Xoliswa Ndoyiya was Nelson Mandela's personal cook from 1992. Her job interview consisted of just one question: “Can you cook our home food?”

 Here is the recipe for Umphokoqo, a porridge made of maize meal and sour milk which was one of Madiba's favourite foods.  He had it made whilst staying at The Dorchester in London.

Mr Suffolkfoodie having been brought up in South Africa also enjoys a bowl of this on most mornings.

Ingredients

2 cups water
1 teaspoon salt 
2 cups mealie meal ( polenta )
1 litre amasi (sour milk similar to buttermilk, buttermilk will do)

Method

Bring the salted water to a boil.

Add mealie meal, stirring constantly. Lower the heat and, stirring throughout, cook until the porridge is soft, approximately 25 minutes.

After 25 minutes, stop stirring. Reduce the heat to an absolute minimum and cover the pot with a lid for 15 minutes or until the texture is totally soft (if there are still granules, the mixture is not yet cooked).

Remove from the heat, turn the contents of the pot into a large bowl and allow it to cool completely.

Serve with soured milk on the side so that each diner can determine how sour they would like their umphokoqo to be. The soured milk is then stirred into the porridge.

We are pleased to tell you that we will be popping up again at The Chequers in Gazeley on Saturday February 22nd  with our "one great price, one great menu" supper.

Suffolk Foodie February Popup Supper

Saturday Feb 22nd from 7pm

One Great Price - One Great Menu

£20.00 per person

Vichyssoise

with Stilton Scones

----------*----------

6 hr Slow cooked shoulder of Pork
with apple sauce

or

Chestnut & Mushroom Loaf

Baked Red Cabbage & Roast Potatoes

----------*----------

Home made Orange Marscapone Cheesecake
with poached fruits

----------*----------

Limited number of tables so please book via

01638 551511  email or use the link to the online booking form

Benson Blakes in Bury St Edmunds has just taken over a country pub; not  to make it into a burger bar but for a very exciting project. The pub is owned by the local farmer who will be supplying the pub with rare breed pork (Oxford Sandy & Black) with beef, lamb, free range turkey, wild venison and local game. There will be a small holding established early next year for herbs, salads and vegetables. The farmer will also be growing wheat, barley & hops for a microbrewery that will be established in the farm. They are also setting up a smokery and doing a full range of charcuterie meats and chutneys... Real Suffolk food !!

 Please book your table via the online booking form

Suffolk Foodie Pop Up Supper

Saturday Jan 11th from 7pm

One Great Price - One Great Menu

£20.00 per person

Vegetable Minestrone with Pesto Focaccia

----------*----------

Braised Brisket of Beef in Red Wine
with Horseradish Dumplings

or

Celeriac, Leek & Lentil Hot Pot

Potatoes and Winter Root vegetables

----------*----------

Home made Bramley Apple Crumble with Custard & Cream

----------*----------

Limited number of tables so please book via

01638 551511  email or use the form below

suffolk foodie are food fanatics - suffolkfoodie.co.uk for more info

 Following the success of the pop up at the weekend we are pleased to say that we have been invited back by Pat and Paula at The Chequers to cook another supper on January 11th.  The same format; £20 per head. One great price. One great menu!

Now you would have thought that between a blogger, a photographer and several helpers on the night that we would have managed a gallery of pictures for you to see. But we didn't manage any photographs and the pub looked great.  The best we could do is a slice of lemon meringue pie, so here it is. It went down very well with even a request to wrap some up to eat later!

 Online booking via The Chequers website

Suffolk Foodie Popup Supper

 Saturday Dec 14th from 7pm

 One Great Price - One Great Menu

 £20.00 per person

 Roasted Parsnip and Red Pepper Soup

with Cheddar Muffins

----------*----------

 Slow cooked leg of Gressingham duck with sausage & haricot bean cassoulet

 or

 Herb stuffed portabello mushrooms with butternut & haricot bean cassoulet

 mash & savoy cabbage

----------*----------

 Home made Lemon Meringue Pie with fresh cream

----------*----------

The Gazeley Chequers is near Newmarket, just a short drive from the A14. It is a 400 year old public house in Gazeley that is being refurbished by the owners Pat and Paula.  It is a real ale pub, but also serves lager, wines, spirits and soft drinks.

 There are a limited number of tables for the pop up supper so booking is essential. All ingredients will be sourced locally and everything is homemade! The booking form is available on The Chequers website

This multi function and award winning community building has a cafe, with enthusiastic staff and lots of homemade cakes. They tried to persuade me to have a full English breakfast, but for the sake of my arteries I settled for a capuccino.

Go upstairs to find out about the Pulham Pigs.

Why have we been eating so many burgers? Suddenly everyone in Bury St Edmunds has burgers on the menu so we have been out to try some.

Benson Blakes were the first on the scene and are the established burger and cocktail bar in the town. They have won many awards ( deservedly so) for their offerings and we tried the Caprese (£7.85) a dirty great burger with sweet potato fries. Cocktails are damn good too.  Staff are very friendly and the atmosphere lively and fun, especially when a band is playing.

More sedate is Graze Kitchen and Bar, known for their small plate, informal dining and established in the town for high quality, mix and match plates. But now big plates have arrived and include a Graze burger, pickles and chips. (£9.) We drank a bottle of Chenin Blanc from South Africa which was very good and added some small plates to our late evening meal.  Service was slick, but annoyingly we were reminded throughout the meal that the kitchen closed at 10pm. 

Third up is The Picturehouse cinema in Hatter Street. They serve a build your own burger.  Choose a bun, a burger, a side and salad.(£8.80).  Note pads and pens are placed on the table for you to write, then place your order at the bar and the burger is delivered to the table. Service is cheerful but it gets a bit busy when a film is about to start, so allow plenty of time to eat first. 

• Benson Blakes
• Graze
• Picturehouse
•  

We like Bungay.  This pretty little town has some great independent shops and a market every Thursday.

It also has The Earsham Street Cafe.  We were too late for lunch, but liked the idea of the savoury afternoon tea with local Shipcord cheese and homemade carrot chutney.

• Bungay Florist
• The Earsham Street Cafe
•  

These savoury muffins are an all year round favourite. We like to experiment with different fillings and toppings, these are topped with pesto. Here is the link for our Feta and Peppadew Muffins. Have fun adapting the recipe!

A sliceable quince treat to serve with cheese.