| Our food philosophy | Dinner at Exmoor House | Wines, local beers, etc | Breakfast |
| Picnics & snacks | Lunch at Exmoor House | Reviews of our food | Events |
At Exmoor House we love good food, and the meals we cook for our guests are the kind of thing we like to eat ourselves. In our daily-changing menu we combine good ingredients with expert cooking. Probably the best way to describe what we do is 'traditional with a twist'... see some sample dinner menus here.
Wherever possible we use local, seasonal produce. OK, nearly everyone claims that these days (often ‘locally sourced’ actually means ‘sourced at the local supermarket’) but we can give you specifics: for example, we buy most of our meat from John May in South Molton, who deal with carefully-selected local farms and specialise in top-quality produce. Eggs come from a neighbour's free range chickens, drycure bacon and good sausages from our butcher. Most of our milk, cheese and butter are supplied by Axe Valley Dairies in Williton; we get goat's cheese from a smallholder in Bridgetown. Tea, coffee and hot chocolate are from D J Miles of Porlock, whose blends are made to suit the water round here. Depending on when you visit, your dinner might include some of Rosi's home-grown herbs or salad leaves - you can't get much more local than that!
Some of the recipes we use are our own, some adapted from our collection of cookery books old and new. We make just about everything ourselves - all our bread is home-made, for example. Frank's jams and pickles always go down well (his spicy tomato chutney has won 1st prize at our village fete). We even make home-cured ham and beef, as well as home-smoked chicken (all delicious). Proper pies (i.e. with the filling cooked in a pastry case - not a bit of puff pastry baked separately and plonked on top) often feature on our dinner menus. Frank does make a rather good all-butter shortcrust...
We aim to tailor our menus to our guests, so please let us know about anything you don't eat (or any strong preferences/dislikes!) when you book. We do some great vegetarian food and can cater for many other dietary requirements too.
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Book your accommdation at Exmoor
House online (NB: if there's no availability showing, it's still
worth double-checking with us!)
If
you'd prefer to contact us direct, or if you have any queries at all,
just call Rosi & Frank on 01643 841432, or email us: info@exmoorhouse.com
Dinner at Exmoor House
The
three course dinner menu changes every day, with a choice at each course: see
our sample dinner menus. We vary the menu with
the seasons, and according to our guests' requirements. Everything is genuinely
home-made - about the only things we don't make ourselves are cheese and wine!
Frank's ice creams have been described as 'to die for', and Rosi has developed
some fabulous sundaes to showcase the different flavours. If you don't have
a sweet tooth, though, there is always the option of Somerset cheeses instead
of pudding (and of course you're welcome to add the cheese & biscuits as
an extra course if you'd like to).
There's generally a vegetarian or fish choice, and we can cater
for (e.g.) wheat-free, gluten-free and dairy-free diets, as long as we know
beforehand. We want to make sure you thoroughly enjoy your time with us, so
please do tell us about any dietary needs and preferences when you make your
booking.
Sample dinner menus
Non-residents are very welcome to join us at Exmoor House for dinner. Advance booking (normally at least 24 hours beforehand) is essential - just call us on 01643 841432.
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Wines, local beers & ciders at Exmoor House
To complement your meal we have an interesting range
of reasonably priced wines from around the world, supplied by local vintner
Washfield Wines. We even have some Exmoor wines, from the nearby Dunkery vineyard,
including a sparkling Exmoor Brut that has received rave reviews. If beer’s more
your thing, we stock a range of bottled beers from local brewers Exmoor Ales and
Cotleigh, including Exmoor Gold and Barn Owl. And being in Somerset,
there are always a few local ciders (from Sheppy’s near Taunton).
You'll also find the usual spirits, fortified wines, etc, on our
honesty bar.
We've a choice of interesting non-alcoholic drinks too, for example Sicilian lemonade
and elderflower bubbly from Devon-based company Luscombe Organic Drinks.
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Breakfast at Exmoor
House
Breakfast is an important part of the day here at Exmoor House,
and we believe that the quality of things like bread, coffee and sausages is
vital. So we use dry-cured bacon (with the rind on for extra succulence) and
top-notch sausages from our butcher, free-range eggs from a neighbour's
hens, decent fruit juice rather than the concentrate stuff, proper coffee
from our local tea & coffee company (and there's always a good choice
of different teas and infusions too), toasted home-made bread, home-made
preserves, farmhouse butter... you know the sort of thing. On
some days plump kippers or naturally-smoked
haddock with scrambled eggs might be on the menu; or maybe Frank's home-made
(sugar free) baked beans. If you'd like to try Exmoor porridge,
just let us know the evening before.
We can also do breakfast for non-residents, if booked in advance, at
an inclusive price of £12 per person - call us on 01643 841432
Going to be out in the wilds all day? Take
one of our great value picnic lunches with you - or if you fancy something
lighter, maybe just a home-made filled roll or some cake. You're welcome to
borrow one of our Thermos flasks if you need to. If you're feeling a bit peckish
during the afternoon, we normally have some home-made cake or scones available
(as well as tea, coffee and so on, of course). Arriving
after dinnertime on your first night, or prefer not to have a full meal in the
evening? Ask about a late supper.
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On most days at Snowdrop
Valley time (February), the Exmoor House dining room is open from 11am - 3pm-ish
to our guests and to the general public for tea, coffee, snacks - our home-made
teacakes and special recipe scones are wonderful - and light lunches.
In October we do Exmoor Tasting Platters for the Exmoor Food Festival.
The rest of the year, we welcome bookings for lunch from non-residents (minimum
4 people in a group, maximum around 12-16, bookings needed at least 48 hours
in advance). So if you've got something to celebrate - or you're having a meeting
or get-together - just contact us to discuss your requirements. We'll quote
you for a sit-down meal or a buffet.
For resident guests we can provide soup, our great home-made filled rolls, ploughman's
lunches, etc - please book a couple of days beforehand if you'd like lunch on
the day you arrive. Again, if there are four or more of you we can arrange a
buffet, or tasting platters served tapas-style (advance booking is essential).
VisitEngland rated our meals as exceptional quality, commenting:
“excellent standard of homemade freshly prepared items using local produce".
We've twice been nominated for the UKTV Food Local Hero award.
"...Frank produces home made meals that would grace - or put to shame
- some of the country's best known restaurants. Freshly cooked, innovative meals,
different every day, he has a passion for cooking that I've rarely seen"
said a review on uktvfood.co.uk
(where you can also add a review of your own!).
Frank won the village fete cup in 2010 for his local goat's
cheese & bacon flan (believe us, this is a real honour, as we have some
fantastic home bakers in Wheddon Cross and Cutcombe). The judges loved it. We
think you will, too.
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Frank with the Cynthia Stevens
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'Home cooked food a delicious treat (with the added bonus of
tasty vegetarian food)'
'Lots of lovely food and good wine'
'Great food and drink selection'
'The food is excellent and I would defy anyone to get better
scones for afternoon tea'
'Great food prepared with care and attention'
(visit our Reviews page for more food
feedback and other comments!)
Exmoor Food Festival
This normally takes place in early October. For the last few
years we've been doing Exmoor House Tasting Platter
lunches every day of the food festival. For more details about the full programme
of events, go to www.exmoorfoodfestival.co.uk
Snowdrop Valley
The Exmoor House dining room is open as a tearoom during the
day at Snowdrop Valley time (February), serving our filled home-made rolls,
soup, ploughman's lunches, cakes, Frank's famous scones... contact
us if you'd like more details
Private Lunches
Planning your own special event? Ask about lunches (for groups of 4 or more
people) at Exmoor House.
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Exmoor House • Wheddon Cross •
Exmoor National Park • Somerset TA24 7DU
tel (01643) 841432 • e-mail: info@exmoorhouse.com