Devon Food Tour

Tuesday began my Devon food tour, which commenced with a welcomed hot breakfast at Bill’s in Exeter.  I decided to give a new dish a go, ordering the bubble and squeak.  It consists of partially mashed potatoes, mixed with a variety of other ingredients, traditionally leftovers, as my friend informed me.  The waitress was quick to interject that I would not simply be eating leftovers, and later, returned with a dish, in which the bubble and squeak was blanketed by ham, over-easy eggs, a creamy hollandaise sauce, and topped with a sprig of parsley.

That evening, we went for traditional fish and chips in the seaport of Brixham.  At Nick’s Fish Bar, we not only had a full view of the harbor, but also, were quickly filled by small orders of golden, crispy, flavorful fried cod and chips.

Wednesday’s lunchtime was spent at Fuller’s Pasties in Brixham, which specializes in pasties.  To me, a pasty resembles a calzone at first glance, but its shell is far more similar to that of homemade pie crust or a southern style American biscuit, crispy and flaky.  It can be filled with any variety of ingredients, typically savory.  The pork and apple pasty that I chose reminded me of eating a hand-held Shepard’s pie.

I’m still trying to wrap my head around the terminology used for Thursday’s first delight, cream tea.  It has nothing to do with a difference in the tea, as I had initially thought.  It simply refers to the pairing of tea with a scone, topped with jam and clotted cream, which is a thick, cream spread.  However, in proper Devon tradition, the clotted cream must be spread upon the scone before the jam, as the reverse is customary of its neighboring county, Cornwall.

I sampled various other sweets during our travels and experienced a tea intake so high that would be reminiscent of my time in Ireland.