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It's James v Carl in Mat Follas' kitchen! It's Finals Week on this year's MasterChef, and James and Carl from Wessex FM have been to see 2009 winner Mat Follas, who now runs Bramble Cafe & Deli in Poundbury. They've taken each other on in an invention test in Mat's kitchen. Watch the video and see who you think wins! Guess correctly, and you can win a meal for two at Bramble Cafe! Click here to enter Please note: Competition is open until Friday 13th April 2018 |
Afternoon Tea At Bramble Cafe
by Mat Follas (Ryland, Peters & Small, £16.99)
'These are tried and true recipes,' says Mat Follas. 'They are the same cakes and biscuits we serve in the cafe, the same jam that's here on the shelf in front of me. You can find recipes for many of them elsewhere, but these are the ones I use, the ones I've tweaked and adapted. They're my own versions.' This collection from former MasterChef winner Follas - now the chef-patron of Bramble Cafe & Deli in Poundbury, Dorset - does, indeed, read like a roll call of classic baking recipes: lemon drizzle, banana bread, Victoria sandwich, sticky gingerbread, cheesecakes, treacle tarts, shortbread and profiteroles. Even rice crispy squares. | They may look familiar, but each is shot through with Follas's hard-won understanding of his craft. 'I bake at a low temperature,' he says. 'I've only got a couple of domestic ovens in the cafe and if you open the door of a 180°C oven, it will drop to 140-150°C and your cakes will crash. So I bake at 140°C. More margin for error.' Follas's favourite recipe, his chocolate brownies, exemplifies his restless approach. 'I started with a really good brownie recipe from New Zealand,' he says. He grew up there before moving to the UK in his twenties. 'It's one I had in a notebook from 30, 40 years ago, then developed it. I've taken ingredients out, so now | it contains fewer ingredients and tastes better.' The result of this experimentation is an amiable and sensible collection of classic recipes that never seeks to daunt readers with technical wizardry but whose comprehensive scope makes it, quite possibly, the only baking book you'd ever need - whether you're a home baker or budding cafe owner. 'Back when we were opening the cafe, I struggled to find a book with 50 basic cake recipes,' says Follas. 'But now, if you wanted to open your own, without meaning to sound bigheaded, my book will get you up and running for your first six months quite happily.' |
by Jessica Rees

A CHEF in Poundbury has decided to give an ode to food with an evening of poetry following a request by a regular customer.
There has always been something poetic about the flavours of food. Local restaurateur Mat Follas is setting out tables at Bramble Cafe & Deli to try and find the answer to the rarely asked question ‘are poetry and food natural companions’?
Chef Mat is collaborating with his friend and locally based, internationally famous poet Annie Freud, for an evening of poetry reading and food and to find the answer on October 20 at the Cafe.
The unusual pairing came as the 2009 MasterChef winner said he was curious to see if he could match his food to Freud’s poetry. The train of thought closely followed a successful wine matching evening with Palmers Wine Store. Mat said: “It’s a light hearted evening and a wonderful opportunity to listen to a fantastic modern poet.”
The acclaimed chef opened his first restaurant The Wild Garlic to considerable national acclaim. In 2016, Mat opened Bramble Cafe & Deli with his wife Amanda and their business partner Kate.
The chef is collaborating with Annie Freud to bring some of her poems to life with six courses matched to lines from some of Annie’s poems from her award winning books of poetry.
Here is a sneak taster of the poetry and some of the courses:
Follas & Freud, at 7pm on October 20. Contact the cafe to book.
There has always been something poetic about the flavours of food. Local restaurateur Mat Follas is setting out tables at Bramble Cafe & Deli to try and find the answer to the rarely asked question ‘are poetry and food natural companions’?
Chef Mat is collaborating with his friend and locally based, internationally famous poet Annie Freud, for an evening of poetry reading and food and to find the answer on October 20 at the Cafe.
The unusual pairing came as the 2009 MasterChef winner said he was curious to see if he could match his food to Freud’s poetry. The train of thought closely followed a successful wine matching evening with Palmers Wine Store. Mat said: “It’s a light hearted evening and a wonderful opportunity to listen to a fantastic modern poet.”
The acclaimed chef opened his first restaurant The Wild Garlic to considerable national acclaim. In 2016, Mat opened Bramble Cafe & Deli with his wife Amanda and their business partner Kate.
The chef is collaborating with Annie Freud to bring some of her poems to life with six courses matched to lines from some of Annie’s poems from her award winning books of poetry.
Here is a sneak taster of the poetry and some of the courses:
Follas & Freud, at 7pm on October 20. Contact the cafe to book.
by Miriam Phillips
Celebrating Poundbury Magazine
It's a great week for the Buttermarket in Poundbury. Today Mat Follas, his wife Amanda and Kate, officially open the doors to Bramble Cafe & Deli in the beautiful Pediment building by Morrish Builders. We've seen the menu and it looks delicious - we'll certainly be in for the mac 'n' cheese. It is open 8.30-4.30 daily for breakfast, lunch and snacks. Good luck for your first week.
It's a great week for the Buttermarket in Poundbury. Today Mat Follas, his wife Amanda and Kate, officially open the doors to Bramble Cafe & Deli in the beautiful Pediment building by Morrish Builders. We've seen the menu and it looks delicious - we'll certainly be in for the mac 'n' cheese. It is open 8.30-4.30 daily for breakfast, lunch and snacks. Good luck for your first week.
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