Jock Mullard (1958) A winning mixture of old friends, delicious food ...

Jock Mullard (1958)
SIMPLE
RECIPE
A winning mixture of old friends, delicious food and delightful wine
Left: The 1967 Oxford crew in Dan Topolski’s Mini Moke and above: Peter Tuke (1957) in front of his Oxford University Boathouse at
Wallingford
It seems only yesterday that I was lucky
enough to row, with two other Radleians,
Christopher Blackwall (1958) and Martin
Kennard (1959), for Oxford in the Boat
Race – a mere 40 years ago – so it seemed
right to have a reunion in 2007. Our Chief
Coach was Ronnie Howard and on his
team, amongst others, were David Hardy
and Sean Morris (1957)
In June Oxford opened their new
boathouse at Wallingford, so this was
the obvious location. Peter Tuke (1957),
who rowed for Oxford in 1966, won the
competition to design the boathouse. Most
boathouses are ugly utilitarian blocks for
boat storage with a few rooms placed on
top. Peter Tuke has produced a wonderful
design, in sympathy with the contours
of the river bank, a delightful light-filled
building with glorious views of the river,
but with all the boat-storage, changing
rooms, meeting rooms and other facilties
about which most rowers can only dream.
Tom Barry (1974) who rowed for Oxford
in 1980 was in charge of raising the
£4million required to buy the land and
build the boathouse.
For wine the first place to go was
Davenport Vineyards, owned and run by
Will Davenport (1977) who rowed in the
1982 Radley 1st VIII. After a degree in
Chemistry and the University of London,
Will worked as a lab assistant in a winery
in California, then in the wine trade in
London before studying viticulture in
Australia.
Will produces premium dry white
and sparkling English wines. His original
vineyard was planted in 1991 in Kent,
and, together with his winery in Sussex,
he now has 12 acres of vines, all managed
organically under UK Soil Association
Certification. The winery in Sussex is
one of the best equipped in England. Will
has been described in the wine press as
…one of the most skillful and pioneering
winemakers operating in England today.
In 2005 Chris Messum (1993), who
rowed in the Radley crew which won the
Princess Elizabeth in 1997, started his own
catering company, By Christopher, which
caters for several London art galleries
and for private clients. After university
he had moved into the catering trade
spending two years with the Cellar Society
in London and then a year at the Leiths
School of Food and Wine. Chris came to
see the Oxford boathouse and its kitchen
facilities, produced some delicious menu
ideas and all was arranged in about twenty
minutes.
It had occurred to us that Will Docker,
another member of the 1997 Radley crew,
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Simple Recipe
Above: Lobsters ready for packing at the Colchester Oyster Fishery and below: the Oxford reunion
Will Davenport with Hamish Aird at Limney
was Managing Director of Colchester Oyster
Fisheries, suppliers of wonderful oysters,
crab and lobsters to many of the finest
restaurants and chefs in the country. After
Newcastle University where he studied
Biomedical Sciences, Will worked in the
Bibendum Restaurant in the Fulham Road
before going to the Ballymaloe Cookery
School in Ireland. For the next three years
he had various jobs, including cooking
for a Private Equity Firm in Mayfair, in a
chalet in the Alps and as a private chef for
a family on the south coast. In 2004 he was
Head Chef at Yokanga Lodge in the Kola
Peninsular in Russia’s Arctic Circle, catering
for European clients who were fly fishing
for large and numerous salmon. He then
went to work Colchester Oyster Fishery as
Sales Manager before becoming Managing
Director in 2006. A telephone call and
the use of his website ensured a suitable
quantity of dressed lobsters were on their
way by carrier to arrive, still nicely chilled,
the next day.
The guests arrived, over half the crew
from abroad – Canada, the United States
and South Africa. Chris Messum with his
chef and staff were there with with food
and equipment. The wine was poured, the
food was served, the recipe was complete.
I can almost hear Old Radleians
reaching for their pens to complain
about the shameless use of advertising
and the promotion of wet-bobs in The
Old Radleian. None of the Old Radleians
mentioned here have asked for their
details to be given, nor, unfortunately for
me, did they offer me any special deals. I
give their details because they are excellent
and you may wish to contact them. And,
in case you want to know, of course
Oxford won in 1967.
Architect
Peter Tuke – Tuke Manton Architects LLP
20 Prescott Place, London, SW4 6BT
http://www.tukemanton.co.uk
020 7627 8085
Caterer
Chris Messum – By Christopher
Hops Cottage, 2 The Old Crown
Skirmett, Henley-on-Thames, RG9 6TF
01491 638 069 and 07799 642 059 (mobile)
chris.messum@btinternet.com
Wine
Will Davenport – Davenport Vineyards
http://www.davenportvineyards.co.uk
01892 852 380
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