House
The lodge in truffle season
When the first frost comes to the Southern Forests, the lodge changes its habits. The fire is lit, the menu darkens and the truffle arrives at the back door.
Winter
A fire in the dining room
There is a morning each year when I come in and the shed is so cold that my breath hangs in front of me. I light the wood stove, put the kettle on and wait for the roof to warm. By the afternoon the whole building smells of woodsmoke and pastry, and winter has properly begun.
The cold season is our busiest. Visitors drive south for the truffle markets, locals come for the warmth, and the casino room is full on Saturdays from the first lamp to the last. Booking ahead is wise.
What winter changes
The menu
Gareth Clarke leans into the weather. The trout comes with truffle butter, the gratin with a shaving of truffle, and the pies are made larger. A leek and potato soup joins the board, and puddings become warmer, heavier and more generous.
The floor
Glenn Russo moves the long table closer to the stove and sets rugs on the verandah chairs for the brave. Guests arrive in jackets and scarves, and the pegs inside the green door groan under the weight.
The tables
In winter the casino room is the warmest in the building. Megan Atkinson says cards feel different in the cold, crisper and a little slower, and that the regulars play better when their hands are warm.
If you are visiting in the cold months, come early and take a seat beside the stove. A hot pie, a pot of tea and a quiet hand of cards is as good an evening as the forest country can offer.
Visitors are sometimes surprised that the casino room, on a winter Saturday, is as quiet as a library. The cold seems to hush people, and the clay chips make a gentler sound in a warm room. I have come to think of the whole season as one long, slow, well-fed evening.