Kitchen
New on the board this season
Gareth Clarke changes a third of the menu each season, and this time he has added a vegetarian pie, a braised lamb shank and an apple pie that needed three attempts.
From the kitchen
Three dishes, four weeks of testing
Gareth tests new dishes on the staff first. The mushroom and thyme pie was served to the whole rota for four consecutive days, and each of us was handed a card on which to write one honest sentence. Glenn Russo wrote 'needs more thyme'. Gareth added more thyme.
The lamb shank has been on a trial board for a month, and the apple pie, as he admits, took three attempts. The first was too sweet, the second too dry, and the third, he says, finally tasted like an autumn afternoon.
The new dishes
Mushroom and thyme pie
Field mushrooms cooked down with thyme, a little cream and a touch of garlic, sealed under a shortcrust lid. It is vegetarian, rich and surprisingly filling, and a plate of buttered greens completes it.
Braised lamb shank
A lamb shank cooked for four hours with rosemary, carrot and stock until it falls from the bone. It is served on creamy mash with beans, and the gravy is made from the same braise. Gareth's only instruction to the waiters is to carry it carefully.
Apple and cinnamon pie
Orchard apples sliced thin with cinnamon in short pastry, baked until the top is golden and served warm with custard. The apples come from a grower down the highway whose trees Gareth has visited every season since we opened.
Tea and coffee are on the board as always, and the sticky date pudding has not moved. Gareth says it will be buried with him. We hope this is some way off.
If you are coming this week, my advice is to ask Renee Wells which of the three is freshest, since the first batch of each is always the best. She will tell you honestly, as she always does, and you may find yourself ordering the pie you had not expected to want.