30 Dec Gill Meller, a chef and his two beehives
Gill Meller is a chef, food writer, author, food stylist, and cookery teacher. He lives and works near the small fishing town of Lyme Regis, in Dorset.
Gill has been part of the River Cottage team for 11 years, working closely with Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall across the breadth of the business. Gill teaches at Park Farm, the home of River Cottage HQ, a smallholding and cookery school producing many of its own ingredients in a simple and respectful way, following an organic model.
Meller is a big fan of Honey, and at the time of his interview with Oyuna, he was reading the BBKA Guide to Beekeeping, and now he has two beehives tucked into the forest that surrounds his cliff side home in Dorset.
We found an interesting interview, “A Culinary Colony”, on BQ Magazine where Miller tell us more about his first year of beekeeping and his relationship with natural and local ingredients.
If you want to try some Meller’s recipes, see his website here
Our favorites are:
Blackberry, saffron & honey drop scones
Meller didn’t have his first drop scone until I was in my early twenties, he said on his website, and the “I was having tea with some friends who own an organic dairy farm in Dorset. The biscuit tin was empty, but within minutes, a generous plateful of freshly cooked drop scones landed on the table. Made with milk from my friends’ own herd of cows and with fresh eggs from the hens outside, they were cooked straight on the hot plate of the Aga and were amazing. I’ve made a million drop scones since then, in every which way you would care to think, but this recipe–with saffron and honey–is one I really love whenever I have a handful of blackberries to use up. ”
Gently roasting carrots intensifies their sweet flavour. Tossed with fresh herbs and tangy dressing, they’re the star of the show in Gill Meller’s salad recipe.