Is food and Freud a perfect pairing?

by Jessica Rees

A CHEF in Poundbury has decided to give an ode to food with an evening of poetry following a request by a regular customer.

​There has always been something poetic about the flavours of food. Local restaurateur Mat Follas is setting out tables at Bramble Cafe & Deli to try and find the answer to the rarely asked question ‘are poetry and food natural companions’?
Chef Mat is collaborating with his friend and locally based, internationally famous poet Annie Freud, for an evening of poetry reading and food and to find the answer on October 20 at the Cafe.
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The unusual pairing came as the 2009 MasterChef winner said he was curious to see if he could match his food to Freud’s poetry. The train of thought closely followed a successful wine matching evening with Palmers Wine Store. Mat said: “It’s a light hearted evening and a wonderful opportunity to listen to a fantastic modern poet.”

The acclaimed chef opened his first restaurant The Wild Garlic to considerable national acclaim. In 2016, Mat opened Bramble Cafe & Deli with his wife Amanda and their business partner Kate.
The chef is collaborating with Annie Freud to bring some of her poems to life with six courses matched to lines from some of Annie’s poems from her award winning books of poetry.

Here is a sneak taster of the poetry and some of the courses:
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​Follas & Freud, at 7pm on October 20. Contact the cafe to book.