And the proof is here, We received today a beautiful plate to commemorate our “Best Small Hotel Award” and, a plate from the AA for our 2 x AA rosettes for culinary excellence.

It is always customary to say it was the team…..but in this case, it really was the team as every aspect of the hotel’s business is investigated, every department is marked. Well done Fallowfields Team….you are awesome.

SUCCESS….WITH BOTH THE AA AND IN

THE BEAUTIFUL SOUTH AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE 2011

The week’s good news started on Wednesday morning when, one of the businessmen checking out informed us he was the AA Inspector. Head Chef Shaun and I duly sat down with him to review his assessment of the hotel and more importantly Shaun’s food.

As it was the first time Shaun had been reviewed, we knew the most the inspector would award would be two rosettes. Compliment after compliment and eventually, with us sitting on the edge of our seats he makes the announcement.

This is a really significant award for us, as it is the start of our food journey to being one of if not the top food destinations in Oxfordshire. I know I am totally biased but I do think we are already up there among the top three.

On the Hotel side of the inspection, he praised our Housekeeping as well as the welcome and passion for our business demonstrated by our Reception team – they rate every aspect of their contact with the hotel from booking to the way they are treated on departure. We passed with flying colours and an increase in their scoring system.

On Thursday night we had been invited to the finals of the Beautiful South Awards. We knew we were either Highly commended, silver or could it even be gold. We have won the gold award before in both 2005 and 2007 and wondered if they could possibly give it to us again. Both the reception and award dinner was at Denbie’s Vineyard just outside Dorking in Surrey. It is amazing how the nerves and the excitement build up….I could not tell you what we had to eat or whether I enjoyed it. Finally the time came as they awarded many of the other categories…we were about half way through…by this time I was down to the quick I can tell you. At last……our category. Two hotels were awarded the third place, Highly Commended and then they announced the winner. As soon as I heard the Tourist board Chairman saying “and the gold award goes to a hotel in 12 acres of its own ground………………” I knew it was us at that point and a few minutes later, Peta and Alexi, my youngest daughter took the stage to receive the plate.

*TSE + Tourism South East, the Tourist organisation for the whole of the South East of England.

Having previously posted some fantastic food shots by my great friend Mike Samuels, we were approached by Shoot Studios too and here are some of their photos.

You could start your meal here at Fallowfields with this little appetiser. This is a divine garden beetroot and juniper soup.

Then perhaps a dainty and delicious starter: hand dived scallops with fennel marmalade and orange glaze.

Then to follow, maybe garden herb crusted halibut, English mustard gnocchi and asparagus [this was taken in June 2011]

Or maybe a ballontine of corn fed chicken, smoked bacon, chicken jus

Or this gorgeous garden risottl, basil cream

After a moments pause, you simply have to try this - Dark chocolate tart with apricot sorbet, poached apricot, candied pistachio

Now is the perfect time for an expresso…..dopio please…..oh yes and petit fours, for me our own Turkish delight and the mango jelly, but I know my wife will go for anything chocolate

If you like these photographs and the look of the dishes, please comment below. BTW, our menus are ever evolving with the seasons and chef’s originality, so you are not guaranteed to see any of these dishes when you come for dinner.

Dear everybody at Fallowfields,

We had a very good journey home after our wonderful holiday [seven days] in Kingston Bagpuize.  We loved Fallowfields – the staff are all so friendly and helpful – especially with Ian and his current difficulties.  The service was wonderful – as were the the marvellous food, the grounds, surroundings and the aviary.  I cannot think of any way our stay with you could have been improved – even the weather was kind to us.

Please make sure that all the staff and owners know how much we enjoyed our stay.

Best wishes to you all.

Barbara H.

Here is a link to a blog post by Russell Allert, who provides business owners a resource to grow their business using social media. He is the owner of Baked Social Media

http://bakedsocialmedia.com/social-media-small-business-success-story-anthony-lloyd-fallowfields-hotel/

These lovely short clip videos have been created by Chris Smith of the Oxford Media Factory, please check out his details at the end of this post. 

1 Quail Corner - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSFe9_akCdk

These little birds provide eggs and of course meat for the table. They need to be caged, as, they are incredible escapologists and, to protect them against rodents. This clip also takes you into the brooder, where we rear our young poultry in a safe warm environment.

2 Kitchen Garden - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kvki28liE24 

Our walled kitchen garden provides much produce for the table, all year round. We are not self sufficient, but at times of the year get as close as 75%

3 Falconry - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTjfs1RURIM

A great Oxfordshire attraction this. Why not book a falconry session and then have lunch or afternoon tea in the hotel restaurant. Even better – stay over the night before, have a wonderful meal in our restaurant, and take a falconry lesson after a leisurely breakfast the following morning.

4 Orchards - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSvuvTJNbjc

Peta and I planted these two orchards in 1994 and 1995. All on dwarf rooting stock. We have around 200 trees. From Medlars and mulberry, quince, gages, walnut and crab apple, to humble apples, plums and pears. None of the varieties names will you recognise from our supermarket shelves. We grow these for the flavour of old varieties no longer widely available.

5 Thriller’s House - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmwVeObHfgc

Thriller is yet another of our hidden secrets. he is a magnificent 5 year old Tamworth boar, in his prime, and father to all the pork we rear for the table. We are pretty much self sufficient all year round. Wonderful sausages, pork and sometimes our own bacon too.

6 Dexter Cattle - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xl5kF_mW5Xo

My favourite beef. Dexter was introduced into England into Oxfordshire in the 1850′s and has spread countrywide. Our small herd of 7 of these beautiful animals gives us much pleasure as they graze and calve and generally enjoy life. Always gleaming with health too, so we have obvioulsy got their husbandry right.

7 Duck Pond –  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igS0ImFDM4U

Here is where we keep our Aylesbury ducks together with their protector, a solitary gander [ a left over from Christmas past]. Quail and duckling terrine, succulent breast of duckling.

I would love you to add your comments in the box below

Chris Smith

Tel: 0845 680 5461

Mob: 07818 090 801

www.oxfordmediafactory.co.uk

chris@oxfordmediafactory.co.uk

And finally, here is a link to a YouTube video of me givng some insights to a group of Oxfordshire business people in the use of social media….. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2lnxeWpNrc

Dear Michelle, and the rest of Fallowfields Staff,

Thank you so much for our fantastic stay.

The room was amazing, the surroundings sublime, and the service impeccable.

Michelle, you made us feel most welcome from the outset. There was never a point where we wanted for anything.

The meal was fabulous (as expected), and Benjamin really helped to make it extra special for us, the wine he recommended was superb, and his information and chat was interjected at all the right points in our meal. The service was attentive, without being overbearing, or for one moment sniffy.

The first thing Charly did was Tweet the world to let them know how fab our stay was, and neither of us have stopped telling people about how great it was since we stayed. 

I feel that I gave Charlotte a birthday to be remembered, and that is all thanks to you. We both agree that the only way that our stay could have been improved upon, would be if it could have gone on forever!

Gushing over…

Hope to be back with you one day soon.

All the best

Ben & Charly

We were very lucky to have  a great article in the Oxford Mail last week. This came about because the Board of Oxfordshire Business First decided they wanted to get some of their members promoted more locally. InTouch www.intouchmarketing.co.uk , who have been doing some superb communications work with the Board obliged, and spoke to Andrew Smith the Business Editor for the Oxford Mail who then published this piece

http://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/9264335.Hotel_owner_s_tweet_success/

Following up from that, Will Claxton [@williamclaxton to his Twitter friends] referred the article in his blog post http://www.willclaxton.co.uk/2011/09/26/link-roundup-19-25-september/

This mini case study is a perfect example of how Social Media gets messages out into the wider community more quickly and to a wider audience than previously ever possible.

This is a delightful video put together one Sunday by Karen Maskell a good social media friend of ours. Thank you Karen, for your inspiration and thought, everybody who has seen the video says how brilliant it is. I would point out just one thing, we are not in fact organic, but we are what I call minimum intervention. We don’t use sprays, everything is grown or reared here as naturally as possible. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Vk7VVerFL4&feature=autoshare

Somebody asked me the other day “why are you so keen on rare breed pigs”? I responded with the following questions:- “have you ever wondered why the pork of today doesn’t taste like that of your youth? Do you ever long for really tasty and flavourful pork? Do you remember pork that melted in your mouth, was truly succulent and juicy with scrumptious crackling?

The answer is it is only the slow growing traditional rare breeds which will give you these characteristics and the modern fast growing hybrids simply don’t.  

However, here at Fallowfields Restaurant in Oxfordshire, we add two other ingredients to the rearing of our rare breed pork. Firstly the best of food as I firmly believe that a good balanced diet improves flavour. The second ingredient is love. These pigs are being reared to provide us with our food. Why herd them together in small pens when they can lead a happy free range lifetstyle with some good human affection thrown in. It is not scientifically proven that happy pigs taste better…but it makes me feel better and I hope it does you too. These are highly intelligent animals and deserve to be treated and respected as such.

Several weeks ago I was talking to Sue and Alan Hall, who are having to downsize their farm. We agreed two of their Middle White sows should come to us. Maud and Martha, litter sisters; Maud with 13 little wriglets to heel. Now I have reared Middle Whites before and they are so ugly they have turned the corner back to being beautiful again. That squashed up face justs tears me up everytime I look at one. However, there is one big big advantage of that squashed nose…it makes the Middle White a good grazing pig. Almost all other breeds use their noses as a farrow and tear the ground to shreds within minutes.

Why “Middle White”, well it is simple really, they were a cross, in the mid 1850′s] between the Large White and the Small White. All I know is this breed has always had a fearsome reputation for docility and for being great mothers. Perhaps as important, their succulence. This is a specialist pork pig whose popularity declined between the wars as Government policy introduce meat rationing and directed the British pork producer toward bacon.

Enough, enough, I hear you cry. Let me see what these ugly/beauties look like. How about this for a grumpy face?

Above we have Martha who arrived here on the 27 August 2011…..and was clearly not particularly happy about it all. She is here in the trailer that brought her across the County and, I have just offered her a piece of Shaun’s finest soda bread…..she has turned up her nose at it. “How dare you subject me to this indignity” she appears to be saying.

At last Martha decides to give it a go and tentatively takes to the ramp. Moments later, she is in her new paddock and I believe is saying to herself “welllll…..this might just about be alright”.

Two other good things happened down on the farm, both yesterday the 26th August. The first was the birth of our new Dexter calf Dougal Seen here about 7 hours old.

And again today, about 23 hours old.

Finally, the arrival of Maud with her 13 little wriglets. Maud arrived yesterday and looked a little upset she had been separated from most of her litter [in case she accidentally rolled on them in the trailer], she soon settled in, came to call, ate Shaun’s finest home baked and immediately fed her offspring.