Lakeside Picnics offer Gourmet Dining Al Fresco in Ronda

Looking for a leisurely way  to spend a Sunday…. ?  Get ready to enjoy the perfect gourmet picnic, without the preparing, packing or putting away…. Louise Cook reports.

Photography Gary Edwards

Dining out is one of the major pastimes – if not obsessions – of the cosmopolitan society resident on the Costa del Sol, not to mention the region’s gastronomy being a huge incentive for tourists to eat their way around the highlights of Andalucia.  With an overwhelming number of restaurants purveying everything from tapas to creative haute cuisine, those in the hospitality industry are seriously challenged when it comes to finding innovative ways to attract customers.

Taking outdoor dining to new heights is new venture, Lakeside Picnics offering the possibility to dine on delicious, freshly cooked cuisine, in a blissfully peaceful and private outdoor setting.  With acres of land to spare at  then beautiful finca north-east of Ronda, and taking inspiration from the spectacular outdoor dining options available in South Africa, proprietor Pam has created an idyllic lakeside setting in which 16 privileged guests can wine and dine in style under the shade of leafy oaks.

An Idyllic Finca Location

Building everything including the lake itself, Lakeside Picnic’s newly created oasis offers picnic tables, a freshly cooked three course meal, and the service of the delightful Alex, an obliging Tai Chi teacher, who is managing the new venture – and fitting in the odd tai chi workshop on site.  Easy to locate, just 9 kilometres from Ronda, not far from the main road, the idyllic Finca La Noria comes complete with the ancient well that gives the finca its name, a  tinkling waterfall, a stream, and a fully serviced kitchen where the picnic feasts are prepared by the chefs,  to be delivered minutes later by Alex in a juanty golf buggy.

With all the charms and none of the inconveniences of a picnic, the lakeside picnic idea is sure to catch on fast. Firstly there is no thinking about the menu, no cooking, and no precarious transporting of dishes and drinks that after several bumpy kilometres in the campo, often spilling in boot of the car, or arrive at their destination looking much less appetizing than when they came out of the oven.

With Lakeside Picnics,  all you need to do is pick up the phone and reserve your date,  Alex will take care of everything else. Once you settle at your chosen wooden picnic table, seating four,  Alex will deliver a hamper full of wine glasses, plates and cutlery – another advantage  -no sad paper plates or plastic cups here… and a cool box replete with chilled white wine and water and soft drinks, along with some tantalizing locally produced red wine.

Leisurely Lakeside Lunch

The food itself – all home-cooked – is a treat.  A far cry from the squashed sandwiches and dried up offerings at the average home-made picnic,  Lakeside Picnics provide a full-blown three-course lunch to be enjoyed at your leisure.  Our menu comprised succulent stuffed peppers with tomatoes and fresh basil; creamy chicken with piping hot new potatoes and a crunchy green salad with pomegranate seeds. The dessert was either a freshly-made brown bread ice-cream or zucetto, a chocolate pudding with cherries in kirsch, not unlike black forest gateau. The menus are prepared with many home-grown ingredients from the finca’s orchards, and dishes are tasty and original. You may be served for example, spinach roulade with smoked salmon, quails stuffed with kumquats and toasted pine nuts, and apricots in orange cinnamon and brandy…

The wines included on this occasion were a fragrant white Marques de Riscal, and  two local reds one from Cortijo Los Aguilares, and another from A. Pasos. The meal was finished off with tea and coffee – generous portions served out of proper tea and coffee pots, along with a bowlful of local chocolate almondsand brazils.

The Lakeside Picnics are available on Sundays for up to 16 people.

For reservations call Tel:   951242636.