Recent eats: an Ambleside edition

One of the lovely things about living in Leeds is that not only are the Yorkshire Dales practically on our doorstep, but we are also surprisingly close to the Lake District. A mere two hour drive sees us right in the heart of one of the most beautiful, albeit dampest, areas of England.

You don't go to the Lakes for the weather, you might well go for the scenery and you should definitely go for the food. Across the Lake District there are 13 Michelin starred restaurants, including L'Enclume which has a full clutch of three stars and boasts chef Simon Rogan, whose influence on modern British food has been so profound. We didn't make it to L'Enclume this time around but we did return to Lake Road Kitchen, an old favourite of ours, which recently earned its first star and is situated in the lovely little town of Ambleside, right on the banks of Lake Windermere.

LRK boasts a twelve course tasting menu with matching wine flight, which, it has to be said, quite nearly broke us (we do not have the appetites and stamina that once we did), but was well worth all the Rennies we had to take the next day to appease our digestive systems.

Two of the earliest dishes were also two of the best - Ora king salmon (a farmed salmon from New Zealand) came with the most wonderful, intense tomato and maple dashi, with little pops of freshness from finger limes.

The escargots with parsley miso were pretty special as well, with the kitchen kindly supplying us with some additional bread so as to ensure we could mop up every speck of the wonderful sauce.

Sauces in general were spectacular - from the fruity heat of the hot sauce served with the grilled octopus, to the rich funky depths of the black truffle-laced chicken sauce that came with a piece of steamed halibut.

If I had one ever-so-slight criticism, it was that the desserts were a little underwhelming this visit. Of the three, the stand out was the vanilla and brown sugar cheesecake which tasted remarkable, but we both thought some sort of crunchy element would have added a bit of variation to the texture and elevated it still further. Still, LRK's underwhelming is most other restaurants really bloody good.

It's a shame we were still so full the next morning, as I really struggled with the wonderful breakfast served to us at The Drunken Duck, a gorgeous little boutique hotel / restaurant / pub just ten minutes outside of Ambleside. This cinnamon French toast with blackcurrant compote, yoghurt and pecans was fabulous but I had to abandon it halfway through. We overheard one party complaining about the lack of Full English but I think that the Duck's imaginative approach to breakfast is a welcome change to your standard bacon, eggs and sausage combination. 

A very happy start to the Easter festivities.

Foodie abroad: Gilpin Spice and Hrishi

Why yes, this does appear to have turned into an eating out blog. I am going to continue to maintain that it is just over excitement after months of captivity lockdown. And, also, we want to pump money into the catering industry. And, also, greed.

But for once there was an actual occasion at home - my beloved D's birthday (no, the beloved is not ironic. Stop laughing). And we booked a two night stay at The Gilpin, a gorgeous country house hotel situated just outside Bowness, way back at the beginning of the year. A different time, when booking a hotel and a restaurant still seemed like an odd (or certainly optimistic) thing to do. We actually stayed there before, many, many, years ago, back when it was called Gilpin Lodge and the restaurant produced the kind of lovely, elegant, slightly unassuming food served in many a country house hotel up and down the country. And very nice it was too. But it's had a bit of a revamp since then and now boasts two restaurants: Hrishi, the Michelin starred flagship, and Gilpin Spice.

The current head chef, Hrishikesh Desai, was apparently recruited via a BBC 2 programme. Although that is not to say that he is a wannabe Masterchef contestant - this chap's CV is STELLAR. An adjective which could certainly be applied to the food that he is producing through both of his outlets. 

Gilpin Spice first - we first read about this in a Jay Rayner review and have been wanting to visit ever since. It is fusion food as it should be - which is to say that while it draws from diverse culinary influences (most notably Indian and Chinese) everything tastes as if it belongs, perfectly, indubitably, inevitably, together. D was obsessed by the pani puri, tiny crispy cups filled with chickpeas and spice and tamarind:

Whereas for me, I couldn't decide whether the torched salmon in a delicate sauce of coconut and mustard seeds and turmeric was the star of the show:

Or the fabulous Singapore Paneer fry which saw the bouncy paneer thriving in a slightly sweet, slightly chilli-hot sauce alongside lots of crunchy vegetable friends. I want to re-create this at home.

Minor gripes: it's quite difficult to order the right amount of food, which is often a problem with restaurants that do sharing plates. We had two snacks, two small sharing plates and then two large sharing plates with another small plate (aloo tikki: delicious crisp-fried balls of spiced potato) in lieu of a side. This was about in line with what they recommended and it felt like too much. A pork belly large plate was just too big a portion which is not something that I say very often when it comes to pork belly. It's a shame, as it meant skipping dessert. Another thing that I do not say very often.

Also, I can't comment much on the restaurant interior because we were seated in a side room away from the main dining area and open kitchen. We felt a bit out of the way, which I am sure was not the intention; many people would have preferred the intimate space. But if I were to go again, I'd want a seat closer to the action. 

The following day we (wo)manfully managed a light breakfast but then made a tactical decision to eschew food for the rest of the day which I would recommend if you are foolish brave enough to try and tackle both restaurants in a single trip. Especially if, like us, you decide to spend most of Saturday reading and drinking coffee in the hotel lounge rather than yomping up hills. Look, it was raining, and in my wing backed arm chair, novel in one hand and delicate china in the other, I felt like a character in an Agatha Christie novel. 

Hrishi is, basically, a cross between Gilpin Spice and the aforementioned unassuming country house hotel fare. It was beautifully presented, very refined but with hints of spice and fusion creeping in, sometimes in unexpected places. Pani puri made a re-appearance, this time reimagined with cured cod, soya, honey and lime. (I suspect that D would have eaten far more of these if given the chance):

A scallop dish which served up the mollusc, both seared and ceviche, bathed in an orange, ginger and chilli dressing full of zing and allusions of spice. This was a firm favourite - I particularly loved the addition of the toasted hazelnuts and will steal this idea the next time that I cook scallops.

But the undoubted star of the show was the chicken with Chetinnad sauce and a gorgeous crispy package stuffed with leg meat, fruit and nuts. It's quite unusual to see chicken as a main course, but it rose magnificently to the occasion here, the perfect vehicle for the stunningly spiced, rich sauce, the welcome sour of the tamarind gel providing a perfect additional dimension.

I must also note here that the wine tasting menu, although costly, was one of the most interesting that we have had for a while - lots of unusual choices including a Romanian Feteasca Regala which we adored. It's never cheap to go for matching wine, and sometimes it just isn't quite worth it, but I'd definitely recommend pushing the boat out here. With the complex spicing going on in some of the dishes, it's well worth having an expert guide you on good accompaniments.

Again, the most minor of gripes: our waiter seemed genuinely put out when we asked for a cheese course. It didn't appear to be the done thing here at all. And the cheese itself was fine but not the most exciting offering in the world - I think that the restaurant has other priorities and that is fair enough. 

A fabulous two days worth of food and drink then - and all in the nicest, most civilised of settings. It's always exciting to eat the food of a chef who is creating a style that is entirely his own, and I look forward to stalking the Gilpin Spice menu and Instagram to steal ideas for dishes to recreate at home. The competition for The WW Foodie Dish of the Year (a prestigious award indeed) remains hot stuff.

Gilpin Hotel & Lake House

Crook Road

Windermere

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Foodie abroad: a return to Lake Road Kitchen

I have a quote on the tip of my tongue about never going back but I’ve Googled it and apparently Never Go Back is the name of a Jack Reacher film. I don’t think I’ve seen it and it certainly doesn’t sound like the kind of thing I’d usually quote. Anyway. I’ve been musing a bit about nostalgia versus novelty recently. I often wonder if I’m too much governed by the former (familiarity, safety) versus the latter (the new, the unknown) and whether that is a good or bad thing. It’s especially pertinent at the moment; like many of us, I find myself still living in a state of heightened anxiety after the events of the past year and my instinct is to grope for comfort blankets when perhaps what I need is a hefty kick up the arse.

A long winded (and navel gazing) way of saying we found ourselves in the Lakes for a few days as my parents invited us to share their holiday apartment and , to say thank you, we wanted to take them out for dinner. Should we revisit an old favourite or go somewhere new? We opted to return to Lake Road Kitchen, a restaurant we visited and loved back in (shockingly) 2017. We felt fairly certain that we would have a good meal - the lamb that we had five years ago remains, probably, the best I have ever eaten - but there was a slight sense of trepidation that it wouldn’t quite live up to our memories.

Reader, if we loved it in 2017 we were blown away by it in 2021 and we are already plotting when we can return (it will not be another five years). What an absolute gem of a place. We had a twelve course tasting menu and not a dud note - although the rest of the party felt a beef and onion broth was not quite up to the standard of the rest (I rather enjoyed it). While the focus remains on local Cumbrian produce, I definitely felt that the chef’s sphere of influences had widened which made for some seriously impressive, and sometimes surprising, taste combinations. Alongside an absolutely flawless handling of ingredients, there was so much to love that I don’t know what to highlight.

I could wax lyrical about pretty much every course and, interestingly, I think that all four of us had a different favourite. For me, ever a sweet tooth, I adored the dessert end of the menu and am tempted to say that a Brillat-Savarin baked cheesecake with raspberry and liquorice jam and raspberry sorbet was the pinnacle. The cheesecake was so light in texture, not claggy as baked cheesecakes have a tendency to be, and it was almost savoury to taste which worked incredibly well with the sour sweet fruit. Even though I was reaching capacity by the time it was served, the moment it was finished I wanted to eat it again. 

But if the menu ended with a bang, then it has to be said it started on one too with a number of “snack” courses including the crunchiest fried chicken in the history of the world and D’s personal favourite - a deep fried prawn toast with king prawn, prawn mousse and garlic butter. This occupied the space somewhere between a prawn toast and a Kiev, which might sound odd but totally worked. D spent most of the remainder of the evening trying (unsuccessfully) to persuade the waitress to bring him another one.

Also, it would be remiss of me not to mention the main course pork - slow cooked then finished on the barbecue and served with the most amazing wild garlic and caper sauce. Plates may have been licked and bones were certainly gnawed by the gentleman in the party. This is a kitchen that knows how to handle meat.

When you pick an old favourite over something new, there is always a risk of missing out but, to be honest, I can’t envisage any scenario where we missed out here. I cannot praise Lake Road Kitchen enough, and my sentiments were echoed by the whole party. We will be back there soon and if ever you, gentle Reader, should find yourself in the vicinity of Ambleside then I urge you to try and nab a table. 

Lake Road Kitchen

Lake Road

Ambleside 

Cumbria 

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2017 - the year in review

And so, Christmas has been and gone and with it the final hurrah of 2017.  I spent most of the year’s dying days snuggled up at home doing little more than watching crap on Netflix and eating chocolate biscuits.  I weighed myself this morning; up 5lbs from the beginning of December which I am quite peaceful about considering that we abandoned 5:2 and any pretence of moderation right at the start of the month.  I am hoping to get most, if not all, of it shifted by the end of January.  Today sees me on my first fast day since…well, weeks ago, and there are even rumours that the Treadmill in the Garage will be grinding back to life very shortly.  As ever, I will keep you apprised.

Before we venture forth into 2018, as always, it is worth having a quick look back.  Firstly, weight loss and health matters – I committed to 5:2 at the start of the year on the basis that:

a) I still need to lose weight

b) Weight Watchers did not agree with me anymore – the constant counting and measuring and weighing and planning was, ultimately, not doing my mental health any good and

c)  Any other formal “diet plan” would likely be just as bad. 

5:2 seemed like the answer to the problem, in that it would require fierce commitment for 2 days of the week, but the rest of the time I could pootle along as I pleased. 

Well, it has worked in the sense that I am 2 stone down over the course of the year.  It’s not what you would call an amazing result, but it is a result nonetheless, and given the number of weeks where we’ve sacked off one or both fasts for reasons both spurious and genuine, I am pleased.  I have genuinely eaten well on non-fast days – aiming for moderation rather than restriction has really helped me develop a peaceful relationship with the food that I eat for the first time in my adult life. 

And talking of eating, D and I have agreed that some of our favourite ever meals were consumed in 2017.  We were lucky enough to visit several amazing restaurants and to pick a favourite is very, very difficult. 

The stand-out, in the end, is The Raby Hunt, which we visited at the beginning of November.  It has two Michelin stars and it is not London based – the conjuction of these two facts do tend to imply quality – but we have learned that Michelin stars do not always make for the best eating or for the best dining experiences (in our opinion.  Clearly not in the opinion of the mysterious Michelin inspectors who I fondly imagine cruising the country’s dining scene in pinstripe suits).  Raby Hunt, which I wrote about here, is just absolutely fabulous.  And the dish of razor clam and celeriac and almonds is probably, probably the best thing that I ate all year.

Razor clam and celeriac at The Raby Hunt

But there are honourable mentions to be made too: the thought of the lamb at Lake Road Kitchen in Ambleside still makes my mouth water all these months later.  And we had a last minute contender in the form of scallop with fermented celeriac at TheBlack Swan at Oldstead just the other week.  It’s rather odd – I didn’t even think that I liked celeriac that much, but in expert hands, it turns out that it is rather sublime.  I probably need to cook with it a bit more.  We also absolutely adored 64 Degrees in Brighton – another superlative lamb dish, this one served with gochujang.

Lamb at Lake Road Kitchen

Dessert of the year probably, again, goes to one of the offerings at The Raby Hunt, but I can’t help but remember with very great fondness the fabulous miso caramel ice cream that we ate at Skosh in York.

Miso caramel ice cream at Skosh

Our own home cooking has, naturally, encountered new influences and ideas throughout the year (gochujang and sushi rice are now both permanent fixtures in our storecupboard), but I honestly think that one of the nicest things that I made was this summery broad bean dip.  I am already looking forward to broad bean season rolling around again so that I can make this dip by the pint.

Broad bean dip at home

We managed to make a bit more use of our extensive recipe book library, but want to ramp this up for 2018 and are aiming to cook a new dish at least once a week.  What with that and plans to visit (among other places) Joro in Sheffield and Where The Light Gets In in Stockport, I think 2018 will shape up to be pretty damn fine itself.

Home and Away

Hurrah for the weekend!  Especially hurrah for this coming weekend which will see D and I head for the beautiful Lake District to celebrate our sixth wedding anniversary.

Six years!  Yes, I know, I'm surprised too.  Of course, a year of that we spent apart so perhaps it doesn't really count (although given that we were the least separated separated couple ever I think there's probably an argument to be had either way).  But still, it's a good run and very deserving of a bit of a bash.

We're actually going to be having dinner on the day at the Lake Road Kitchen and I can't wait to report back to you on that.  The reviews have been glowing, everything I've read or seen about the food there has got me salivating - I think that we are in for a real treat.

Not only that, but we are staying at The Drunken Duck which I'm sure that I have written about before.  It's a fabulous place and also happens to serve fabulous food so I'm going to be ensuring that I save room for an excellent breakfast.  We might need to get out and do some brisk walking to work up a bit of an appetite, but given the part of the world in which we will find ourselves, that will be no particular hardship.

Closer to home, we went for a meal at one of our local gems the other week.  Zucco serves kind of Italian tapas stuff - very much in the vein of Russell Norman's Polpo chain, and we are so lucky to have it on our doorstep.  The pictures are of two of our favourite dishes - a salt cod ravioli which came strewn with sage and glistening with buttery, winey juices and a whole baby Dover sole, cooked to perfection and drenched in a gorgeous caper butter.  It's not pushing any culinary boundaries but it is the kind of food that makes you grin broadly and use your finger to wipe the plate.

Have a gorgeous weekend, folks, and I look forward to providing a full account of our adventures next week.