Good afternoon everybody,
Regular readers might notice a stylistic shift in the newsletter that follows as Harriet picks up the reins for the next few weeks. To begin, however, here is a rundown of the ‘pies’ on offer this week as our fortnightly pizza night goes American:
PIZZA NIGHT - 21st JUNE 2026
NY ORANGE PIE £12
tomato sauce - cheddar curds
So, at the beginning of every pizza night, Stefan stretches out a couple of pies to test the dough and try out any new toppings. Last time out, we had been discussing adding more of our melting cheese (Westcombe cheddar curds - unpressed, milled curds. Milder and milkier than actual cheddar) to the red pizzas, so Stefan baked a pizza with tomato sauce and a generous quantity of cheese. It was a revelation. The cheese melted and rather than splitting, mingled with the sauce to create a delicious, orange emulsion. “It looks like a New York pizza, an orange pie”, said Stefan. It tasted great; crisp dough with just enough chew, sweet acidity from the tomato and a big hit of umami cheese. No herbs, no olive oil, no garlic, no need. Very simple, very good.
MARGHERITA £15
tomato sauce - cheddar curds - buffalo mozzarella - parmesan - fresh oregano
No changes here. A deluxe Marg. Generous with the cheddar curds, then finished with Buffalo Mozzarella, 24 month parmesan, fresh oregano and olive oil.
AUBERGINE £16
tomato sauce - cheddar curds - buffalo mozzarella - roast aubergine - fresh oregano
Business as usual.
HAM & PINEAPPLE £16
tomato sauce - cheddar curds - ham - roast pineapple
Well, we had to, didn’t we? The pineapple will be roasted beforehand to get a little colour and intensify the flavour, all the better to cut through the richness of the pork collar ham that Andrea brines and cooks in the Covered Market. Don’t knock it til you’ve tried it…
‘PEPPERONI’ £18
tomato sauce - cheddar curds - salsiccia de vastese - fresh oregano
Not actually pepperoni. Salsiccia del Vastese, from Abruzzo, is a spicy salami flavoured with fennel and chilli. Nitrite and sulphite free!
BIANCA £16
white base - roast courgettes - Redemore - parmesan
No changes here, either.
BANANA PUDDING £6
fresh banana - creme diplomat - caramel sauce - whipped cream - shortbread
It’s all about comfort and indulgence here. Diplomat is a custard enriched with double cream, to which is added diced, ripe, fresh banana, a swirl of caramel sauce, shortbread crumble and whipped cream.
This week the cheese fridge will feature the elusive Doddington - a hard raw cow’s milk cheese from the 'dark skies' of Northumberland. Made by the Wooler family, their cows graze the Cheviot hills with the diversity of landscape contributing to the rich and complex microflora in the milk, and in turn the seasonal changes in the flavour of each batch of cheese. Our wheel this week has more fruity notes alongside the more usual savoury flavours and is a little softer under the knife. Doddington is one of my absolute favourites, but the tough outer rind (and the not insignificant number of broken cheese wires that it produces) prevent us from stocking it more frequently, so if you have the chance, do try it over the next week or two.
Another rare visitor to the bakery joins the pastry counter this week: the gooseberry fool bun. Gooseberry compote made with the first of this season’s tart gooseberries from Styan is folded through custard and lightly whipped cream from Berkeley Farm. This is then piped into the centre of a fluffy bun and finished with a sprinkle of sugar. Available this week only along with some fresh gooseberries on Saturday if a crumble is your preference.
Many thanks for reading and see you next week,
Hugo and Harriet
14th June 2026 Far from the Madding Crowd