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Devon Celebration of Food Events, Christmas Gourmet Evening

Murder Mystery

The murder mystery weekend was a wonderful sucess, the mystery was solved in style and much money was gambled, lost and won at the fun casino. The spies in training staying at the hotel spent their R&R time relaxing with a delicious afternoon tea and challenging their minds with our Northcote Manor Treasure Hunt and a mystifying coded message from C, head of the shcool for international spies.

Dinner was a dressy affair with plently of martinis and bubbles in between clues and outbursts from some of the other "spies come actors" in attendance. All in all after the murdered was fingered and the last martini was drained we had a house full of very contented guests.

Masterchef wins over the young hearts at Northcote

With the recent round of Masterchef being focused on the young kitchen professionals out there, the whole team at Northcote were glued to the set. It is always interesting to watch others in your profession show what they are made of on t.v. Cheryl our General manager in particular was extremely excited to see Gidleigh Park featured on one of the episodes, why? I hear you ask, It should have been Northcote! I hear some of you cry, well Gidleigh Park is very dear to Northcote not only because we share a county and appreciate the ethos of the hotel but because Cheryl is married to Head Pastry chef Andrew King.

As we watched two hopefuls battle it out in the kitchens at Gidleigh we were treated to glimpses of Andy working away in his section. It was wonderful to get a small insight into such an esteemed kitchen and who knows, maybe one day Northcote's kitchen will be feautred.

Sizzling Summer BBQs

There are many wonderful ways to while away a Sunday many of which involve eating, drinking an being merry and summer BBQs at Northcote do not disappoint.

Richie and his team light the BBQ at midday and a selection of fresh salads, tasty vegetarian treats and fresh home made bread are presented in the conservatory. Fresh Salmon parcels, marinated chicken kebabs, minute steaks and tender pok loin that could make even the most devout vegetarian salivate sizzle away on the BBQ and miraculously never dry out.

Come along and you will be glad you did especially at only £9.95 per person (under 5's eat free)

Siona Stockel Musical Evening..

Outstanding music in a wonderful setting, it was atmospheric and moving and provided a great lift to an otherwise dull start to summer. The evening started with Pimms on the lawn followed by the musical delights of Siona, Stephen and their other musicians. Dinner was a delicious feast to savour and the comments on the night were wonderful, we are expecting Siona's Christmas offerings to be just as atmospheric and sucessful.

New Zealand Wine tasting Luncheon ~

Wednesday 11th June

Twenty one guests enjoyed a fabulous lunch tasting delicious wines from New Zealand. Canapes were enjoyed out on the terrace sampling the first wine, Gewurztraminer, 2006 from Jane Hunters Vineyard in Marlborough. Everyone was then invited through for more Delicious food accompanied by six different wines. Carol Marriot gave a lively talk on all the wines sampled through lunch. Carol has been to New Zealand twice and enjoyed sampling wine from over 25 vineyards, apparently there are over 550 vineyards in New Zealand, so I believe she is going back to sample a few more! Guests dined on the following lunch

Hand Picked Cornish Crab Tartlet - Riesling, 2006, St Clair, Marlborough

Pave of Wild Sea Bass with Confied Baby Tomatoes, Baby Onions and a Vine Tomato & Chervil Dressing - 'Green Lip' Sauvignon Blanc 2007 Jackson Estate Marlborough

Salad of Oak Smoked Duck with Fresh Herbs - Pinot Noir 2006 Jane Hunter & Pinot Noir 2006 Mount Edward, Central Otago

Loin of Exmoor Lamb with Gratin Potatoes, Provencal Vegetable Gateau, Crisp Fine Bean Parcel and it's own Gravy - Merlot 2005 Kim Crawford North Island

Grand Marnier Scented Creme Brulee with Marinated Orange Segments and Orange Ice Cream - Noble Riesling 2006 Jackson Estate Marlborough

The Noble Riesling was certainly the most popular wine of all ~ Scrummy was certainly mentioned a couple of times! If you wish to join us on our next Wine Tasting Lunch, please do get in touch, at £40.00 per person they are great value.

Devon Wine Week ~

Monday 26th May ~ Saturday 31st May

We enjoyed a really positive week promoting our Local vineyards in the West Country. Our guests enjoyed wines from Sharpham Vineyard, including Sharpham 2006 Dart Valley Reserve. This is produced using really unusual grape varieties including Madeline Angevine, Bacchus and Pheonix. A soft, fruity off-dry wine achieved by blending the three grape varieties carefully.

The family partnership of Sharpham Vineyard has been proudly producing excellent wines for over twenty years and their wines consistently win awards at national and international competitions, one of the main reasons we were proud to promote their wines through Devon Wine Week.

Many thanks to everyone who came and supported us.

May 22nd Open Day

Northcote Manor threw open it's doors to welcome many of our loyal supporters with bubbles and canapés. The occasion was a celebration of the completion of our 11 bedrooms. The turnout was better than anticipated and a lovely time was enjoyed by all, our designer Pamela Viner was on hand to divulge some of her design secrets and Cheryl & the Team were available for personal tours.
The lucky guests who stayed on for the celebratory dinner accompanied by harpist Siona Stockel had a wonderful time, a fitting end to 18 months of hard work. Now we can all enjoy the rooms and be extremely proud to show them off. Thanks Pam!

Westcountry Wedding Awards Winner! April 30th

Hooray for Us!

We are absolutely thrilled to have been awarded the 2008 Devon Venue of the year award in the Westcountry Wedding Awards.

“This confirms everything we have always felt about weddings at Northcote, I am absolutely delighted with this achievement. We enjoy weddings and working with brides and grooms to create the perfect day and it obviously shows!”

Cheryl King General Manager

This award is a People’s Choice award so lots of our beautiful brides were kind enough to vote for us and write wonderful comments about their own weddings. There must be something in the water because a second coup for the local area was the win for Cake Box a bespoke wedding cake specialist based in Umberleigh. Sue Arscott of Cake Box has been supplying breathtaking wedding cakes for Northcote’s couples for many years so the excitement at the awards ceremony was doubly joyous.

The Westcountry Wedding Awards are run by Wedding Matters who have organized the event as a way of highlighting quality suppliers within the area who offer a superior product and go the extra mile for their clients.