Richard Fox looks at menu ideas for celebrating St George's Day.
St George's Day is one of the biggest events in the English pub calendar - well it would be wouldn't it? After all, Italian food dominates our high street menus; Indian is our favourite post-pub tucker; the French language still peppers the vocabulary of certain London, Escoffierstyle kitchens, while Mediterranean-based liquids drizzle over just about everything. Detecting a certain bitterness here? Well maybe just a little.
But before you label me a culinary xenophobe, let me tell you that my cupboards are littered with sheets of Nori seaweed, Thai Nam Pla, truly stinking blocks of shrimp paste (which miraculously trans- forms a Malaysian Laksa into something quite sublime), while my fridge is bursting with fine Belgian beer. However, if we find ourselves toasting just about every away day on the international calendar from St Nicholas to the year of the monkey, while St George's Day sails by without so much as a nod, then shame on us.
I know it may seem at times that we have precious little to shout about - with the exception of Johnny W and his wonder boys in the Rugby World Cup. But let's just take a moment and reflect on some of our finer moments: crispy, battered slabs of succulent cod with golden crusted potato chips; magically risen Yorkshire puddings; and tender fillets of homegrown lamb and venison. A local Cumberland, herb-infused sausage stands up to the best Toulouse has to offer and certainly gives the Spanish chorizo a run for its money. And when it comes to desserts, the bread and butter pudding takes the biscuit. Having said all this, I do appreciate that in these days of "Dali-esque" presentation, such old timers may not always cut the mustard from an aesthetic point of view. If then,we want to maintain any sense of national culinary heritage - and generate a nice little earner for our pub in the process, it's time for a little lateral thought.
Start thinking about the gastro equivalent of Changing Rooms or Ground Force. It's makeover time, folks, for the grand dishes of olde England. Take fish and chips, for example. Why not offer them as a starter or snack item instead of a whopping great mountain? Just substitute the cod or haddock for a flat fish like lemon sole, or, cheaper still, plaice. Cut into goujon-sized strips, flour, egg wash and breadcrumb, and bingo! You've got delicious deep-fried fish that can be served any which way you choose. And if you really want to get down with the fancy London party scene, make up your own branded cones to serve them in with a few matchstick fries. Simply take an A5 piece of card or thick paper, printed off on the computer with your own logo or message, fold into a cone shape and secure with a couple of staples.To guard against dripping vinegar, just make a greaseproof paper insert in the same shape and fold up the bottom.
When it comes to Yorkshire pudding, the miniaturising principle can work a treat. Imagine a trio of muffin-sized Yorkshires filled with a sliver of beef, lamb and venison respectively with an accompaniment of horseradish cream, mint sauce and redcurrant jelly. Add a fresh watercress garnish and a red wine jus and you've got a dish worth celebrating. The fact is, so many great dishes have fallen from grace due to trends or dietary fads: Beef Wellington, prawn cocktail and Omelette Arnold Bennett have all fallen victim to the food fashion police in recent years. So why not just substitute the beef for a hip, young venison? The jet-setting tiger prawn can take the place of its diminutive north Atlantic cousin, while the Omelette Arnold Bennett - named after the novelist and theatre critic - is a great veggy option. It's basically just a smoked haddock and cheese omelette, but it's quintessentially English, having been created by the Savoy in the 1930s as a tribute to the great man.
Finally, if you really want a scrum at the bar, just put out a few bowls of mini bangers and mash: slit along the length and pipe in a creamy mustard mash. George is back and he's got the grub to prove it. Just remember to shout loud and clear about his intentions before the great day for maximum benefit.
Top five makeovers 1. Mini Yorkshire pudding filled withbeef, lamb or venison 2. Bread-crumbed fish goujons with matchstick fries 3. Tiger prawn cocktail with home-made Marie rose and avocado 4. Venison Wellington 5. Omelette Arnold Bennett with watercress and spinach salad
St George's Day ideas For a simple idea, try glazing a joint of beef or lamb during the last 10 minutes of cooking time with redcurrant jelly, cranberry sauce or honey and mustard. For a rich gravy, simply soften a sliced red onion, add meat juices, some red wine or English beer and a spoonful of muscavado sugar. Alternatively, add either a spoonful of mustard, redcurrant jelly, cranberry sauce or chopped herbs to your usual gravy. The perfect partner to beef, try jazzing up your Yorkshire puddings with fresh herbs or chopped onion. Or try making an all-in-one vegetable toad-in-the-hole by roasting some root vegetables in a large roasting tin and then pouring your usual batter over the top. Roast vegetables alongside your potatoes - try root vegetables such as carrots, onions and parsnips, or try adding cloves of garlic and sprigs of rosemary or thyme.
Source: EBLEX( English Beef and Lamb Executive)
On the menu for St George's Day The Riverside Inn in Aymestrey, Herefordshire, will be offering a special St George's Day menu.
Dishes will include: fillet steak Wellington made from locally-bred beef, with a Madeira jus, thinly-sliced calves liver with Shropshire Blue dumplings and a meat jus, and pan-fried local lamb leg steak topped with layers of braised, diced vegetables and sliced sautéd potato. The pub's owner Richard Gresko says: "We feel it is a case of persisting with St George's Day as a promotion over the next few years, growing it each year. "We put lots of emphasis in using English produce and were awarded Pub of the Year by Flavours of Herefordshire for use of local produce."
He said the pub will be using local Hereford Cross beef on the menu and will also be offering St George's Brew from the Wye Valley Brewery. The King's Arms in Twickenham will be celebrating St George's Day with traditional English food, such as steak and kidney pie and bangers and mash. The pub has been celebrating the occasion for the past six years and is normally packed with around 150 people. Meanwhile, Bedford-based brewer Charles Wells will be offering traditional English menus across its managed estate for St George's Day. The brewer, which annually promotes its Bombardier Bitter as the central plank of St George's Day celebrations, will be featuring dishes such as steak and ale pie, Lancashire hot pot and traditional roast beef.
At the Park, in Bedford, the menu will feature more innovative dishes such as braised pigs hock & hands with a mustard & apple jus, while at the King William in Kempston, near Bedford, among the dishes on offer will be faggots with mushy peas, Bombardier gravy and chips. The Eaton Oak, another Charles Wells pub, at St Neots, Cambridgeshire, will be holding a week-long celebration to mark the event with a different St George's Day dish on offer every day. At the Sondes Arms, at Rockingham, Northants, a medieval banquet will take place on St George's Day.
Get the basics right Don't forget the kids. If you have created a St George's Day menu, make sure it is adaptable to the children's menu. Publicise your St George's Day event well in advance. Put up posters and specials boards to let your customers know that St George's Day will be a special promotion in your pub. Have a specials board for the event. If you don't want to change your whole menu, then offer a few St George's Day dishes on your specials. Decorate your pub. Use flags, balloons and banners to give your St