Starters - Chef news
Pub owners Tom and Ed Martin have launched their third venue, the Gun at Coldharbour in London's Docklands.
The brothers have revamped the 19th-century Grade II listed building as a modern gastro pub serving a British menu with modern European influences. The duo, who also own the White Swan at Fetter Lane and the Well at St John's Street, have adopted a nautical approach to décor. The Gun's dining room includes a mural of Lord Nelson to celebrate a local legend that the pub was once a hideaway for Lord Nelson and his lover Lady Emma Hamilton. Head chef Scott Wade, formerly of Michelin-starred Mirabelle and Drones, offers dishes that include six Irish rock oysters with shallots and Cabernet Sauvignon vinegar.
The Dartmoor Inn at Lydford, Devon, the Trouble House, Tetbury, Gloucestershire, the Pilgrims at Lovington, Castle Cary, Somerset, and the Tollgate Inn, Holt, Trowbridge, Wiltshire, have all won gold awards in the Taste of the West Food and Drink Awards. The awards are organised by regional food group South West Food & Drink. This year's awards saw record entries from pubs committed to serving their guests with locally-produced food and drink from Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire.
Chef/proprietor Michael Bedford of the Trouble House in Tetbury said: "Our main objective is to use good-quality West country produce and suppliers wherever possible. Using regionally-sourced fish, meat, cheese and vegetables gives our customers and visitors to the region greater awareness of the impressive tradition that the West Country has for farming and quality food."
A new pub celebrating fine English fare has opened in Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire. The Rose & Crown will celebrate best of British with ingredients sourced from local vegetable plots and a focus on gin-based cocktails. Owners More Than Just a Pub Co spent £100,000 as part of a revamp designed to create an intimate and warm venue. Pub manager Ian Harvey and his staff offer tips on food and drink matching from the pub's menu. Head chef Tim Shanks, who trained with TV chef Jamie Oliver, offers an English-themed menu.
The Coach & Horses on Ray Street, just off Farringdon Road, London, has won the Best Gastropub 2004 award from Time Out magazine. Run by lessee Giles Webster and his wife, Colette, the Coach & Horses underwent an extensive enovation at the beginning of 2003, re-opening at the end of May with a stunning new look and menu. Starters, such as globe artichoke and a simple combination of squid, chorizo, garlic and parsley, complement a choice of around five mains, including poached organic salmon with fennel, sorrel and cucumber and tender rabbit with butter beans, and piquillo peppers and oregano. Head chefs are Andrew Tyrrell and Stephen Williams, supported by executive chef, Juliet Peston - a former head chef at Alastair Little's restaurant on Frith Street, Soho.
The English Beef and Lamb Executive has praised the outstanding quality of lamb dishes served at four UK pubs. The Smoker in Knutsford, Cheshire, the Fleece Inn at Dolphinholme, Lancashire, the Crown Inn at Finstock, Oxfordshire, and the Blacksmiths Arms at Broughton Mills, Cumbria, won a competition to find the "Best Lamb Dish Served in an English Pub". EBLEX judges commended the pubs for using local suppliers and promoting the origin of meats on their menu. John Bailey, winning landlord at the Smoker in Knutsford, said: "The Lamb Henry dish that won the competition was suggested by our but cher - I've known him all my life and I trust his advice."
