As the end of the week rolled around, it spelled the revival of Pudding Club.
Rachel found herself looking forward to these bi-monthly meet-ups at the Pudding Pantry. Her idea last winter to drum up extra custom by creating a regular evening event in the barn tearoom was still going strong. There was now a group of around twelve or thirteen ‘Clubbers’, most of them regulars and friends by now.
They had a different theme each time, and tonight was ‘Dreamy Ice Cream’ – a special request from little Maisy who was always keen to get involved. They’d invited along Andrew, the owner of the local dairy that made its own ice cream, to give a talk, and here was the best part, a tasting session. He had mentioned there’d be a honeycomb ice cream, ginger, traditional vanilla and a choc-chip to sample. Rachel and Jill had also been busy making several puddings to pair with the delicious ice-cream flavours.
Maisy had been allowed to stay up late to attend, even though it was a school night – well, she couldn’t miss her own theme night, could she now? She was excitedly helping Rachel set out the Pantry. Rachel and Jill had already moved two of the white wooden tables together to create a large space for the group to sit around.
‘We’ll need about fourteen chairs, I’d say,’ Rachel called out.
Several members had already messaged to say they were coming, and often one or two extras turned up on the night.
‘Okay, Mummy.’ Chairs were scraped and bumped across the stone flags, but Rachel didn’t have the heart to stop her little helper.
Rachel switched on the white fairy lights that were strung along the counter to give the barn that extra bit of sparkle, and refreshed the pretty posy milk jugs with fragrant sweet peas set at the centre of each table. The two girls then popped a spoon and fork, wrapped in a red-checked gingham napkin, at each place setting.
‘It looks really pretty.’ Maisy stood back with a smile, admiring their work.
Rachel’s heart warmed watching her little girl.
‘It does indeed. Just perfect for an ice-cream and pudding night.’
They clapped their hands together in a high five.
It wasn’t long before Andrew from the dairy arrived with a cool box full of fabulous ice-cream booty.
‘Hi Andrew, great to see you again. Thank you so much for coming along tonight.’ Rachel shook hands warmly with him.
It was always nice to see a fellow farmer in the area; their families had known each other for years now. And, they’d got to know each other even more last summer when Rachel was setting up supplies for the Pudding Pantry.
‘No worries. You’re most welcome.’
‘Can I help bring anything in?’ Rachel offered.
‘There’s another cool box in the back of the Jeep, if you don’t mind.’
‘Yummy, ice cream. Hello Andrew,’ Maisy was beaming up at him.
‘Hey there, little Maisy. And, how are you?’
‘Good, thank you.’
Rachel was pleased to hear that she was minding her manners.
‘Mummy says I can stay up late and eat ice cream!’ She grinned.
‘Well, that sounds a good plan for a Thursday night.’ He smiled back at her.
Andrew was soon set up, with his samples at the ready, and some flyers to hand out about the dairy. Jill came back across from the farmhouse with a freshly baked sticky toffee pudding, warm from the oven. The evening was balmy, so the barn doors were open wide and welcoming. And, in no time at all, no doubt lured in by the gorgeous caramel smells and the thought of dreamy ice cream, the first Pudding Club attendees began to arrive.
First was Frank, in his summer attire of beige slacks and pale blue shirt, closely followed by Kirsty and Hannah, who’d picked up new-to-the-village young mum, Alice, on their way. Hot on their heels were keen bakers, Pamela and Nigel, a middle-aged couple from the nearby town of Alnwick with two of their friends. Daniel arrived next, with a kiss on the cheek for Jill and a cheery hello to the group, followed by Christine and Eileen, keen members of the local Women’s Institute, along with friend and Pantry helper Jan. Brenda from the local deli came rolling in just in time for the seven o’clock start. And, last but not least, Eve crashed in all in a fluster.
‘Phew, sorry guys, I hadn’t realised the time, I was flat out putting the finishing touches to a soft toy hedgehog family for an Etsy order! Can’t wait for some delicious ice cream, though.’
Wow, it certainly was a full house tonight.
After teas and coffees were served, Andrew did a brief introduction to the group. ‘Hello everyone! I’m so pleased that you’ll be testing some of our wares this evening, and I’m very proud to announce that the dairy has just received a Gold award for “Northumberland Producer of the Year”!’
At that the group all whooped and gave a hearty round of applause.
The first tasting was Jill’s sticky toffee pudding served with the dairy’s honeycomb ice cream – what a delight! There were so many ‘Umms’ and ‘Ahhs’ and contented sighs, the room sounded as though it was filled with the buzz of happy bees. Next, they tried the dairy’s Eton Mess ice cream on its own. It really didn’t need any additions – being the creamiest ice cream with meringue pieces and crushed strawberries.
‘Delicious’, ‘Divine’, ‘Scrumptious’, ‘Summer in a dish’, were just some of the comments.
Then there was Jill’s rhubarb tart, paired with spiced ginger ice cream, followed by a melt-in-the mouth rich chocolate-chip ice cream to try.
‘What could be better,’ sighed Hannah, ‘than eating ice creams and puddings galore in a pretty country barn, with a view like that?’
Indeed, the summer evening sun was casting a soft, golden glow over the verdant hills and valley around them. It was a moment to treasure. Friends, family, food and Primrose Farm. Rachel couldn’t imagine wanting to be anywhere else, and a little grain of panic filled her once more at the thought of leaving, even if only to move in next door. She pushed the thought aside, realising that Andrew was now standing quietly at the head of the group, looking at her expectantly, with the ice-cream tasting coming to a close.
‘Well, that was brilliant.’ She stepped forward, assuming a bright tone, ‘Thank you so much for coming along, Andrew, and for telling us more about the dairy, and of course letting us taste these delightful flavours. I’m sure we’ll all be stocking up – there are cartons to buy, folks. And, I look forward to selling lots of your ice creams here at the Pantry in the future.’ She started to clap, which resulted in a thankful round of applause and lots of praise from the gathering. With Andrew on his way a short while later, the group chatted amongst themselves and had a top-up brew from the big red polka-dot teapot.
‘Now then, Rachel, how are all the wedding plans going?’ asked Alice. ‘And thank you so much for the invite; that was so kind of you.’
‘Oh, you’re welcome,’ replied Rachel. ‘We wanted everyone to come along from the Pudding Club as you’re all friends now.’
‘Aw, that’s so lovely,’ added Kirsty.
‘I can’t believe it’s less than two months away,’ said Charlotte.
‘Well, I now have a gorgeous wedding dress.’ She gave Eve a big grin.
‘Ooh, any details?’ ‘Tell us more …’
‘Nope, sorry. You’ll have to wait and see on that one.’ Rachel was determined to keep schtum.
‘Oh, the suspense,’ added Eileen, with a smile.
‘So, the reception is here at the farm, then?’
‘Yes, after the church ceremony. We have a tipi arranged in the field next to the farmhouse – a bit of an expense, but we really can’t count on our good old Northumbrian weather, even if it will be summer. And, we can always use the Pantry space as well.’ Rachel really was beginning to feel excited about it all, despite all the planning involved.
‘Well, that sounds great.’
‘And what about the food? Will there be puddings is the big question?’ Pamela asked animatedly.
‘Hah, of course!’ Jill answered. ‘In fact, we’re planning a smorgasbord – is that the right word? – of puddings.’
‘Ooh, naughty but nice. Brilliant!’ chimed Brenda.
‘Well, won’t that be an awful lot of work for you both? Just before the wedding? Are you doing the baking all yourselves?’ Eileen looked concerned.
‘Well, that was the plan. The budget’s not bottomless I’m afraid, and well … I think it will make it extra special having our own puddings,’ explained Rachel.
‘It might well be, but you’ll be shattered, my lovelies,’ piped up Christine.
‘No, that won’t do at all. Look, why don’t you let us help make some of them at least?’ Eileen looked around the table at her fellow attendees to rally some support.
‘Yeah, we’d love to help.’
‘We can share the load.’
‘Maybe we could have a special Pudding Club night just before the wedding?’ suggested Daniel. ‘Where we can all help out? A Wedding Pudding Night, where everything we make goes towards the desserts for your big day? What do you reckon everyone?’
There were nods of agreement all round.
‘Of course. It’ll be fun too,’ said Eve.
‘Really? You’d do that for us?’ Rachel was gobsmacked.
‘You don’t want to start your wedding day worn out now, do you? I think it’s a great idea,’ added Charlotte.
‘So, who’s in?’ piped up Eileen.
Every single person around that table put their hand up, even Frank who hardly knew how to bake. Rachel felt her heart swell, and a little tear filled her eye.
‘Oh, bless you all,’ said Jill, looking somewhat overcome.
Rachel was finding it hard to speak. She took a gulp of air and managed a breathy, ‘Thank you.’
The Pudding Club really had risen to the occasion for them. This group had grown into something very special indeed over the past few months. There was friendship and support in abundance here. In fact, Rachel realised, the Pudding Club at Primrose Farm really did have all the perfect ingredients.