Mitton Hall Lancashire Taster Menu

Recently on a wintry evening we popped along to visit Mitton Hall for their Lancashire Taster menu, the hall dates from the 15th century and is situated in the stunning Ribble Valley countryside just outside Whalley nr Clitheroe.

Now run as a country house hotel by the James Places Group, the property features stunning interior design which complement the ancient architectural features yet creating the atmosphere of a contemporary country house hotel. A favourite for weddings and romantic get aways....

Sumptuous decoration greeted us and the hall was warm and welcoming, the fire dancing in the impressive fire place. After a quick tour we waited by the fireplace for the taster event to start.

The Luxe bar is home to a wide range beers, wines and spirits and a resident mixologist, who will whip you any cocktail your heart desires, for you to enjoy in the comfortable relaxed environment.

Another 14 diners were joining us to experience the Lancashire Taster  in the sumptuous dining room, beautifully decorated. I loved the opulent yet modern chandeliers.

Country house yet, cosy. A lovely space to enjoy dinner...

So on to our menu for the evening, 10 courses of Lancashire's finest flavours.

I'm not a great fan of brief menus, whilst appreciating that this is the current trend and this is a taster menu, I do like to know what I am getting, when one or two of the dishes came out I must admit I was a tad perplexed with the resultant dish. May be this is just me.


Cockles, damson and black pudding.


                                       


Crispy cockles served with a black pudding and damson puree, a nicely balanced dish with earthy savoury black pudding and the sweet fruity damson complementing the sweet salty cockles.

Lancashire Curd, burnt onion and grapefruit


                                                  

Milky slightly salty Lancashire curd coated with burnt onion powder, sweet red grapefruit and tiny burnt onion leaves and begonia flowers. The onion and grapefruit worked well but the Lancashire curd was rather bland and (sorry) a little diaryleaish in flavour.

Corn Beef hash, brown sauce


                                            

A deconstructed corn beef hash, a ball of rich meaty corned beef wrapped in spiralized potato and carrot, deep fried and served with egg yolk ( mine was a little cold) and a spicy brown sauce. Tasty savoury hit, dish balance was good.

Elderflower, pear and popping candy

                                             

Both Mr LF and myself thought this was one of the best dishes of the evening, possibly in the wrong position on the menu as a palate cleanser but lovely all the same. The elderflower foam perhaps could have been a little thicker and slightly more flavourful but it balanced beautifully with the hidden pear sorbet, the popping candy gave the dish a little sparky finish.

Surf and Turf, whitebait and venison
                                      

Well flavoured fishy whitebait served with perfectly pink venison, the salmon caviar provided little salty bursts along with the black olive puree. I love whitebait and this was hot and crispy but my venison was a little cool.

Goosnargh Duck, salsify, turnip and lavender.

                                       

Nicely presented dish but most of the items on my plate were cold, the duck was still slightly pink but cold and therefore very chewy, the puy lentil accompaniment likewise, But the puree and vegetables were hot, I also couldn't detect the lavender flavours. Sorry but I was disappointed as I really like Goosnargh duck.

Smoked Haddock and morecambe bay shrimps, lime

                                      

A novel approach to serving fish , a perfectly soft boiled egg, wrapped in smoked haddock and shrimp force meat , deep fried and served with a lime sauce. Overall a nice dish , maybe the smoked haddock could have been a little more smokey and the lime sauce a little less limey but the balance was good.

Nannykins Goats Cheese, candied fennel

                                       

Next up was a Lancashire take on a burek, a spinach and goats cheese filled pastry cigar, the pastry was a little heavy and the goats cheese was a little lost against the spinach in the filling, the cigar was I also felt over sized for a taster menu. The candied fennel was very tasty and contrasted well with the rest of the dish cutting the heaviness of the cheese cigar.

Oops I dropped my Manchester Tart

                                        

Deconstructed Manchester tart, lovely fruity jammy sauce, vanilla custard, coconut ice and dessicated coconut and a short biscuity disc, all the essential flavours of the traditional tart.

Chocolate and Chestnut

                                                   

Our final course, a celebration of chocolate, parfait, mousse, cherries, chocolate sauce, chestnut mousse, cherry jam. Deliciously decadent and a nice end to the meal.

Overall we enjoyed our visit to Mitton Hall, I was a little disappointed by the cold dish I was served (I did point this out on the evening) and Mr LF was left a little flummoxed when his beer glass was removed whilst not being empty and not questioned as to whether he would like a replacement, a minor point but slightly off putting.

Also apologies for some of the quality of the images particularly of the food, as the table we were sat at had very poor lighting , lovely and intimate but difficult to take good images. We also didn't want to use a tripod as we feel this is off putting to other diners in the restaurant.

Mitton Hall is situated just outside Whalley nr Clitheroe, bookings can be made via their website

                                    



Our tasting menu was provided on a complementary basis by James Places however I was not required to write a review (positive or otherwise), all comments, views and opinions are my own.

Butlers - Blacksticks Blue Truckle with sticky date and fig and raisin topping

Gosh its been a while since we did a cheese post, but here is a very special one, specially dressed for Christmas this cute Baby Blackstick Blue Truckle has arrived to join our celebrations.

Blacksticks Blue is created lovingly by Butlers Cheeses at Inglewhite Dairy in rural Lancashire, this cheese make the perfect centrepiece for your cheese board. It's an amazing colour and a creamy, buttery mild blue cheese, and at this time of year you can also find it with a special complimentary fruity tangy topping that perfectly marries with the cheese.

A favourite of chefs and cheesemongers alike this cheese is perfect in recipes, cooking and simply served as it is. A truckle is approx 400g of cheese

Available direct from Butlers or any quality cheesemonger

Woodalls Charcuterie - perfect for Christmas

Using only the finest Outdoor bred British pork, Woodall's have for 8 generations been producing delicious British Charcuterie and pork products.

Utilising innovative curing, smoking and preserving methods they produce a wonderful range of charcuterie including air dried hams and salamis. All perfect to serve at any celebration or get together.

We taste tested

Royale Air Dried Ham , a great taste award winner. Pickled in pale ale, molasses, vinegar and brown sugar before being smoked, then air dried ham is tasty with a rich sweet salty flour and a delicious melt in the mouth texture. Perfect for platter serving but also in recipes as a prosciutto substitute.

Black pepper and garlic salami, a meaty aromatic flavoursome salami with just enough pepper heat but also with pepper fragrance finely balanced with a warm earthy garlic note.

Spicy Cumberland Salami - a wonderfully British chorizo equivalent, less fatty and with a warm delicate paprika heat.

Norfolk Mustard Salami - a little cheeky blend of classic Norfolk mustard powder and seeds, that give this salami a warm well rounded flavour. A British classic twist.

Woodall's Charcuterie is available from Booths Supermarkets, Harrods and Selfridges and various farm shops and quality outlets nationwide.

This is a review post, product for taste test where sent FOC and all thoughts, comments and opinions are our own.

Re'velo'ution at Twin Lakes Velo Cafe for South Lancashire Clandestine Cake Club

November saw at visit to the "Twin Lakes " Velo cafe for South Lancashire Clandestine Cake Club, it was a chilly day bright but cold, the welcome was warm and friendly in this tucked away venue near the village of Croston, near Chorley.

Situated by two lakes hence the name and with a cycling theme as the area is popular with cyclists the cafe is a little of the beaten track, our members however had no trouble locating our event and arrived a wonderful selection of suitably themed cakes.

Our cakes attracted a lot of attention from cyclists and passing walkers who pop in for a warming drink or snack whilst in the area.

Our cakes included a Yellow Jersey cake, Brandy snap cake, Paris Brest, Chocolate, cherry and chestnut roulade, Tipsy Orange truffle cake, Treacle and lemon dizzle bundt, Berry and cream rings cake, Chocolate, coffee meringue roulade, Carrot and Chocolate roulade, Black Forest Circular and Clares Mum's Wheely good cake.

The lady who made the Paris Brest, wrote a little missive on her trails and tribulations on making her creation for her first cake club.

"How not to make a Paris Brest"

It may be on theme, but  35 step recipe is possibly a little ambitious to start with. Still some of the steps are pretty straightforward –eg step 21 When cooked remove from oven & leave to cool. The cake  only takes 1 hr 30 mins to complete.

8.30 start . Step 1 All ingredients assembled by 8.45. Dropped plain flour on to chair, so have to use part self raising. Also snapped thermometer Not sure it can still be used in 2 pieces.

Panada . Butter, salt, water in pan, boiling. Tick. Remove from heat . Add all flour at once. Too stiff to stir & certainly doesn’t need drying off. Add eggs one by one. Should be shiny, not dull and drop off a spoon in 3 seconds rather than 3 minutes. Add another egg

Pipe 3 rings onto greaseproof. Looks singularly unattractive. (picture available)  Just remembered in time to glaze with beaten egg. Supposed to sprinkle with 100g flaked almonds, but only about ½ will fit on.

Cook for 20mins at 180- nowhere near done. After 30 mins almonds burning, so removed. Has not risen

Almond praline cream

Boil up sugar syrup- get husband to stick finger in or guess when it is done. Beat in 8 egg yolks then 250g butter. Continue to beat for an hour to an hour and a half (resting mixer frequently to stop motor wearing out) Add almond butter. How can this still be liquid?

Assembly

Slice a very thin uneven layer off the top.  Rebake  bottom half for 10 minutes as it is completely raw.

Cool. Pipe in squidgy praline cream, try not to laugh. Spend 40 minutes trying to clear the kitchen walls and work surfaces  of choux pastry base, praline cream and egg.

Now seeking recipes needing 8 egg whites and a bowl of almond praline cream.

  

Original recipe used was

https://www.meilleurduchef.com/cgi/mdc/l/en/recipe/paris-brest.html

This made us all chuckle ! 😋😋😋😋

Thanks go to all the team at the Velo Cafe for making us so welcome

Top Lancashire Chefs take London by storm for Lancashire Day

Lancashire chefs take Lancashire to London

Cooked for the country’s top critics in Lancashire Day showcase

The Ribble Valley’s top chefs headed to London to celebrate Lancashire Day in delicious style. Five chefs including Stosie Madi fromParkersarms, Chris Bury from The Cartford Inn, Maurizio Bocchi from La Locanda, Steven Smith from Freemason’s at Wiswell and Lisa Goodwin-Allen from Michelin starred Northcote prepared a 5 course feast for top food writers, critics and industry insiders at the exclusive IceTank venue in Covent Garden on Thursday the 17^th of November.

                               

Ruth Connor, Chief Executive of Marketing Lancashire said, “The Lancashire Day Lunch was a triumph. Our aim is to position Lancashire at the forefront of culinary destinations nationwide and following this successful event our food and drink offer is now firmly on the map, with national journalists and influencers taking note. We couldn’t have been prouder of our chefs, working together to present course after course of the very best of Lancashire.”

                                 

The event, supported by Lancashire County Council and official travel partner Virgin Trains, is part of the county’s Lancashire Day celebrations that will culminate on Lancashire Day, 27 November. Marketing Lancashire is spear-heading a social media campaign inviting all proud Lancastrians to post images of their favourite Lancashire scenes, events and delicious local produce using #LancashireDay.  Last year a similar campaign reached over 40 million people in 816 locations worldwide.

                                 

Maurizio Bocchi, chef-patron at La Locanda, in Gisburn, which is the highest rated Italian restaurant outside London, said “As an adopted Lancastrian who tries to celebrate the Lancashire larder in every dish I produce, it was fantastic to be able to showcase this in London. I was very proud to be a part of such a game changing initiative.”

                                                                                                  

 Stosie Madi, chef-patron at multi award-winning Parkersarms said “It was a spectacular showcase and a chance for some of the UK’s most respected critics and writers to try our food. I served a Cockerham Saltmarsh Lamb and Lytham Cockle Pie, and received some wonderful feedback, a very proud moment.”

                               

Steven Smith, Chef Patron at The Freemasons at Wiswell, said; “There is an abundance of quality operators and producers in our region and it was fantastic to be able to package that offering up and deliver it to an esteemed audience in London. I’m very proud that The Freemasons was part of such a great event, which really showcased what we’re capable of and hopefully will drive incentivise media to include Lancashire in their food & drink and travel features in the future.”

                               

Jennifer Mein, County Councillor and Leader of Lancashire County Council said,

“Lancashire’s food and drink sector is worth around £734 million to Lancashire’s visitor economy and the sector supports an estimated 12,937 food and drink related posts. Taking ‘Lancashire to London’ will encourage more visitors to sample and appreciate the county’s rich larder.  We have some of the best produce in the country and raising awareness of this around Lancashire Day, sends out a strong message to visitors as well as to proud Lancastrians.”

Food and drink is worth around £734 million to Lancashire’s visitor economy, which has grown by £129 million over the last 6 years. This makes the county’s food and drink sector a strategic priority for the Lancashire Enterprise Partnership (LEP) as highlighted in the newly launched Lancashire narrative and ‘We Are Lancashire’ campaign, along with the county’s advanced manufacturing, tourism and connectivity by air, sea and rail.

                                         

The 5 award winning chefs cooking were Lisa Goodwin-Allen, Head Chef of Michelin-starred Northcote, Maurizo Bocchi from La Locanda, Chris Bury from The Cartford Inn, Stosie Madi from The Parker’s Arms and Steven Smith from the Freemasons at Wiswell.   

                                                  

                                                     

                                                                                                                                            

The menu featured a wealth of Lancastrian producers from traditional Morecambe Bay shrimps & Lytham cockles, Goosnargh duck, artisan goat’s cheese from Capra Products, Ormskirk potatoes, Salt Marsh lamb from Cockerham, Brockhall village apples, honey from Crossmoor Farm, raw milk butter from Gazegill Organics and Burnley’s latest artisan gin distiller, Batch Brew.  Burnley-based CoolKit Ltd provided refrigerated transport to ensure all the ingredients arrive in top condition. 

                                                    

The unique meal included a gourmet coffee course from Lancaster’s oldest and most admired coffee importers Atkinson’s. The feast ended in true Lancashire style with a Lancashire cheese board supplied by Dewlay and Mrs. Kirkham’s, alongside handmade chutneys from Heritage Kitchen and biscuits from Farmhouse Biscuits. 

                             

On the 27 November 1295 King Edward I invited Lancashire’s first representatives to attend Parliament. Today this historic event is marked by the reading of proclamations, swearing allegiance to the Queen, and by numerous events and activities taking place across the county to celebrate what we now call Lancashire Day (27 November).

Content and Images supplied by Marketing Lancashire