Blogs
“Pressing Pause: A Creative Retreat on Exmoor”
Those early post-Christmas months at the start of the year can be bleak for many of us, but in January 2026, I finished the month on such a high, as I had just completed my first all-inclusive residential art retreat, and oh boy did it go well! Beyond my dreams. Having never hosted an event…
Versatile Spinach and Cheese Pasta: Your Go-To Comfort Bowl
There’s something wonderfully comforting about a bowl of creamy pasta, especially when it’s packed with vibrant spinach and sprinkled with cheese. This recipe is my reliable answer to busy evenings when I crave a meal that’s both nourishing and effortlessly satisfying. Whether you’re cooking for family, friends, or simply treating yourself, this dish adapts beautifully…
Cinnamon-Spiced Sweet Potato Soup with Maple Syrup Croutons
“Soup of the day” at the Exmoor Inspired Studio today is Spiced Sweet Potato Soup with Chunky Crouton drizzled with Maple Syrup. This is a great autumn soup, with the combination of Sweet Potatoes, Carrots and a pinch of Cinnamon which makes such a perfect marriage of flavours and adds a little bit of interest…
The Creative Supply Chain
I have been meaning to write this blog feature for quite some time, I wanted to write something that could become a signpost, which could be added to, grow as an information source, or at least a starting point. So………………. I am often asked this question, “Gary, where do you get your fabrics and art…
Butter & Sea Salt Shortbread
My home baked shortbread biscuits are always popular at break times in the studio, I think the addition of sea salt to the sweet buttery mixture makes them ridiculously moreish. After much prompting from visitors, here is my top secret recipe which I hope you will enjoy following. Ingredients: makes approx. 20 small biscuits 5oz…
Greek Inspired Lemon Semolina Cake
You can’t beat a lemon to get the mouth watering! This Greek Inspired Lemon Cake substitutes polenta for semolina which works really well, giving a slightly grainy texture when you bite into it. This cake always goes down well at my afternoon tea breaks at the studio, I hope you enjoy it as much as…
Carrot & Orange Soup
“Soup of the day” at the Exmoor Inspired Workshops has been Carrot and Orange, with many enjoying my home cooked studio luncheon this week. This is a great late winter soup, with the combination of carrots and orange which makes such a perfect marriage of flavours and adds a little bit of interest to a…
Gary’s Focaccia Bread
This Italian inspired bread is a winner with me and my lovely lunch guests. Not only does it look good when placed on the dining table, it really tastes amazing, and accompanies well with soup, a mezza of cured meats, cheese, dips and savoury treats. It is so easy to make, needs very little kitchen…
Pea & Mint Soup
This is a well-liked lunchtime soup, which always gets a good reaction for how surprisingly delicious it is. I think the secret is the addition of some chopped fresh mint added just before you serve which gives it that lovely background fragrance. If you are looking for a quick and easy soup, made from just…
Quick Cinnamon Apple Cake
Its mid-September where there seems to be ripe apples everywhere. Not just on my little apple tree in the studio garden, but as I pootle along the lanes across Exmoor, people are generously leaving windfalls and surplus harvests in buckets and baskets at their front doors and drives, to help yourselves. For me I see…
Why Dress Make?
It is SUNNY! and WARM! today, hurrah! Is this the first promises of the summer to come? With a little time to myself this morning to gather my thoughts and ponder on the bench by the house, my mind has wandered onto garment making………. random I know, but that’s just how my meandering mind operates.…
Looking for Signs of Spring
One of my students only mentioned the other day, “I’ve never seen your garden so empty”. It’s funny, I never really realised just how empty the Exmoor Inspired Studio Garden can look this time of year; such a stark contrast to the riot of plants that grow there from spring through to autumn. But this…
Arab Apple Cake
I had such a great response on my Instagram Account this week, on the above photo of my “Arab Apple Cake”, and I must say it is an impressively delicious show stopper on the dining table. I don’t know where I found the recipe or how it came about? I think I was scrolling on…
A Fortune Teller Once Told Me
Apart from my art studio, my other sanctuary is the garden. This was once just a typical urban new build plot, which is now my little bit of Eden, an oasis, it’s my place where I go to lose myself in little jobs working alongside nature. I have always had, and enjoyed some kind of…
Greek Red Lentil Soup
I think one of the tastiest soups I make through the wintertime is my Red Lentil Soup. This filling soup is Greek in origin, and has a familiar authentic taste, which makes you think of the pending Summer to arrive, and holidays to have. It’s quite easy to make, and whenever anyone has eaten it…
How do you make your jam sponge so light?
The cake’s name harks back to Queen Victoria herself, who was said to enjoy a slice of the delicious cake with her traditional English afternoon tea.
You bring the potatoes
It’s going to be barbecued lamb chops for tea tonight, and there is nothing like freshly dug new potatoes cooked with fresh mint, smothered in butter on your dinner plate.