Crumbs Bath & Bristol - Issue 80

CRUMBS BATH & BRISTOL NO.80 SEPTEMBER 2018

A little slice of foodie heaven

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BEST GINs BEST TONICs! BEST SERVEs!

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6 STARS BETWEEN THEM!

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DO THEY KNOW IT’S CHRISTMAS TIME AT ALL?

IT’S BLOOMING NOT (BUT YOU SHOULD STILL BE PLANNING YOUR XMAS PARTY!)

CRUMBS BATH & BRISTOL NO.80 SEPTEMBER 2018

A little slice ooff ffoo oodie heaven

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DO THEY KNOW IT’S CHRISTMAS TIME AT ALL?

IT’S BLOOMING NOT (BUT YOU SHOULD STILL BE PLANNING YOUR XMAS PARTY!)

ISSUE 80 SEPTEMBER 2018 EDITOR

JESSICA CARTER jessica.carter@mediaclash.co.uk DEVELOPMENT EDITOR

MATT BIELBY matt.bielby@mediaclash.co.uk ONLINE EDITOR

DAN IZZARD dan.izzard@mediaclash.co.uk E D SC H O FIE L D

CONTRIBUTORS

AEMILIA SMITH, MORGAN LAWRENCE ART DIRECTOR

TREVOR GILHAM ADVERTISING MANAGER

i’Ve beCOme sO pLUmb

KYLE PHILLIPS kyle.phillips@mediaclash.co.uk ADVERTISING EXECUTIVE

ALISTAIR TAYLOR alistair.taylor@mediaclash.co.uk PRODUCTION AND DISTRIBUTION MANAGER

SARAH KINGSTON sarah.kingston@mediaclash.co.uk PRODUCTION DESIGNER

GEMMA SCRINE gemma.scrine@mediaclash.co.uk CHIEF EXECUTIVE

JANE INGHAM jane.ingham@mediaclash.co.uk CHIEF EXECUTIVE

GREG INGHAM greg.ingham@mediaclash.co.uk large version

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This month we checked out the new Bar 44 and Quay St Diner, and went on a flight in St Austell Brewery’s hot air balloon over Bristol

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YOU MIGHT THINK that people who, like, do words for a living are rather wellacquainted with the entirety of the dictionary. The English language, though, is like a lesson that the bell will never ring on; for instance, I learned only just this month that ‛plum’ is also an adjective. For those who were with me in that ignorance, it basically means that something is really desirable, or pretty cushty – usually in relation to a job.

You could say, then, that my assignment to seek the perfect G&T serve this month was a plum one. (But I did it for you, dear reader.) Check out the results for yourself: the pros have given their opinions on everything from gin styles to glassware, garnishes to tonics (and they’re not without their clashes).

The last few weeks haven’t been entirely about juniper-infused spirits, though. No, really. We’ve also been talking a lot about the variety of cultures and countries that are repped throughout our Bath and Bristol patch. Having such a diverse population not only makes these cities exciting and characterful, but also means some really awesome food is cooked up here – both in restaurants and homes. That in mind, we’ve decided to introduce a new column: No Taste Like Home. Here, a local resident will talk about their own cultural heritage and the food that’s associated with it, and give us a recipe from the family archives. To kick it off this month we have an introduction to Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the history that’s shaped its cuisine. Be prepared for some serious holiday cravings, not to mention a large serving of food envy...

Right: in case you hadn’t already noticed, this issue is a bit of a chunky one, so I’d better shut it, really, and let you get cracking.

Jessica Carter, Editor jessica.carter@mediaclash.co.uk Did you know we have an app? You can read both editions of Crumbs – Bath and Bristol, and Devon – on iTunes or Android. Search ‘Crumbs’, or go to crumbsmag.com

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TABLE OF CONTENTs

STARTERS 08 HERO INGREDIENT Call the plummer 12 OPENINGS ETC The culinary low-down 17 MUCH TO DO New foodie quests for the month ahead

NO.80 SEPTEMBER 2018

CHEF! Amazing recipes from the region’s top kitchens and cooks 30 Squash and quinoa salad,

by Gill Meller 32 Beer and bacon mussels,

by Jack Stein 35 Pad Thai, by Mantanee Lewis 36 Duck with pineapple salsa,

by Tom Brownell 39 Chicken and pea stew,

by Dino Zelenika ADDITIONAL RECIPES

10 Plum frangipane tart,

by Freddy Bird 24 Nut butter roasted cauliflower,

by Mallika Basu 59 Cedar plank salmon,

by Richard Holden 59 Pea, orange and mint salad,

by Richard Holden KITCHEN ARMOURY 51 SUPPER CLUB Alfresco feasting with Woodhouse and Law 62 THE WANT LIST We steal John and Nick’s style MAINS 71 GINTOXICATED Find out how to make the perfect G&T 81 ’TIS THE SEASON to start thinking about Xmas parties 96 GRILLED Marco Pierre White and Pierre Koffmann spill all

AFTERS New and notable restaurants, cafés and bars 110 Koocha 112 Corkage 119 Avenue Café 120 The Wheatsheaf PLUS! 122 LITTLE BLACK BOOK The Bristol Cheesemonger chooses her hangouts Caerphilly...

STARTERs

INNOVATIONS, REVELATIONS AND TASTY AMUSE-BOUCHES 25 SEPTEMBER

YOTAM OTTOLENGHI AND TARA WIGLEY COME TO BATH

Yotam and his co-author Tara will be at Komedia to talk about their new book, Simple. This collection of recipes is packed with all the intrigue and flavours that Yotam’s food is famous for, and while the dishes themselves are varied, they’re united in their achievability. Tickets start at £15, and the price is redeemable against a copy of the book. toppingbooks.co.uk

27-30 SEPTEMBER TAUNTON FEAST

Food and drink festival Feast, now in its second year, is returning to The Castle at Taunton for three food-packed days. Co-created by Bristol foodie Steve Ashworth, it will see visitors from across Somerset and beyond head down to Taunton for demos, dinners, masterclasses and workshops, as well as a market involving more than 60 food and drink producers. Top chefs will be in attendance too, including Michael Caines and Phil Howard. feasttaunton.co.uk

SUPER SEPTEMBER

29 SEPTEMBER

WINDMILL HILL CITY FARM’S AUTUMN FAIR PE DE N + MUN K

THINK ALL THE FOODIE FUN IS OVER NOW THAT SUMMER IS ON ITS WAY OUT? THINK AGAIN…

29 SEPTEMBER

THE FLOCK INN AT HARTLEY

Hartley Farm Shop and Kitchen is celebrating its 10th birthday in style, with a proper festival-style knees up. Food will be cooked up for hungry partygoers, while the bar will be serving beer, cider, wine, and cocktails. Live music from top local bands will be going on throughout the evening too, from 7pm until midnight.

Tickets are £25. hartley-farm.co.uk

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Ready the family and get ’em all down to this little city farm for a great day out.

Between 11am and 4pm there will be lots of activities to entertain the little ones, as well as local music acts.

Of course, there’ll be no danger of visitors going hungry or thirsty, with a barbecue and well-stocked bar on the go. As well as all that, expect to see a market with stallholders flogging their locally made wares. windmillhillcityfarm.org.uk

S T A R T E R S

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hroughout human history, plums have been pressed into service as symbolic of a certain sort of rich, sensual pleasure. In one of the Narnia books, a magical spot is described as being “as rich as a plum cake”; Little Jack Horner got very excited about one he hooked out with his thumb; and the ancient Chinese poets were particularly obsessed, writing endless tales wherein plum trees turned into beautiful women, or beautiful women turned into plum trees. (It didn’t really matter which – they loved them both.)

It’s perhaps because they’re so juicy that people adore them so; plums boast such smooth, beautifully coloured skin and firm, moist flesh that their cousins in the drupe (stone fruit) family must surely resent them, be they peaches, apricots or nectarines.

Not that all plums are equal. There are some 2,000 varieties of these things across 30 or 40 species, but only three broad groups really matter: European plums, Japanese plums, and Damson plums, which early writings link to Damascus. Between them, they come in every size, shape and – especially – colour, from classic reds and purples to blacks, blues, yellows and even greens. Some are designed for cooking with (the dryer, sharper varieties like Czar), but many are so sweet and juicy they’re just begging to be eaten raw. Great places to start are with the small, reliable Blue Tit and delicious Santa Rosa varieties, the more orange-yellow Victoria or Mirabelle, or the almost greengage-like Denniston’s Superb.

PLUMs

THESE SWEET LITTLE TARTS ARE LATE SUMMER’S ALL-STARS, THEIR SMOOTH PURPLE SKINS HIDING JUICY FLESH, IMMENSE HEALTH BENEFITS, AND VERSATILITY GALORE

WITH SO MANY types of plum available, it’s little surprise that they’ve a complicated history. The European plum was first eaten many thousands of years ago near the Caucasian Mountains and Caspian Sea, and was cultivated so quickly that by the time of the Roman Empire there were at least 300 varieties. Indeed, they have a fair claim to being one of the first ever cultivated fruit, alongside the olive, grape and fig.

And then there are the Japanese plums, which actually originated in China, but take their name from the country where they were developed most inventively. These become ripe earlier and keep for longer, two useful attributes in a plum.

Though plums are available all year around, British plum season begins in August and runs through to early October, making them both a great late summer fruit and a brilliant early autumn one, ideal for pies, crumbles, tarts, cobblers and other hearty puds.

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Want an easy dessert? You can stew them for ten minutes, halve and roast them for twice that, or poach them in red wine for a little longer. Alternatively, just halve your plums, sprinkle ’em with sugar, grill until caramelised and serve with vanilla ice cream.

It’s not just puds they’re good for, though. There are jams and jellies too, and chutneys and dips galore. Diana Henry does a particularly great plum sauce from a recipe stretching back to Georgian times, which goes brilliantly with duck, chicken, lamb, pork or any barbecued meats. (Indeed, pork chops with plums and halloumi are incredible.)

Feeling thirsty? Eastern Europe is awash with excellent plum brandies and plum wines – in places like Serbia and Romania there are five plum trees for every person – while the north Cotswolds enjoy the rare, rather more ciderlike plum jerkum.

But that’s just the start. Ever considered plums as a pizza topping, perhaps with goat’s cheese and walnuts? You should. Or try baking them in bread; slicing them over breakfast cereal or porridge; pairing them with bacon and pancakes (or waffles); adding yoghurt and honey for a cold soup; or using them as the key ingredient in a salad, pairing them with the likes of radicchio, rocket, beetroot, radish, fennel, kale, watercress, cherries, watermelon, ricotta or parmesan, in any combination you dare.

SINCE THEY COME in so many colours, it’s hard to tell if plums are ripe by the way they look alone, so instead sniff them – good, right? – and give them a gentle squeeze; the perfect fruit will give a little, but not too much. (Too soft and they’re over-ripe.)

Look for a smooth, bruise-free skin too, though a chalky, cloudy bloom is fine – in fact, it’s a good thing, as it suggests they’ve not been over-handled.

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Once ripe – and supermarket plums are often hopelessly under-ripe, so you’re better off trying a good greengrocer – they’ll last three or four days, or up to five in the fridge. While they freeze well, removing their stones first will ensure they taste their best.

To prep, cut in half following the line of the dimple, then twist the halves apart. Ease out the stone, then chop or slice. Though the skin is perfectly edible, it’s sometimes best to remove it – easily achieved by dipping your plums in boiling water for 15 seconds, then plunging them into cold water immediately afterwards.

PLUMS AREN’T JUST delicious, they’re good for you too. Heaving with vitamins – A, C, K, B1 and more, plus potassium, magnesium and other minerals – they’ve been credited with helping everything from indigestion to anxiety, osteoporosis to diabetes, obesity to cancer. Plus, though sweet, they’re unlikely to cause unhealthy spikes in blood sugar levels. So virtuous are these things, in fact, that even the pretty blossom of bijoux plum trees holds plenty of health giving properties, being historically used to treat mouth ulcers and the like.

We all need more plums in our lives, basically – and we haven’t even mentioned the almost-as-versatile prune yet, either. Sweet, sticky and chewy, these are simply dried plums, with a similarly rich repertoire of nutritional qualities, the most entertaining of textures and deepest of tastes. Sure, they have a slightly problematical rep – associated with 1950s school dinners, old folks’ homes and ‘keeping yourself regular’ – but you owe it to yourself to get over all that. Prunes – and plums, come to think of it – may have their snigger-snigger, schoolboy-entertaining qualities, but they’re far too good to let that to put you off.

CRUMBSMAG.COM

R E C I P E

FREDDY BIRD REDISCOVERS AN APPRECIATION FOR PLUMS – ALBEIT ON A CERTAIN CONDITION...

PLUM AND ALMOND TART SERVES 8 8-10 plums 2-3 tbsp sugar (depending on the sweetness of the plums) For the pastry: 350g plain flour 225g salted butter, chilled and diced 110g icing sugar 3 large egg yolks For the frangipane: 125g soft butter 150g caster sugar pinch salt 3 eggs 100g ground almonds 40g plain flour

I’M SURE MANY of you will disagree, but I find even the finest of plums just a little dull – even when picked ripe from the tree in the garden. (Prunes, on the other hand, are a different, much more delicious beast in my eyes.)

We probably need to appreciate them more, though; come next year when we Brexit, this may well be about the only affordable fruit we can get at this time of year, alongside apples, pears and around three weeks worth of blackberries! Perhaps a good idea would be to distil the lot of them so we can drown our Brexit-induced sorrow in eau de vie?

Okay, okay: if I’m honest, these were my first thoughts when I was tasked with coming up with a great plum dish, but once I really started to think about recipes I realised I do actually quite like them – as long as they are cooked, that is!

Lido, Oakfield Place, Bristol BS8 2BJ; 0117 933 9530; lidobristol.com

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1 Preheat the oven to 170C/325F/gas mark 3.

2 Halve the plums, remove the stone and toss in the sugar. Set aside for an hour or so to draw out a bit of their moisture.

3 Roast for 5-10 minutes, then set aside, saving the juice to drizzle over the tart later.

4 To make the pastry, pulse all the ingredients, excluding the egg yolks, in a food processor.

Add the yolks slowly, and briefly pulse before combining by hand (being careful not to overwork the dough). Wrap the pastry in cling film and refrigerate for an hour or so.

5 Once it’s chilled, roll the pastry out and use it to line a tart case (you won’t need to butter it as this recipe is heavy on the butter). It might be tricky to roll, but it’ll be deliciously short. Then rest it in the fridge again for a further hour or so.

6 When ready to bake, line the pastry with parchment and pour in some baking beans. Bake for 20 minutes, then uncover, return to the oven and bake until a deep golden brown.

7 For the frangipane, beat the butter, sugar and salt together until pale – use a KitchenAid or other mixer, if you have one. Then slowly add the eggs, one at a time, while beating. Next, add the ground almonds (turn down the speed for this if beating in a mixer), then mix in the flour by hand.

8 When the tart case has cooled, spoon in the frangipane – this doesn’t have to be too neat (as it will find its level whilst cooking) and scatter over the plum halves.

9 Bake for around 15-20 minutes. The frangipane needs to be cooked but not firm – it wants to ooze a little when cut. Rest on a cooling rack. I serve with double cream, whipped up with vanilla extract, rosewater, and icing sugar. (If there is any tart left, don’t refrigerate it, as the pastry will go soggy.)

Openings etc NATURAL BORN GRILLERS

A new restaurant by Grillstock founders Jon Finch and Ben Merrington has opened in the city centre. Quay St Diner proudly reps the contemporary era amongst the quirky hash of historical architecture in this neighbourhood – not just in its look, but its food too. The charcoal grill is at the heart of this concept, and the casual, social dining style and European-esque drinks list (which includes aperitifs, craft beers and cocktails) add to the unique character. As well as the obligatory burgers are some more novel dishes, like the selection of tacos (try the popcorn shrimp numbers – trust us) and vegetarian and vegan creations like the grilled squash with coconut harissa (also a belter). Brunches are on the go too, and it’s all really reasonably priced. quaystreetdiner.co.uk

VEG OF REASON

A new vegetarian café has opened in Bath on Newbridge Road. It’s from the same family that’s behind The Grocer – just down the road – and street food biz Twisted Indian.

Rooted Café and Supper Rooms opens at breakfast time, serving the likes of buckwheat pancakes with fruit and granola crumble, avo and eggs on toast and classic shakshuka. Come lunch, you’ll find dishes such as Korean kimchi dog (tempura onion, pickles, kimchi and hot sauce in a brioche bun), barbecue jackfruit and mezze boards.

Head chef Sam Lewis (also part of the family) comes from the Bathwick Boatman, having worked at The Chequers and other well-respected local joints in the past.

September will bring with it a new menu, and threecourse suppers are in the pipeline too – all made from ethically sound, local ingredients. facebook.com/rootedcafebath

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S T A R T E R S

NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK LOOK, IT’S THOMAS MAYNARD FROM BRISTOL’S NEW BAR 44

How long have you been working with Bar 44? I joined the group six years ago. I began in Cowbridge, then headed up the Penarth kitchen before taking over the Cardiff city centre site, then moving to Bristol.

What attracted you to Bar 44?

After talking to Owen here, I realised we shared very similar values about food.

His passion and dedication really stood out to me; it’s the most important thing.

TAKE TWO

The second Crumbs Awards bash is but weeks away; the trophies are being made, logistics perfected and judges brows are furrowed in their attempts to decide the winners of each of the 20 categories. This year, we have the likes of chef Romy Gill, food writer and author Genevieve Taylor, head honcho of the Bath Pub Company Joe Cussens, and founder of Sharpham Park Roger Saul among the impressive panel.

We’ll find out who their chosen champs are on 14 October, when we take over Bristol Old Vic for a celebration of epic proportions.

Are you a finalist? Do you want to be among the first to find out who triumphs? Fancy getting the heads up on the people who are making real waves in our local food scene?

Best snap up your ticket then, hadn’t you?

They’re available online from Wriggle now, so don’t hang about. getawriggleon.com

Give us a rundown of your CV. After catering college I began at The Hardwick under Stephen Terry, before moving to Caprice Holdings in London.

Toughest job you’ve tackled so far?

Event days in Cardiff are always a huge challenge, with the 75,000-seater stadium right next door to the bar. It stretches us to the max because our food is very labour intensive. You have to be very organised – it has taught me how to plan time very well!

Proudest career achievement?

Heading up Bar 44 Bristol. I’m extremely proud to be in charge of the kitchen here, and that Owen, Tom and Nat have such faith in me to do a great job.

How would you describe the style of food here? Modern Spanish, with interesting and creative combinations.

Six years in Spanish cookery has taught me how to deal with big-flavoured ingredients and balance them very well.

Is the Bristol menu the same as the other sites? The menus are different in every Bar 44. Each kitchen has its own team and only raw ingredients

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come through the kitchen door, so while menus have the same soul, the dishes are very different from one bar to another.

And what are its highlights? Jamón is a major focus; we offer three different Ibérico hams. For the first time we are offering raciones too – larger plates to share in the middle of the table.

What do you love about cooking tapas in particular? The freshness: we send dishes out when they are at their peak, instead of having them hang around on the pass.

What are your favourite seasonal ingredients at the moment? We’re loving the local organic courgettes from Jack, our sous chef’s, mum! We’ve also been using amazing peaches, and the best Spanish tomatoes mixed with the best summer British tomatoes, too.

Favourite cookery book? I love the Nathan Outlaw books, and J Sheekey Fish. We’ve got hundreds of Spanish books in the office that we are always reading for inspiration, too.

Current favourite flavour combination?

The summer peas we are using with super sweet leeks in our tortilla. I’ve not tried a better tortilla lately.

Which local restaurants do you like to eat in? I’ve had great food recently in Wallfish Bistro, Shop 3 Bistro, Lido, Bosco, Root, Paco Tapas, Bravas, Bellita, Pasta Loco, Bambalam... the list goes on. I love the Bristol food scene. bar44.co.uk

S T A R T E R S

BORN AGAIN

LOOK, IT’S BEN PORTER, GENERAL MANAGER AT WELLBOURNE Worked here long, Ben? About a year.

And where were you before?

I started my career at Gleneagles in Scotland, then moved down to The Manor House Hotel, Castle Combe.

Then Pollen Street Social and Kitchen Table at Bubbledogs in London.

How long have you been in hospitality for? Since I was 16 – so around 15 years.

What do you like most about working in the industry? The buzz of service, getting to know complete strangers and the amount of skills you learn.

What’s the best thing about your job at Wellbourne? Working with and meeting fantastic new people.

How about the most challenging part?

Staffing – this is an industry-wide issue at the moment.

What are the bestselling dishes currently? The dulce de leche ice cream sandwich is flying out of that kitchen!

But you should definitely try our halibut T-bone main course with English peas and broad beans.

What drinks are you most excited about right now?

English wine: I think that soon we will be producing wine – still and sparkling – which can rival the best in the world.

We have the terroir, the skill set and the attitude to do so.

What do you think makes great customer service? Valuing every guest as if they’re your last. There’s nothing worse than an uninterested waiter.

Where have you visited locally where the customer service was excellent?

Corkage in Bath is brilliant! I love the concept of not having a wine list, and encouraging people to be more adventurous with wine.

Where do you like to eat out?

It’s usually the local pub or a new wine bar. I’m into the whole small plate culture of eating bits and pieces when I want. wellbourne.restaurant

Southville’s Birch has reopened with new owners.

Previous proprietors (who are now working on becoming super cider-makers) Beccy and Sam Leech have passed the business to Tom Masters and his brother. Following a three-week closure the restaurant is welcoming diners again, with a fresh look and new menu. Continuing in a similar vein to the Birch we all know, the kitchen – headed up by Lee Bloomfield, a former colleague of Tom who trained at Bibendum – has come up with a selection of small plates to share. The menu will be changed regularly depending on what local producers are proffering day-to-day, but you can expect the likes of courgette fritters with herb mayo, ox cheek croquette with sauce gribiche, and pickled girolle with artichoke heart. Front of house pro Tom has been managing restaurants for about five years, and this is his first solo venture. birchbristol.co

NEVER SAY NEVER

London Cocktail Club has ventured outside of the capital to open a new bar in Bristol. The business, founded by award-winning bartender JJ Goodman and pal James Hopkins, has several locations across the capital, each with its own individual style. This site on the Triangle was designed around the idea of Neverland at night; packed with curiosities and brimming with eccentric style, it’s aiming to be the new party destination for Bristol revellers. The group’s menu features cocktails such as Brixton Riot (Martini Ambrato, lychee liqueur, peach, cranberry and mint), and the Nuclear Daiquiri (rum, Green Chartreuse, falernum and lime). Open until the early hours, you sure can – to quote Neverland’s very own Peter Pan – go “straight on ’til morning”. londoncocktailclub.co.uk

SUNNY SIDE UP

The team behind The Gallimaufry has unveiled a new restaurant. Named Suncraft, it will be opening this month with a focus on colourful and nutritious plant-based food and drink. Taking culinary inspiration from all over the globe, the menu will feature the likes of spiced potato and spinach cakes with black-eyed bean curry, gochujang stew with Korean rice cakes, and sticky rice balls in ginger and caramel syrup. Dishes will be freshly prepped and speedy, available for eating in or taking out. You can also expect fresh juices, natural wines and local beers (all, as with the food, being vegan-friendly), and a sound ethical approach at this Gloucester Road gaff. twitter.com/suncraftbristol

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The Jetty offers a vibrant yet relaxed atmosphere and a fantastic seafood dining Experience in the heart of the city.

We use locally sourced and sustainable fresh ingredients for our stunning and creatively devised menus.

Treat yourself to Octopus Carpaccio, Whole Spider Crab, Fruits de Mer, Chateaubriand, Veal Milanese, Oysters and Cocktails; there truly is something for everyone.

New A La Carte and Express menus are now here!

The Jetty is not just a restaurant, it’s an Experience.

49 – 55 Corn Street, Bristol BS1 1HT T: 0117 203 4445 E: bristol.jetty@harbourhotels.co.uk www.bristol-harbour-hotel.co.uk

S T A R T E R S

MUCH TO DO

NEW!

GRAB YOUR FOODIE TO-DO LIST AND FIND A PEN THAT WORKS, ’CAUSE HERE’S SOME GREAT STUFF TO BUSY YOURSELF WITH THIS MONTH...

GET YOUR CHOPS AROUND A BEST VEGAN SARNIE AT NO. 12 EASTON Did you know this popular daytime hangout has been taken over by a local family? Don’t fear: the muchloved staples (like the Best Bacon sarnie) are sticking around, and join new additions such as the Best Vegan – a plant-based version of the aforementioned, where mushrooms get salted, marinated, slow-roasted then fried, and are joined by vegan aioli, homemade chutney and pickles in thick-sliced bread. We had a go on one, and it was a belter. Check out the new take-out wine, beer, cheese and charcuterie while you’re there, too. facebook.com/pg/no12easton

TRY BRISTOL CRAFT BEER FESTIVAL’S SPECIAL BREW To celebrate this year’s Bristol Craft Beer Festival (taking place at the harbourside’s Amphitheatre, 14-16 September) the team at local brewery Left Handed Giant has collaborated with Danish producers Dry and Bitter to create a limited edition IPA. It’ll be at the festival, as well as in local bars and independent stores, on draught and in cans. Make haste, though, ’cause once it’s gone, it’s gone. bristolcraftbeerfestival.co.uk

GO ORGANIC Organic September is all about singing the praises of natural food and bigging up the farmers and producers who are committed to filling our kitchens with natural produce. Not only free of chemicals, organic grub is also reared and grown with sound ethics. Check out the great organic offerings in local grocery shops like Better Food, Matter Wholefoods and Hugo’s in Bristol, and Eades and Harvest in Bath. soilassociation.org

GET ON TOP OF YOUR GAME SOUR MAKES

At the same time that we say ‛so long’ to summer, we say ‘oh, hey there’ to game season. Autumn is when closed seasons (i.e. the period of time that no shooting of a particular game animal is allowed, to let them breed and rear the newborns) come to an end. Of course, game is available year-round, but this is a great time to enjoy it (especially as the colder temperatures and dark nights have us craving that rich, hearty meat), and you’ll notice it cropping up on restaurant menus. Keep your eye out for local game, and perhaps try something new this season.

Sourdough September is upon us, championing proper sourdough bread, made simply with good old-fashioned flour and water, with a little bit of natural fermentation magic.

What better time to learn how to bake your own? You can get the allimportant sourdough starter from Hobbs House; it’s taken from their own culture, which is more than 60 years old. (These guys have great video recipes online, too.) hobbshousebakery.co.uk

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@joannaclifford gets some brekkie onboard @albatrosscafebristol Hugo Sapsed is all about Bristol-grown produce

HIP SHOPS

huGO’S @sophieh_photo snaps a frozen cocktail @brozenbar

@kbowbristol enjoys a summer evening at a harbourside yoga supper Your pic could be here!

Just use #CrumbsSnaps on your foodie Insta posts and we might print one of yours next issue...

WHAT: FRUIT, VEG AND GROCERIES WHERE: NORTH STREET, BRISTOL BS3 1ES WHEN: TUES-SAT 8.30AM-6PM; SUN 9.30AM-3.30PM

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ince first opening its doors in early February, this little Bedminster greengrocers has grown big and plump – just like the colourful veggies you’ll find inside it. Starting out solely with local produce from neighbouring growers, Hugo’s has expanded its range to include ingredients from a little further afield, as well as some exotic offerings.

That said, the emphasis is still very much on West Country goods – not just fruit and veg, either, but also artisanal offerings from local makers like Triple Co Roast, Little Hollows Pasta, Homewood Cheeses, Edible Futures, and The Bristol Loaf. Nowadays you can do a whole shop (and even treat yourself to a fresh cup of Joe) here. If you’re local, though, you needn’t even venture out in the first place – get yourself a veg box delivered instead.

“It’s really kicking off with the boxes,” says Hugo Sapsed. “People like to pick what’s in there – organic, local, stuff from the farm...”

Having returned to his home city of Bristol following a stint in London working in fashion, Hugo tells us that one of his first jobs was at Reg

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the Veg (a former Hip Shops star, as you may well remember). Working there at weekends as a kid clearly ignited a real interest in this kind of produce – Hugo chats to us enthusiastically about the growers and makers whose wares line his shelves. In fact, he’ll talk to anyone about fruit and veg, if they give him half the chance...

“People ask questions and have a chat all the time. I often have conversations with kids – they ask me loads about fruit and veg. People really like to test your knowledge and see how much you really know. All the customers are really sound here, everyone’s so nice.”

September will bring with it a whole new range of stock, as we edge into autumn and fresh stashes of food are harvested.

“There are going to be amazing mushrooms coming in soon,” says Hugo, who works with a local foraging business for ingredients like this.

“Also, English apples have just started coming in; I’m tasting the first of them now and they’re fantastic. We’re also warming up for autumnal roots, of course, which will be here before long.”

It’s not only the seasons that dictate what’s going to be appearing on the shelves, though – the punters who shop here also have an important influence.

“There’s lots of new stuff coming; I have loads of Italian and Spanish customers who are gasping for products from home, and I’m planning to get in more local ferments as well.

“We’ve also started doing freshly squeezed juices – you can either choose from the menu or pick stuff from the shelves to be juiced.”

Meeting that seven-a-day mark should be a breeze for shoppers here, then. hugosgreengrocer.co.uk

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In the Larder 2 4

1 3

5

HOT ’n’ COLd

THIS TIME OF YEAR CAN HAVE PRETTY CHANGEABLE WEATHER – SO WE’VE COVERED ALL EVENTUALITIES WITH A MIX OF SUMMERY AND AUTUMNAL TREATS...

1. Field and Flower Harissa Lamb Steaks, £8.98/340g This ethical retailer – founded by a local farmer – has just launched a range of marinated meats. We’ve tried out the lamb steaks, which come in a punchy sauce of garlic, cumin, tomato and cayenne, and cooked them on a hot griddle pan (although they’d be great on the barbecue) until blushing pink inside. The meat was super tender and juicy, and the marinade delivered just the right amount of flavour without overpowering it. Try serving with herby tabbouleh and mint yoghurt. Buy online from field and flower; fieldandflower.co.uk 2. Dorset Tea Sunshine Blend, £2.69/80 bags Why, might you ask, do these guys call their black tea their Sunshine Blend? Well, it’s meant to perk us up as much as those golden rays do – especially with the new foil-lined packaging to keep that precious tea as fresh as possible. The blend uses a mix of Kenyan, Rwandan and Assam leaves to achieve a balance of weight, strength and flavour. Having just received two stars from Great Taste for 2018, it has been an award winner every year since 2010. From Waitrose in Bath and Bristol; dorsettea.co.uk 3. Swoon Pistachio Sorbetto, £20/1ltr This sorbetto, made using pistachios grown on the side of Mount Etna in Sicily, has just been awarded the maximum three stars at the Great Taste Awards. We can hardly believe there’s no dairy involved – the deliciously silky, creamy texture tells a different story.

Handmade by the team at Swoon, it’s got subtle salty and sweet notes, as well as a natural nuttiness. Find it at Swoon in Bath and Bristol; swoononaspoon.co.uk 4. Far Side Cold Brew, from £3.20/250ml Good things come to those who wait – good things like this Peruvian cold brew, which takes 18 hours to steep. Pop the cap on the attractive little stubby and you’ll get a whiff of chocolate and honey notes. Perfect to sip on a hot day, it’s got a punch of caffeine with an added citrus hit and a sweetness that you wouldn’t get in a normal cup of Joe. Available online; farsidecoffee.com 5. The Juice Collective Yellow 01, £3.95/250ml This local cold-press juicing biz came up with a bright and refreshing new drink over the summer. Made from apple, pineapple, lemon and ginger, the Yellow 01 is all about fresh, zesty fruit, but with a gentle poke of the fiery root. Cold pressing means that as much of the nutritional value of the raw ingredients make it into the bottle – and, in turn, your body – as possible. A perky little thirst quencher, this will set you off in the right direction to fulfil that seven-a-day quota. Find it at Widcome Deli, Harvest in Bath and Newton Farm Shop; thejuicecollective.co.uk

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Castle Bow Restaurant offers a fine dining experience in a relaxed setting and is perfect for any occasion.

Head Chef, Liam Finnegan is passionate about using fresh, local ingredients, and his modern British classics are constantly evolving.

Our menu is created to fully embrace each season, and it is this quality and care that transforms every meal into a true West Country experience.

Located in the centre of Taunton, just under the archway in Castle Bow. Open for dinner Wednesday - Saturday from 6.30pm. Advance booking recommended.

Tel: 01823 328328 | www.castlebow.com | f a @CastleBow

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FIND OUT WHAT WE’VE BEEN ADDING TO OUR RECIPE BOOK COLLECTION THIS MONTH SHETLAND: COOKING ON THE EDGE OF THE WORLD James and Tom Morton (Quadrille, £25) Flat, virtually treeless, and far from anywhere, the 15 inhabited islands of Shetland enjoy a unique, rugged Scots-Nordic tradition, – and food to match. Hilarious, packed with intriguing detail, and delightfully honest, this book is the perfect counterbalance to all those celebrations of too-perfect Scandinavia hygge. With evocative photography and chapters shared between a father-and-son team of locals (one a doctor and Great British Bake Off finalist, the other a journo and radio presenter), this is as much a history and celebration as it is a cookbook, though it’s also packed with recipes and techniques, including plenty on smoking, pickling and (of course) baking. Key dishes? We liked the chicken recipe with just two ingredients, and the rhubarb, ginger and whisky jam. And we can’t not mention the delights of musky, mildly porky piglet testicles too. Matt Bielby MASALA: INDIAN COOKING FOR MODERN LIVING Mallika Basu (Bloomsbury, £26) Although Indian food is surely one of the most popular cuisines in the UK, many traditional dishes take time – not to mention a plethora of different ingredients that you won’t already have in the cupboards – to put together. In this book, West Bangal-born Mallika takes the food from her home country and shows us how it can be achieved by modern (often time-poor) home cooks. It’s done by way of simple hacks and clever shortcuts, as opposed to compromising on authenticity or flavour. The recipes – of which you’ll find both familiar and novel kinds – kick off with ‘classic curries’ (saag paneer, matar paneer masala, and butter chicken) before rolling into slow-cooked feasts (roasted marinated leg of lamb and nut butter roast cauli), brunches, sharing platters and sides.

Many recipes come with variations, and notes on eating and serving the Indian way are included as well, making this book both a practical and inspiring one. Jessica Carter COOKING ON A BOOTSTRAP Jack Monroe (Bluebird, £15.99) Filled with humour, this straight-talking sequel to bestseller A Girl Called Jack is another breath of fresh air by Jack

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Monroe. The recipes might not require fancy gadgets, premium ingredients or massive amounts of skill, but don’t let that fool you into thinking they’re not still delicious. Jack helpfully highlights the most affordable and achievable dishes that can help readers enjoy cooking (and eating) whatever the budget. When running your fingers through the pages, you’ll notice plenty of practical advice and suggestions for ingredient replacements (who knew you could swap out red wine in a stew for black tea?), as well as nifty recipes that practically cry out with encouragement for the reader to get cooking.

Simple but imaginative creations range from the likes of Marmite mac ’n’ cheese and barbecue cola ribs to lardy buns and a ‘self-love stew’.

Aemilia Smith FISH AND SHELLFISH Tom Kitchin (Absolute Press, £26) Tom Kitchen became Scotland’s youngest ever Michelin-starred chef-proprietor in 2006 after opening his Edinburgh restaurant, The Kitchin. He also runs a top notch food pub, The Scran and Scallie, and trained with the likes of Pierre Koffmann. The recipes (of which there are more than 100) in Fish and Shellfish have a tempting-but-achievable gastropub feel, and cover everything you could possibly think of: crustaceans (lobster burgers or green crab bisque), molluscs (razor clams with vegetables and chorizo), cephalopods (risotto with braised squid), flat fish (crispy skate wing with green olive relish), white fish (spiced monkfish with aubergine caviar), oily fish (salmon Wellington), and mixed seafood (this is where the soups, stews and pies live). Tempting stuff, right?

In fact, almost everything looks doable and delicious, and the clear, classy presentation and top-notch pics by Marc Millar are keen to chivvy you along. Matt Bielby

From Masala by Mallika Basu (Bloomsbury, £26) Photography © Issy Croker

BADAMI GOBI MUSALLAM (Nut butter roasted cauliflower)

A DECADENT CENTREPIECE, this cauliflower is drenched in a luscious almond and cashew cream sauce and then roasted whole. It’s the perfect feast for any vegetarians in your midst, and appreciated just as much by meat lovers.

Blended caramelised onions add extra depth of flavour and sweetness to the dish, along with the nuts. Rather than making nut cream from scratch, I prefer to use shop-bought nut butter, the kind with no added sugar or salt.

SERVES 4

4 tbsp oil pinch sugar 3 medium onions, halved and thinly sliced 400g Greek-style yoghurt 2.5cm piece fresh root ginger 2 garlic cloves 1½ tbsp almond butter

THE LITTLE SWEDISH KITCHEN Rachel Khoo (Michael Joseph, £20) It’s no longer all about France for this British food writer, who is probably best known for her series and book The Little Paris Kitchen.

Having upped sticks from Paris and moved to Stockholm, Rachel has embraced Scandi food culture as much as she has the winter temperatures, writing, “It’s food that makes you feel good even when it’s dark and gloomy outside. Food that brings a bit of sunshine into your home.” Working with native produce, Rachel embraces the short growing season that has informed and shaped traditional Swedish cooking throughout the centuries.

Pantry essentials, ranging from frozen berries to pickled cucumbers, are laid out for us, before we tumble into homely, heart-warming recipes like nettle and chicken pie, potato and pea dumplings, pickled mackerel, and cream bun cakes. This is colourful food to make you feel good inside and out. Jessica Carter

1½ tbsp cashew butter 1 tsp ground turmeric ½ tsp chilli powder 1 tsp ground coriander 1 tsp ground cumin 1 large cauliflower 2cm cinnamon stick 500ml hot water 1 tsp garam masala

1 Pour the oil into a frying pan and place over a medium-high heat. When it’s hot, add the sugar, onions and a pinch of salt, in that order. Sauté for 12-15 minutes until golden and crisp. Remove from the heat.

2 Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/gas mark 6.

3 Transfer the onions to a blender, leaving behind 2 tbsp for garnishing. Add the yoghurt, ginger, garlic, nut butters, turmeric, chilli powder, coriander, cumin and 250ml cold water and blitz until smooth. Add salt to taste. Pour this sauce into a casserole dish that will snugly hold the whole cauliflower.

4 Keeping the leaves on the cauliflower (they will char and add to the stunning appearance of the dish), slice off the bottom of the cauliflower so it sits comfortably.

Use a sharp knife to stab the stalk end two or three times to help it cook.

5 Place the cauliflower upside down in the casserole dish, add the cinnamon stick, loosely cover with foil and shove in the oven. After 40 minutes, take the dish out of the oven, and remove the cauliflower with two forks. Add the hot water to the bottom of the dish and stir to loosen the curry. Return the cauliflower to the casserole dish, the right way up this time, and spoon the curry over the top. Loosely cover and return to the oven for another 20 minutes, then uncover and cook for a final 20 minutes with the garam masala sprinkled over.

6 Lift the cauliflower into the serving dish and pour the sauce around it, garnishing with the reserved crispy onions. You can also serve the sauce separately for pouring. Cut the cauliflower into chunks or slices at the table.

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CHEF! D WHAT TO MAKEKAE NIT HOW TO MA M – DIRECT FRO THE KITCHENS OF OUR FAVOURITE FOODIES

HIGHLIGHTS

YOU’VE G

’TIS THE SEASON OT KALE FOR W AUTUMNAL SALADARS M, HEARTY PAGE 30

NICE PAD

LEARNING PAD THA

I FROM THE PROS

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PEAS BE W

AN AUTHENTIC CH ITH YOU FROM BOSNIA AICN KEN AND PEA STEW D HERZEGOVINA

Mussels love beer.

Instead of slurping it, though, they like to be steamed in it for a flavoursome, hearty meal, like the one on page 32...

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PLUS!

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THE DRINKS TO QUENCH YOUR THIRST WITH THIS SEASON

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C H E F !

QUINOA SALAD WITH ROASTED SQUASH, KALE, WALNUTS, GARLIC AND RED WINE DRESSING SERVES 6-8 150g quinoa, rinsed 1 tsp salt 1 squash, such as a butternut, halved, deseeded and cut into 5 or 6 wedges 2 red onions, halved and cut into wedges 1 garlic bulb, broken into cloves and peeled 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil 2 tsp cumin seeds 2 rosemary sprigs, torn 75g walnut halves 1 large bunch curly kale (150g), stripped from the stalk 125g soft blue cheese, such as Roquefort (optional) For the dressing: 2 tsp wholegrain mustard 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil 1 tbsp sunflower oil 2 tbsp red wine vinegar 1 tbsp runny honey (or 2 tsp sugar as a vegan option) 1 garlic clove, peeled and bashed

GILLING IT

GILL MELLER’S NEW BOOK TIME IS RELEASED THIS MONTH; WE’RE STEALING ITS RECIPES BEFORE THE INK’S EVEN DRY...

Recipe taken from Time

by Gill Meller (Quadrille, £25); photography by Andrew Montgomery

Chef, writer and integral member of the River Cottage family Gill Meller is coming to town this month to talk about his new book, Time. Each of the recipes in this beautiful collection – which are designed for morning, day and night time feasting – is a celebration of the changing seasons and local culinary bounty.

Gill is coming to our patch on 17 September to give a cookery demo and share tasters of the book’s dishes.

The event will be held at Neptune in Bath; tickets start at £10 and are redeemable against a copy of Time (visit toppingbooks.co.uk to get yours).

This recipe is perfectly timed for early autumn, when hardy kale starts to come into its own, and the butternut squash harvest kicks off. It also makes great use of that ancient grain, quinoa.

Gill writes: Quinoa is such a great grain to use in big chunky salads like this one. Although it’s small, it has the capacity to carry, and is generous with it. Dressings love it, and once dressed it loves everything else.

Here, tender roast squash, sweet onions and crunchy walnuts are all bound up in its spell. I like to finish this salad with a hint of Roquefort, one of my favourite blue-veined sheep’s cheeses. But, of course, you could leave it out for a vegan version.

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1 Heat the oven to 200C/400F/gas mark 6.

2 First, make the dressing. Put all the ingredients in a small jug, season, and whisk until thoroughly combined.

Set aside.

3 Put the quinoa in a large pan and cover with plenty of cold water – you’ll need about 3 times as much water as quinoa. Add the salt, put over a medium-high heat and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for about 10-12 minutes, or until the grains are tender.

4 Drain well, then, while the quinoa is still warm, spoon over half the dressing and turn it through the grains.

5 While the quinoa is cooking, scatter the squash, onions and garlic cloves out over a roasting tin. Trickle over the oil and sprinkle over the cumin seeds and rosemary. Season with salt and pepper and toss together. Roast for 45-50 minutes, turning occasionally or until everything is soft and caramelised.

6 Turn down the oven to 120C/235F/gas mark 1.

7 Remove the roasting tin from the oven and add the walnut halves and kale. Use a spatula to turn the kale gently in some of the well-flavoured roasting oil.

Return the tray to the oven and cook for a further 15-20 minutes, until the kale is crisp and the nuts are toasted.

8 At this stage remove the kale from the tin and set aside. Spoon the quinoa over the squash, nuts and onions and pour over the remaining dressing. Tumble everything together thoroughly, season to taste with more salt and pepper, and spoon into a large bowl or out over a platter. Arrange the kale over the top of the salad and crumble over the cheese, if using. Serve straight away.

C H E F !

You’ll find Proper Job IPA for about £1.70/500ml in local independent shops and online at Ocado; staustellbrewery.co.uk

MUSSEL MAN

JACK STEIN SERVES UP IPA IN A MEAL AS OPPOSED TO A PINT GLASS...

It was recently announced that Jack Stein has partnered up with Cornish brewery and pub company St Austell (which has restaurants and watering holes across Bath and Bristol) to become an ambassador for one of their most popular brews, Proper Job IPA. Jack, who is chef director at the Rick Stein group of restaurants, has developed recipes and food pairings inspired by the hoppy flavours of Proper Job, to show how it deserves a place on the dining table as well as at the pumps in your local boozer.

“Proper Job is a powerfully hopped IPA that’s packed full of flavour, making it the perfect beer to use as an ingredient in cooking – whether it be to complement existing flavours in the dish, or to make them more pronounced on the palate,” Jack says.

“Proper Job mussels with cabbage and bacon has been a long-time favourite recipe of mine,” he continues. “We initially developed the dish for our annual beer and mussel festival at our pub, The Cornish Arms, in St Merryn near Padstow. The hoppy flavours and crisp, refreshing finish of Proper Job make it the perfect match for the sweetness of the mussels and the smoky flavour of the bacon.”

Even better: you’ll have 400ml of your bottle left after cooking this, to slurp alongside your meal for an ideal beer and food pairing. Happy days.

PROPER JOB MUSSELS WITH CABBAGE AND BACON SERVES 4 1 shallot, diced 1 garlic clove, chopped 600ml chicken stock 100ml Proper Job IPA 100g butter, chopped 300g Savoy cabbage, very thinly sliced 100g streaky bacon, sliced 1.8kg mussels, washed 2 tbsp parsley, chopped 2 tbsp chives, chopped 1 Put the shallot, garlic and chicken stock into a pan over a medium heat and simmer until the liquid has reduced by half. Then add the beer and reduce on a gentle simmer for a further 10 minutes.

2 Melt the butter in a large pan and add the cabbage and bacon. Slowly cook until the cabbage is soft, then increase the heat and add the mussels.

3 Pour in the reduced stock mixture and cover the pan with a lid to allow the mussels to steam until they’ve opened and are cooked.

4 Garnish with the chives and parsley, and serve.

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C H E F !

GLAM WOK

WE BET YOU WON’T GUESS WHAT MANTANEE LEWIS’ SECRET INGREDIENT IS IN HER PAD THAI...

Mantanee – who is originally from Thailand and has been in the UK for 20 years – is co-founder of JP Destiny, which opened in 2014. She heads up the kitchen brigade and cooks a fusion of food from across Asia – although her menus are, of course, especially influenced by Thai cuisine.

For this recipe, Mantanee stresses the importance of getting the pan properly hot before you start cooking – and then maintaining that heat to make sure you can cook quickly and keep some crunch in the ingredients.

She also swears by using tiger prawns specifically here (as oppose to king prawns), because they don’t reduce in size when they’re cooked, and stay nice and meaty with great flavour. Oh, and the secret ingredient?

Good old Tommy-K.

PAD THAI SERVES 1 2 tbsp vegetable oil ½ chicken breast, sliced into strips 3 tiger prawns 1 egg ¼ onion, thinly sliced

75g medium rice noodles (straight to wok) 1 tbsp light soy sauce 1 tsp dark soy sauce 1 tbsp oyster sauce 1 tbsp ketchup 1 tsp sugar handful bean sprouts ½ small carrot, sliced into noodles 1 spring onion, sliced chilli flakes, to garnish handful cashew nuts, chopped ½ lime 1 Put a pan or wok on a high heat and add the vegetable oil. When it’s hot, add the chicken and fry until it turns opaque.

2 Add the prawns and egg, and stir-fry for 30 seconds.

Then add the onion and noodles. Fry for 30 seconds.

3 Add the soy sauces, oyster sauce, ketchup and sugar.

Stir-fry for 1 minute before adding in the beansprouts and carrot.

4 Add in the spring onion and fry for a final 30 seconds, making sure the chicken is cooked through.

5 Pile onto the plate and garnish with a scattering of chilli flakes and cashews, and a squeeze of lime.

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JP Destiny, 24 Kellaway Avenue, Bristol BS6 7XR; 0117 924 5450

C H E F !

dUCKY ChARM

TOM BROWNELL PAIRS DUCK WITH A FRUITY, SPICY SALSA IN THIS IMAGINATIVE RECIPE Tom Brownell’s career has been all about fine dining. He’s worked everywhere from Michelin-starred restaurants on this very patch to luxury, celebrity-frequented resorts abroad.

Tom is still very much in the business of cooking refined food for memorable meals, only now he’s doing it in his gastropub, The Duck and Willow, which you’ll find over in Downend, Bristol.

This recipe is a great example of the kind of food than Tom cooks up there; thoughtful and modern but still hearty and approachable, it’s a dish we’d be happy to tuck into this autumn.

SEARED DUCK BREAST WITH PINEAPPLE, LIME AND CHILLI SALSA, BOK CHOI AND SWEET POTATO FONDANT SERVES 4 4 sweet potatoes 150g butter 2 pineapples 1 red onion, finely diced 2 red chillies, finely diced 2 limes, zest only 1 tbsp sweet chilli sauce 2 tbsp olive oil 4 duck breasts 4 heads of bok choi 20g black sesame pea shoots, to garnish 1 Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/gas mark 6.

2 Top and tail the sweet potatoes, then peel and half them. Place the butter in an ovenproof pan over a medium heat and allow it to start foaming before adding the sweet potato. Baste the potato with the foaming butter and, when all sides are coloured, place a sheet of tin foil over the pan and put the whole thing into the oven. Cook for around 20 minutes until the potato is tender.

3 For the salsa, top and tail the pineapple and remove the skin in strips, slicing down from the top to bottom all the way around. Cut off the flesh from around the tough

core of the pineapple, and finely dice into evenly sized cubes.

4 Mix the onion, chilli and lime zest with the pineapple, then add the sweet chilli sauce and olive oil. Season to taste and refrigerate for later use.

5 With a small, sharp knife, carefully remove all the sinew from the flesh side of the duck breasts, then flip the meat over and score the fat by running the sharp knife the length of the breast, making sure you don’t cut deep enough to go into the flesh.

6 Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/gas mark 6, and place a pan on the hob over a medium heat.

7 Lightly season each breast and place skin side down into the hot, dry pan, allowing the fat to render down so the breasts can fry in their own fat. After about 5 minutes, when all the fat is rendered, flip each breast over in the pan and place straight into the oven.

Cook for 2-3 minutes.

8 When cooked, take the duck from the oven and leave it to rest. (The flesh should have a little give when you press it with your finger, similar to a medium steak.)

9 Bring a pan of water to a rolling boil, and season with salt. Add the bok choi and blanch for 45 seconds, then drain and sprinkle with the black sesame.

10 Scatter the plate with the salsa, add the potato and put the bok choi on top. Slice the duck and add to the plate, garnishing with pea shoots.

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The Duck and Willow, 64 Downend Road, Bristol BS16 5UE; 0117 956 6843; theduckandwillowbristol.co.uk

NOVAK E LČIĆ PHOTO G R APHY

It’s not just the scenery that makes this country worth exploring, but the food too

NO TASTE LIKE HOME

NEW!

GOOd NEIGhBOURS

THIS NEW COLUMN IS ALL ABOUT CELEBRATING THE EXCITING (AND DELICIOUS) CULTURAL DIVERSITY OF BATH AND BRISTOL, AS WELL AS LEARNING AUTHENTIC RECIPES FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD. TO KICK US OFF, BRISTOL RESIDENT DINO ZELENIKA INTRODUCES US TO THE LUSH VINEYARDS, BREATHTAKING MOUNTAIN RANGES, UNSPOILT COUNTRYSIDE AND TANTALISING FOOD OF BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA…

G

ame of Thrones and Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again may have helped cement Croatia on the mass market tourist trail, but its lesser-known neighbour Bosnia and Herzegovina is still waiting to be discovered, with its rich and enticing cultural and culinary history. I have travelled all over the world and now live in Bristol, but it’s this country – the country of my birth – which keeps luring me back with its picture-perfect villages, compelling past and wonderful food.

And now I am sharing all that on my own culinary and cultural travel tours there.

Herzegovina, the southern region, offers a landscape of timeless, sun-soaked towns and

villages, characterised by a Mediterranean climate of dry, hot summers and cool, wet winters. Its capital is the famous city of Mostar, whose 16th-century bridge, soaring above the vivid blue-green Neretva river, historically connected east and west.

Continuing north, the landscape begins to change, the dry Mediterranean hillsides and vineyards turning into thickly forested, emerald green mountains with deep valleys that are traversed by crystal-clear rivers.

This is the scenery that characterises Bosnia, which forms the central and northern areas of the country. Bosnia is only hours away from Herzegovina, yet worlds apart in terms of its weather and vegetation. Together, then,

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the two adjoining regions create one of the most biodiverse areas in Europe.

Visitors may not know what to expect of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s cuisine, but a rich surprise awaits. Podrum is a typically authentic restaurant near the old bridge in my home city of Mostar. I always take guests here for a multi-course dinner of homecooked dishes. A light veal soup usually comes first, followed by japrak (leaves stuffed with rice and minced meat), buredžici (filo pastry tubes filled with minced meat and seasoning, baked then soaked with a yoghurt and garlic sauce), and cevapcici (mini kebabs). The dinner is then finished with a sweet Bosnian walnut baklava soaked with lemon syrup.

This rich and enticing cuisine has been shaped by Bosnia’s complicated and fascinating history, involving 7th-century Illyrian settlers, Roman invaders, the

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arrival of the Slavs, Hungarian dominance, the huge influence of the Middle East from the Ottoman Empire and the more recent legacies of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Each has played its own part in the food we still eat there.

PERHAPS THE MOST FAMOUS Illyrian delicacy consumed today is sir iz mijeha (literally ‘cheese from a stomach’). Made from cow’s or sheep’s milk, this white, crumbly cheese was carried by Illyrian farmers across Balkan hills as they tended their crops and animals. It’s still one of the most popular local cheeses in the country, along with a myriad other white brined and white semihard cheeses. Several other dishes, such as grašak (pea stew) also have their origins in Illyrian and Roman times. The Hungarians, meanwhile, introduced gulaš (goulash), which to this day remains a staple dish in many homes.

Another famous indigenous dish is Bosanski lonac (‘Bosnian pot’) – a rich, slowcooked stew with large pieces of beef or lamb layered up with vegetables. In medieval Bosnia it would have been cooked on a fire all day whilst people worked the land.

The Ottomans conquered Bosnia and Herzegovina in the 15th century and theirs is the most lasting influence on our gastronomy.

As well as introducing Islam, they saw more than 3,000 Turkish, Arabic and Persian words enter the local vocabulary, and recipes from the Ottoman capital at Constantinople (Istanbul) made their way to the country along with talented chefs. However, these new dishes were often given a distinct Balkan twist.

The Ottomans introduced grilled meat from the Middle East, leading to the creation of our national dish cevapcici. Made from beef or lamb (or a mixture of the two), these kebabs are traditionally grilled on charcoal

SERVES 4 1 tbsp vegetable oil 1 onion, chopped 2-3 garlic cloves, chopped 500g chicken thighs (either whole or cut into bitesize pieces) 1 tbsp tomato purée 2 carrots, chopped 1 medium potato, cubed 300g peas (frozen are fine) handful parsley, chopped

and usually served inside somun (local pita bread) along with diced onions and kajmak (creamy soft cheese, also originally introduced by the Turks).

Baklava is the most famous dessert the Ottomans introduced; 1 Heat the oil, add the onions and garlic, and fry on a lowthe most common local version medium heat for 10 minutes until soft, but not brown. is made with walnut filling and 2 Turn the heat up and add the chicken. Fry for a few pastry in alternating layers and minutes until browned. finished with lemon syrup.

3 Add the tomato purée and around 150ml water, and Another dish that is just as cook for about 30 minutes. Add the carrot and cook for famous are Bosnian filo pies – 10 minutes, then add the potato and peas. Season well. handmade filo pastry stuffed 4 Simmer for about 20 minutes until the potatoes are with meat, greens (often cooked. Break up a few potato cubes to thicken the spinach), cheese, potatoes, and sauce, and check the seasoning. pumpkin, or a sweet version can 5 Turn the heat off, sprinkle with parsley and cover. be made with walnuts and apple.

Serve with crusty bread.

Some pie shops (buregdžinica) date back to the Ottoman period.

Those Ottomans introduced the concept began learning the elaborate bakes. Modern of mezze to the Balkans too, which has taken Bosnian cakes still bear this influence, often a distinct local form and is usually eaten with complicated to make, rich and creamy and bread. A personal favourite bread of mine consisting of several layers. is maslena pogaca (‘butter bread’), made by On the savoury front, schnitzel was kneading and spreading dough generously introduced and became a staple of local with butter, and repeating the process many cuisine. But even this was Balkanized, as times. Ajvar, a local sauce made from roasted locals soon began making stuffed schnitzel red peppers and aubergines, is a must in (with kajmak soft cheese, and often pork Bosnian mezze too. Tour guests are always or beef prosciutto), which is rolled into a enthralled seeing it cooked for hours in cylinder before being breaded and deep fried. large cauldrons outside in the autumn when It’s incredibly delicious, though admittedly harvest begins. Another mezze favourite is not a particularly healthy option! our own local prosciutto (pršut), which some Bosnia and Herzegovina is a captivating say is even better than the Italian version! and largely undiscovered country with a rich Bosnia and Herzegovina’s gastronomy history, and its sumptuous cuisine is very took its current form with the arrival of the much a celebration of that vibrant multiAustro-Hungarian Empire, which ruled the cultural story. country from 1878-1918. Grand AustrianReal Escape Travel offers organised and style buildings soon lined the streets of many bespoke gastronomic, cultural and botanical cities, standing alongside the older Ottoman tours of the Balkans and Myanmar (Burma); neighbourhoods and mosques. Austrian cake realescapetravel.co.uk making was introduced, and locals quickly

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...together we can find your dream job.

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£Competitive - Funky New Bar

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Temporary chefs, waiting & bar staff permanently required! www.cateringinternational.co.uk

Email: info@catserv.co.uk - Bath 01225 480240 - Bristol 0117 929 4777 BATH | BRIGHTON | BRISTOL | CARDIFF | CHELTENHAM | COVENTRY | LONDON | SOUTHAMPTON | SWINDON

NEW! WHAT SUP?

COmEBACK QUEENS

WELCOME, DEAR PARCHED READER, TO OUR NEW SEASONAL DRINKS COLUMN. HERE ANGELA MOUNT WILL BE LOOKING AT EMERGING BOOZY TRENDS, AND SCOURING THE SHELVES OF GREAT WESTERN WINE TO GIVE YOU PLENTY OF LIQUID INSPIRATION FOR THE WEEKS AHEAD…

FOR GOODNESS’ SAKE

Until recently a niche product, sake is taking the world by storm, popping up on more wine lists and shop shelves by the day.

Produced in Japan (and almost 2,000 years old), it’s a wine, but made from polished rice, not grapes, and comes in a myriad of different styles, from classic to fruit-infused.

Speaking of which, seeing as plum is this month’s Hero Ingredient, we can’t not mention the Kodakara Nanko Umeshu plum sake (£25). Decadently sweet yet refreshing, this particular version reminds me of frangipane tart, toasted almonds, and plum compote; it’s well worth a try with fruit tarts and desserts. [Anyone else thinking of Freddy’s perfect-sounding recipe on p10? – Ed] If plum isn’t your thing then fear not; there’s a whole range of different sakes out there – they go from savoury to lip-smackingly citrusy, and can work with everything from seafood to Asian dishes. Go explore!

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B O O Z E

HEARD IT ON THE GRAPEVINE

The vegan restaurant scene is really coming into its own, with diners shifting towards more plant-based diets and trying to limit the amount of meat they consume. Now, restaurants on our patch – and indeed across the UK – are serving up creative vegan dishes, packed with innovation and flavour.

The wine sphere is very much in on the plant-based action too. In fact, many wineries have been focused on vegan wine production for decades. But why wouldn’t wine be vegan?

Without getting too technical, when a wine is made it will be cloudy because of all the gunk from the yeasts that are used – so it needs clarifying. Normally this is done by using either milk casein or egg whites. Vegan avoids these products, instead using non-animal alternatives to make your wine sparkly clean.

A great example is northern Chile’s Falernia Carmenere Syrah (£11.95). It’s an irresistible, spicy, decadently velvety red, ideal for chilly autumn evenings, alongside stews and roasts. Australia’s Heartland Dolcetto Lagrein (£13.95) is a lighter style of red, juicy and bright, perfect with late summer charcuterie platters and spiced up Asian dishes.

For white wine lovers, the deliciously crisp QL Flowers Quinta da Lixa Loureiro (£9.75), is well worth a try, packed with crunchy green apple and zingy lemon character.

Staying with wine, who remembers the days when horribly sweet, candyfloss cloying Lambrusco was at the height of its fame, back in the ’90s? Well, just like retro fashion, it’s making a comeback. Not the nasty, sticky stuff, but authentic Lambrusco – the stuff they drink in north east Italy, where the style was born.

Although a convert now, I was long a cynic, and I’d recommend other doubters to give the Chiarli Vecchia Modena Lambrusco di Sorbara (£13.95) a whirl. It’s the proper stuff; strawberry in colour and with beckoning bubbles skidding to the surface, it smells of summer pudding and fresh raspberries. You’ll notice it’s deliciously fruity yet bone dry, and is packed with ripe plum and sour cherry fruit. Chill it down and try it on its own, or bring out its best with a platter of prosciutto and cured meats. Cold roast beef sandwiches would also be a dead cert.

SPIRITUAL

Spirits move with the trends faster than wine; 20 years ago gin was in the doldrums, cast aside for vodka, but today we can’t get enough of it. Thousands of gins are now available from all over the world, from big-brand to tiny artisanal versions, employing just about every botanical and flavour imaginable. A current favourite is Malfy Gin (£35), which is delicately infused with southern Italian lemons. Mix with tonic for a touch of summer, or get it involved in the kitchen – I use it in my lemon drizzle cake. Pour a good glug into the cake batter itself, then use for the drizzle icing; heavenly!

Finally, another spirit making a comeback is rum. But hold it; don’t reach for the Coke too quickly. Try something innovative like Rum Java Signature (£35), suffused with the flavours of coffee beans and vanilla. The result? A silky soft, sweetly spiced rum, with smooth, seductive edges. Utterly delicious and perfect on the rocks or in cocktails. I’m hoping it’ll help revive the French classic dessert Baba au Rhum, too…

All drinks mentioned here are available from Great Western Wine; greatwesternwine.co.uk

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ARMOURY

CHOOSE YOUR WEAPONS

ThREE ChANGE

WITH ITS NEW 3 SERIES, AGA GETS MODERN – WHILE RETAINING EVERYTHING WE LOVED ABOUT IT BEFORE. IT’S A NEAT TRICK, SAYS MATT BIELBY I’ve got a 3 Series, and it’s just about perfect: not too big, not too small, good fun, classy but not flashy, holds its value well, and I can squeeze five people into it, at a push.

Eh? What are you, some sort of especially greedy cannibal?

No, a thrusting young executive! Pfff! You’re not young, you’re definitely not thrusting – or if you are, I don’t want to know about it – and you seem to have forgotten that Crumbs is more Jamie Oliver than Jeremy Clarkson. So stop with the car talk, yeah? BMW isn’t the only one makes a 3 Series, you know. AGA’s got one too.

AGA! And I thought my BMW was expensive… Okay, so the famous Swedishborn, British-made range cookers are never exactly cheap, but – like your sporty little

executive saloon – you might just decide that their latest model is pretty good value all the same. The thing with the new 3 Series is that it’s the first ever AGA to offer an induction hob on top, alongside the classic AGA hotplate.

In fact, it’s a more modern sort of AGA all round, coming in lots of different versions and colours, and giving more flexibility than the brand’s more traditional models.

How so? Glad you asked! All 3 Series have a roasting or baking oven, a simmering oven and a warming oven, plus a triple-element hotplate up top, which automatically comes up to temperature when opened – but there are additional options beyond all that. Do you want more built-in storage space? And what about a warming plate – or would you prefer a state-of-the-art two-zone induction hob? This is an AGA you can tailor to your needs.

It sounds very modern! I thought AGAs were about eccentric, old-fashioned cooking…

If, by ‘old-fashioned’, you mean they work using cast-iron radiant heat, then that’s still true – proudly so. Instead of the blast of hot air that regular ovens use, heat comes at your food from every inner surface simultaneously – it’s basically a better (if fairly long-in-thetooth) system. But now you get up-to-date elements like that induction hob, too.

So it’s like Liam Neeson in Taken? Just so.

(As long as we’re only talking about the first one here.) It’s tough, old and handsome, made fresh, exciting and new.

AGA’s 3 Series starts at £7,895 for a threeoven model; cheap, when you think a regular two-oven AGA is £1k more. Check it out at the AGA store in Widcombe, Bath; agaliving.com

THIS MONTH • NEW SERIES • GRILL SEEKER • STYLE STEALING

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The Supper Club

FIRE IN YOUR BELLY

THIS ALFRESCO LUNCH AT THE HOME OF THE WOODHOUSE AND LAW FOUNDERS SHOWED US THAT THERE’S A HEAP OF POTENTIAL SITTING UNDERNEATH BARBECUE COVERS AND TARPS IN GARDENS EVERYWHERE… WORDS BY JESSICA CARTER PHOTOS BY ED SCHOFIELD

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his summer has caught us a bit off-guard, no? The World Cup actually not going badly; monster pollen counts inflicting swollen eyes on sorry-for-themselves hay fever sufferers (I know it wasn’t just me); and, of course, the small matter of several weeks of glorious, uninterrupted sunshine, with temperatures higher than those we’d deem worth boarding a plane to the Med for.

For loads of us, too, it’s been the summer when our ovens got entirely neglected in favour of the barbecue, and dining tables were mainly used for storage, as garden furniture got more action than it has over the last four summers put together.

Eating outside always makes meal times feel a bit special, yet more relaxed too. Maybe it’s because all the dirty dishes are out of sight in the kitchen, or maybe it’s because we’ve got the sun on our faces (and that makes everything seem better, right?). Or perhaps it’s to do with the fact we’re eating in the garden of some bloody good hosts, who keep topping up our glass with well-chilled white...

All the above came into play (with the latter point being especially key) when Nick Woodhouse and John Law threw an alfresco lunch at their Bath home, to both celebrate and make good use of the aforementioned sunshine. Nick and John are the founders of garden and interior design company Woodhouse and Law, with Nick specialising in the alfresco (he trained at the English Gardening School and is an RHS qualified plantsman) and John in interiors (he qualified from the former Ivy House Design School).

They live in a gorgeous Bath townhouse that’s as chic as it is understated – but we weren’t there to snoop around inside this time.

Once we arrived, it was straight out the back and into the garden with us, drink in hand, to make the most of those rays.

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S U P P E R

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T H E

T HE ME NU Garlic king prawns with salsa and crusty bread Cedar plank salmon with lemon and thyme Pea, bean, mint and orange salad with lemon dressing Rump steak with salsa verde Tomato and burrata salad with sourdough croutons Lavender-smoked créme brûlée

The outside space is set out across a couple of levels, with steps leading up to a lawn at the very top. A slate grey and wood table was lined with benches, and sat on herringbone-style paving. It was already dressed when we arrived; tinted wine glasses (which you can acquire from Woodhouse and Law itself ) and vases of flowers (picked fresh that morning and bought from Larkhall Farm) injected punches of colour which echoed that of the blooming garden. Cutlery with ivory-look handles, and thick white linen napkins, balanced the contemporary decs with a classic edge.

Right at the back of the garden, the glass doors of a summerhouse had been thrown open, and an ice-filled tin bucket sat on the table in the shade. In it lounged several bottles of wine procured from Tasting Room on Green Street in Bath, having been chosen to match the menu.

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he food was being taken care of by Richard Holden, freelance chef, tutor, barbecue specialist and friend of John and Nick. He clearly meant business, too: he’d travelled from Lancashire with his Big Green Egg (nope, we’re not at all jealous of it either) to cook on.

The menu was another giveaway that this wasn’t going to be a bapfocused affair; the dishes involved fresh, light summer flavours, with not a sausage in sight.

“I was lucky to spend three years working with a barbecue brand,” Richard explained to us. “I learned how to master outdoor cooking and create dishes with flavours you just can’t achieve indoors.

“For this lunch, I wanted the food to have great visual appeal first and foremost, to tempt the guests, but I knew it also had to be fresh and flavoursome for a hot summer’s day. The side dishes

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needed to be easy to prepare in advance and require little time on the day to finish them off, too.”

Richard had been busy prepping the salads when we arrived, peeling oranges to be tumbled together with peas, beans, fresh mint and lemon dressing, and chopping plump (and moreishly sweet, as we’d later find out) tomatoes, to accompany the truffle-infused burrata, from Bath’s Fine Cheese Company.

As we cracked into the second – or was it the third? – bottle of vino, Richard got the rump steak on the grill – the plan being to let it rest as the salmon fillets roasted on their cedar planks afterwards.

Lastly, he flash fried the prawns in a skillet over the grill. Everything here that needed cooking was cooked on the Egg – yep, including dessert. (Richard is very much of the mind that there’s nothing you can’t cook on a decent barbecue – and he’s made a career out of proving his theory.)

That roast salmon, timed oh-so precisely, was fresh and zesty, and fell onto our plates in thick, soft flakes, while the steak, sliced so you could see the blushing flesh at the centre, was juicy and tender, pimped up with that punchy salsa verde. As for the tomato and burrata salad, we couldn’t scoop it onto our plates fast enough, and the bean and orange salad was a bright and summery mix that renewed everyone’s enthusiasm for the taken-for-granted pea. And those prawns? They went around the table multiple times, with everyone being only too willing to get their hands dirty peeling the shells from the plump meat.

Just as we all began to lean back and exhale, thinking we couldn’t possibly conceive of eating another thing, Richard brought out the desserts that were to prove us wrong. The crème brûlées had been sat over lavender-seasoned wood to impart a delicate smokiness and a subtle suggestion of floral flavour. Finished off with brittle lids of blowtorched sugar, these little guys were a great example of how to take a classic dish and make it new with the barbecue.

Love John and Nick’s style? Visit Woodhouse and Law’s showroom and shop on Bathwick Hill, or check out woodhouseandlaw.co.uk. For barbecue advice and recipes, go to Richard’s website, richardholdenbbq.co.uk

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LEMON AND THYME CEDAR PLANK SALMON SERVES 4-6

500g salmon fillet, skinned 1 lemon, sliced handful fresh thyme sprigs 1 cedar cooking board, soaked for 2 hours 1 Set up the barbecue for a 175C roasting heat, with the lid down and vents open as applicable.

2 Place the salmon on the board, skin side down, and season the top with salt and pepper. Line up the slices of lemon along the top of the salmon with the sprigs of fresh thyme.

3 Open the barbecue and place the planks on the grill in the area of roasting heat. Close the lid and cook for approximately 25 minutes, or until the core temperature of the fish reaches 62C. Remove from the barbecue and serve.

PEA, BEAN ORANGE AND MINT SALAD SERVES 4-6 AS A SIDE

250g frozen peas 250g frozen broad beans handful mint leaves, torn 90g mixed salad leaves 1 orange, peeled and sliced 1 tbsp cold pressed rapeseed oil 1 lemon, juice only 1 Bring a large pan of water to the boil and salt well. Boil the broad beans for 2 minutes then, using a slotted spoon, transfer them to a bowl of cold water. Add the peas to the boiling water and cook for 1 minute, then pour out into a colander and add to the cold water. Put the bowl in the sink and turn on the cold tap slightly until the bean and peas are cold, then drain.

2 Transfer to a large bowl. Dress with the oil and the lemon juice, and lightly tumble through the mint, salad leaves and ½ the orange slices.

Pour out onto a serving bowl or platter and scatter over the remaining orange slices.

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Join us for a Yurt Lush Christmas!

We have two menus available for parties small or large.

Full venue hire for up to 99 available too.

YURTLUSH@EATDRINKBRISTOLFASHION.CO.UK

07582 048 090

EATDRINKBRISTOLFASHION.CO.UK/YURTLUSH

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£23.50 FOR THREE COURSES £18.50 FOR TWO COURSES PRE-BOOKED CRACKERS INCLUDED!

STARTERS

Celeriac soup with toasted hazelnuts & a truffle oil drizzle, with crusty bread (v) Ham hock terrine with toasted malt loaf & spiced apple chutney Warm beetroot & mushroom salad on toasted rye bread (v)

MAIN COURSES Roast turkey with all the festive trimmings Cod with a citrus crust and a warm quinoa, edamame & tarragon salad (gf) Winter greens & coconut Dahl with naan and coconut yogurt raita (v,gf,df) Most mains served with roast potatoes & seasonal vegetables

PUDDINGS

Book your Christmas meal now at

The Catherine Wheel Marshfield, Bath SN14 8LR

Cheese with chutney & savoury biscuits £6.50

01225 892220 roo@thecatherinewheel.co.uk www.thecatherinewheel.co.uk

Available from Friday 30th November to Sunday 30th December (excl 25 & 26 Dec)

v = vegetarian / gf = prepared using no gluten containing ingredients / df = dairy free Other allergy options available – please ask and we will try to accommodate any requests.

CAFE KITCHEN Welcome to our award-winning café - providing young people with special needs a unique opportunity to gain work experience and training.

We are working with the local community and employers to develop work experience opportunities after students have worked in 3 Cafe Kitchen.

Join us for Afternoon Tea

Booking required

Served from 1:30pm - 3:30pm £10 per person - minimum of 2 people £16 per person with Prosecco - minimum of 2 people

Pot of Everyday Clipper Tea • Finger Sandwiches Pate on our Homemade Toast • Raspberry Brownie Mini Cheese Scone with Cream Cheese & Homemade Chutney Mini Plain Scone with Tiptree Strawberry Jam & Clotted Cream Lemon & Seasonal Fruit Cupcake with Lemon Curd Mascarpone Icing Please be aware that all food is prepared in a kitchen where allergens are present, for any allergen enquiries please ask a member of staff. The school and café has a NUT FREE POLICY. Food is locally sourced and seasonal where possible.

Open Monday to Friday 8am–4pm | Saturday 8am–12pm Available for private hire. Please call 01225 830377 or email amelia.hartley@threeways.co.uk Located @ 180 Frome Road, Odd Down, BA2 5RF

Traditional Christmas pudding with brandy sauce Clementine & almond cake with cream & clementine syrup (gf) Pear poached in red wine with toasted pistachios (gf,df)

K I T C H E N

A R M O U R Y

The Want nt List

2

SHH, DON’T TELL JOHN AND NICK, BUT WE’VE BEEN SCOURING LOCAL STORES TO COPY THEIR DINNER PARTY STYLE...

1

1. Ivory Cutlery Set (set of 24) £98 Its contemporary take on vintage style means that this cutlery set – made from stainless steel and resin – will never go out of fashion. Buy it from Oka in Bath. oka.com

3

2. White Linen Napkins (set of four) £30 We’re well keen on the mini-pompom trim on these linen napkins, and thanks to their classic look they’ll go with all kinds of table décor. Find them at Graham and Green in Bath. grahamandgreen.co.uk 3. Skagerak Nordic Serving Plate £59 The simple and understated design of this plate will make colourful salads pop – so pile ’em high. Find it at Salcombe Trading in Bath. salcombetrading.co.uk 4. Mango Wood Baguette Board £24.50 Made sustainably from the wood of discarded fruit trees, this wooden board is great for serving bread or nibbles. Get it online from South West store Decorator’s Notebook. decoratorsnotebook.co.uk

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5. Library Glasses (set of six) £105 Featuring etched patterns and coloured tints, these wine glasses are elegantly quirky and undeniably distinctive. Pick up the whole set from Woodhouse and Law in Bath. woodhouseandlaw.co.uk

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YOUR HOME, YOUR TABLE, YOUR EVENING.

Home supper clubs | Pop ups Special occasions | Corporate Lunch meetings Hearth can produce a menu that can be brought right to you.

WE ARE OFFERING

25% OFF FOR FIRST TIME CUSTOMERS THIS AUTUMN Bookings must be placed before 30th September 2018.

Valid for dates in September and October 2018.

For more info and to book with us, find us at our website.

07845164846 / sales@hearthdining.com www.hearthdining.com

fax

hearthdining

Original British twist on tapas, wonderful Sunday roasts and as silly as it sounds Christmas is coming and the goose is getting fat so enquire now and get your booking confirmed.

Brace & Browns. 43 Whiteladies Road, Bristol BS8 2LS T: 0117 9737800 • E: info@braceandbrowns.co.uk • Twitter: @braceandbrowns

The

Imagined in the 19th Century, Established in the 21st

Riverstation sits majestically on the harbourside as it has done for the last 20 years. Our iconic building boasts one of the best sunshine locations in Bristol and offers al fresco dining in abundance.

SATURDAY 29TH SEPTEMBER WE ARE CELEBRATING OUR 1ST ANNIVERSARY

You can dock on the pontoon from the ferry and enjoy the whole day in this wonderful setting.

with live music by The Sean Gaffney Band and the launch of our new menu!

The newly refitted restaurant offers fantastic views across the water and delivers monthly rotating seasonal menus. Balcony seating also allows you to leisurely watch life go by.

The up-beat ground floor hosts a large sunshine terrace so you can while away a night with cocktails, or enjoy a bottle from our extensive wine selection.

We proudly support local Bristol breweries, as well as offering our flagship Young’s ales on tap.

Be sure not to miss out on our great events hosted in proper Bristol fashion. Follow our social networks for updates.

We are now taking bookings for Christmas, please head over to www.riverstation.co.uk for further information or contact us at riverstation@youngs.co.uk

Bookings available now.

Quote “Crumbs” when booking to receive a complimentary glass of Taittinger Brut Champagne.

16 St Stephens Street Bristol BS1 1JR 01179276869 theclockworkrose.com thecaptain@theclockworkrose.com

The Grove, Bristol BS1 4RB; 0117 914 4434 riverstation@youngs.co.uk www.riverstation.co.uk

f riverstation.bs1 a riverstation_ x riverstation.bristol

Welcome to The Arts House Cafe, a versatile space serving contemporary food and drink menus in the heart of the bustling Stokes Croft.

We take pride in our carefully crafted, locally sourced menu as well as provide an extensive range of teas, single source coffees, cakes and alcohol.

We support local artists, offering a platform for them to showcase their work, and our event space hosts a weekly cinema club, open mic night and underground comedy every fortnight.

UNDER NEW OWNERSHIP 108 Stokes Croft, Bristol, BS1 3RU 0117 923 2858 | info@theartshousecafe.co.uk theartshousecafe.co.uk

We are a friendly, family owned inn offering hearty home cooked food, in a small country village setting.

Whether you are local or travelling from further afield, you are guaranteed a warm welcome.

PUB • RESTAURANT • FUNCTION ROOM • ACCOMMODATION

CHRISTMAS MENU NOW AVAILABLE

INTHEBOWL RAMEN JOINT More than just your average ramen bar...

OPENING TIMES MON - THURS: 12pm - 3PM / 5:30PM - 10:30pm fri - sat: 12pm - 10:30pm SUNday: CLOSED

0117 329 3460

inthebowl.co.uk Tunley Road, Tunley BA2 0EB

01761 470408

Email: info@kingwilliaminn.co.uk Join us on Facebook and Twitter @kingwilliam84

www.kingwilliaminn.co.uk

48-52 Baldwin Street Bristol, BS1 1QB inthebowl.ramenjoint@gmail.com a ramenjoint

MAINs TOP CULINARY CAUSES, INSIDER KNOWLEDGE AND FOOD PIONEERs HIGHLIGHTS

GIN CITY

WE INVESTIGATE THE G&T ON OUR MISSION TO FIND THE PERFECT SERVE PAGE 71

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How do you like your G&T? Wait: don’t answer before you’ve read on...

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GI N PEaKS

THE SKINNY JEANS OF THE DRINK WORLD, GIN HAS BEEN IN FASHION FOR AS LONG AS WE CAN REMEMBER NOW THROUGH THE FOG OF OUR HANGOVERS, AND – STOP THE PRESS! – IT’S GOING NOWHERE. BUT WE ALL KNEW THAT. WHICH IS WHY WE’VE DECIDED TO TAKE A CLOSER LOOK AT THE G&T, AND ASK THE PROS HOW WE CAN BUILD THE PERFECT VERSION, IN THREE (PRETTY) EASY STEPS...

Wo r d s by J E S S I C A C A R T E R

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Some of our tried and tested South West favourites...

STEP 1: THE GIN

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6 O’clock Gin Brunel Edition, £43/70cl (Bristol) This special edition spirit is one for the gin buffs; its complex blend of botanicals, smooth texture and pokey ABV of 50% sees it pack a confident punch. The export strength London dry sip is made with warming spices like green cardamom, nutmeg, cumin and cubeb, as well as lemon and cassia bark, making it an ideal gin for the impending autumn, when cockles will need a-warmin’.

Fever Tree’s Fergus Franks recommends giving two different tonics a go with this, to see which you prefer. “Our aromatic tonic perfectly supports the heavy juniper notes in a navy strength gin, or with the ginger ale would work well with an orange twist to garnish.”

Find it at Corks of Cotham and Grape and Grind, among others local independents.

ritain does lots of things well. Inventing sports that everyone else can do better than us. Moaning about the weather. Apologising to inanimate objects. And making gin. We make some belting gin.

The rest of the world, it seems, agrees that we knock out pretty great versions of the juniper-heavy spirit too – and we have the stats to prove it. The Wine and Spirit Trade Association recently revealed that our gin exports totalled £279 million in the first half of this year alone (up 19%), meaning it’s doubled over the last decade. Domestic sales of UK gin rose 28% in volume last financial year an’ all, meaning that we clearly love our native Mother’s Ruin as much as the next country. (But that’s hardly news to us, right?)

You could call it The Gin Craze Part II – only with less detriment to our collective morality and a far lighter burden on society than was reported during the first round back in the early 18th century. And, I don’t mean to be smug or anything, but we’re drinking way better gin than they glugged back then.

Chris Scullion, co-founder of Bath booze shop Independent Spirit, has been on the front line – as it were – of this 21st-century Gin Craze. He’s watched the spirit carve out a pretty sizeable market for itself, with new styles emerging and consumers becoming more discerning.

“When it comes to styles of gin, far and away the most recognised, and currently our most asked for, is London dry,” he says. “This style (which doesn’t have to be made in London, in case you wondered), is basically a spirit that’s distilled with juniper and contains no added colours and a maximum of 0.1 grammes of sugar per litre. Hence why we use the word ‘dry’ in the title.

“Old Tom gin, meanwhile, is making a resurgence. Sweeter than a London dry but drier than, say, a genever, it was named after the images of black cats used to mark the illicit gin dens where you could get your tipple when it was banned.

Nowadays, this sweetness comes from the addition of sweeter botanicals rather than lots of sugar.”

Crumbs development editor Matt says: “This is a gin for short winter nights, when you’re tucked up somewhere cosy – in front of a fire at home, or in the most taxidermy-packed corner of your local prohibition bar – and want something with a masculine edge that’ll leave an afterglow.”

Bristol Dry Gin, £26/70cl (Bristol) Produced in the cellars of the historic Rummer Hotel in the Old City, this is a light and easy-drinking gin.

Pop the top, give it a whiff and you may well soon be thinking of old school confectionery shops, with the smell carrying a subtle suggestion of sweetness and aniseed – which we can probably attribute to the all spice and cassia bark.

Fresh lemon peel, lime leaf, elderflower, coriander seeds and (obvs) juniper join the botanical party here, although they whisper graciously – as opposed to yell – at your tastebuds.

This is a great one for gin novices, and will ease you into the world of juniper-infused spirits nicely. Pair it with Fever Tree’s classic Indian tonic water with a lemon twist to garnish, as per Fergus’ suggestion. Find it online at Farm Drop or at Harvey Nichols.

Conker Spirit Dorset Dry Gin, £36/70cl (Dorset) This is Conker Spirit’s version of a London dry, and it makes great use of all the ingredients that are bountiful in the countryside surrounding the Bournemouth distillery. Elderberries, marsh samphire and gorse flowers infuse the liquid,

Crumbs editor Jess says: “This is a fresh, sprightly gin that’ll put the icing on the cake of a summer’s day. It’s one to make sure you have in for barbecues, and look out for on the back bar when you want an after work drink in the sun.

Its fresh, bright flavours make me think of summer afternoons, lazing in the garden.”

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M A I N S

which is distilled from English wheat and let down (no, we don’t mean disappointed by; that’s distilling terms for diluted) with New Forest spring water to achieve an ABV of 40%, and a wonderfully balanced, fresh and zesty flavour.

“Pair this with our Mediterranean tonic water – which will complement the herbaceous notes – and a lime twist garnish,” recommends Fergus. Find it at independent Spirit of Bath and Harvey Nichols in Bristol.

Cotswold Distillery Cotswolds Dry Gin, £34.95/70cl (Warwickshire) Complex but accessible, this distinctive gin shows a well-balanced and carefully judged blend of botanicals. Solid juniper notes were always the intention of the makers, who were also keen to give it a unique edge – not only to make it stand out, but also to link it to the Cotswold countryside where it’s made. They found their defining botanical thanks to a nearby lavender farm; with a careful lightness of touch, they added a bit of a floral kick and loved the result. (As do we.)

Grapefruits and limes are all peeled by hand before that skin goes into the still fresh, their natural oils playing an important part in the resulting flavour and mouthfeel.

Fergus recommends pairing this with Fever Tree’s light tonic water, with a slice of pink grapefruit garnish. Find it at Independent Spirit of Bath, Corks of Cotham, and Grape and Grind.

Crumbs web editor Dan says, “This would make a great present (take note, friends).

Bursting with botanicals it gives off spicy, peppery notes for me. It might clock in at 46% ABV, but it’s balanced so nicely you can barely tell.

Deliciously dangerous.”

Psychopomp Woden Gin, £36/70cl (Bristol) Psychopomp’s signature gin, Woden, is a classic London dry style, still made to the same recipe that the founders developed at home, when distilling was but a hobby. It’s distilled in small batches from British wheat, and flavoured with juniper, coriander, angelica, cassia, fresh pink grapefruit zest and fennel seed.

We’ve tried this all sorts of ways (it makes a mean Negroni), but if you’re after a classic G&T then Psychopomp’s own Danny Walker suggests serving it with Fever Tree’s Indian tonic water and a slice of red grapefruit. Find it at Weber and Trings in Bristol, The Tasting Room in Bath, and Brockley Stores.

Salcombe Distilling Co Salcombe Gin Start Point, £40/70cl (Devon) This gin gets its name from the Start Point lighthouse, which was used by the 19th-century Salcombe Fruit Schooners that carried fruits and spices to shore. Those exotic botanicals also inspire the flavour of this classy gin; London dry in

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style, it’s zingy with citrus (fresh peels of grapefruit, lemon and lime are used), while also hinting of earthiness and warmth, courtesy of angelica root, cinnamon and coriander seed. See if you can notice the gentle floral character too – we’ve chamomile to thank for those.

“Pair this with our aromatic tonic,” says Fergus, “which enhances the citric and floral notes with a subtle peppery finish, and garnish with red grapefruit.”

Find it at The Tasting Room and Independent Spirit, both in Bath.

Wicked Wolf Exmoor Gin £35/70cl (Devon) There are 11 botanicals at work in this North Devon-made spirit, created by husband and wife team, Pat Patel and Julie Heap.

You’ll likely notice citrusy notes first off, along with some warming suggestions of pepper. The juniper makes sure it has its voice heard too, though, keeping a firm presence in the flavour profile of this grown-up, classic-style gin, made in a copper alembic still in 35-litre batches.

Hibiscus and kaffir lime leaves also get in on the action here; each botanical, in fact, is infused separately, with the 11 resulting spirits being blended to give a carefully balanced and consistent result.

These guys recommend serving their sip over a sprig of thyme to bring out all the flavours, along with a wedge of lime and plenty o’ ice.

Darmoor Distillery Black Dog Gin, £40/70cl (Devon) Black Dog Gin is all about making the best of Dartmoor’s native ingredients.

That said, juniper berries take centre stage in terms of flavour, and get great quality support from dried orange and lemon peel. Open the bottle and fill your nose with the spirit’s scent, and you’re likely to pick out that orange flavour first. Such fruity, juicy character could easily kid us into thinking that the ABV here is far lower than its actual 46%.

The makers suggest trying this number with Fever Tree’s Mediterranean tonic water, the herby notes doing great things for the orangey edge, or the Elderflower number, for a classic match of this floral ingredient with citrus. Find it at Independent Spirit of Bath.

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M A I N S

“Another big trend we’ve seen this year has been gin liqueurs. They’ve been around for a very long time – we all have a relative, no doubt, who gifts us bottles of their damson or sloe gin that could take the paint off a 1992 Honda Civic, for instance. Thankfully, the distillers of today have applied their skills and creativity to play with these. The Pink Grapefruit and Lemongrass Gin Liqueur from Pickerings in Edinburgh has blown us away; its serving suggestion is with prosecco, creating one of the best faux Aperol Spiritzs you’ll ever have. And Chase Distillery’s Oak Aged Sloe and Mulberry Gin is the best of both worlds, and we prefer it just with some ice.

“When it comes to gin, the local aspect is a big draw for us in the South West, which has, in our opinion, some of the best craft gin distilleries in the UK presently.

With this level of continued creativity, not only will gin continue to grow as a category, but the South West will be setting the trends for it.”

Fergus Franks, tonic expert extraordinaire from Fever Tree

FERGUS FRANKS KNOWS HIS TONIC...

In the spirit (ahem) of starting at the very beginning, what actually is tonic water?

A carbonated drink infused with quinine, along with other botanicals and sugar.

And quinine is...?

A compound found in the bark of the cinchona tree. It’s the key ingredient and adds the essential bitterness in tonic water. And it has anti-malarial properties.

So it was originally a medicine?

Yes, a Jesuit monk called Agostino discovered that native Indians who chewed cinchona bark when they had a fever would see it subside. So he wondered whether it could do the same with malaria, and it worked! The medicine was sent all over Europe, including London, to help attack the epidemic.

One particular use was as a daily ration of quinine for British soldiers stationed in India, who added a spoonful of sugar to ‛help the medicine go down’, along with some local spices and citrus. This was the first ever ‘Indian’ tonic water.

What are the signs are of a good-quality tonic water, then?

It should have the best naturally sourced ingredients, and the highest quality of quinine possible. Its botanicals should be well balanced to complement a specific flavour category of spirit but, importantly, its flavour should be subtle, so as not to overpower the flavour of the spirit. The carbonation is extremely important too, and should be soft and refined with small bubbles, much like Champagne. This delivers the best mouthfeel and helps enhance the complex flavour of the spirit it’s paired with.

And you can get different flavoured tonics too, right?

Yes – they’ve become really popular in recent years, particularly as the gin category has grown and diversified so much. So now there’ll always be a flavour profile of gin and tonic to suit any preference and taste, whether it’s a floral gin paired with an elderflower tonic, or a juniper-heavy gin with our aromatic tonic.

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STEP 2: THE TONIC

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f course, our favourite way to enjoy gin is with tonic, and as the spectrum of gin continues to broaden, so do our mixer horizons, as Chris notes.

“We have seen the gin scene explode in the UK; new botanicals, twists on classic serves and contemporary gin liqueurs are commonplace. (This is a very long way from the early 17th century, when its main use was as a medicinal elixir.) One of the most interesting consequences of this is that not only are consumers more likely to experiment with new innovative gins and gin styles, but they are now starting to call for premium tonic waters as well, allowing for a far superior take on the gin and tonic.”

The tonic industry has willingly obliged, and there is now a host of mixers on the market to make sure we do those top-notch gins justice.

M A I N S

Thing is, of all the cocktails out there, the G&T has to be one of the hardest to properly mess up – so is it really worth being so pedantic, or should we leave all this faff to the hardcore drink boffins?

Well, if you’ve ever had a properly spoton G&T then you’ll know the answer – it’s worth every effort you can muster.

And, just as we always bang on about when we talk food, the quality of ingredients we choose are key. Luckily, as with grub, there is plenty of top-notch stuff being made here in the South West.

We don’t just mean the hard stuff, either; Fever Tree tonic water just so happens to be bottled in Shepton Mallet in Somerset too, don’t cha know. This tonic biz is one of the most popular around – and takes its quinine seriously.

Its the only tonic producer to source its quinine from a specific tree plantation on the Rwanda and Congo border, which has been found to be producing the purest in the world. Fancy, right?

STEP 3: THE SERVE

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ling some gin in a glass with a bit of tonic and sure, you’ve got yourself a G&T. But – I’ll stick my neck out here – it’s not going to be the best G&T you’ve ever had.

If you’ve gone to all that trouble to find a great local gin, and pair it with a tonic that’s a better match than Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds, then treat them with some gosh darn respect, won’t you? To that end, we spoke to drinks expert and author of Aperitif, Kate Hawkings, to find out how she likes hers served. Here’s what the pro had to say on the matter...

I’m a traditionalist. The G&T for me is a classic cocktail (and classics are classics for good reason), so I prefer a tall, slim glass or a nice tumbler over the more modish goldfish bowls, made popular by the Spanish. Those may work for G&Ts in Spain because their measures are much more generous than ours; over here, even

a 50ml double shot of gin will almost always be drowned out by too much ice and tonic. Also, the ice melts more quickly in bowls than straight-sided glasses.

There are few things sadder than a G&T with not enough ice. The ice should make the drink come alive, keeping it cool till the very last drop without melting too much and diluting the whole thing.

Large, hard cubes are what you want – the larger and more solid the ice cube, the slower it will melt – so don’t bother with those ice trays found in the top of the freezer. Some people like a big single block or globe that sits snugly in the glass, but they’re generally too big to fit in a tall glass and, anyway, don’t make as much of a pleasing noise as do several cubes clinking together. I tend to buy large

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cubes in bags from the supermarket – it’s a bit extravagant, but really does make all the difference.

If you’re going to do something, you might as well do it properly and not mess around with small measures. For me, the perfect gin and tonic is around 50ml gin (Beefeater is my desert island gin, though I also like Berry Bros & Rudd No. 3) with a 150ml can of Schweppes tonic water, garnished with a slice of lemon. I’d far rather have one of those than two drinks made with 25ml gin.

Garnishes should enhance

the flavour of the gin, not drown it out. Lemon or lime is always good, or sometimes a strip of cucumber.

Herbaceous gins can be nice with a small sprig of rosemary or thyme.

Breakfast, lunch and supper

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A RIGHT CRACKER

CONSIDER THE C-BOMB WELL AND TRULY DROPPED; IF YOU WANT TO TUCK INTO DECENT GRUB AT YOUR CHRISTMAS GET-TOGETHER, OFFICE PARTY OR ANNUAL REUNION, THEN MAKE HASTE AND GET IT BOOKED BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE. NO ONE LIKES HEARING THERE’S NO ROOM AT THE INN…

Bowood House has some festive Christmas party nights up its sleeve...

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C H R I S T M A S

P A R T I E S

From chilled out Bocabar to the fancy Bristol Harbour Hotel and historic Bristol Old Vic theatre, there are all kinds of venues putting on parties this Yuletide

BATH RACECOURSE (Bath)

Start your evening with a goblet of mulled wine at one of the magical Narnia-themed party nights that the racecourse has planned. Then, three courses of traditional festive fare will be heading your way (think curried parsnip soup, sage and oniontopped turkey, and Black Forest Pavlova) followed by drinking, dancing and general merriment as the DJs soundtrack your night. There’s a midnight feast, too: bacon baps and falafel burgers will be waiting at 12 o’clock for those who have lasted the distance. These shared party nights start at £46, but private parties are also available.

bath-racecourse.co.uk

BOCABAR (Bristol) This cool, industrial bar and restaurant at Paintworks gets pretty buzzy at Yuletide, with up to 300 partygoers on any one evening enjoying drinks and dancing (there are DJs on Friday and Saturday nights), after polishing off their meals. There’s a Christmas lunch menu on offer during the day (from £19), with a choice of turkey, hazelnut and lemon balm-crusted hake, or ’shroom and cranberry nut roast for mains, and the dinnertime menu (from £24) expands on that offering with the likes of beetroot and goat’s cheese Wellington and feather blade of beef. For large groups there’s a buffet option too, but either way, cracker-pulling, mingling and general merriment is obligatory. bocabar.co.uk

BOWOOD HOUSE (Calne) This centuries-old estate, with its 100-acres of greenery, has been in the same family

since 1754. It’s far from old fashioned when it comes to festivities, though; the team here are encouraging revellers to really let their hair down with their Christmas party nights (which are £43 a head). A three-course dinner (including dishes like roast turkey parcel filled with sage and onion stuffing, and butternut squash, sage and toasted hazelnut risotto) with wine will be followed by music and dancing – so don’t expect to be home at a sociable hour, ’kay? bowood.org

BRISTOL HARBOUR HOTEL (Bristol, duh)

This bank-turned-fancy-hotel is smack bang in the centre of the city, making it a popular destination for work parties and other festive get-togethers. If you’re after something informal, take a look at the canapé menu (from £20), which is available to tuck into over drinks in the elegant Gold Bar. Meanwhile, the Sansovino Hall is available for private hire as well as shared party nights; go for the three-course dinner menu (from £55) and you’ll get wine, a DJ and festive novelties to enjoy alongside dishes such as beef bourguignon and wild mushroom and barley pithivier. harbourhotels.co.uk

BRISTOL OLD VIC (Bristol)

Talk about a great venue: this nationally famous, historical theatre has just had a two-year, multi-million pound redesign.

It’s being finished off right now, but will be ready and raring to go by December.

Now working with top-drawer catering biz Fosters, BOV’s feasts will be held in its Georgian banqueting hall, complete with

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crystal chandeliers, church candles and floral installations. The menu (from £39.95 for three courses, plus a welcome drink) includes contemporary takes on festive classics, like chicken, apricot and tarragon terrine; roast turkey and pancetta parcel with fondant potato; spiced chickpea, lentil and coriander hash; and Christmas pudding sherry trifle. Yes please. bristololdvic.org.uk

BRISTOL SPIRIT (Bristol)

This cosy bar and kitchen on Whitehall Road is spot on for festive gatherings of families and friends. The set menu is £25 and has a range of dishes to please meat eaters and veggies. After a glass of Bristol Bubbles, tuck into a warming walnut and feta salad to start. Then, bring on the beef in red wine gravy with Yorkshire puds and all the trimmings. (Y’know, just a suggestion.)

Alternatively, get your festive tipples on point at a spirit workshop (£40) run by co-founder Sam Espensen herself. You’ll get a booze-filled kilner jar to take home too – although we have a feeling it might get you on the naughty list.

espensenspirit.com

THE CATHERINE WHEEL

(Marshfield) This rural village inn, with its handsome 17th-century façade and leaded sash windows, is another good shout for smaller groups, as it’s focusing its offerings on gettogethers of 30 people or fewer. There are plenty of options on the Christmas menu too, which is £23.50 for three courses or £18.50 for two. Start with the home-smoked halibut Carpaccio, perhaps, followed

C H R I S T M A S

P A R T I E S

Butcombe pubs, Bath’s Circo and Bristol’s Cowshed are all offering parties with unique settings and different atmospheres; which do you fancy?

by venison, slow-cooked in Guinness with fresh horseradish dumplings, and then finish up with clementine and almond cake with cream and clementine syrup. thecatherinewheel.co.uk

THE CHEQUERS (Bath) This well-established Bath dining pub is well known for its high quality seasonal food – and Christmastime offers no exceptions. Gnocchi with roscoff onion, purple sprouting broccoli, feta and sauce soubise, and pollock with leek, celery, clam and a Noilly Prat velouté, join turkey and venison among the mains on the festive set menu. Speaking of which, it includes threecourses, amuse bouche and predessert, and will set you back by a really very reasonable £32. If there’s a few of you, you can book the upstairs dining room or hire the whole gaff. thechequersbath.com

THE CHRISTMAS STEPS

(Bristol) The clue really is in the name here when it comes to how festive this centuries-old pub will be getting in a couple of months.

December usually sees it filled with a rather hefty tree and paper-crown-wearing punters, who tuck into the likes of rolled ham hock with pea custard and pistachio crumb; chicory, pear and Stilton salad; alebrined, oyster-glazed beef brisket; apricot and sausage stuffed turkey breast; and lentil mushroom and chestnut Wellington. Two courses of that hearty fare will set you back £26, while three will come to £30 – and there’s a good wine list and plenty of wellkept beers to toast St Nick with, too. christmassteps.wpengine.com

CIRCO (Bath) If liquid refreshments are your focus for this year’s festive shindig, book yourself a special Christmas cocktail masterclass with the mixology pros here (from £25). Or, if you’re after some proper sustenance, go for the festive buffet menu (£24), which includes roast lamb goulash and butternut orzo with dolcelatte and pumpkin seeds, among a range of other dishes. There are private hire options for groups ranging from 30 strong to 250, and two-for-a-tenner cocktail deals run every day – so check the times of those. circobar.co.uk

COWSHED

(Bristol) Once a cinema, Cowshed on Whiteladies Road is now a stylish restaurant – and a Bristol stalwart, having been around since ’09. It specialises in (you guessed it) beef; so serious are the team about their meat that they opened their own butchers next door in 2011. Christmas here brings with it a special three-course menu for £34.95, packed with thoughtful dishes – some classic, some more novel, and all featuring great quality meat, obvs. Expect to choose from braised beef bourguignon with confit garlic mash, game pie with sour red cabbage, mushroom Wellington with truffle cream sauce, and baked salmon en croute, as well as the obligatory turk.

cowshedrestaurants.com

THE GLOUCESTER OLD SPOT (Bristol)

There will be plenty of festive cheer at this foodie family pub, which will be serving its Christmas menu from 1 December right up until 24 (make sure you prebook,

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mind). Lots of gluten-free, vegan and veggie options here, such as starters of roast celeriac soup with toasted chestnuts and truffle oil, and pea and courgette fritters with spiced beetroot, mint and chickpea purée, and mains like beetroot and caramelised red onion tart tatin. For meat eaters, the ale-braised beef short rib, baked sea bass with sauce antiboise, or baconwrapped turkey with vegetable terrine might be the way to go. theoldspotbristol.co.uk

HARE AND HOUNDS (Bath) Love a traditional turkey? You got it – with apricot stuffing and caramelised sprouts to boot. It’s all part of the £29 four-course Xmas menu at this gorgeously rustic Bath gastropub. If you like to go a bit more offpiste, though, maybe choose the Brixham hake with crab bisque and roasted fennel.

These guys know how to throw a party – they have a private dining room especially for such occasions, and can even seat 100 with exclusive hire. With those unmatched views over rolling countryside and the obligatory roaring fires, this place will surely give you the festive feels. hareandhoundsbath.com

KING WILLIAM (Bath) Serving comforting home-cooked food with plenty of skill but zero pretention, this Bath pub is already getting pretty booked up with gatherings this Noel. The special set menu will be running between 23 November and 22 December, listing starters like duck liver and orange pâté with red onion chutney, and mains along the lines of salmon with tomato and spinach compote, stuffed

C H R I S T M A S

P A R T I E S

The Hare and Hounds, The Locksbrook Inn and The Marlborough Tavern are all raring to go this party season

butternut squash, rib of beef with red wine sauce, and, of course, the traditional poultry.

All that is available in gluten-free versions, with the kitchen more than happy to adapt their dishes to suit dietary requirements. kingwilliaminn.co.uk

All that will set you back just 30 quid, which ain’t half bad, is it? marlborough-tavern.com

THE MOUNT SOMERSET HOTEL (Somerset)

just outside Bath, among the lush greenery of the Neston Park estate, so promises a good bit o’ countryside scenery over topdrawer food. nestonfarmshop.co.uk

(Bath) A two-course affair at this canal-side pub will cost you £23, but for an extra fiver you can have all three (plus amuse bouche, might we add). Perhaps kick off with the goat’s cheese and honey mousse with roasted figs and walnut, before getting busy with the treacle-glazed beef shin with horseradish mash. Then, to finish, go traditional with the Christmas pud and brandy crème anglaise. This whole site had a total redesign when it was taken over a couple of years ago, and now has a dining room for hire that holds up to 40 – great if you want your bash to be a private one.

Set in four acres of grounds in Taunton, this luxurious Regency country house boasts some pretty cracking Somerset views, and will be decorated top-to-toe in the finest festive décor for the Christmas season.

Party nights (from £39.50) run throughout December and include a complimentary glass of fizz (well why not, it’s Christmas after all) alongside a three-course meal.

Your gang can join in with one of the prearranged events, or if there are more than 50 of you the team can organise an exclusive one. Otherwise, there’s a special set menu for December in the restaurant, including winter game terrine, baked Cornish hake, and roast aubergine cannelloni, as well as crackers and mulled wine for £39.

THE OSTRICH (Bristol) Fancy a little festive lunchin’ overlooking the River Avon in a friendly, local boozer?

Yep, us too. The Ostrich maybe a popular spot to head in the summer, thanks to its waterside location and large outdoor area, but it’s going to be busy this winter too, we bet, ’cause of the hearty pub grub and no-nonsense libations on the Christmas menu, starting at £19.50. You might want to kick off your feast with the Stilton and chestnut mushroom tart, follow up with a roasted ballotine of turkey with all the trimmings, and finish with a Butcombe ale Christmas pud. You could even nab a coffee and mince pie truffle for an extra £2. Sounds like a bargain to us.

thelocksbrookinn.com

themountsomersethotelandspa.com

butcombe.com

THE MARLBOROUGH TAVERN (Bath)

NESTON FARM SHOP AND KITCHEN (Melksham)

THE PELICAN INN (Bristol) This well-established pub is a favourite among locals. The Pelly (as aforementioned locals call it) is situated in the Chew Magna countryside, and inside there are log fires, wooden floors and fairy lights galore. All you need is some snow to complete a festive scene which could rival that inThe Holiday (we can’t promise Jude Law will be there, mind). Seabass with a mussel, pea and saffron risotto; gnocchi with gorgonzola and pear; and braised beef brisket are just some of the less traditional mains on offer – but that T-bird does make an appearance, too.

The menu starts at £24.50 for two

THE LOCKSBROOK INN

Just around the corner from Bath’s famous Royal Crescent, this cosy gastropub will be serving up some restaurant-quality menus over Yuletide. We’re talking amuse bouche followed by something along the lines of beetroot cured salmon with charred cucumber to start. Mains promise turkey with chestnut, apricot and sage stuffing and cranberry gravy, and roast squash and black cabbage Wellington with creamed mustard leeks and black truffle – and you’ll be able to finish up with desserts such as poached pear with blackberry sorbet and hazelnut brittle.

There are some pretty novel offerings on the go at Neston for the festive season, with the specially curated menu listing dishes like turkey porchetta – smoked on the Big Green Egg – and lemon sole and crab paupiette with celeriac, apple and hazelnuts. We’re also pretty into the idea of the prosecco and clementine trifle with pistachio. The menu is £17.50 for two courses or £23.50 for three at lunch, but if you wanted to hire out the whole venue it can also be served as a nice formal dinner, or more chilled buffet. This rustic venue is set

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Indian Dining Nestled in 36 acres of beautiful West Country parkland, Ston Easton Park is unique; the hotel is adorned with original antique furniture, sumptuous fabrics and glistening chandeliers, yet the warm welcome and homely atmosphere prevails, creating an idyllic home-away-from-home.

Arguably Bath and Bristol’s best and most modern Indian restaurants with great cocktails and refined and flavoursome cooking.

ENJOY AN ALFRESCO AFTERNOON TEA

Our tempting Sunday Brunch is now served at our Bath site.

Why not take a seat on our sunny terrace, where you can tuck into an array of sweet and savoury treats, served on beautiful tiered cakes stands.

Alternatively you can enjoy afternoon tea inside in our stunning drawing rooms. Champagne afternoon teas and lighter cream teas are also available.

Served from 12 noon | Early booking advised | Gift vouchers available

Piper Heidsieck Rooftop Champagne Bar Now Open at Our Bath Restaurant

SPECIAL OFFER

Complimentary glass of Prosecco to all joining us for Afternoon Tea. QUOTE SCMB01 (Offer valid until 31/09/18) Ston Easton, Nr Bath, Somerset BA3 4DF To book, call 01761 241631 or email reception@stoneaston.co.uk

www.stoneaston.co.uk

12-16 Clifton Road, Clifton, Bristol BS8 1AF Tel: 01173 291300 Longmead Gospel Hall, Lower Bristol Road, Bath BA2 3EB Tel: 01225 446656 Email: info@themintroom.co.uk www.themintroom.co.uk

fa

Celebrate with us

Christmas this

Call 01225 742413 to book your party MODERN WITH A CONTEMPORARY TWIST | 33 High St, Colerne, Chippenham SN14 8DD

|

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C H R I S T M A S

P A R T I E S

Pieminister has some great pastry treats on the go; The Queensberry is offering luxurious tasting menus; and Sign of The Angel promises refined classics

courses and there’s a top range of Butcombe beers to keep the festive cheer a flowin’. butcombe.com

PIEMINISTER (Bristol) This piemaker has not let us down with its festive-themed pastry specials this year.

Choose from a selection that includes the Deep and Crisp and Vegan (with a creamy filling of celeriac, smoked garlic and sherry), and The Cracker (packed with turkey, ham and cranberries). Just 18 of your English pounds will get you a starter, pie, two sides and a dessert (festive sundae or sticky toffee pud, anyone?) from the Crimbo menu, and there’s no minimum number of guests, making this a great option for smaller gettogethers. If there is a bigger crowd, though, these guys can cater for all kinds of outside events, so hit them up to find out more. pieminister.co.uk

THE QUEENSBERRY (Bath) Want to crank up the class a notch or two for this year’s festive do? Locally renowned, award-winning chef Chris Cleghorn has put together some pretty luxurious party menus at this central Bath hotel and restaurant.

Think seasonal three-course dinners for £52 or full-on tasting menus starting at £68, featuring the likes of Orkney scallop with mushroom ketchup, pappardelle with black truffle and 36-month-aged parmesan, and duck with beetroot, kale, hazelnut and blood orange. There are vegetarian and vegan menus as well, and if you want to visit for lunch you can get three courses for just £30.

Private dining options and restaurant hire are available too. queensberry.com

RIVERSTATION (Bristol) This longstanding Bristol staple is known for its great views of the river, which it backs right onto. The team can take bookings for groups ranging in size from six to 120, and are offering casual dos with party boards to share in the relaxed Pontoon Bar, as well as a more formal menu (£31) in the restaurant.

The latter has a generous number of options for each course (handy for mixed groups with different tastes, then). Spiced crab tartlet and game terrine are followed with dishes such as rolled pork belly with spiced pear, leek and feta filo parcel, and ballotine of turkey with creamed polenta. riverstation.co.uk

THE ROMAN BATHS AND THE PUMP ROOM (Bath)

These adjoining venues are hosting four big party nights over Christmas, which will see groups of friends and colleagues get properly suited and booted, and ready and raring to step into Christmas. The nights will kick off by way of a drinks reception with a backdrop of the Roman Baths before everyone takes their seat for dinner. The three-course menu features Cheddar, fig and sage tart, mustard glazed feather blade of beef, and chocolate torte – among other delicious-sounding options. These nights start from around £50, and include entertainment from bands and DJs. romanbathssearcys.co.uk

THE ROYAL CRESCENT HOTEL AND SPA (Bath)

There are plenty of private dining rooms for classy Christmas get-togethers at this iconic hotel, facing out onto the famous

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Royal Victoria Park. The Sir Percy Suite has views over to the hotel’s preened lawn, while the more intimate Library is great for smaller groups, and the Sheridan Room has its own separate courtyard and entrance.

It’s not just Christmas lunches (from £40) and dinners (from £65) you can have here, either: afternoon teas (from £37.50) are also an option, as are the festive dining packages (from £95), which include a welcome drink, canapés and other treats. royalcrescent.co.uk

SIGN OF THE ANGEL (Lacock) This cosy 15th-century Inn – perched on the edge of the Cotswolds, near Bath – will sure be looking the part over the festive season, blending rustic charm with contemporary style. Parties of up to 16 can hire the Banquette room, while larger groups can make use of the main dining rooms. The special festive party menu – which, as usual here, will begin with home-baked bread and an amuse bouche – features smoked grouse with plum, blue cheese and cranberry fritters with pickled walnuts, turkey escallop with fondant potato, sea bass and Jerusalem artichoke risotto, and baked clementine tart – as well as more vegan and veggie options. Choose two courses for £29 or three for £33. signoftheangel.co.uk

THE SPOTTED COW (Bristol) This is a popular North Street boozer that also takes its food proper serious, like. So, over the season of mistletoe and (rather too much) wine, you can expect a really decent set menu starting at £24 (for two courses). After a complimentary Gin

C H R I S T M A S

P A R T I E S

Thali is shunning tradition this Yuletide, while venues like Timbrell’s Yard and Whatley Manor are offering classic Christmas experiences

Fizz (don’t mind if we do) will come the starters – hickory hot-smoked salmon with horseradish mousse, pumpernickel and crispy quail egg, say – which will gear you right up for the main event. Roast turkey with port and cranberry sauce, confit lamb breast with roast lamb rump, and heritage squash risotto with crispy chives and vegan parmesan are among the selection there. thespottedcowbristol.com

STON EASTON PARK

(near Bath) Want to make it a special one this Christmas? This 18th-century mansion is set among lush, preened gardens and guests can expect log fires, candlelit dinners and luxurious feasts a plenty. Three-course festive meals will be happening in the Sorrel restaurant (from £32), but if you want a proper knees up, get involved with the Black Tie Dinner Dance (£70). There, diners will get a glass of bubbly, a threecourse feast (perhaps goat’s cheese and salt baked beetroots followed by traditional turkey with chipolata and sage stuffing, and C-pud with brandy custard), and dancing until midnight. stoneeaston.co.uk

THE SWAN INN (Rowberrow)

Set in the picturesque ex-mining village of Rowberrow, The Swan is steeped in history and has been kicking about since the 18th century. Keeping it traditional is key here, and guests can expect plenty of reindeer jumpers and paper crowns to be making appearances. The Crimbo menu (from £24.50) has wintery classics to please both meat eaters and vegetarians: there’s confit

duck leg with roasted plum and red wine gravy, slow-braised beef pie, and a wild mushroom Wellington with confit onions and spinach purée. Seeing as the pub started life as a cider house, why not wash it down with an Ashton Press Cider? (Any excuse.) butcombe.com

THALI (Bristol) Never been one to follow tradition? We hear you – and so does Thali. These colourful South Indian inspired restaurants are snubbing stuffing and passing up the pigs in blankets. Instead, festive feasters here will be tucking into starters such as spiced pakoras (made to the head chef’s family recipes), mains like slow-cooked jackfruit curry with potatoes, peppers, chilli and garlic, and desserts along the lines of rasmalai with chai, and exotic fruit crumble.

That break enough rules for you? Three courses here will be £20 at lunchtime and £25 for dinner, and the menu is available across all the Thalis. thethalirestaurant.co.uk TIMBRELL’S YARD

(Bradford-on-Avon) This pretty riverside pub has a couple of Xmas feasting options on the go, Perhaps go for the set menu (from £27), which includes roast turkey with pancetta and honey-roasted parsnips, as well as some less traditional alternatives. Or, if there’s 30 or more of you, you can make use of the private dining room and the buffet menu (£22), and expect plates of truffle and old Winchester arancini, and squash, pistachio and quinoa terrine to tuck into.

timbrellsyard.com

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WHATLEY MANOR (Malmsbury) Set among the gorgeous Cotswoldian landscape, luxury country house Whatley Manor is offering some pretty swish Yuletide parties. Its package (£70 a head) includes exclusive use of the Garden Room (which will be properly decked out in festive style, might we add), welcome canapés and fizz, three courses (featuring dishes such as pressed turkey leg with smoked sausage, and pumpkin tagliatelle), wine, coffee, crackers, music... the list goes on. If you want to go more low key, Grays Brasserie will look equally as festive, and be serving three-course menus for £32.50. whatleymanor.com YURT LUSH (Bristol) You can book out the whole of this quirky venue, a single yurt, or just a straight up table for your Christmas do. There’s a festive set menu (from £25) for groups numbering from single figures up to 90, and it includes a glass of something fizzy. You could begin with mulled pear and ewe’s curd with walnut salsa, and follow up with housesmoked and glazed organic beef brisket, or squash, Cheddar and leek Wellington. Cosy up in the heated yurt with great-quality food for a Xmas do with a difference. eatdrinkbristolfashion.co.uk

Hey, you! All the prices listed here are per person, and if any take your fancy then get it booked sooner rather than later – all those Organised Odettes out there already have their events in the bag!

2018 Join us at The Greenhouse Restaurant this Christmas and enjoy the festive party season in a relaxed and stylish setting, the perfect destination to share in the celebrations with your family, friends and colleagues too.

We’ll be offering a 2 or 3 course festive fayre (£25pp for 2 courses or £30pp for 3 courses) available for lunch and dinner from 30th November -24th December. We’ll also be open on Christmas Day for a gourmet dining experience and on Boxing Day for Classic Brunch.

FESTIVE OPENING HOURS

Christmas Eve open for lunch and dinner, normal opening hours Christmas Day open 11am - 5pm Boxing Day open 11am - 5pm 27 & 28 December Residents only 29 & 30 December open as normal New Year’s Eve 11am - ‘til late New Year’s Day 11am - 5pm Booking during the festive period is essential Reserve a table at any time by calling 01225 585880 or book online at www.thegreenhousewg.co.uk The Greenhouse Restaurant The Pavilion | Wadswick Green | Corsham SN13 9RD

FRONT OF HOUSE SUPERVISORS SOMMELIERS

Breakfast at

MANAGERS CHEFS

Come and sample our lush breakfast!

Open 9:30-11:30am, 7 days a week. info@purplecarrot-recruitment.com www.purplecarrot-recruitment.co.uk

35 Market St, Bradford-on-Avon BA15 1LL 01225 863 433 info@thedandylionboa.co.uk thedandylionboa.co.uk

Rooted Cafe and Supper Rooms Vegetarian & Vegan • Family Run • Community Based • Sustainable Open 8:30am–8:30pm daily (9am–4pm Sundays) 20 Newbridge Road, Bath, BA1 3JX rootedcafebath

rootedcafeandsupperrooms

The Malago

MON - SAT: BRUNCH/LUNCH: 9AM - 3PM • DINNER: 5.30PM - 9.30PM SUNDAY: BRUNCH/LUNCH: 9AM - 12PM • ROASTS: 12:30PM - 7PM

www.themalago.club • eatout@themalago.club 220 North Street, Southville, BS3 1JD • 0117 963 9044

Serving you proper pub food, with fresh veg and freerange meat from local butchers. Everything is made from scratch in the kitchen by our team of immensely talented chefs, with lovely new starters and desserts made especially for our Sunday Roast Menu.

STAY AT THE WELLINGTON

The Wellington’s ten boutique hotel style, ensuite bedrooms are stylish and inviting, blending character with contemporary design. Each guest room comes with full amenities including contemporary ensuite bathroom with shower, television, tea and coffee making facilities and WIFI. The next morning pop downstairs for your Full English Breakfast. We also offer an extensive menu of hot and cold options, fresh juices and hot drinks.

For bookings and enquiries call 0117 9513022

The Wellington Hotel, Gloucester Road, Horfield Bristol, BS7 8UR. Tel: 0117 9513022 Visit us online: www.thewellingtonbristol.co.uk/food

PIERRE KOFFMANN & MARCO PIERRE WHITE B y M AT T B I E L BY

JESSICA CARTER

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G R I L L E D

WHEN WE HEARD THE NEWS THAT THESE TWO CULINARY GIANTS WERE PARTNERING UP TO CREATE A NEW RESTAURANT IN BATH (SET TO OPEN EARLY AUTUMN), WE HAD SOME QUESTIONS. OKAY, SOME WERE ABOUT THE NEW GAFF, AND SOME WERE, WELL, JUST US BEING NOSEY...

I

t was 1984 when these two first spent time in a kitchen together; the young, pre-fame Marco (who’d not long moved to London and had been working with the Roux brothers) was taken on by Koffmann at Le Tante Claire.

After about nine months, Marco moved on, and the pair haven’t worked a day together since. Until now, that is.

News recently broke that Marco and Pierre – who have stayed in touch over the last 34 years – have gone into business together, creating a new restaurant in Bath.

Marco – who many see as the first chef to have reached ‘celebrity’ status, bringing an air of perceived glamour to the catering industry – is still a pretty solid household name. If you’ve not heard of his famous book White Heat, you’ve at least surely seen him brandishing a Knorr stock pot or two on telly.

In ’87 he opened his first joint, Harvey’s, and the Michelin stars and awards soon began rolling in. By 1994, Marco was 33 and the owner of three of those coveted stars: the youngest person with the accolade in Michelin history, and the only British chef at the time to have ever held the triple honor.

It’s quite probable that nothing there is news to you; White and his career have always been of interest to the British media, after all. Pierre’s story, on the other hand, might be a little more foggy – but no matter, let’s get up to speed.

Originally from France (bear with us, we’ve got more), he arrived on these shores in the early ’70s at the age of 22.

Starting out working at Albert and Michel Roux’s Le Gavrosh (just as Marco did a decade later), he went on to open his own soon-to-be three-Michelin-starred gaff. Since then, Pierre has taken on and trained countless novice chefs, many of whom have become well-known culinary success stories: think Gordon Ramsay, Marcus Wareing, Tom Kitchin and Jason Atherton. It’s no coincidence that you might not have been aware of any of that, though; this is a chef who always kept himself tucked away in the kitchen – purposefully.

“There are great chefs who have three Michelin stars and nobody knows them,” Pierre tells us. “Then you have others who also want to be famous. I might have had three Michelin stars, but I’m not a famous chef – nobody has ever stopped me in the street to get my autograph.”

The more media-savvy Marco was the one who approached Pierre about this new project. He knows the owner of the Abbey Hotel, Anil Khanna, who asked him to do a restaurant there. Knowing that the lease for Pierre’s place, Koffmann’s at The Berkeley, had come to an end, Marco pitched him the idea of Koffman and Mr White’s.

The most remarkable thing about the new restaurant?

Perhaps the fact that the two plan to be pretty hands on. Well, as hands on as famous retired chefs tend to get with big-brand restaurants in cities that they don’t actually live in...

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Join us for

Christmas 3-course menu from ÂŁ28 per person Our Christmas menu is served from Friday 23rd November up to and including Monday 24th December and is available Monday to Saturday, lunch and dinner.

Book a party of 12 or more and we will treat the organiserto a gift card to the value of ÂŁ25 to be spent in the New Year at any OHH pub.

Bear & Swan

13 South Parade, Chew Magna, Somerset, BS40 8PR 0844 502 9969 | thebearandswan@ohhcompany.co.uk

The Old House at Home

Burton, Near Castle Combe, Wiltshire, SN14 7LT 0844 625 5549 | theoldhouseathome@ohhcompany.co.uk

The Northey Arms

0844 502 9965 | thenorthey@ohhcompany.co.uk Bath Road, Box, Wiltshire, SN13 8AE

The Rising Sun

91 West Town Road, Backwell, North Somerset, BS48 3BH 0844 502 9972 | therisingsun@ohhcompany.co.uk

G R I L L E D

“When we’re open in October, I will be there five days a week,” says Pierre. “I will be in the kitchen all the time, more or less. I won’t move to Bath completely, but I’ll be there Tuesday to Sunday, or something like that.”

Having a former three-starred chef in the kitchen is a pretty exciting prospect, but that doesn’t mean we should expect a high-end, ubersnazzy restaurant that’s jumping up and down, waving its arms in the direction of the Michelin gang. Quite the opposite, in fact.

“It’s bistro-brasserie food,” explains Marco. “The whole point will be to make it affordable, because by doing that people come back to you. Yes, it will be aimed at Bath residents but also, of course, at guests of the hotel, who might just want one course and a glass of wine. I think it’s that simple; everyone has a different need. Sometimes at lunchtime I just want a delicious shepherd’s pie with some buttered garden peas and away I’ll go.

“We’re working on the menu now, actually, and it’s coming quite easily. Pierre puts forward what he wants, I put forward what I want, and it just merges. I do the English, he does the French – the best of both worlds.”

These two retired chefs have no interest in breaking boundaries and reinventing the wheel; instead they want to serve classic, straight-up food that satisfies both palates and appetites. In short, the kind of food they like to eat themselves these days – as opposed to the style they were cooking 30 years ago.

“I was guilty as a young man of what most chefs are guilty of today – over-working food, over-trying, feeling that because you have this technical ability you need to use it,” says Marco. “But in time I simplified what I did, and you know what? I started to earn more stars from Michelin. When it was complicated I didn’t even have one star, but as it became less complicated I got more and more.

“If you look at great writers, they write so simply, don’t they? Look at Hemingway. Look at AA Gill. It’s very simple, but delivers a point.

It moves you emotionally; makes you smile, makes you cry. And that’s what great food should do, too.”

That all makes you wonder what kind of restaurants these former three-Michelin-starred chefs head to for a good feed, right? Well, dear reader, wonder no more.

“My favourite restaurant in Wiltshire and Somerset is, without question, The Scallop Shell,” says Marco. “It serves just the finest food.

Lots of people will disagree with me, but remember, I’m turning up just to eat – not for the fluff.

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“It’s the best. Every Thursday I go there and have the langoustines, the razor clams, the scallops, the smoked herrings... I indulge. And for the main course, eight times out of ten, I’ll have the haddock from Peterhead. But then if they’ve got lobster, turbot or Dover sole I’ll have that.

“Richard Bertinet recommended it to me. I told him I take my daughter to Smashburger – Smashburger is fantastic, she’s a teenager and she loves it there – and he said, ‘Michael, have you tried The Scallop Shell yet?’ When he said it was the best he wasn’t lying; Gary [Rosser, chef and founder] and his wife Lisa have created something very, very special. I’ve taken Pierre there twice, three times now – he thinks it’s sensational. He was a bit shocked when I first told him I was taking him to a chippy for dinner, though!”

The way Marco’s taste in food and restaurants has changed is illustrative of the way the UK’s dining scene has developed as a whole: simple food and casual, relaxed attitudes have largely replaced the complex dishes and stuffy atmosphere that prevailed in 20th-century dining. And although he may not be at the business end of restaurant outfits day-to-day anymore, he still has some strong opinions about recipes for their success.

“The most important aspect of any restaurant is the environment you sit in,” says Marco. “The second is the service, and then, third, it needs to deliver food to a standard and at a price point that everyone can enjoy. But food is number three – that’s the same for both a three-star restaurant and a little café. If you don’t feel comfortable in a restaurant, what’s the point?

“How many times have you been to a Michelin-starred restaurant and not liked the environment? You might like the food on your plate, but you can’t be yourself, can you? Some of the country house ones can be like the chapel of rest. You want a waiter with a smile, a maître d’ who looks after you; you want it to be affordable enough that you can come regularly, so they get to know you and – bingo!”

Pierre agrees that for a restaurant to have staying power these days there needs to be some solid foundations in place – contemporary punters have a different attitude than the ones he started out cooking for, so businesses need to adapt if they plan on sticking around.

“Everything changes in life,” he says. “When I was young we went to a restaurant to get the best cassolet, the best dishes. But now young people go to a restaurant to try something new. They want to say that they’ve gone to this new place, and tried this famous dish, and they want to tell their friends about it. They want to say, ‘I went there before you’. But they don’t want to go again. So it’s a totally different attitude.

“Novelty alone is not a recipe for a successful restaurant, and neither is the publicity they get just because they have a particular dish, or a famous person went there. People will go once and won’t go again – they’ll move on to something new.”

These two culinary super stars will surely be hoping, then, that once the PR buzz of their collaboration subsides, what will remain is a casual, neighbourhood restaurant, knocking up consistently great food that keeps people coming back time and again. Let’s see what they come up with, hey. abbeyhotelbath.co.uk

CRUMBSMAG.COM

STARTERS

MAINS

Roast celeriac soup with crumbed black pudding, toasted chestnuts and truffle oil (VOA)

Roast turkey breast stuffed with meali bread and wrapped in bacon with roast root vegetable terrine, pigs in blankets home-made cranberry sauce and gravy

Baked queen scallops with spiced cauliflower puree and sautéed wild mushrooms (GF)

Baked sea bass with braised chicory, celeriac and sauce antiboise (GF)

Venison carpaccio, pomegranate and balsamic reduction, Jerusalem artichoke crisps and pecorino shavings (GF)

Beef short rib slow braised in porter ale with a wild mushroom & potato dauphinoise (GF)

Pea & courgette fritters with a spiced beetroot, mint and chickpea puree served with a gremolata chicory salad (VG/ GF)

DESSERT

Boozy homemade Christmas pudding with brandy anglaise Sticky toffee & poached pear pudding steeped with a citrus & disaronno syrup (VG) - option to add cinnamon & vanilla clotted cream Frozen bitter chocolate marquis with clementine couli and honeycomb (GF) Prosecco, sake & passionfruit granita (VG/ GF)

Beetroot & caramelised red onion tart tatin, red pepper couli, roast root vegetable terrine and crispy kale (VG) VOA vegetarian option available

TO FINISH

VG – vegan

Selection of West Country cheese (£6 – supplement per head)

GF – gluten free

Cornish yarg, Dorset blue vinny, Bath soft cheese and Cornish smuggler served with beetroot chutney, grapes, Devon quince jelly, walnuts and cheese wafers with a gremolata chicory salad

2 COURSES – £25

Served Saturday 1st December – Monday 24th December 2018 Not available on Christmas Day or Boxing Day. Christmas menu available by pre-booking only - £5 deposit per person required.

An optional 10% service charge will be added to all Christmas party bookings.

All served with braised red cabbage, seasonal greens, and pancetta sautéed brussel sprouts (VOA)

3 COURSES – £30 To book a party, please contact us on: hello@theoldspotbristol.co.uk | Tel: 0117 924 7693 138-140 Kellaway Avenue, Horfield, Bristol BS6 7YQ

WWW.THEOLDSPOTBRISTOL.CO.UK

Christmas bookings now being taken

Upper Bristol Road, Bath, BA1 3AT

6-8 Brougham Place, Larkhall, Bath, BA1 6SJ

T: 01225 422563 E: info@victoriabath.co.uk www.victoriabath.co.uk

T: 01225 311655 E: info@roseandcrownlarkhall.co.uk www.roseandcrownlarkhall.co.uk

SPECIALIST SINGLE MALT WHISKIES, PREMIUM RUMS CRAFT WORLD AND LOCAL BEERS, COCKTAIL SPIRITS CUBAN CIGARS, FINE WINES AND CHAMPAGNES PRIVATE & CORPORATE TASTING

7 Terrace Walk, Bath • Tel: 01225 340636 Independent-Spirit-of-Bath @indiespiritbath shop@independentspiritofbath.co.uk

The

cakery Artisan Coffee Custom made cakes Fresh bread

Gluten free, dairy free and vegan options available 21 Claverton buildings, Bath BA2 4LD tel 07891 211852 email thecakery-@hotmail.com b The Cakery  @TheCakeryBath  thecakerybath www.thecakerybath.co.uk

Christmas at

FROM BUFFETS TO SIT DOWN WE ARE HERE TO HELP YOU CELEBRATE IN STYLE Broken Dock, Millennium Promenade, Bristol, BS1 5SY christmas@brokendock.co.uk | 0117 325 0898 www.brokendock.co.uk

“Christmas means to us scrumptious food, delicious drinks and to be treated like Kings and queens, Brunch, lunch and of course evenings”

Nominated in the Best Cafe category for the 2018 Crumbs awards!

Bookings are now open for Christmas parties with great food and a fully licensed bar. We also have a full programme of evening events through the Autumn & Winter. Visit our Facebook page for more details.

20 Temple Street, Keynsham ▲ templestreetcanteen@gmail.com

ARJ CHOCOLATE Delicately handmade chocolates

BR AND NEW

Chocolate subscription boxes X BO R &p) PE g p 0 in .0 clud £9 (in

Would you like chocolate delivered to your door every month?

ARJ Chocolate have some new subscription boxes with a variety of chocolate treats. Every month you will have a different choice of chocolate with anything from hot chocolate to our heavenly chocolate tiffin. You also have the option to personalise your first box with your name or message.

LAUNCHING 1ST SEPTEMBER 2018 3 month subscription or one off boxes available.

To order visit www.arjchocolate.co.uk

Situated in the renowned Spike Island, we are the sister café to the much loved Folk House Café and offer a wonderful setting for everyone.

133 Cumberland Road Bristol BS1 6UX spikeislandcafe.co.uk 0117 954 4030

LOCAL, ORGANIC, SUSTAINABLE, ETHICAL, DELICIOUS. We also cater for evening events, wedding receptions, birthday parties, supper clubs.

Call now for more information.

40a Park Street, Bristol, BS1 5JG folkhousecafe.co.uk 0117 908 5035

NOW OPEN IN BATH! 13 London Street, Bath, BA1 5BU

RAFT ERENT C 100 DIFF Y. G A IN W V A R OP SE R TAKE OTTLE SH S, TO DRINK IN O B & E S y o U d_B CIDER TAP HO x Brewe ARTISAN d_boy | k .u BEERS & o a brewe .c y o wedb info@bre

HAVE YOU TRIED OUR GORGEOUS POMEGRANATE SAUCES? Find your Local stockist at www.healthyrecipes.uk.com

heart, chat & like us on... x a

Castlemead, Lower Castle Street, Bristol, U.K, BS1 3AG. Tel +44 117 917 5041

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AFTERS

NEW RESTAURANTS DEVOURED, NEW CAFÉS FREQUENTED, NEW BARS CRAWLED, AND WHAT WE THOUGHT OF THEM

HIGHLIGHTS T TS

PLANT FOOD

A COLOURFUL SPREAD OF PERSIAN PLANT-BASED FOOD AT KOOCHA PAGE 110

CORK-SHIRE

WE BRE BREAK FOR LUNCH TO VISIT THE INDIE WINE AND SMALL PLATES BAR, CORKAGE PAGE 112

GO YOUR OWN WAY FILLING OUR BOOTS AT AVENUE CAFÉ PAGE 119

Just a 20 minute drive from Bath’s hectic centre and we’re in The Wheatsheaf’s gorgeous garden

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A F T E R S

(VEGAN HANGOUTS)

KOOCHA

THIS COLOURFUL NEW MEZZE BAR SERVING PLANT-BASED GRUB IS A GREAT FIT FOR THE CITY, RECKONS JESSICA CARTER

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eganism is a very different beast to what it was 20 years ago. Heck, even just four years ago; The Vegan Society now estimates that 600,000 people in the UK stick to plant-only diets, which is four times as many as in 2014.

This shift in eating habits has no-doubt been informed by the recent communal realisation of just how harmful intensive animal farming and high rates of meat consumption are; harmful not only to farmed animals, but also the planet, and even our own health. Right now, we’re at a point where people are taking

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more notice of what they’re eating and where it’s come from than they ever have in their lives.

Feeding into this shift – and being fed by it in turn, of course – is the proliferation of vegan dishes being proffered on our restaurant scene, both in meat-serving eateries and increasingly popular plant-only joints.

If you’re trying to avoid animal products these days, you’re not forced to search on the menu for the one sole, sorry dish labelled (vg), or awkwardly ask the staff to adapt something for you. The choice of vegan meals is becoming actually very exciting, with plants being used in ever-more imaginative and conscientious ways.

It’s almost as if fruits and veg are rolling their eyes and saying, “Finally; that’s what we’ve been trying to tell you.”

Indeed, colourful, imaginative plant-based food is what you’ll find at Persian mezze bar Koocha – the creation of Noda Marvani. She took over the site from her dad, who decided to close his gaff, Number 10, after more than a decade in business. The menu here is inspired by the huge Persian spreads that Noda remembers from her childhood; the small plates are intended to be mixed and matched to create big sharing feasts.

Inside, the restaurant is simple and rustic, with dark wooden floors, festoon lights reaching across the ceiling and Middle Eastern-style patterned tiles behind the bar.

Speaking of the bar, there’s a decent list of cocktails here (which are also vegan, and come in at two for £10), featuring the likes of the nostalgically named Number 10, with saffron gin, vodka, lavender syrup and lemon juice, and the Persian Rose, made from

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gin, rosewater and cucumber. It was the latter, along with a Bramble Patch mocktail, that kept me and C cool in the sweltering heat of a recent summer afternoon (any other year but this one, and that would have been taken as sarcasm).

A large selection of mezze plates – including veggie fritters, a traditional Iranian stew, and spiced, slow-roast cauli, as well as your dips, falafel and other more familiar Persian offerings – are all £3.50 each or four for £12, while sides of flatbreads, rice or fries come separately. Rissoles – little deep-fried patties that traditionally involve meat – were made from potato and yellow split peas. They had shells of golden-fried rice crumb, and were dressed with a rich roast tomato sauce. The koopa, meanwhile, were deep-fried rice balls that burst with Middle Eastern flavour, most notably a wellbalanced cinnamon kick. Our third plate was a dip made of roasted aubergine, caramelised onion and soya yoghurt; we bypassed the bread and shovelled it straight into our mouths by the forkful.

You may have already heard noises about the vegan kebab (£6.75) that these guys have come up with. Seitan (pronounced say-tan – yes, like the keeper of hell, but don’t let that put you off) replaces the meat, and does a pretty good job of it, too. A natural substance that’s not come from a local lab, it’s actually made from protein-rich, gluten-based dough. Served here in shavings, it had a dense, meaty texture with a nice crust, and was well seasoned. Tzatziki and chilli sauce were dolloped on top, and it all came inside a warm, crusty pita served in a bright yellow (opinion-dividing) plastic basket.

We had that with a portion of well-seasoned house special fries (£3), ’cause kebabs and chips go together like Champagne and strawberries (and are just as desirable in my book).

This is fun, colourful and authentic-tasting food might be Iranian in heritage, but feels right home in this thoughtful little independent restaurant in the heart of Bristol.

Koocha, 10 Zetland Road, Bristol BS6 7AD; 0117 924 1301; koochamezzebar.com

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( S U P E R S M A L L P L AT E S )

CORKAGE THERE’S SURELY ONLY ONE WAY TO CELEBRATE A RESTAURANT’S BIRTHDAY, AND THAT’S BY GOING THERE TO FILL FACE, RECKONS JESSICA CARTER

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n December 2015, Richard Knighting and Marty Grant opened a pop-up restaurant. Three years later their creation – which quickly turned into a permanent gaff on Bath’s Walcot Street – is still going strong, and now has a younger sibling too, on Chapel Row. This newer restaurant-cum-wine-bar is about as social as it gets; the small plates are great for sharing, there are more wines that you could ever hope to get through, and you’ll find no long menus to take your attention away from either of the above – or your chosen company (so be sure to take someone with good chat). The Chapel Row restaurant is a little bigger than its Walcot Street counterpart, with banquette seating running along both sides of the galley-style dining room, and a newly designed garden at the back that spreads over two levels.

It’s got the feel of a rustic European wine bar, not least because of all the weathered wood, huge collection of wines on display, and rather apt grapevine that spills its fruit over the top of the trellis in the garden.

The relaxed continental vibe is also helped along by the friendly, chatty staff who, in the purposeful absence of menus, talk you through what’s on offer. The food, too, takes its inspiration from Europe, with special influence flying in from sunny Mediterranean countries.

Sat in the garden in said vine-enclosed nook at Chapel Row, we found out that we were actually there on its first birthday. And that was all the excuse we needed (who am I kidding – as if we needed any) to kick off lunch with a glass of something gold and fizzy. The proffered bottle was a 2014 Cava from Castillo Perelada; a brut nature, it was dry and crisp and an ideal aperitif out in the sun. This number has not long been released for general sale – the makers used to keep it all to serve at an event they hold each year.

The cod goujons with aioli (£8.50) arrived in a set of four, their golden crumbed shells seasoned with salt flakes that gave bursts of flavour in the mouth.

The fish inside was tender and juicy – really noticeably fresh and precisely cooked. I know what you’re thinking: posh fish finger. And you’re right, but you won’t look at the Captain’s frozen versions the same after scoffing these.

There was caponata (£7) too; the slow-cooked medley of courgette (well, ’tis the season), olive and tomato was served at room temperature on two slices of toasted Bertinet bread, and topped with a flourish of pine nuts and rocket.

Cauliflower (£6.50) had been chopped into florets, coated in a spiced batter and plopped into the fryer. Emerging as crisp,

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golden pakoras with perfectly cooked insides, these bite-sized beauties appeared at the table with a generous dollop of fresh and fruity mango chutney.

A handsome-looking globe artichoke (£9.50) arrived next; we hungrily fanned out the leaves and began peeling them off, dunking them into the super-savoury anchovy and pine nut dip before scraping off the delicate flesh with our teeth. A great snack to nibble on over a glass of wine or three, it was like a decedent – and far more delicious – crisp and dip scenario. (Way to step up your game when it comes to Netflix-binge snacks.)

We’d finished that cava by this point, and seeing as we had the onglet stake (£10) still to come, ordered a glass of red each. The light, chilled number we settled on was ideal for a good bit o’ beef on a sunny day. And a good bit o’ beef it was; served in slices with a light drizzle of chimichurri, it flaunted its deep pink flesh and loose grain, practically bragging about how tender it was going to be in our mouths. Show off. With it we ordered the spuds (£4.50), which arrived cool and dressed for the occasion with capers and plenty of fresh green herbage.

A white chocolate cheesecake with a refreshing berry sorbet, and muddle of peach and raspberry (both £6) provided the encore, alongside a well-pitched raisiny dessert wine.

It’s no mystery why this inviting little bar and restaurant has proved such a hit – be it for a few wines and a snack or a full-on meal. It’s only small, so thank goodness there are two of them. (We wouldn’t say no to a third, mind.)

Corkage, 5 Chapel Row, Bath BA1 1HN; 01225 423417; corkagebath.com

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A F T E R S

Avenue Café, St. Luke’s House, Emerson’s Green BS16 7AR; 0117 305 0505; avenue-cafe.com

( G R E AT L U N C H S P O T S )

AVENUE CAFÉ JESSICA CARTER TAKES A FELLOW CRUMB ALONG TO THIS POPULAR CAFÉ FOR A BIG LUNCH AND A BIGGER CHINWAG

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at in the middle of a well-populated residential area just north of Bristol, with precious few other cafés in the vicinity (give or take the local supermarket’s in-house option), Avenue Café has a pretty captive local audience. And, sometimes, captive audiences have to make do with less-than-ideal offerings. Amirite?

If I’m to be totally honest, which I am, always (nice hat, by the way), that’s almost what I expected from this place: fine-but-notgreat versions of the usual café suspects, in an unremarkable setting. But in actual fact, when I arrived for lunch one drizzly afternoon with Crumbs’ very own Wine Guy, Andy Clarke, I walked into a really stylish and contemporary dining room, buzzy with conversation and with families, mates and laptop-tappers of all ages filling the chestnut-coloured leather seats and banquettes.

Turns out, local interior biz Simple Simon came up with the design. You might not have heard of them before, but I bet you’ve sat in one of the spaces they’ve designed, which include the dining

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areas of Mokoko, River Cottage Kitchen and Hubbox. Lots of gold and copper, stylishly weathered leather, rustic wood and inky blue Farrow and Ball make for a chic space, and one that clearly had some decent investment behind it.

This site has been home to Avenue Café since November, although the business has been going for 18 years, previously being located just down the road and also in central Bristol. (Pre-Avenue days, owner Costas had a Greek restaurant, so he’s got history.)

A set lunch menu offers a main, drink (wine, beer, Pimm’s or a softie), slice of cake and a coffee for £14.50 – so that’s what we went for. Mr C had a craving for a club sandwich and, being of the opinion that you can tell a lot about a place by this staple, he thought it a fitting feed to go with his glass of pale, well-chilled rosé. Between the slices of gently toasted Hobbs House granary bread was soft chicken (not dry and overdone as is so often the case) and crisp-at-the-edges bacon. Moist but not soggy, and served with a generous side salad, it was a classic done just as you’d want and expect. My special of lamb kofta wrap, meanwhile, saw tender and lean meat cosy up inside a soft tortilla, which had been grilled for extra texture. The filling was generous, as was the leafy garnish.

The cakes mostly come from local bakeries, although some are baked in-house; we had the homemade lemon drizzle and vanilla and chocolate sponge alongside loose leaf teas.

This well-staffed caff was buzzing on the mid-week lunchtime we went, the locals clearly fans of the fuss-free, good quality food, generous portions and chilled out atmosphere. It’s open on Friday and Saturday nights these days too, serving dinner menus that are proving something of a hit, we hear.

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find anywhere, The Wheatsheaf is located in Combe Hay, and dates back to 1576, when it was first built as a farmhouse. These days it’s a restaurant, pub and guest house (not to mention glamping site) all rolled into one.

Pub-esque dishes with restaurant finesse are what it’s all about here. So, on the main menu, you’ll find well-executed fish and chips, burgers and steaks, but also the likes of Creedy Carver duck with redcurrant jus, and sea bream with crayfish and cucumber salsa. There’s a bar menu too – this is where relaxed, hearty dishes like the Ploughman’s and sausage and mash live – and a separate list of vegetarian specials. The latter ranges from light snacks, such as creamed wild mushrooms on toast, to red pepper and potato Boulanger with watercress pesto.

There’s a really decent list of wines here, so we left our decision in the hands of the GM, James, who chose us a crisp white to quench that lunchtime thirst out in the last of the summer sun. Soft and fresh homebaked bread was soon to follow, which we dunked into smoked rapeseed oil.

Then arrived chilli, salt and pepper squid (£6). The curls of perfectly cooked meat were piled in a paper cone and came with a generous bowl of aioli. The batter was super light and bubbly, delicately draping

(GASTROPUB GOALS)

THE WHEATSHEAF A LITTLE LUNCHTIME JAUNT TO THE COUNTRYSIDE SAW JESSICA CARTER COMPLETELY FORGET THE CHAOS OF THE CITY CENTRE (AND ALL THE WORK SHE LEFT PILED ON HER DESK)…

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s anyone who works in the centre of Bath will surely know, ducking out at lunchtime to grab some sustenance can be a bit of a lengthy exercise in peak season.

Negotiating the heaving streets packed with shoppers, tourists, kids on school holidays and fellow workers rushing to grab a bite on their break can take far longer than is ideal.

When M and I recently fled the central Bath office for the second meal of the day, we found ourselves pulling up in the car park of this rural village pub after just 20 minutes: we’ve spent longer just trying to make it over to the sandwich shop before.

Surely one of the most quintessentially English village inns you’ll

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itself around the tender – not at all rubbery – flesh. Making gentle suggestions of chilli heat, this dish also served as a reminder that, with the seas around us hotting up, we really should be eating more squid.

South West scallops with truffled risotto and parmesan crisp (£13) saw the sea beasts surfing a swell of sticky, aromatic rice; again, the kitchen’s deft hand with fish was clear, and this filling dish benefited from the distinct textures of meaty flesh, silky risotto and crunchy crisp. The selection of house spaniels – Margot being the most forward on this occasion – begged with the most conviction for this particular dish; they must have rarefied tastes. In fact, even the foie gras and pigeon terrine (£12) didn’t divert their attention.

Something for the hardcore meat eaters, this was a confidently rich starter which saw silky foie gras layered up with chunks of crimson coloured pigeon breast, alongside a thick slice of toast for spreading.

The John Dory (£13) involved a large, crisp-skinned piece of moist fish balanced on an island of mash and surrounded by a sea of bisque, alive with prawns. (Not literally alive, don’t pull that face.)

Mild flavoured but delicious, the flaky white fish benefited from the extra interest of that slurpable bisque.

Opposite, the roast Castlemead Farm chicken breast (£17) rested on a bed of soft cep mash, the whole thing cloaked in a silky mushroom sauce. Castlemead’s birds are reared in high-welfare conditions, free to roam and grow naturally – so seeing that name on a menu is always a hopeful sign of great poultry. Indeed, the meat proved plump, juicy and super soft, having clearly been cooked very carefully so as to make the most of its potential.

To finish, warm treacle tart with candied pecans and banana sorbet (£8) was a perfectly pitched pud, full of sweetness and flavour but light enough for the season, while the warm apple crumble (£7) balanced tart, soft fruit with sweet, crunchy topping, which the velvety vanilla ice cream melted pleasingly into.

This ain’t yer average village boozer, for sure; while you can, of course, swing by for just a jar or two, you’d do well to try out some of the kitchen team’s skilled cooking. And it’s worth checking out the great value, set-price market menu, too.

The Wheatsheaf, Combe Hay, Bath BA2 7EG; 01225 833504; wheatsheafcombehay.com

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L I T T L E

B L A C K

B O O K

ROsie MORGan WE ASKED THE FOUNDER OF THE BRISTOL CHEESEMONGER WHERE SHE WILL BRIE HANGING OUT THIS MONTH (SORRY, NOT SORRY) BREAKFAST? Bakers and Co. It has impeccable service and does fantastic, varied food in a brilliant atmosphere.

BEST BREW? Full Court Press does the best coffee in Bristol, and it’s brewed to a specific recipe every time. Plus, the service is always top notch. A home away from home.

GROCERY SHOP? The Banana Boat has a wonderful selection of fresh fruit and vegetables, all of which are very reasonably priced. I can do an entire shop here plastic-free, too – including fresh herbs!

BEST WINE MERCHANT? Corks always has an amazing selection of independent wines from around the world. The advisers are so helpful whenever I visit – even when I’m not too sure exactly what I fancy.

SUNDAY LUNCH? For an epic roast every time, it has to be The Victoria Park or The Hillgrove.

QUICK PINT? I sometimes pop into Moor Beer’s tap room on my way home. It’s ever so slightly off the beaten track, has a great beer selection and is perfect for a quick, quality evening pint.

CHEEKY COCKTAIL? The Milk Thistle does the best cocktails in an incredible venue.

POSH NOSH? I’ve yet to go to Bar 44, but am looking forward to visiting, and going all out!

FOOD ON THE GO? I always pick up a snack on a busy day and, whether it’s a cake, sandwich or bowl of almonds and olives, Little Victories never disappoints.

HIDDEN GEM? Tare. Matt and his team are wonderful; their inventive menu changes seasonally and is incredibly interesting.

ONE TO WATCH? I never cease to be amazed by what Elliot, Tess and their team achieve at Box E. It is truly one of Bristol’s jewels and destined for big things!

WITH FRIENDS? I have been going to The Canteen with mates since I first moved to Bristol six years ago and it’s still a firm favourite. It’s become a tradition amongst my friends to go here for food, a beer and the live music.

COMFORT FOOD? Everything Hart’s Bakery does is fantastic: baked goods of the gods!

WITH THE FAMILY? Whenever my parents visit we always go for food at Old India. The quality and variety is great and my dad loves the lamb shank.

BEST CURRY? Our Wapping Wharf neighbour, Gopal’s Curry Shack, does an incredible vegetarian and vegan selection.

BEST ATMOSPHERE? Bar Buvette has it all: delicious food, delicious wine and an amazing atmosphere.

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SOMETHING SWEET? I have quite the sweet tooth, and Oliver’s ice creams are always a welcome temptation.

TOP STREET FOOD? Tsukemono – amazing Japanese street food which is absolutely delicious and very authentic.

BEST VALUE? Mokoko’s salad lunch box is great as a quick, healthy and delicious lunch.

BELTING BURGER? If I could eat a Squeezed every day I would.

Unctuous is the best description I can give it!

NEXT ON THE HIT LIST? Wellbourne. I have visited for brunch and can’t wait until we get the chance to go back for supper. bristol-cheese.co.uk

Quick! Now add this little lot to your contacts book...

Bakers and Co, Bristol BS7 8BG; bakersbristol.co.uk Full Court Press, Bristol BS1 2EJ; facebook.com/fcpcoffee The Banana Boat, Bristol BS3 4RL; 0117 972 3302 Corks of Cargo, Bristol BS1 6WP; corksofbristol.com The Victoria Park, Bristol BS3 4QW; thevictoriapark.co.uk The Hillgrove, Bristol BS2 8LT; 0117 924 9818 Moor Beer Co, Bristol BS2 0QS; moorbeer.co.uk The Milk Thistle, Bristol BS1 1EB; milkthistlebristol.com Bar 44, Bristol BS8 4HG; bar44.co.uk Little Victories, Bristol BS1 6WE; littlevics.co.uk Tare, Bristol BS1 6ZA; tarerestaurant.co.uk Box E, Bristol BS1 6WP; boxebristol.com The Canteen, Bristol BS1 3QY; canteenbristol.co.uk Hart’s Bakery, Bristol BS1 6QS; hartsbakery.co.uk Old India, Bristol BS1 1TG; oldindia.co.uk Gopal’s Curry Shack, Bristol BS1 6ZA; gopalscurryshack.co.uk Bar Buvette, Bristol BS1 1RG; barbuvette.co.uk Oliver’s, Bristol BS1 6ZA; oliversicecream.co.uk Tsukemono; tsukemono.co.uk Mokoko, Bristol BS1 6WE; mokokocoffee.com Squeezed, Bristol BS1 6WE; bristolsqueezed.weebly.com Wellbourne, Bristol BS8 4JG; wellbourne.restaurant

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