This is a behind-the-scenes post for the photo story of Bunty and her Cornish hamper, “A Special Gift for a Lovely Friend“, with a quick spotlight on the food items that Brighton found hidden inside.
Some of you already know that my heart lives in Cornwall, England, even though the rest of me resides in Ohio. This shared love of a far-off county in England was actually one of the reasons Brighton and Bunty ended up becoming such friends (not forgetting that they’re also both crazy about wool, sheep and fiber crafts). Brighton loves the TV show Poldark (set in Cornwall) so much that she even named her dog “Truro” (the town center of Cornwall).
Back in the springtime, I decided to start working on party décor and snacks for Islandshire’s Platinum Jubilee Party, which meant a lot of online browsing through British snacks and decorations. Somewhere along the way, I came across a company selling food hampers with a Poldark theme. Too bad they were people-sized and way too large for diminutive Brighton. But this gave me an idea. Why not make a doll-sized version for Christmas? And wouldn’t it be great if they’d published a Poldark cookbook (weirder books are on our shelves)? Well, they had! And it was even made for the American market, with our method of measuring.
While I’d originally bought the cookbook to use as a guide for making scaled-down things Brighton would be familiar with, I knew the minute I saw it that she’d want one of her own. Once this was finished, the idea of the hamper and food became a sort of obsession with me. I was determined that everything should be as “authentic” as possible, so each piece was bought or made to look just like the Cornish food we were “cooking up”. (Not always easy when you’re working with plastic, resin, and clay.) But I think it worked really well, and I’m very happy with the way it turned out. It was definitely one of the most fun doll accessories we’ve ever made. Because I know many of you will be asking why I included what I did, this entry takes a closer look at all the special accessories included in Brighton’s hamper.
Harold’s “General Store” wooden trunk was a great find at Marshall’s, especially after the original wicker hamper we’d originally bought for the project proved to be way too small for all the food Elizabeth and I were making. (It’s a big cookbook!) And for the authentic packing, we found some real-wood excelsior!
Much of the food was packed into cardboard trays filled with fully-recyclable paper packing. Bunty is very ecologically aware!
For the cheeses, I had a terrible time picking just two. There are a lot of Cornish options when looking up local cheese, but we finally decided on Cornish Quartz Cheddar and a Chatel Cornish Brie from the Trevarrian Creamery.
Apparently, no Cornish hamper is complete without a jar of Sisley’s Homemade Chutney, so we had to figure out a way to include that, too.
Although they’re not “traditional” Cornish fare, the Cloud Nine marshmallows were the favorites of a dear friend of mine from Cornwall. While he’s no longer with us, he would have appreciated our including these in the hamper. (Actually, he probably would have insisted — particularly his favorite double raspberry flavor.) The Cloud Nine Marshmallows website is one you won’t want to miss visiting.
I gained a lot of inspiration for this project from The Cornish Company It’s a fabulous site, where you can “build” your own Christmas hampers. Saffron Buns seem to be a classic must-have, and the Brown Soda Bread is a traditional recipe that can be found in the Poldark cookbook as well. It’s really great to have such a talented sister (not afraid to sculpt and paint) in cases like this!
I’m particularly fond of our Cornish Cream Tea box. The scones are just what I wanted (even Elizabeth said she couldn’t make anything better looking). Unfortunately, they were part of a food lot bought years ago, and there’s no name on them anywhere. Mom’s been scouring the internet to identify them since we saw the first one come out of the box lot, but they still elude even her research skills. (If you know who made them, please-oh-please let us know.) That’s Blaire’s crème brûlée (American Girl) standing in for the cream and jam. We always thought they looked like strawberries, anyway, so we knew immediately what to use for our “Cream Tea” makin’s. The little rolled-up paper is a Cornish instruction sheet for “the proper way” to make the scones up. (We’re not telling whether the jam or the cream goes on first.) To see the real-life inspiration for this box, be sure to check out the Cornish Cream website.
Turns out that handmade chocolate is very popular in Cornwall, so including them in Brighton’s hamper was a must. Bunty and I did a lot of searching, but the minute we found Langleys Cornish-made chocolates, we knew that was it! Why them and not one of the gazillions of other chocolate sellers in Cornwall? Well, you see, it was Bunty who insisted. When we entered their site, this blue banner popped up. How cool is that?!
Since it was the Poldark Collection on the Cornish Cream website that started this whole idea, naturally we had to include something from their line. Cornish “Fairings” are a classic cookie (or biscuit) that remains popular today. All four of these doll-sized versions fit into the little box.
And would a Cornish Christmas hamper be complete without a box of tea? Selecting the brand was easy, since there’s only one tea company in Britain actually growing and selling their own — and they’re in Cornwall! So, in went a box of Tregothnan British Tea. (No, I didn’t make mini tea bags to fill the box. I did that once for a dear friend and vowed never to do it again. It’s a good thing that dolls can’t really open boxes. A good imagination is essential here.)
In order to make this gift a little more personal, Bunty wanted to include some of her favorite recipes that aren’t offered in commercial hampers. Her family has a centuries-old recipe for Cornish pasties (Eliot’s favorite food), and she managed to make enough to keep her brother happy and still send a few. She matched them with the Poldark cookbook’s Blueberry and Lemon Posset and Truro Turnip Gratin, two things she was sure Brighton would want to try sooner than later. Thanks to Elizabeth and her marvelous sculpting/painting abilities, we managed to nestle a bit of all three in the excelsior (after being plastic-wrapped for freshness, of course).
A last-minute touch was a Christmas surprise for Brighton and friends from Harold. “A touch of American merry Christmas cheer.”
Inside? A traditional Gingerbread cookie! (He’d baked and decorated them when Truannie was napping.) Way to go, Pizza Boy!
Stay tuned for more Islandshire Christmas fun!
Remarkable and lovely. Now I want to make some of these things that I can eat. I actually dated a British fellow whose dad still lived in Cornwall. He came to visit and was a lovely old man. I heard there were palm trees able to grow there because the Gulf Stream landed on the beach there or nearby. The fellow was way too complicated for my tastes. So after a rocky few years I bid him adieu. He was by then working at Alcatel Espace and I did not want to abandon my elderly parents to live in Europe
Cornwall is the only area of England where saffron is traditional. This is because their coastline is treacherous and caused many shipwrecks. The Cornish people evidently did what they could to save lives, but the cargo they rescued, they claimed. Spices that were rare and/or expensive elsewhere were accessible to them as salvage. Food is everlastingly fascinating.
A lot of people were rescued too even the sailors of the Spanish Armada. A lot of the sailors piloting the ships were Arabs. They are surprisingly expert sailors due to the trade they engaged in and living on islands off the coast. A friend’s last name was Izatt and she said she was a Scottswoman. Izatt is the Arabic version of Isaac. If I look at some British Isles surnames I can see a slight change in spelling would make it Arabic. I was studying Arabic after 9/11.