Viva Espana
 

Last Friday was our much anticipated Spanish themed evening at Three.  As you can see from the picture it was not only the food and decorations that were embracing all things España ­ Brett our Head Chef threw himself into the role of host ­ he only stopped short of the maracas!

It was a full house and every guest was greeted with a glass of Sangria, as they made their way to our walled garden to enjoy the last of the evening sunshine before dinner.  It was a surprise for some of the guests who were unaware that we had a garden behind The Three Wishes ­ it’s like a secret walled garden and sometimes music filters through from the school behind.......

As we all sat down to dinner with glasses of Blanco Viura, and bottles of San Miguel, the conversation was in full flow and there was a real party atmosphere. The menu comprised some real classic Spanish tapas.  

Brett researched the origins of Tapas and one account (and Brett’s favourite) was that at the end of a long day farmers and labourers would visit a local inn for a well earned drink, where they would place a small piece of bread on top of the drink to protect it from flies. Throughout the evening the innkeeper would place things on top of the bread, such as cured meats, sausage and olives as a snack, this edible lid was the start of tapas ­ well that’s one version!

It’s not dissimilar to how the evening continued ­ without the flies of course! Throughout the evening Brett and the team brought out Pan fresco (Brett’s home-made fresh bread and spanish olive oil from Olives Et Al), Gazpacho, Fabada cerde (White bean stew with local pork, paprika and onions), Cordero con salsa (Tender cooked local lamb with white wine, mushrooms and cream) Crema Catalan (Spanish cooked custard infused with lemon) and lots more in between.

Each course was beautifully prepared and Brett (in his now famous shirt!), visited each and every table during the night answering questions about the food and speaking to guests about the menu.  All in all it was a fantastic night, so much so that our next themed evening ­ exploring Thai cuisine on 1st July is almost fully booked!

Nicky.
 

Honey and pancakes

We started the month with a bit of a bang, with our annual Three Wishes Pancake Race and we ended it with a buzz, with the arrival of our new bee hives for The Eastbury’s walled garden!

At the Pancake Race (held on Shrove Tuesday for a change!) there were three heats for the children of Sherborne Primary School, with the winner receiving the first prize of a tea party at The Three Wishes.  The event finished with a race for the teachers ­ which I think the children probably enjoyed even more! It was fantastic to have the children involved - the excitement levels were through the roof and it was amazing to see so many people lining the street to watch and support the event.

After the race there was only one topic on everybody’s lips here, bees! We are incredibly passionate about local sourcing (plenty of people say that ­ but we live it!) but Brett, our Head Chef likes to go the extra mile ­ or shall we say reduce it!  Not content with the Dorset honey we currently serve, Brett has now had two bee hives installed in the very bottom of The Eastbury’s walled garden so that we can start producing Eastbury honey!

The bees are very peaceful; they pop in and out of the hive then off around Sherborne to collect their pollen. One thing is for certain though - the honey they produce is absolutely incredible ­ not to bee missed!

Nicky

Spring is in the air……

February has been non-stop and with our annual Pancake Race next week (I can’t believe it’s that soon!) things are showing no sign of slowing down!  On top of planning weddings, holding big birthday bashes and making plans for our Royal Wedding celebrations here in Sherborne, we’ve also managed to find time to give our lounge and library a little re-vamp as well.

Valentines was lovely here at the Hotel and three bistro­ we even had some couples that were married in The Eastbury in for dinner, so it was great to see them again. We also ran a competition with the Western Gazette when we gave one lucky couple a two night luxury stay with Champagne and roses on arrival - they were absolutely delighted!

Our new menu at three bistro is now in place and we have a whole section dedicated to one of Brett’s favourites - the mighty sausage! We work with our local butchers, Parson’s, and buy our own pigs whole to cure our own bacon, ham, hocks and even to make our own sausages. The pork and grain mustard sausages are delicious with a good dollop of creamy mash!

Paul and I have just put together a plan of events for spring and summer both at the Hotel and The Three Wishes, and in Sherborne it’s shaping up to be a very exciting year.  From Jools Holland at Sherborne Castle on 23^rd June to Dame Cleo Laine, Nicola Benedetti and The Three Welsh Tenors at the Sherborne Abbey Festival at the end of April - it’s a jam packed schedule! If you would like to know more about what’s on in Sherborne ­ just give us a call on  01935 81 31 31.

Nicky.

Wedding bells…

We’re certainly hitting the ground running here at The Eastbury and The Three Wishes in 2011. It’s looking like it will be a very exciting year, especially if (like me) you’re a real fan of weddings ­ and I don’t just mean the Royal one! Last weekend alone we had three happy couples come to see us to start planning their big day. I really hope we have some lovely weather like last year as our walled garden provides a perfect backdrop for those all important photographs!

Things are also going fantastically well at The Three Wishes! Our team of chefs created some really exciting menus last year and as I write this they are in the process of creating a new menu for Spring ­ fingers crossed we will have some new dishes to sample very shortly ­ one of the perks of the job! 

Along with this they are also starting to think about this year’s Pancake Race, which is creeping up on us already. This year we are having two heats, one for adults, (our reigning winner has taken the crown two years in a row!!!) and one for the children in Sherborne Primary’s Year 6. It is always a very exciting day (for children and adults alike!) and last year ITV Westcountry even came to film the race ­ so you may want to pencil the date in your diary!

Nicky.

2010………………….what a year!

It has been another whirl-wind year at The Eastbury and The Three Wishes and we can only hope 2011 will bring as much excitement!

We had an ITV Westcountry news reporter (and camera man!) join in our now infamous Pancake Race in Sherborne!

We opened our new alfresco Bistro in the summer…………complete with woolly blankets!

We won Gold in the Taste of the West awards in the Restaurant category…..what a result

We were awarded Silver for our environmental credentials by the Green Tourism Business Scheme ­ something the team is very proud of………

And Ben our 18 year old Trainee Chef was crowned overall South West Chef of the Year……

Not bad for 365 days!!! We are now all looking forward to Christmas and New Year and of course what 2011 will bring. We wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year,

Nicky.