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Muffins named as South West Tea Room of the Year for 2009
From Cornish Guardian Tuesday, December 08, 2009
A LOSTWITHIEL tearoom is celebrating sweet success after it was named the best in the South West. Muffins owned by Lindsay and Keith Southgate, have scooped the prestigious Taste Of the West's South West tearoom of the year award,
Lindsay, 48, said they were delighted and
revealed their winning recipe."I think it comes down to getting the
basics right. I would love to talk to one of the judges."We try to do
the best we can with our menu and service is very important – there are
so many places where you can go in and it feels like the staff don't
care you are there.
"As a tearoom, you can't beat having
clotted cream right on your doorstep and we make all the cakes
ourselves. "Cleanliness is very important as well."It's that lovely
feeling of having a mixture of locals and visitors. "Today I probably
recognise 99% of the customers, but in the summer, there are lots of
visitors and the locals and tourists sit and chat – it's a great
atmosphere."
Lindsay and her husband Keith, 58, say cream
teas are customers' favourite, along with a Muffins' tasting plate
which combines locally-sourced food such as Cornish charcuterie and
smoked salmon.
Muffins, which won the previous round of best
tearooms in Cornwall in October, has 28 covers, with a garden to seat
more people in the summer and employs four members of staff who live in
Lostwithiel.
The Taste of the West Awards were established
16 years ago and highlight successful, high quality businesses across
food and drink production, hospitality and food retail.
Muffins
went head-to-head against premises from Devon, Gloucestershire,
Wiltshire, Somerset and Dorset and undercover judges described it as
"the perfect tearooms".
Lindsay added: "We are thrilled, as
we were up against some tough competition from the other counties.
"Since opening we have always promoted local food as we believe it
offers the best quality and value for money for our customers.
"Lostwithiel
is such a fantastic place for people to enjoy great food and drink and
it is great to be recognised as doing a good job."
Tearoom wins gold award in Taste of the West contest
From Cornish
Guardian Tuesday, October 06, 2009
MUFFINS tearoom in Lostwithiel has won the top prize in the Taste of
the West hospitality awards.
The Fore Street premises scooped a gold award in the 2009 cafe/tearoom
of the year category in Cornwall, based on its use of local produce,
quality, presentation and flavour of meals and quality of service.
Co-owner Lindsay Southgate, who runs Muffins with her husband, Keith,
said: "We are delighted that Taste of the West has acknowledged our
commitment to local produce.
"We are passionate about promoting the very best food and drink
available in Cornwall, so it is very pleasing this has been recognised
by an organisation as knowledgeable as Taste of the West."
The awards recognise high quality food and drink and a commitment to
serving local produce in the South West.
Muffins, which opened in 2002, will now proceed to the next round of
awards where winners from six counties in the South West will compete
for the regional tearoom of the year title.
Lindsay said: "From the beginning we wanted to focus on local produce
and there are some fabulous brands in Cornwall. We keep it simple and
don't over-elaborate – it's not expensive and it's good quality."
Muffins will be showcasing the best Cornish food and drink from
Tuesday, October 27, to Saturday, October 31, during the Cornwall
Celebration of Food. A Totally Cornish lunch, which includes two
courses accompanied by Cornish wine, beer or apple juice will be
available for £9.95.
For more information, please call 01208 872228.
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Winemaker to visit restaurant
From Cornish Guardian
Tuesday, September 08, 2009
The owners of Trewithen Restaurant, Lostwithiel, say they are delighted
that famous winemaker Gary Jordan is to visit their premises.
Proprietors Paul and Claire Murray, who have owned the Trewithen for
nearly four years, will be welcoming Gary, of Jordan Wines fame, to an
evening featuring a five-course tasting menu. Husband and wife Gary and
Kathy Jordan have been making world class wines since 1993 in
Stellenbosch, South Africa, on a farm with a 300-year history.
Claire said: "We are both so honoured and hope the evening will be
fantastic.
"A lot of our regulars are very excited about Gary's visit. "Usually
world famous winemakers won't venture out of London, so when we found
out that not only was he coming to our restaurant, but it was his first
visit to Cornwall, we felt extremely privileged."Our customers enjoy
the taste of the wines."We've been impressed with how popular they are,
as we've stocked them for a number of years, as has everyone who tastes
them."
It is not the first time the couple have hosted a famous winemaker. "We
did have a visit from the Tindall estate, from New Zealand, which was a
magnificent success."Gary's vineyard is bigger and acclaimed, so we
hope his visit will prove equally as popular with the people who come
on the night," said Claire.
"This is our fourth summer here and we've been very fortunate that the
business has gone from strength to strength."
The couple have already sold out of tickets for the tasting evening
which is being held at their eatery on Friday, September 18.