B RI N GI N G L O CA L FO O D TO LI FE
Mouthwatering country pubs
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OU don’t have to travel far to find a beautiful country pub in our neck of the woods. One quintessential village inn that’s been closed for quite a while but now open again is The Bewicke Arms in Hallaton, south Leicestershire. And its future looks bright. In fact, it’s shot straight up my (very long) pub hitlist. That’s because Tom Cockerill, former chef-proprietor of Leicester’s multi-award-winning Entropy restaurant, has been appointed consultant chef at the Bewicke (which also features an adjoining café – Hare Pie Café). Tom’s previous establishment Entropy was the highest-rated restaurant in Leicestershire in the Good Food Guide for nearly a decade, being nominated as the Midlands’ ‘Reader’s Restaurant of the Year’ as well as ‘Best Newcomer’, and receiving many glowing reviews in the national press. Tom’s reputation has brought him into the fold of the Slow Food UK Chef Alliance, a collective of the UK’s leading chefs who champion ‘forgotten foods’, heritage varieties and small-scale producers throughout the country, one such supplier being his own family’s farm, which produces grass-fed Dexter beef and Southdown lamb, both of which will feature on the Bewicke Arms’ menu. “I’m really excited to be working with The Bewicke’s new owners Simon and Claire Tait to create a new and exciting food offering in south Leicestershire,” said Tom. “The pub will have a creative take on traditional pub food using local produce – an obvious concept, but one only a few pubs in the East Midlands are doing well. The Bewicke Arms is a gorgeous English country pub perfectly located for sourcing from the region’s
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There are exciting goings-on at some of our region’s most idyllic village inns. Matt Wright has the details…
amazing suppliers and artisan producers.” The Bewicke’s menu will evolve day to day, featuring honest, well-prepared pub classics such as Dexter steak & kidney suet puddings using beef from Tom’s family farm, Brancaster mussels cooked in Bottle Kicking cider (made in Hallaton), as well as game, mushrooms, fruit and herbs foraged from the surrounding countryside throughout the seasons. Owners Clare and Simon Tait said: “We are proud to be working with such an outstanding chef as Tom. The Bewicke Arms is one of the finest traditional pubs in the country and we hope to welcome you very soon!”
RUTLAND & MARKET HARBOROUGH LIVING OCTOBER 2015
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17/09/2015 19:52