreamy. I say half because the one I had hadn't settled too well - the top half was very luxurious and creamy whereas the bottom half was a bit gelatinous and almost grainy. Just a small thing though as I was more than satisfied by the smooth bit up top.

The other pudding chosen by our diners was the sticky toffee and ginger pudding with fudge sauce and vanilla ice-cream.

Again, Oddfellows really knows how to do comfort food - it was absolutely delicious!

In all, I think it's safe to say that Slow Food will be returning to Oddfellows. We had a brilliant night and made lots of new friends. The service was great and although we were a large table with plenty of demands throughout the night, everything was prompt and friendly.

Hope to see you next time!

I've Joined Slow Food! Now What?

Hello and welcome to all of our new and returning members (and anyone else who's still thinking about joining - it's not too late!)

You've paid your fee, you've liked us on Facebook and now you're settling into academic year 2015-2016. But what's next for Slow Food on Campus at the University of Exeter? And what exactly can you expect from us over the next three terms? This post is here to answer some of those questions!

1. What exactly is Slow Food?
Slow Food is an international movement committed to reshaping the way we think about food. From encouraging the production and purchase of local food, to minimising food waste, to campaigning on a grander scale, this is all about returning to our roots and savouring food in all its glory.
The organisation started in the Piedmont region of Italy (where they now have a university dedicated to the gastronomic arts - seriously, what are we doing at Exeter??) but has now spread all over the world - including to your campus.

Piedmont, where it all started - image source

2. What does the society do?
We help spread the Slow Food word and help get like-minded foodies together. If you spoke to us at the Freshers Fair, you'll know that we like to arrange restaurant visits, dinner parties, free cooking classes and trips further afield. We also want to help encourage foodies to break beyond their comfort zones. Perhaps this means increasing the amount of local produce you buy or trying out a new recipe once in a while - or maybe even discovering an entirely new cuisine or gastro-ideology!

3. Where does my money go?
We charge £5 for membership which is the minimum recommended by the Guild. In an ideal world, this money would come directly back to you in the form of foodie goodies and where possible, we will subsidise our events and socials. However (and we want to be completely honest here) - running a society costs money!
At the end of every year, the society committee has to leave a legacy to the new committee - this is around a few hundred pounds that helps pay for freshers week activities, recruitment campaigns and equipment. We used ours to pay for the freshers' week activities such as the cooking class. When the membership money comes in, we have to pay VAT on that (so we don't even see the whole £5!)
Our freshers week cooking class used up a large chunk of the legacy left from last year but the income from membership has topped that back up so we now have something for next year's committee. In simple words; your joining fee helps keep us afloat. To say thank you, we are working on cutting costs for you wherever we can, as we will now discuss...

The benefits of eating slow and appreciating tradition (admittedly in Italy)

4. What will I gain from Slow Food on Campus?
We are currently waiting to receive news about funding for our cooking classes - so keep an eye on our Facebook page and emails to hear when they will be! It's likely that you will get about a week's notice for these - we're sorry and wish we could give you definitive dates further in advance but it just isn't up to us!
Otherwise, we will be arranging socials, dinner parties and foodie trips with an aim to have at least one event for you every fortnight. We will be making sure that we have events for a range of budgets, from trips to local farmers' markets to dinners in top local restaurants. If there's something you want to get out of this society, don't be shy - let us know!

5. Can I get involved?
Yes! If you're interested in being on the committee either this year or next year, get in touch! It's great for your CV and basically just involves a bit of admin work and a lot of eating.