One thing about these Curly Coated Pigs - they do provide opportunities that might otherwise not come our way!. Thus it was last Wednesday saw us at Burghley Park for a special Diamond Jubilee picnic with HRM.
Burghley was built between 1555 and 1587. In the late 18th Century 'Capability' Brown supervised the construction of the Stable Courtyard, the Orangery and the Lion Bridge over the lake as well as landscaping the gardens and the park. It is a truly magnificent corner of England and is still lived in by the descendants of William Cecil, the first Lord Burghley. Many of us today know it mainly as the home of the Burghley Horse Trials, one of only 6 four star Horse Trials in the world, attended by in excess of 150,000 people each September.
A place fit for a picnic for a Queen then. The Lords Lieutenant of Cambridgeshire, Rutland, Northamptonshire & Lincolnshire hosted an invited audience of 10,000 for the occasion. Marquees were set up showcasing the 'best' that each county has to offer and a full programme of 'entertainments was laid on - Bands from the Royal Yeomanry, the Royal Air Force, Community, County & Schools, Bhangra music and Indian Dancers, aerobatics displays from the world renowned Red Arrows and the BLADES , the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight of Spitfires, Hurricanes and Lancasters, Re-enactment and Country Skills Groups, the Leicester Tigers (the most successful rugby club in the country), The Coronation Crown carving and much, much more. The weather was almost kind and people
turned out in all their finery - hats and all - to enjoy a picnic in the park and, if lucky, to catch a glimpse of the Royal visitor. It was a wonderful occasion.
RectoryReserve were invited to participate in the Lincolnshire Marquee, showcasing some of the best foods from the County. Since it was a Special Occasion, and a picnic to boot, we decided to do something completely different. A bit of a risk, which played havoc with our planning skills, but more fun than our ventures to farmers markets. We decided to focus on our now-3 year old Air Dried "Holy Day" ham and designed the "RectoryReserve Special" - a bamboo Gondola containing Air dried ham on a bed of crispy lettuce and a medley of exotic fruits ... to be eaten there & then or film-wrapped to take away. Complementing this was an array of packed Air Dried ham to take home. Continuing the charcuterie theme we also offered packs of our new
Huntsman salami - a tantalising amalgam of our Curly Coat pork with Lincolnsire venison. There were a few anxious periods when we thought we would sell nothing - then sell out - then have too many Gondolas left at the end of the event! It certainly kept us on our toes! The complements regarding appearance and flavour more than repaid the hours of planning, worry and preparation. We'll be offering 'RectoryReserve Special' gondolas at a Food Fair this weekend - and at events thereafter if the success continues to build! It's so exciting to take a leap in the dark and offer something totally different - almost as exciting as seeing the Queen in person. And if you ever get the opportunity to see The BLADES aerobatic team - shown here performing a synchronised loop - do go;they are A-ma-zing. The lengths some people go to to see the Queen........
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