Another walk today! This time in the Cotswold. Here’s the map:
The title sums up our feeling about Gilpin Source. To be honest you’d think a $500 Michelin star dinner would draw more passion from us. All the food was nicely prepared, all but one of the wine pairings were exceptional (the pre-dessert dessert pairing was awful, I think they were trying to dump some wine that would have gone better with something very sweet), service was cold but fine (this was a suprise for us because on our last visit Gilpin service was exceptional), the atmosphere was fine, and the food was, well, mostly predictable.
They’d given up on any dress code pretense and most patrons were in jeans and T’s - this didn’t help the atmosphere. Not saying you have to be formal but lack of any standard contributes to a perceived lack of overall quality. I’m fine with casual but slacks and a nice shirt would at least “class the joint up.”
On to the food: Stand out’s were the starter “gin and tonic” - a sphereification of a gin and tonic foam wrapped in a cucumber shell. Unfortunately we didn’t get a picture - and, the final dessert - a white chocolate foam with strawberries and a light ice cream. As I said other than that the food was predictable (soup, starch, fish, meat, etc). We both felt the “pre-dessert and dessert” (shown below) were a cop out - they should have thrown another savory course in (particularly as the “gin and tonic” was slightly sweet). The bread was basically a bake in pan Parker house roll - fine but all it showed us is they don’t have a baker on staff - accompanied by butter with sea salt (not terribly inventive). The rest, well as I said above, predictable. There was a great wine pairing with our final dessert (shown below), We’d never heard of the wine but it went well with a slightly sweet dessert. Here are a few photos of the night:
Yesterday we ate a Simon Rogan's Henrock (three rosettes). A high 7/low 8 out of 10. I honestly don't see this going to much further - service was good but not exceptional, food was good but not exceptional, presentation was good but not exceptional...well you get the idea. A disappointment for something with Simon Rogan’s name attached. Brief summary:
Fran starter:Moroccan spiced Hedgewick Lamb belly with Peacock Kale, Lovage, Cucamelon Jam & Boltardy Beetroot. The Beetroot foam was great but the Kale was bitter which kind of destroyed the dish for her
Ken Starter: Marinated Bavette of Cornish Beef (Tartare) with Chimichurri, Avocado, Chickpea. This was a good dish - I love tartare and this was done right.
Main (We had the same thing): Slow cooked pork saddle from Fell Farm with Crispy Noodles (on top), White Lisbon Onion, Hen Egg Cream & Chard. We diverged a bit here. I felt I couldn't taste the pork through the noodles but Fran liked it. On the other hand she felt the egg cream didn't add anything to the dish
Fran Pudding: Sorbet (Rasberry and Blood Orange) - it was fine but didn't stand out
Ken Pudding: Jostaberries, Hazelnut, Cheesecake Ice Cream & Shiso - this was quite good but a bit heavy.
We've really enjoyed trying some of the UK's, if not the worlds, best restaurants and food. One of our goals this trip was to try some of the food of the amazing chefs we've watched on the telly - mostly through the Great British Menu. We've had some innovative food and great wines. I've learned a ton about different food preparations, menu composition, presentation, wine, and service in general. For example, don't get caught up with the standard ideas (meat and veg, fish before meat, red wine with meat, etc) and just do what works, focus on the main ingredient and don't let garnishment detract for it, sharing is fun, and small plates are better than big plates. I'll use much of this in my cooking at home (when I do fancier stuff).
And, we're tired of all the fine dining. We both agree we're looking forward to some home cooking and not having wine with each course. I know - I can hear the worlds smallest violin playing - 1%er problem. I'm not writing this to complain but just to say part of what makes special occasions special is the fact it's an occasion not a regular occurrence. Too much of a good thing and the experiences blur. You get hypercritical of what is served (is this a good thing?) - we notice seasoning, quality of produce, garnish, etc. In short you tend to become a critic rather than just enjoying the event.
Still I wouldn't change a thing. Being "foodies" is a shared hobby for Fran and I. In that regard this is the trip of a lifetime. But, we are looking forward to a steak and some broccoli cooked on the grill at home.
We had a wonderful dinner on October 18th at Gilpin Spice. It's a three rosette Asian-fusion restaurant. We visited Spice for the first time about 5 years ago. We didn't like it then, it just seemed derivative. Since we were last there the head chef changed and we both felt the place really turned around. We were able to sit at the chef's table overlooking the open kitchen and talk with head chef Aakash Ohol. His philosophy was that each dish should represent a specific Asian influence (Japanese, Vietnamese, Indian, etc). It was a memorable sharing meal. The food was beautifully presented and tasty - another 8 out of 10. I'm not sure of the circumstances but, chef will be leaving Spice in December. Didn't sound like it was his choice. We'll see if it remains a pan-Asian restaurant and if it regresses. Anyway glad we got to eat there again. Here are a few photos.
We’re headed off to the Source (the Michelin starred restaurant at Gilpin) tonight. Will report in.
We've eaten at some amazing places. I don't want to do a bunch of photos of food right now but I do want to mention two places we ate for future reference and give a few pics.
1. The Bailiff Gate Bistro (the restaurant associated with the Cookie Jar in Alnwick) was really good. We ate there two nights in a row, in part because one of the nights was Sunday and there was nothing else open in Alnwick other than greasy pubs. But, in all fairness both nights were really good (high 7/low 8 out of 10).
2. In Ambleside we ate at the 3 Michelin rosette restaurant in the Rothay Manor Hotel, the place we stayed. It is definitely on it's way to being great and should be a stop on the next trip. Great food, great service, and an amazing cheese trolley (I had a blue <Something> Cote that was the best blue cheese I've ever had). Fran's dessert, a poached pear with a few do-dads was the only disappointment, and then only slightly because the pear didn't taste fresh. 8 out of 10 on it's way to a 9 soon.
Ambleside is fun but I’m not sure I’ll post any pictures of the town. First, I’ve posted pics before. And second, the walks around the town are more interesting than the town itself. We will come back here but more for the walks than the town itself.
Trip has been great so far. We're both a bit saddened that it's coming to an end (we'll be home in less than two weeks - or a fortnight as they say here). But, we also miss our lives and family (particularly the grand kids) back home. Will we go for six weeks again? Maybe. We certainly love the hiking and the food. Hotels have been fine but, ultimately, a hotel is a hotel in my mind. It's been fun to talk to different people from the deep conversations we've had with the owner of the B&B in Sandwich to the fun joking we've done with the truck driver and his buddy in an 800 year old Stamford pub. I like the different perspectives we've been exposed to (although I think my ultimate conclusion is people are people). I've learned a lot (particularly about food, I've given some thoughts here but I may do another post about it). And, we've seen some amazing things. The history is fun (like King Georges palace in Brighton) but the countryside and the walks are at the top of my list.
Took a wonderful walk around Ambleside around the low fells (hills) yesterday. Here are a few photos from the walk:
First the trail note after finishing this we decided to do more and headed out toward Grasmere)
We originally intended to go up over the hills to Troutbeck and the Mortal Man Pub for lunch but with Fran’s knee acting up and that walk had 2000 feet elevation gain/descent we decided a walk with 600 feet a better choice. Enough blathering and on with some photos:
