Foraging with Taste the Wild

Bivouac Cafe posted this on 16th May 2013

Wednesday morning up on the hill & it felt more like February than middle May & springtime, however with Chris Bax guiding our foraging course we found around 6 salad ingredients in a 2m square patch of grass verge for our lunch!

Chris Bax is a chef turned forager & runs courses most weekends from his own private woodland near Boroughbridge. Chris’s approach is to only eat the things that taste good & not the foods that merely sustain you! One of the first things we tried was possibly the most surprising of the day, spear thistle has a texture much like asparagus once you have removed the needles & peeled the skin a little. From the same patch of grass we harvested ribwort plantain which tastes much like mushroom, pineapple weed which can be used for infusing into desserts like ice cream, chickweed which was growing in abundance & nettles. All this & we had hardly left the car park…

Up at the woods we learned about using pine needles for infusing syrups, chocolate & alcohol, & tried a few larch needles straight from the tree. As with many of the things we picked pine needles are packed with vitamins, super foods for free! Further into the woods we found wood sorrel, sheep sorrel & cleavers – the sticky weed that children have endless fun throwing at each other & hog weed. With a bag full of leaves & roots it was time to head back to the café for our foraged lunch.

Our 3 course lunch for free was:

Nettle & cleaver soup

Chickweed bhajis

Spear thistle & hogweed tortilla with wild herb salad

Everything went down well & all the guests on the course cleared their plates, the freshness of the salad a particular highlight. Hopefully later in the year Chris & his Taste the Wild team will be back at Bivouac to do a mushroom walk or maybe a wild berry walk one late summer evening.

New Years Eve

Bivouac Cafe posted this on 07th Jan 2013

We wanted to create an extra special atmosphere for our first New Year at The Bivouac….It is fair to say we certainly succeeded!

Grooving....

The Ouse brothers welcomed everybody in and started the party off with their warm blues and happy and convivial evening began! It was a great mix of people, some regular faces and some brand new ones! People came from far and wide, New York, Edinburgh, London, Ilton

Champagne cocktails went down well and the many handmade canapés made by Tim & Zannah were fabulous (especially the chicken parfait ones!) A gorgeously mild evening and starry night meant people flowed in and out of the café between various fires outside.

Kingsley the DJ came on at about 11 and the whole place started bouncing ..... And after Mojitos, Moscow mules, pink gins, a few tequila slammers and a flaming Sambuca or two everybody still remembered all the words to Auld Lang Syne ..

All the Bivouac team enjoyed the night as much as the guests and we would like to wish you ALL a VERY wonderful, loving, peaceful New year and look forward to getting back to it in February when we reopen (6th Feb)

The Café team xx

Christmas is coming…

Bivouac Cafe posted this on 04th Dec 2012

It’s the 4th of December & the team have been busy in the café getting ready for all the Christmas action that is happening at Bivouac cafe

The team have been busy making decorations in true Bivouac style we are using natural resources & repurposing. Check out Brenda’s snowflakes made from an old table cloth & some twigs, and Bee and Erin’s vegetable nativity!  All the practice should come in handy for the Christmas craft day next week on the 9th & 14th, 15th 16th December. The Christmas playlist is all ready to go on the Ipod, looking forward to Fairytale of New York & some good joyous carol singing, my kids will be sick of me singing Little Donkey by the 2nd week of December!

In the kitchen Tim & Zanna are preparing for the Christmas rush & will be running seasonal specials throughout the month, lookout for spiced apple & parsnip soup, hot turkey ciabatta’s, as well as special Christmas treats mince pies, Xmas pudding & more. If you having a night out with friends and still need to book then get in touch we have tables available most weekends in December for small or large groups. At night we will light the fire in the courtyard & there will be chestnuts & marshmallow to roast & toast while you enjoy a glass of mulled wine.

Look forward to seeing you in the café soon, James.

Lewis Todhunter Gig 16th Nov 2012

Bivouac Cafe posted this on 21st Nov 2012

We had a full house at the weekend for our latest gig, with every table booked for dinner & people travelling from as far as Brighton to hear Lewis Todhunter & his guitar.

Lewis Todhunter

Lewis was our guest for the week staying in one of the woodland shacks & had spent the day relaxing & baking cakes in the wood burning oven! His two sets had the café hypnotised with his smooth guitar & laid back lyrics, my favourite was his cover of Sunday Street by Dave Van Ronk.

The atmosphere was great & the bar was busy with mulled wine & Druid’s Tipple in full flow! There were many at Bivouac for the first time & even though it was a chilly evening there was always a good crowd around the fire pit in the courtyard.

In the kitchen Tim excelled as always running a few specials for the first time, pan fried Dover sole with hand cut chips, peas & tartar sauce & fresh mussels with Thornborough cider, leeks & bacon were the popular choices. Tim didn’t get to take it easy after dinner though as there was a big demand for bar snacks from those who didn’t manage to book a table.

Next live music event in the café is our New Years Eve party with the Ouse Brothers band & DJ set from Kingsley Ash. See you soon…

Bread-making at the Bivouac!

Bivouac Cafe posted this on 14th Jun 2012

We’re really excited to introduce Susannah Vickers, a local artisanal bread-maker, to Bivouac.
Come up and indulge in one of her bread-making courses; forage for ingredients and cook on a home made camp-fire!

Gain an insight into bread-making from start to finish, using local and seasonal ingredients and cooking on an open fire!
Susannah’s philosophy is based on a fun, shared experience and getting people enjoying bread-making by learning the skills in a friendly environment. Her passion for sustainable living runs alongside this, using locally-sourced ingredients to flavour the breads and eco-friendly cooking techniques.
A 3-hour session includes: making the dough, building a camp fire, kneading and shaping the dough, topping with anything from wild garlic to nettle and chive oil, then baking on a stone on the open fire.
Our introductory price for these exciting courses will be £15 per head.

We will also be selling the “Kneaded Starter Pack” in our Bivouac shop, which contains everything you will need to continue making bread in the comfort of your own home.

Visit Susannah’s website for further details: www.thekneadedexperience.co.uk.