Devon County Show - A big celebration of the Devon cream tea

A big celebration of the Devon cream tea

A bid to give the Devon cream tea a higher status will be made at the Devon County Show, Exeter (May 19-21).

For the first time a marquee entirely devoted to the county’s iconic tea-time treat will give visitors a chance to tuck in.

It will also raise the case for the Devon cream tea to win European protection and be the home of an unofficial attempt to bake the largest scone in the world.

Richard Hunt, executive chef of The Grand Hotel, Torquay and scone baker extraordinaire said: “The cream tea epitomises everything that’s good about Devon produce from fabulous cream, butter and eggs from our farmers to wonderful strawberry jam holding the taste of a Devon summer right throughout the year!

“And it’s wonderful to see what happens when someone tucks into a Devon cream tea - they can’t keep the smile off their faces!”

A Devon cream team is distinguished not just by taste but also because the clotted cream is slathered onto the scone first followed by the jam. This order of assembly is a part of the case to secure Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) status which would provide a significant boost to the local economy.

Paul Winterton, general manager at Langage Farm, South Devon said: “The global worth of the Devon cream tea is estimated to be around the £85 billion mark. If we get support for the PDO, the county of Devon can only be strengthened with people recognising the value from this point of view.

The scones will be made to a special recipe devised by Richard Hunt and served with the thick, yellow clotted cream made by Langage Farm. The perfect accompaniment is tea from Devonshire Teas which is grown on a single plantation in Kenya.

Gavin Sheppard, from Devonshire Tea, added that the Devon cream tea has a long and noble history: “First off it dates back to 997AD in Tavistock where the first Devonshire cream tea was reportedly served to labourers working on re-building the monastery after destruction during the Danish invasion.

“Next came The Duchess of Bedfordshire who had a ‘holiday home’ near Tavistock (now The Endsleigh Hotel, owned by TV Hotel Inspector Alex Polizzi of the Rocco Forte family). The Duchess reportedly invented afternoon tea as she became hungry in the afternoon between lunch and dinner, which they ate at 9pm, so she started to have a selection of breads and cakes with drink in the afternoon.” 

During the County Show there will be an unofficial attempt at the world record for the largest scone – chef Richard is getting sacks of flour ready while Langage Farm is preparing huge quantities of clotted cream.

Richard Hunt added: “In these times of financial turmoil, the cream tea represents affordable luxury, as we all feel special eating and don’t have to worry too much about the pennies!”

The marquee is sponsored by Tesco, which stocks Langage Farm clotted cream and is promoting the Devon cream tea in its stores with Richard’s recipe leaflets, which are also available to download from the County Show website  www.devoncountyshow.co.uk

The Devon County Show, now in its 116th year, boasts livestock, food and drink, a flower and garden marquee and lots of family entertainment on the 93 acre site.

Entertainment includes the dare-devil Bolddog Lings motorcycle display team, horse-back falconry displays and a 7-a-side rugby tournament in the Sainsbury’s Arena.

Once again children go free on Saturday and, for the first time, this year senior citizens are eligible for the buy-one-get-one-free offer on all three days of the Show as long as they buy the tickets before Wednesday 11th May. Additional savings are also available on tickets bought in advance. To book and for more information, ring 01392 353700, email info@dcshow.org or why not book them through our website www.devoncountyshow.co.uk

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