The Dining Room - Distinguished Dining for All!

Come along to The Dining Room in Weymouth centre. We first heard of this excellent restaurant through Twitter and saw them at the Dorset Sea Food Festival and Wessex Food Festival,  which we all loved! So we know they have a good taste in events but what about their culinary skills?

Well if being a finalist in the 'Best Restaurant' category in the Taste of Dorset Awards 2012 doesn't convince you, then maybe popping along to taste their fine blend of culinary styles might. Their menu has been influenced by Arabic, Far Eastern and Modern European cuisine and is one of the most unique dining experiences in Weymouth. 

The Dining Room also do culinary classes for all abilities. There is a basic course for beginners, including knife skills, simple ingredient knowledge and sample dishes like fresh fish pies or delectable desserts. You could also attend an advanced class for the accomplished cook that would like to learn a few tricks! How does a Chicken ballontine with oregano rosti, lemon and sage butter sauce sound? Classes start from £70 a person and are well worth the effort. 

To Book call 01305 783008. Or email them at: info@thediningroomweymouth.co.uk.



For divine food visit them at The Dining Room Restaurant, 67 St Mary Street, Weymouth
or follow them on facebook and twitter. If you still don't believe me, here's someone else who has experienced it first hand:

'The food’s incredible, the wine’s wonderful and the staff are amazing. Weymouth has been waiting for a restaurant like this!' - Carole Malone

Come down and see for yourself... The Dining Room

Dorset Seafood Festival - Fanatic about Fish?

One of our favourite annual events around Dorset is the Dorset Seafood Festival, taking place this year on the 7th and 8th July! Bringing hundreds of people down to Waterfront Weymouth every year, the festival boasts over 100 stalls and a range of expert and celebrity chefs and foodies!
With 2 large demonstration stages, you get the chance to get up close and personal as the chefs teach the crowds some basic skills for cooking fish and show off their talents at whipping up delicious meals! (If you're close enough to the front you may even be called up to taste!)
As you walk round the festival, the crowds are awash with visitors sampling all sorts of fishy treats ranging from oysters, scallops and 'new and upcoming' delicacies as they chat with local restaurant owners, chefs, and fishermen who really know their stuff about catching, buying and cooking! 

Once again the festival is sponsored by Pommery Champagne who, as we know from past experiences, keep the crowds hydrated with iced buckets of scrummy champagne. (Let me tell you now, a chilled glass of fizz beside Weymouth Harbour is something you NEED to experience!)

Celebrity chefs in attendance this year include Dorset’s very own Ashley Palmer Watts (Heston Blumenthal’s No 2) plus River Cottage contributors, Tim Maddams and John Wright,  Lesley Waters, Mat Follas, Richard Bertinet and Russell Brown. They will all bring their own unique skills and interests to the demo stages and teach the basics (filleting, gutting etc). 
For those less able in the kitchen, there is also champagne pouring demonstrations and expert wine tasting (yes, there will be samples!) to help all visitors become the perfect hosts at functions, dinner parties and more! 


This year the event will open with the Weird Fish Cross Harbour Challenge at 10:30am on the Saturday, judged by Sarah Ayton OBE, double Olympic sailing gold medalist, that sees swimmers race accross the cold waters of the harbour to be the first to down an oyster and a class of Pommery Champagne! 

For the younger ones, restaurateur Mark Hix will be judging The Dorset Young Seafood MasterChef of the Year Competition and for the cookbook collectors there will be book signings from famous chef authors - there really is something for everyone! So, if you fancy going along, just get down to Waterfront Weymouth on the 7th/8th July! See you there! More information available on the Website, Facebook and Twitter. 

The Good Old English Cuppa'

Tucked away in the Tudor Arcade in Dorchester is a real hidden gem for all tea lovers - The Gilded Teapot. A truly independent tea and coffee specialist emporium, stocking over 130 different kinds of loose leaf teas, along with locally roasted coffees and all the paraphernalia to go with it! The shop can easily be found by following the smell of tea into the old tobacconists where you'll find Jo Davies at the helm! 


Since opening in 2010, The Gilded Teapot has gone from strength to strength, despite the recession, and now supply tea for local delis, two cafes and a brilliant farm shop ! They even met Theo Paphitis last week and have been nominated for Entrepreneur and Small Business Awards which they're awaiting the results for! (Good Luck Guys!). 


Their main business mission is to bring the finest loose teas from around the globe into our teapots - while diminishing the opinion that loose tea drinking is all part of an elitist club! Loose leaf is for everyone, and anyone whose been to The Gilded Teapot will have had the pleasure of experiencing the knowledge and passion that oozes from everyone who works there! 
A big thumbs up came from us when we learnt about the effort that goes into making sure everything is sourced ethically! They work with the Ethical Tea Partnership alongside some of the greatest fair trade and organic estates in the world  to bring and blend responsible tea. 
How do I cope without a teabag?! Don't worry, we thought the same, so we asked Jo herself - "Bags stop tea from doing that they do best - infusing! If it's quality of leaf and flavour you're looking for, then our loose leaves will always serve you well. Although it sounds like a messy option, it really isn't - we stock a wide range of infuser teapots that don't drip, along with all sorts of strainers to help you on your way!"

As well as some fantastic teas, they also have a sensational range of locally roasted double-award winning coffees, made at the Dorset Coffee Company in Dorchester, if that's more your thing :) 
The Gilded Teapot isn't just a one trick pony, they also stock a sensational range of locally roasted coffees from the Dorset Coffee Company and offer talks, tastings, wedding favours, cafe and restaurants supplies with training, as well as a take-away service! 


For more info please visit their website , follow them @TheGildedTeapot or subscribe to their new e-newsletter where you can find discounts on their tea-of-the-month starting soon!