Art, food and wine (the good things in life) are all linked and the interplay between them is fascinating. There were two events of interest in our neck of the West Country last weekend. Firstly there was the opening of a superb exhibition of drawings by Lucinda Rogers called 'Industrious' at Rook Lane Arts (www.rooklane.org.uk) in my home town of Frome. She has captured some mesmerising scenes of people at work in garages, studios, factories and kitchens and as a social document alone it is a fabulous collection but her bold lines and incredible eye for detail raise it to another level. The show runs until 27th May and I cannot recommend it more highly. Our old friend (and artist in residence) David Chandler will be interviewing Lucinda at Rook Lane Chapel at 7pm on Tuesday 17th May and we look forward to that with eager anticipation.
The other unmissable occasion saw Rowley Leigh as guest chef at Roth Bar & Grill in Bruton on Saturday evening where he boldly roasted a humongous hindquarter of Durslade Farm beef over a fire pit for six hours. It was served to a packed house and was cooked to pink perfection. It was accompanied by Chimichuri and Fritteda and lashings of a blameless Argentinian 'Tanguero' Malbec.
It was great to see Rowley, looking remarkably relaxed for someone cooking for 195 people, and I even managed to take a snap of him brandishing a magnum of our popular Pic Saint-Loup 'L'Arbouse' (for which he has a penchant) in the kitchen. Apparently the trick to cooking beef properly is to factor in adequate resting time. Rowley should know as he cut his culinary teeth a grill chef at Joe Allen back in the mists of time.
Coincidentally Lucinda Rogers was the artist that illustrated Rowley's magnificent cookery book 'No Place Like Home' which I think links the two events quite neatly.
If you want to enjoy some great wine, art, food and company we will be back at Roth Bar and Grill for a Yapp Brothers dinner on Thursday 9th June so book now to secure your place at the table!
