We were in the area, and couldn't resist a trip to Daylesford, even though we have been to the shop in Pimlico and it is really expensive. After a quick phone call to my brother for directions we were on our way (probably would have been better to make this decision before we were in the car).
We had managed to beat the lunch rush and so went straight to a table upstairs. Once I had glimpsed the asparagus on the menu there was no question as to what I was having. What arrived was beautifully cooked asparagus, with two poached eggs and a sea of hollandaise. It was all on a piping hot plate, so it was still warm at the end. Probably a perfect May dish, and one I could not have improved at all.
R had a ploughmans, which he did not rave about quite as much as I did about the asparagus, but still looked really good. It consisted of a barely-hard boiled egg, some homemade pork pie, cheddar, ham, lightly dressed salad leaves and pickle and cournichons. All really well done.
It wasn't cheap, at £30 for the two of us with a soft drink each, but it was worth it for the experience and a happy lunchtime. We then hit the farm shop, coming away with a wheat-free chocolate cake, some yummy rhubarb compote and a scotch egg that R raved about and I was very disappointed I couldn't eat.
Monday 11 May 2009
The Potting Shed, Crudwell, Wiltshire
The Potting Shed is owned by the same people as the hotel we were staying in, and we could see it from our bedroom window, so the walk to dinner was not too onerous. We sat at the bar for a drink first, and the staff we nicely chatty, which I always appreciate. They were also very helpful at finding out if there was any hidden gluten in any of the dishes, and marked up a menu for me especially. I love the beer pumps, which were made of old spade handles - so cute!
I started with sardines with a lemon and caper butter, which were beautifully cooked with the sauce offsetting the oiliness of the fish perfectly. It lacked a little texture, but that is my fault since I couldn't have the toast that they were supposed to come on. R had red mullet fillets with new potato salad and watercress pesto, which was also well cooked and worked well together.
I followed with sea bass with asparagus and hollandaise. I am definitely taking advantage of the asparagus season at the moment, and these were perfectly tender while retaining some bite, and I could have eaten then forever if I hadn't got full! R had chicken leg with pea and spinach risotto, which again he enjoyed.
You may have spotted the similarity to what I ate the night before, and you could see that the same people had input into both of the menus. It was no worse for that though. We were too full for pudding, and I was heartbroken by this point as I got word that Chelsea had been knocked out of the Champions League in the dying seconds.
I started with sardines with a lemon and caper butter, which were beautifully cooked with the sauce offsetting the oiliness of the fish perfectly. It lacked a little texture, but that is my fault since I couldn't have the toast that they were supposed to come on. R had red mullet fillets with new potato salad and watercress pesto, which was also well cooked and worked well together.
I followed with sea bass with asparagus and hollandaise. I am definitely taking advantage of the asparagus season at the moment, and these were perfectly tender while retaining some bite, and I could have eaten then forever if I hadn't got full! R had chicken leg with pea and spinach risotto, which again he enjoyed.
You may have spotted the similarity to what I ate the night before, and you could see that the same people had input into both of the menus. It was no worse for that though. We were too full for pudding, and I was heartbroken by this point as I got word that Chelsea had been knocked out of the Champions League in the dying seconds.
Saturday 9 May 2009
The Rectory Hotel, Crudwell, Wiltshire
We just had to cancel a long-planned holiday to South Africa at the last minute, and needed to go somewhere in the UK at short notice. Some time on the internet left us with two nights at The Rectory Hotel, followed by two nights in Cheltenham. It was important to have somewhere good to go for dinner, as well as a comfy hotel, and it looked like we could have hit on the perfect place as not only did the hotel have a restaurant with a good reputation, but the owners have relatively recently taken over the local pub as well. One each night then.
We started in the hotel. The menu changes daily, and the chef is particularly keen on local produce, with the menu proclaiming that almost all of the produce, other than fish, is sourced from within a 30 mile radius. The suppliers are named on the menu, and a lot of the vegetables are home grown in part of the pub garden. A good start already.
With the menus and pre-dinner drinks came homemade potato crisps, good olives and rice crackers (a personal favourite). We both went for the same starter, scallops with creamy leeks. The individual elements were very good, but if you ate them together the strong flavour of the leeks completely overpowered the delicate scallops.
I then followed this with chicken leg with mushroom risotto, which was perfectly cooked, retaining a bit of bite. I wish I had room for more than half of the enormous portion! I then followed this with tarragon creme brulee with orange and mint salad. I was slightly dubious about this, but there weren't many options as I'm not eating gluten at the moment. I'm glad I tried it though, as the slight aniseedy flavour worked brilliantly with the sweet creamy brulee. The mint and orange salad was fantastic, and I will definitely be making this through the summer, as it such a perfect end to a meal.
Although there were a couple of things here that could have been improved, all in all this was a well executed meal that we enjoyed very much.
Breakfast the next morning was good too. It annoys me so much how badly breakfast can be done, as it is really a matter of good sourcing. All the elements here were great, and well cooked too, although it could have been a little faster. I really wished I could eat the homemade banana bread too!
We started in the hotel. The menu changes daily, and the chef is particularly keen on local produce, with the menu proclaiming that almost all of the produce, other than fish, is sourced from within a 30 mile radius. The suppliers are named on the menu, and a lot of the vegetables are home grown in part of the pub garden. A good start already.
With the menus and pre-dinner drinks came homemade potato crisps, good olives and rice crackers (a personal favourite). We both went for the same starter, scallops with creamy leeks. The individual elements were very good, but if you ate them together the strong flavour of the leeks completely overpowered the delicate scallops.
I then followed this with chicken leg with mushroom risotto, which was perfectly cooked, retaining a bit of bite. I wish I had room for more than half of the enormous portion! I then followed this with tarragon creme brulee with orange and mint salad. I was slightly dubious about this, but there weren't many options as I'm not eating gluten at the moment. I'm glad I tried it though, as the slight aniseedy flavour worked brilliantly with the sweet creamy brulee. The mint and orange salad was fantastic, and I will definitely be making this through the summer, as it such a perfect end to a meal.
Although there were a couple of things here that could have been improved, all in all this was a well executed meal that we enjoyed very much.
Breakfast the next morning was good too. It annoys me so much how badly breakfast can be done, as it is really a matter of good sourcing. All the elements here were great, and well cooked too, although it could have been a little faster. I really wished I could eat the homemade banana bread too!
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