One lucky winner will receive this gorgeous tea cup which I bought from an antiques shop whilst in Norfolk. I will be very sad to give it away, but I think someone else deserves this beautiful item!

To celebrate our one year anniversary, we're holding a prize draw to win this beautiful vintage tea cup. Enter you details below to be in with a chance of winning it!

I'm originally from Norfolk, but which other celebrity chef is also from here?

• Heston Blumenthal
• Delia Smith
• The Barefoot Contessa

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Butler’s Pantry, The Appleyard, Holt

I could spend ages in this kitchenware shop buying Emma Bridgewater teapots, mugs and everything else! They also have a fabulous range of eco frying pans, Joseph Joseph and cake decorating materials. I bought a super cute traditional style salt pig with spoon from here. Their adjoining restaurant is also excellent (I’ve eaten there a couple of times in the past and the food has always been great).

Adnam’s Cellar and Kitchen, Victoria Street, Southwold

Indulge yourself in a day out in Southwold! Home of Adnam’s ale, it is a beautiful seaside resort which largely remains unspoilt by crass tourist attractions. What you will find here though is the beautiful Adnam’s shop full of their ales (as one might expect), a good selection of carefully chosen wines, specialist and locally produced foods and some wonderful gifts. We picked up this beautiful lighthouse schnapps bottle for £24.

Find out more about Cellar & Kitchen here.

Dairy Barns, Hickling

As I will reiterate time and time again, I love to support local business, so I’m happily introducing you to Dairy Barns, a former milking parlour converted to a comfortable and beautiful bed and breakfast. It’s a beautiful setting to get married and hold your wedding reception. I also love the fact you can hold an afternoon tea here (with champagne!) – perfect for ladies who lunch.

You can learn more about Dairy Barns here.

Simply Norfolk, Staithe Street, Wells-Next-The-Sea

Gorgeous homeware, I wish I could buy the whole shop (to put in my dream home!). Cute little bird decorations, Gisela Graham mugs to die for and beautiful rose candle holders. I bought some gorgeous Cath Kidston-esque napkins from here (post with them in coming soon!)

The Last Wine Bar & Restaurant, George’s St, Norwich

I hadn’t been here for a good four years, but on my return, the food was still amazing. Friday is steak frites night and the steak is wonderfully juicy (like i’ve never had before!). But what really stuck out for me was the starters: Wood pigeon skewer with asian spices, mouli and green mango salad and scallops with spinach oshitasi, crispy rice noodles, wasabi and sweet chilli. Simply delicious.

Byford’s, Shirehall Plain, Holt

The best cream tea we ate all week! I saw a quote from Smitten Kitchen that she gets nostalgic for times and places she never knew. This was exactly how I felt in Byford’s. I could imagine Victorian ladies meeting friends here, the low ceilings with its wooden beams and traditional interior. It really served as the perfect environment to enjoy a spot of scones with clotted cream, finger sandwiches and a selection of their wonderful cakes.

Arthur Howell – butchers, Staithe Street, Wells-Next-The-Sea

Quite simply, the nicest fillet steak I’ve ever seen in a butchers. The meat was well hung, marbled with fat and full of flavour. My mum loves shopping here too (she usually buys up the shop).

We’re currently on stay-cation in Norfolk looking after my parent’s farm, and one of the values we really believe you should do whilst on stay-cation is supporting local business. We’re very lucky that being in such an agricultural community allows us to be able to have a great choice of farm shops and butchers. But De-lish is a hidden gem I’m so lucky I found…

Jules started De-lish about 3 years ago. His interest in charcuterie initially started by curing meat for friends and using space at a local smokehouse. It soon became a bit too costly to give the cured meat away (I have the same problem with giving away too many cakes!) and he opened up shop in Wells-Next-The-Sea. He is an extremely affable character and it’s wonderful to see someone so passionate about food and how it’s produced.

All the meat for his products comes from less than ten miles away, it doesn’t come much more local than that! The recipes though are a are a range of traditional, exotic and made-up recipes. Absolutely everything is made by Jules, lovingly produced in small batches and you’ll see the cured sausage meats hanging in the corner of the shop when you walk in there.

My favourite is the “Sortov” which is “sort of” like brawn. When I bought some the first time I visited here I took all the goodies to work and didn’t let Chris have any of them. This time he finally got to try it and I think several positive expletives were used to describe it! I’ve also tried Wells Lomo (similar to Parma ham), Urutan – an asian spiced sausage with real pow factor to it and the “hot chocolates” – high quality cocoa chocolate with chilli and lime. There was also talk of his own marinated olives, something which I think would be extremely popular there.

There is, according to Jules, less than a handful of specialist places like his in the country and I can’t tell you enough how much his business deserves your support and encouragement. I love the fun that he has with the names of the products; his previous work as a tutor in english literature means he plays on words and uses local places as part of the product names too. You might be forgiven for thinking his products are expensive, because there are no prices up, but he is extremely competitive on pricing versus your average supermarket plus the knowledge that the animals your meat came from had a happy life and you’ve helped to reduce your carbon footprint by buying here.

I strongly suggest that if you are ever in the area that you go and visit the shop. Being a one man band, Jules hasn’t had the opportunity to be able to be able to expand selling his products online or selling to other businesses. But this, in a way, makes me feel privileged to go to the shop and meet the face behind the passion.

Visit the De-lish website here. Or visit De-lish the shop, in Staithe Street, Wells-Next-The-Sea, Norfolk.

Saturday was the perfect day for the tea party and we were brought straight into the garden to sip on some wonderful iced tea and nibble on some seeded cheesy biscuits. The iced tea was refreshingly fruity, the likes of which I’d never tasted before, even in my travels across asia where pretty much every drink is an iced tea. The cheese nibbles not only looked pretty but packed a real cheesy punch and being fond of strong cheeses (although I do draw the line at Roquefort!) these went down well and I had to resist filling myself up on these before the main event!

Lynn introduced everyone and although we didn’t have time to play her “getting to know you game” it soon became clear who was who and whilst it seemed we all have diverse career paths, we all had one common denominator: food! We split into two rooms and I sat with a couple of bloggers: Rachel who writes http://www.ramblingsofadrunkenspinster.blogspot.com and Katie who writes http://www.leedsgrub.blogspot.com and her friend.

We were served our afternoon tea on beautiful vintage china and we had a selection of teas to choose from and could have milk or cream with it. We all happily tucked into the savoury tartlets and cute little sandwiches (I particularly enjoyed the ham and chutney ones myself) and generally rambled on about all sorts of things.

At “half time” with waistlines rapidly expanding, we were served cupcakes and butterfly cakes, macaroons, a stunning looking (and tasting!) victoria sponge with fresh strawberries and cream, scones and fruit cake with wensleydale. I’ve never been a fan of fruit cake but it’s the perfect accompaniment to a strong cheese and something I will make sure to eat again.

I couldn’t fault this event, not one bit. I only wish I’d made more effort to talk to more people but I was glued to my seat gorging on the amazing food. Perhaps when I get a bigger place I’ll be able to host one myself. Thankyou Lynn for making it such an enjoyable event! Read Lynn (Bakelady59) ‘s blog here: http://bakelady.wordpress.com. You can also find an underground restaurant in your area here.

I randomly found Stiffkey Stores’ Facebook page after someone tweeted it and sat open-mouthed and wide eyed as I looked a photo of one of their cupcakes. I don’t visit Stiffkey very often although my childhood friend Remy works at the Red Lion there (which is well worth a visit as Frankie, who runs the place, was actually my boss when I did a stint at the eponymous “Londoners do the country” restaurant The Hoste Arms, so the food is A*). As we had a morning out at Wells-Next-The-Sea I asked if we could go via Stiffkey and check out the cupcakes.

The shop is exactly what I’d hoped for: great presentation, a real country feel and a friendly service. They stock a selection of gifts and decorative items for the home and there were shelves presenting me with lots of eyecatching foods in pretty packaging. But the thing I found best was the bakery. For the first time, I finally got to try some wood-fired oven bread from their artisan bread display. I chose a wholemeal loaf (trying to be healthy!) which was delightful and kept for a good 3 days. The cupcakes were also extremely beautiful and I had a choice of several different coloured flowers. I got a hot pink one, featured above. The icing was perfect, I’d expected it to be really hard in order to get it to stay in that shape, but not at all, although I did create plenty of crumbs afterwards!

I really hope this shop is here to stay, it’s got a lot of potential and should have quite a few visitors once the summer holiday season kicks in. As for me, I’ll be back in a couple of weeks when I’m on holiday in Norfolk and going to pick up a couple more of those cupcakes.

Visit Stiffkey Stores facebook page

Where to eat, during the day

Art’s Café, 42 Call Lane

Peckish for a lunchtime snack? The cosy and always busy Art’s cafe bar serves a lovely selection of sandwiches the size of doorstops, plates (ploughman’s) and salads – from the local to the mediterranean, there’s something here to suit everyone’s tastes. There’s no chance of leaving here still hungry, because dessert’s also on the menu and it’s looking sweet (just don’t calorie count!)

Try: The Yorkshire plate, Chorizo & potato salad, baby spinach, poached egg & red pepper aioli and the polenta chips with aioli.

Price: About £8-£9 per person with a drink (no pudding).

Website: Art’s cafe bar

Bagel Nash

OK, so technically this is chain, but it’s a small one and it actually started in Leeds. Many of the locations are dotted in and around Leeds city centre. The bagel’s are wonderfully light and moreish (not like the one’s you get in the supermarket). There’s so much choice, from the bagel itself to the fillings and won’t break the bank either. They also have fat free frozen yoghurt and you can choose lots of tasty toppings to go on top.

Try: Hot salt beef on an onion bagel, homous and falafel on a multiseed bagel.

Price: About £5 per person with a drink.

Website: Bagel Nash

Where to eat, in the evening

Little Tokyo, 24 Central Road

I’ve already written a review about this place, which you can read here. I can’t recommend it enough and there’s a great selection of cocktails too.

Try: The teriyaki beef bento box

Price: About £20 per person, with a starter and alcoholic drink

The Reliance, 76-78 North Street

Chris has assured me this a great place to eat (I haven’t eaten there myself) but with main courses such as “Roast wild boar belly with sweet potato rosti, buttered spinach & a rhubarb & mustard, seed chutney” on the menu, it sounds like good grub to me, especially as all the meat is reared here in Yorkshire.

Try: The sausage and mash.

Price: About £16 per person, with an alcoholic drink

Website: The Reliance

Red Chilli, 6 Great George Street

I’ve had some good chinese food in my time, but this really pips the others at the post. The restaurant is huge, but you won’t be left waiting for your food too long. There’s loads of selection and I love that the set banquets have cute names like “First Date” and “True Love” etc. The waiters and waitresses have always been very good at recommending dishes to go together too. I only wish I had a bigger stomach so I could try more things with each meal.

Try: Their star dish, stir fried Shredded pork with red chilli

Price: About £15 per person, with an alcoholic drink

Website: Red Chilli, Leeds

Mumtaz, Clarence Dock

The best indian food I’ve had since I lived here, Mumtaz is provides an excellent range of dishes to eat in and take away!). I love the atmosphere of this restaurant and most evenings you can listen to live piano while you eat. Can’t get to Mumtaz, you can buy from their online shop, and they even do baby food!

Try: Any of the curries! (Tip:If you like hot, go for medium!)

Price: About £16 per person, with a drink (No alcohol is served here)

Website: Mumtaz

Where to shop

Kirkgate Market

It goes without saying that anyone who visits Leeds should visit Kirkgate Market. I feel so lucky to finally have a proper market again, we didn’t have one like this in Portsmouth. You can buy everything here: meat, fresh fish, huge free range eggs and a huge selection of fruits and vegetables. From curry to quiche, you’ll find what you’re looking for here. My highlight was finding they sell cashel blue , my favourite stilton here.

Kirkgate market is in trouble, help save Kirkgate market by liking their facebook page and signing the petition.

Millies, 109 Vicar Lane

I’d always avoided this place, but I’m so glad I went in. From the outside it looked a bit too “health food shop” for me, but inside there’s an amazing range of delicious organic and healthy foods including foods for people with special dietary requirements. They have a mouthwatering array of cakes and and breads, ready meals and meats. I also found they sell my favourite cheddar, Snowdonia Red Devil.

Wing Lee Hong, Vicar Lane

A bit further down Vicar lane you’ll find the best asian supermarket in Leeds. I’ve found everything I need for my Tom Yam soup in here, including frozen (not dried) kaffir lime leaves and galangal. They have a huge range of dim sum and you’ll never find me leaving the shop without a pack. My mum found some sweets in there she hadn’t had since she lived in Singapore and I found they sell Bulldog sauce which I ate a lot in Japan. If you need anything asian, this is your one stop shop.

Peter Maturi

I’d walked past this place so many times and never even noticed it. Now I’ve been in I want everything in the shop! William Morris famously quoted “Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful” but with this shop you don’t need to choose between them. Peter Maturi in days of yore made cutlery (I believe) and his shop has been around for over a hundred years. They still sell their own brand of stylish cutlery, as well as having an extensive selection of kitchen knives like Wusthof, Josef Josef kitchenware, the stunning Kitchenaid coffee maker and all things WMF (I had to convince Chris he didn’t need to spend £15 on a tin opener). They also have a range of homemade cards from local designers.

Website:Peter Maturi website and online shop

Simpsons, 28 Dock Street

This place is like a grocer and local shop rolled into one. With all the look of farm shop, Simpsons has a wonderful range of foods, including Yorkshire Outdoor rind on bacon, stuffed olives, plus healthy tasty frozen meals. Well worth a visit, plus it’s open until 11pm on a Friday and Saturday.

Simpsons of Leeds

And a bit further afield…

Salts Mill, Saltaire

Chris was so excited to take me here and now I know why. The Mill has been turned into a beautiful shop and restaurant. The huge rooms boast David Hockney art alongside art books and paintings, and then on the floor above you’ll find the bookshop. The shop boasts a good range of books, but it was the culinary collection I was most interested in. There’s so many books to look at, I could’ve spent all day perusing. Then through the restaurant, you’ll find the homeware. Designer and stylish, if you want to make a statement kitchen, this is the place to shop.

Salts Mill

For the past 6 weeks I’ve been on a cake decorating course, learning the basics such as how to put marzipan and royal icing on, plus learning how to make a simple spray of roses and blossom to top the cake with. I’ve enjoyed it so much I’m returning to do a more advanced sugarcraft course in a couple of weeks!

Whilst I’ve been the youngest person on the course, it’s been fun getting to know everyone and take a couple of hours on a Monday night to learn a new skill. It’s not the cheapest skill in the world to learn to do (but come on, what hobby ever is?!), but fortunately for me my Mum has donated me (albeit temporarily) her sugarcraft tools so I can practice. She also got me this fantastic book:

I’ve still got a long way to go to get to the top but it’s quite relaxing! If you are interested in getting into sugarcraft, I really would urge you to take a course rather than try and teach yourself at home, it’s one of those kinds of things that’s much easier demonstrated! If you live in the Leeds area, I went to Sugarcraft Supplies, in Garforth for my cake decorating course, otherwise the British Sugarcraft Guild should be able to help you locate courses in other areas of the country. Personally I found it very hard to find one in the Portsmouth area, and was on a waiting list. Luckily for me, I moved and found one!

I’ve been eating Jordan’s cereal for about a year now, I chose it because it seemed the healthier option in the sugar filled world of Kellogg’s Frosties and Coco Pops. Now, I’m not an activist or anything like that, but I was a bit shocked however to discover that palm oil is used in the cereals and wrote to ask about where it was sourced from, particularly as they are touting that they are “nature friendly”. This is the reply I got:

Thank you for your e-mail regarding our use of palm oil.

In some of our baked cereals and cereal bars we use a small quantity of rape seed oil and palm oil that has been blended together. We use the absolute minimum amount of palm oil needed to ensure our products stay fresh for the longest possible period of time. As a natural food company with over 30 years experience, we have developed an optimal combination of natural ingredients to ensure our products stay fresh, without having to rely on artificial preservatives.

As a business that is also committed to supporting wildlife, we share the very real concerns of many environmentalists regarding the ecological consequences of rainforest deforestation for palm oil production. This is a complex issue involving not only the loss of habitat for the Orangutan and Sumatran tiger, but also the needs of indigenous rural populations and smallholders who, to a large extent, are supported by the palm oil industry.

We are pleased to announce that by the end of 2010 we intend to be using only Certified Sustainable Palm Oil in our products. We are full members of the Round Table on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) and have been since 2006. At present we purchase Green Palm certificates, to ensure certified RSPO palm oil producers add an equivalent volume of certified sustainable palm oil into the overall supply chain equivalent to the small amount used in our products.

We will continue to purchase Green Palm Certificates until we are able to move to using a fully sustainable supply of palm oil later this year. It has only recently become possible for us to start using Certified Sustainable Palm Oil as a result of a new palm oil refinery opening in Merseyside that has the technical capability to mix Sustainable Palm Oil and Rape Seed Oil together, which up until now has not been possible.

Whilst they seem to be doing more than Nestlé to move towards a more sustainable way to use palm oil, I’m still not entirely convinced of their argument. I have made the decision to change to Dorset Cereals instead, where palm oil isn’t used at all. Although it costs a little more, I’d rather have the satisfaction that I’m not contributing towards rainforest destruction in this way.

As some of you know Lay The Table has taken a move up North – Leeds in fact, and that’s meant I haven’t posted for a little while as I haven’t had internet access at home. On the upside, moving has allowed to me the opportunity to finally get a herb window box.

We went with zinc window boxes because they looked prettier than the plastic ones and at £9.99 each seemed like good value for money. We thought we’d need to buy seeds but Homebase offers a variety of herbs in various stages of growth – many of which are on offer (4 for £10 etc). We bought:

• rosemary
• thyme
• lemon thyme
• chives
• oregano
• strawberries
• lavender
• and sage

As the window boxes didn’t come with any hooks to secure them outside, we bought some metal cable and secured them to the ledge outside. They’re in quite a windy location but they seem to be holding up well! Hopefully once we’ll bring you some beautiful herb recipes soon!

All told, it cost about £55, including 2x window boxes, 8 plants, plus 2 bags of compost. I’m sure it isn’t as cheap as buying just what you need from the supermarket, but I like the thought of being a little bit more self-sufficient, and if the plants are well looked after, we can keep them for a long time making them a little more economical. All items purchased from Homebase.