5 minute read
Wye Don’t You?
The Whitebrook Green & Jenks
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Destination Dining
There are places in Wales you simply have to visit to consider yourself a Welsh ‘bolgi’ or gourmand. Keep these foodie travel guides to hand, as these epicurean epicentres are surrounded by local gastro treasures. Book a weekend away and make ‘bwyd a diod’ the highlight of your stay; let Lowri Haf Cooke guide you on the second of our taste.blas Welsh food pilgrimages...
Welsh Food Mecca: The Whitebrook, Monmouthshire
One of the loveliest food escapes in all of Wales is definitely best experienced during autumn. As the nights start drawing in, you’ll feel a hankering for comfort, yet also yearn to experience the season in 3D. What you’ll find, to your delight, is that The Whitebrook ticks all boxes – including ones you hadn’t even considered.
Long regarded as one of Wales’ premier dining spots, it secured the nation’s first ever Michelin star in 1976, under Chef Sonia Blech and husband Neville. Since 2012 it’s staged the marvels of food magician Chris Harrod, who conjures up a feast of Wye Valley flavours. Upon your arrival at the restaurant-with-rooms, settle in with a home-made Welsh cake, still warm from the oven. Then get your walking boots on, hop over the Gwenffrwd (Whitebrook) stepping stones, and kick a rainbow of leaves at Margaret’s Wood before supper.
Following the chef’s roaring success on last year’s Great British Menu, there are a few ‘signature’ dishes to savour. The Huntsham Farm Suckling Pig, (titled ‘Everything but the Squeal’ on TV), is definitely a Whitebrook no-brainer. Or, make things easy for yourself and go for the stellar tasting menu, where all glorious bases are covered. The menu takes great care to highlight award-winning Welsh producers, including Ancre Hill wines and Trealy Farm charcuterie. Place your trust in the chef, as he celebrates hand-picked seasonal ingredients, in collaboration with local forager Henry Ashby. Herbs such as hogweed and mugwort may sound like they’ve escaped from the Mabinogion, but just like wizard Gwydion, Chef Chris Harrod is a master of magic potions! So do yourself a favour; make a date with destiny, and enjoy the multi-sensory wonders of The Whitebrook.
The Whitebrook; Whitebrook, Monmouthshire NP25 4TX; tel: 01600 860254
While you’re in the area... Ice Cream: Green & Jenks: (14 mins: 5.4 miles, North-West)
Following a leisurely stay at the Whitebrook, make your way over to Monmouth, and enjoy the delights of this historical Welsh market town. Enjoy the vibrant selection of independent shops, from Neil Powell’s butchers to Salt and Pepper for kitchen ceramics. Then head up Monnow Street towards Agincourt Square for a treat at Green & Jenks. The sixth-generation family business dates back to 1888, when Frederick
The Stonemill
Destination Dining
Green established Cardiff’s Roath Park Dairy Company. In 2015 his great-great grand-daughter Gilly started producing her own artisan gelato in the basement of her busy Monmouth cafe-shop. Alongside ever-popular flavours, like Chocolate, Mint and Kinder Bueno, try the home-made Chuckleberry; a combination of redcurrant, gooseberry and jostaberry (itself a hybrid of gooseberry and blackberry!). Did you know that gelato is actually healthier for you than ice cream? If so, double up at Green and Jenks!
Green & Jenks: 11 Agincourt Square, Monmouth NP25 3DY; tel: 01600 711657
Light Lunch: The Stonemill (18 mins: 8.2 miles, North-West)
Onwards, towards the village of Llanoronwy Carn Cenhedlon (Rockfield), past the legendary rock studio where such musical luminaries as Queen, The Stone Roses and Oasis recorded albums that changed the world. Make your way uphill, where you’ll find charming foodie treasure The Stonemill. Take your pick from the sharing platters, or choose from the lunch ‘market menu’- 2 courses for £21.95 or 3 for £24.95. How about Wye Valley asparagus or shoulder of Raglan lamb? All the meats are provided by F E Richards of Crickhowell, but the fresh bread is baked daily, in-house.
The Stonemill, Rockfield, Monmouth, Monmouthshire, NP25 5SW; tel: 01600 716273
Farm Shop: Apple County Cider (26 mins: 12.4 miles, North-West)
Apple County Cider: Whitehouse Farm, Castellnewydd, Monmouthshire, NP25 5NS; tel: 01600 750835
Gastro Pub: The Bell at Skenfrith (27 mins; 13.4 miles North-West)
At last, retire to the bar of one of the cosiest gastro pubs in Wales; The Bell at Skenfrith - a 17th century former coaching inn in the village of Ynysgynwraidd on the banks of the river Mynwy (Monnow). Or if you’re visiting in the presence of your four-legged friend, make a bee-line next door, to The Dog and Boot Bar. Go for an elderflower Bellini, or a pint of Wye Valley Brewery’s Butty Bach, then take your seat by the open fire. Having wandered the greater area for the ghost of Owain Glyndŵr (rumoured to have spent his final years in the village of Kentchurch, 6 miles away), you’d be starving for your Sunday lunch; start with the Perl Las cheese brûlée, followed by the sirloin of Hereford beef, polished off with a passion fruit parfait. Then seriously consider the 11 en-suite bedrooms, and do the sanest possible thing; book a room for one final ‘nos da’! Apple County Cider
Time to stock-up on some local, seasonal treats, or gifts for your nearest and dearest. Not far from Ancre Hill Estates – who produce award-winning Welsh wine – you’ll find Apple County Cider at Whitehouse Farm on the outskirts of Castell-newydd (Newcastle). Overlooking the Monnow valley, make your way past the orchard towards a stall full of produce, where Pippin the dog awaits! Although the cider production ends towards the end of October, there are plenty of bottles to keep you going, including the Great Taste Golden Fork award-winning lightly sparkling Dabinett Medium Cider. Once the cold sets in for winter, purchase a flagon of Apple County mulled cider - the perfect way to warm the cockles of your heart!
