LIVINGLIVING
FOOD
REPORT
In deepest Devon, on the
shores near Salcombe, sits
South Sands, a hotel with a
reputation for good food. In its
kitchens chef Allister Bishop
and his team pair local foods with nifty
presentation in order to make the most of
seasonal produce.
South Sands is close to Salcombe,
Marlborough and Kingsbridge in south
Devon. A ferry operates between April
and October (subject to sea and weather
conditions), which takes guests from the
hotel into the heart of Salcombe.
Supplied by the area's fishermen,
Salcombe Brown Crab is a seasonal
delicacy, with 'crab cracking' being part
of the experience before the shellfish is
made into canapés, 'manapés' and bowl
food featuring white crab meat, brown
crab meat or cooked whole crab claws.
'Dressed crabs' are filled with a mixture of
100% hand picked white and brown crab
meat, the perfect instant lunch or dinner
ready for the table.
The waters around South Devon are
so clean that they are rich in essential
marine nutrients, which in turn provides
excellent food for the Salcombe Brown
Crab that live and breed there. Crabs are
either hens or cocks (that was news to
us!) and the meat content of the crabs
changes from season to season, with
brown meat becoming less prominent at
certain times of the year.
Bishop (pictured right) produces
an ambitious menu that's big on local
ingredients, some of which is foraged
from the seashore, such as sea lettuce
and purslane. He says, "Our seasonal
CRACKING ON!
A modest feast for crab lovers is available in a hotel on the shores
of Salcombe Estuary in Devon.
Fresh white crab, foraged pickled rock samphire, toasted
hazelnuts and husbandry school herbs.