Thursday 31 October 2013

Rufino – Chef at the Coach House Cafe



I recently sat enjoying a latte in the Coach House Cafe while waiting to speak to Rufino who has been the chef at the Cafe since April 2012.
You will be glad to know I resisted the temptation to indulge in one of the delicious cakes on display at the counter.... if I had succumbed  it would all have been in the name of research of course! I have eaten at the cafe many times and often enjoyed a scrumptious monster of a scone with my afternoon cuppa and also had lunch on more than one occasion with friends. The soup is excellent and just the job on these blustery autumn days, and of course you can always add a sandwich. There is so much on the menu that you are bound to be spoiled for choice.
Originally from Angola & brought up in Portugal Rufino was initially a landscape gardener before training to be a chef. He loves to travel and has worked at various hotels around the world including time spent at The Carlton in Amsterdam. His travels have taken him to France, Spain & Kenya where he could indulge in his hobby of the history of food. 
Here is a little background information in Rufino’s own words.
“I moved to England in 1999 and started working as a chef at Fayrer  Garden House hotel in Bowness for 3 and a half years,  during this time I also trained at Kendal college for my level 3 and Advanced diploma in Patiserie. After finishing the course in Kendal I started working as a part-time lecturer teaching NVQ1 and 2 and 3 in catering. I moved to Linthwaite House Hotel as Head Pastry Chef and then Miller Howe in Bowness as Head Pastry Chef.

I started University in 2007 studying Landscape Management because I wanted to combine my passion for food and the Environment.”
It was during this time that as part of the degree course he volunteered to work at Ford Park and completed his degree in 2010.  It was a marriage made in heaven when he took over the running of the Coach House Cafe.  The idea that he could create meals from produce grown virtually right outside the kitchen door appealed greatly to him. In the beginning he liaised with Sarah the gardener as to the best produce to grow to use in the restaurant.  At the moment he is using a lot of courgettes & chard as well as onions, garlic & various herbs and salad leaves in his recipes.
Originally trained as a pastry chef he loves to makes cakes & especially scones, his favourite main course dish to make at the moment is Falafel which is an Egyptian dish  made of ground chickpeas or fava beans or both and these can be found throughout the Middle East. The ingredients are mixed together to form a deep fried ball or patty and can be served in a pitta or wrapped in a flatbread known as “lafa”. They can also be served with salad & pickled vegetables.
It seems to me that with his love of gardening & his ability as a chef Rufino is in the perfect job.

Saturday 26 October 2013

Community Group of the Year!!

Last night 6 of us attended a very glitzy dinner for about 220 people hosted by the North West Evening Mail. There was champagne and canapes and live music and a black tie dinner. It was the first Heart of Ulverston Awards and we won Community Group of the Year with a beautiful crystal glass bowl and lots of brilliant press coverage!!


Tuesday 22 October 2013

Visiting University Students

Today we had help from 14 University of Cumbria students who helped us with cutting back blackberry brambles, clearing out our pond, working in the greenhouse, weeding, preparing materials for the compost, cutting flowers for the cafe and much more! Thanks guys!


Monday 21 October 2013

A Gardener's job is never done!

We are very busy harvesting beans of all sorts, chard, salad, tomatoes and of course pumpkins! We still have a produce table full of vegetables, plants and crafts and are busy making up herb gardens and planting bulbs for the Christmas trade!




Wednesday 16 October 2013

Food Safety

Eight of us did a level 2 Food Safety course yesterday to prepare us to be more involved in preserving our produce and selling it -it was very enjoyable and we should get the results in a couple of weeks. We will be able to work with our chef Rufino to make jams, chutneys and cordials!


Friday 11 October 2013

Carol - Volunteer



I spoke to Carol another volunteer at Ford Park on a lovely sunny day while she was busy  weeding in the kitchen garden, she told me that she lives locally and works part time as an Adult Education Maths Lecturer at the local college.   When asked about how she came to volunteer she explained that it was a way of keeping busy during her days off and during the holidays. Carol volunteers two days a week & the work she does is mostly gardening but she is very happy to do other jobs as well.

At the time I was talking to people to get their views about recycling and it was interesting to find out Carol’s ideas. This is what she says “I think of recycling as really thinking before anything is thrown away in order to see if it can be used again. So if you are working in the garden I am aware of being able to use certain weeds, grass and cuttings to make compost. Sarah the gardener has been instrumental in really developing my understanding of how composting works and as a result of that I am trying to replicate it in my garden at home.”

Since speaking to Carol her circumstances have changed & she now works full time & so she has reduced the time she spends at the garden and is now happy to help out whenever she can & on community gardening days and the like and supporting the cafe.

Would you like to find out more about Volunteering, whether it be for an hour or a day or any time in between then please get in touch either by calling Kim the Volunteer Co-ordinator on 01229 588164 or send an email to:
You can also find more information about all aspects of Fork Park on: http://www.ford-park.org.uk/

Monday 7 October 2013

Busy 7 year olds!

Had lots of year 2 children in today from a local primary school mixing grit and compost and sowing seeds which they enjoyed very much!



Wednesday 2 October 2013

Autumn Colours

We continue to harvest well with courgettes, kale, chard, parsley, beans, salad, tomatoes and blackberries but we also noticed the autumn colours yesterday both in the flowers that were picked for the table vases in the cafe and in the berries in the grounds