Delicious Dish

with Helen Kingscott

A comforting dish for cold, dark nights. Serves 6

3 medium onions 3 sticks celery ½ medium butternut squash 200g mushrooms 750g diced stewing steak 2 beef stock cubes 500ml bottle of ale (I used Guinness) 1 tsp nutmeg 1 tin chopped tomatoes 30g/2tbsp cornflour Chopped parsley to garnish. For the topping: 250g/10oz self-raising flour 75g/3oz butter 30g/2tbsp horseradish sauce 1 egg Milk to bind

1 Preheat the oven to 190°C (375°F/gas mark 5). 2 Heat the oil in a large ovenproof casserole dish on a medium heat. 3 Add the finely chopped onion and celery and sauté for eight minutes until soft.

Add the nutmeg and stir in. 4 Cut the meat into bite-sized pieces and add to the onion mix. Sauté until the meat is coloured all over. 5 Add the chopped butternut squash and mushrooms and cook for another five minutes. 6 Crumble in the stock cubes, add the tomatoes and the ale, and enough water to cover the meat. Pop the lid on the casserole and put in the oven for approximately two hours or until the meat is tender. 7 If the mixture needs thickening, dissolve the cornflour in a little water and stir into the casserole. 8 Season with salt and pepper then transfer to a different ovenproof dish if you want to present your cobbler at the table or leave in the original casserole dish. 9 To make the topping, put

the flour and butter into a bowl. Using your fingertips, rub the mixture together until it resembles breadcrumbs. 10 Season with salt and pepper, then make a well in the centre and add the horseradish and egg. Mix all together, adding a little milk if needed to make a soft dough. 11 Tip onto a floured work surface and press down gently to flatten it. 12 Use a small cutter to cut out around 10-12 scones. 13 Arrange the scones on top of the beef, leaving gaps for them to rise. Brush the tops with a little milk to give some colour. 14 Pop back in the oven for around 15-20 minutes until the scones turn light brown. 15 Sprinkle chopped parsley on the top and serve with your favourite vegetables.

Paul Soden was a remarkable man who created venues and events for everyone’s enjoyment. It’s no surprise, therefore, that Paul insisted his own funeral should not be a glum, morose affair, but a bright, colourful, gregarious occasion for people to celebrate a life well lived.

He died at home in his beloved Café René on Monday 19th September with his brother Marty and close friends around him. Paul’s funeral took place in Gloucester Crematorium at 1.30pm on Tuesday 25th October 2022, and was also livestreamed to Café René. Most of the service was planned by Paul – from the music to the readings, and a suitably attired gathering of people to complement his colourful character.

In remembering Paul, he was described by those speaking as an amazing and diverse man. A man who meant different things to all who knew him. He was a son, brother, nephew, cousin, Godfather, friend, boss, business partner, confidant and more. He’s left many truly saddened by his passing, but also thankful for having known him and how he enriched their lives.

Paul Jonathan Gregory Soden was born the son of a diplomat in Spandau Military Hospital, Berlin. He would have been born in Russia where the family were living, but the foreign office felt it was not appropriate for a diplomat’s son to be born in Moscow, so they were flown to Germany. He spent most of his early childhood in China during the cultural revolution, returning to more conventional studies in England at the age of eight, attending Akeley Wood School in Buckingham.

He then went on to study economics and politics at Manchester University, always returning in holidays to work in his parents’ pub, Ye Olde Anchor Inn, Upton upon Severn. Paul badgered his father George to let him open a brewery in the shed there, and this is where his love of brewing evolved.

He was one of the first independent brewers in the country, and later became the chairman of SIBA –The Society of Independent Brewers – from 1985-1992. In 2002, he and his partner Jacqui bought an almost derelict Café René and started turning it into the pub customers know and love today. Until Jacqui sadly passed away a few years later, together they established the venue in their own unique style making it synonymous with their principles of equality, understanding and love – a legacy to be proud of. This period of his life was probably when Paul experienced his greatest happiness. Paul continued to develop the array of events and festivals hosted by the team at René, including Blues, Not the Notting Hill, Renegade and more latterly the Open Mic Nights on a Sunday evening. Café René is a flagship for live music and the late-night economy of Gloucester. Paul has always encouraged his staff to not only be involved in the creation of events, but to lead and take ownership, so they’ve become joint enterprises. He often talked of the staff and customers and how he considered them all to be family. Those feelings have always been reciprocal, which is why so many people have suffered a huge sense of loss in Paul’s passing –he was family. Paul was the true King of the Underdog and would always strive to give everyone a second, and often a third chance. He was a generous man in so many ways, and his adopted home of Gloucester benefited greatly – he was known widely across the city and beyond for all the right reasons. Since his death, tributes have flooded in to Café René, all saying the same thing –

Paul Soden was a larger than life character, a powerhouse of a man, a legend, and one in a million! Rest in peace, Paul.