The bods at Chyvarloe Farm near Helston has come up with a new antidote to the winter blues by launching a new dining club.

Originators of online business Foodboxfarm, husband and wife team Charlotte and Phil Parfitt will be hosting a series of evenings where their produce forms the basis of a night of fine food.

With an invitation to join an evening of great company and |fantastic food it was hard to resist, so off I went to the inaugural night. What a great start it turned out to be.

The launch night took place at The Cove in Maenporth under the reknown cooking skills of Arty Williams.

Kicking off with some mingling, the party were then invited into a separate dining area where we were seated at a large square table |allowing the chat to flow freely.

Attending an event where you don’t know anyone, not even the hosts, may seem a little daunting, but it is easy to extol its virtues.

Seated to my right, a driver for Chyvarloe Farm and his wife and to my left a couple celebrating a |birthday out for a treat - both |charming couples.

Food really is the perfect ice breaker and a quiet start was broken quickly by the introducion of bread and oils, and by the starters we are all chatting merrily about subjects wild and wonderful. Whenever |conversation lulls the food draws you back in - a simple “this is delicious” starts a whole new wave of chat as we compared and even shared our food.

If you want to get to know new people, eat amazing food and enjoy lively conversation, sign up for a dining club - but why not go one step better and join this dining club!

Paul said: “The evenings are open to all and have been designed to create a social group and dining club where people can get |together, meet the Food Box Farm team and staff on an informal level and also have a great night out.”

Enjoying a meal where the hosts know where everything on your plate has been grown, farmed and produced is an enlightening experience. Add a top chef to this mix and you have a real recipe for success.

Even with just three choices of starter, main and dessert we were spoilt for choice. We started with some pretty weighty starters - I opted for beef fillet strips with sweet, sweet red onions, |peppercorns and onion rings. The mains too was hearty - torn between the chicken and ham hock the latter won out - and my, my it was good.

By dessert we already had |stupidly high standards, but this is Arty Williams, so of course they were amazing.

Make sure you don’t miss the next one...

The second Food Box Farm evening takes place at The Cove on November 3, tickets are £27.50 from www.foodboxfarm.co.uk and go to the Dining Club Events.