The Pig and Whistle, Cartmel

Picture: www.lenclume.co.uk

I heard it through the grapevine. Simon Rogan (the culinary wizard behind L'Enclume) had bought his local. Just aside from the main Cartmel village lies the Pig and Whistle. We knew absolutely nothing about it other that Simon had taken over. Don't bother looking for a website at the moment, as it is an old one owned by the previous proprietors. Nor is there anything on the L'Enclume website.

Within minutes I was on the blower to our fellow Horwich Fine Dining Society members Wayne and Vicki (MrsPetticoat) to arrange a date.

What to expect? Experimental 'at one with nature' gastronomy like L'Enclume? Perhaps gastro pub excellence like Heston's Hind's Head? The difficult part of knowing next to nothing about the menu or level of dining they are aiming for is that your expectations are shot at.

I have to admit, we were hoping for a northern Hind's Head, but what we found was a small village pub, largely untouched by Simon's magic wand (no euphemism intended). You walk through the main door into a small bar where you are generally greeted by dogs and their owners rather than front of house staff.

The menu is small, but not in a bad way. We were also offered the roasts of the day which were pork and beef and a fish dish which I ignored (fish being evil). The dining room is a little cramped and a tad chilly, so I decided to go for the parsnip soup. Good winter warmer that! My husband had the Goosnargh duck, Vicki had the ham hock and Wayne picked the potted shrimps. Before our starters we also thought it was a good idea to try the cheesey balls (you heard). Rude not to. Bread also appeared. This was served with butter and pots of sea salt and crushed pepper. We do enjoy an establishment which serves salt with its bread, but we had a sneaking suspicion that this was not home made. Not a deal breaker, but worth noting.

Ordering was a bit of an ordeal, as our waitress disappeared after writing down our starters. We mentioned this to another waitress who was happy to resume the order, only for the original waitress to reappear. Apparently she was going to come back, but then off she shot again. Odd.

My bowl of soup was huge! It was thick and creamy and was served with parsnip crisps. I had to abandon this half way through for fear of becoming too full. Please bear in mind that by this stage I have snaffled four cheesey balls and a piece of bread. Everyone else was quite pleased with their choice of starter, but we did feel that the portion size of the shrimps was a little on the small side compared to the others.

I'd been ridiculously excited about my beef roast. Simon Rogan does a Sunday roast? Had to be amazing! Both Wayne and I picked this, and gave it exactly the same feedback. The meat was good quality and cooked nice and pink, the carrots still had a little bite to them and the roasties were perfectly crisp. However, it needed a little more seasoning and the whole thing was lukewarm. We were not fans of the spice infused swede which didn't work at all. Overall it was nice, but nothing spectacular. 

My husband had the beef and vegetable pie. Again, he gave it similar feedback. It was a little under seasoned and lacked the 'oomph' that we had expected. The Fisherman's Retreat in Shuttleworth do fantastic, tasty pies so we had hoped for something like that.  

Vicki's dish was the winner really. She had the suckling pig shoulder in cider and carrots. Perfectly seasoned with mash that she couldn't leave alone. 

Already on the approach to Death's door, we picked two desserts; the sticky date pudding and the chocolate mousse with gingerbread. My husband was a huge fan of the chocolate mousse. The gingerbread was more like a firm lebkuchen; full of festive spice, but a little on the crunchy side for me! The sticky date pudding was very rich, served with a toffee sauce and something that tasted like creme fraiche or yogurt, but had the consistency of ice cream... I would have liked this with (lots of) custard!

It's a difficult one to sum up. We had high expectations because of Simon Rogan's involvement in this venture, but upon visiting we got the impression that they are only aiming to be a country pub who serve food. If that is what you're looking for, you'll be happy. It's decent food at a reasonable price. I suppose we had hoped for something a bit different; maybe along the lines of a casual Hand and Flowers or (as I have said umpteen times now) the Hind's Head. 

They have only been open a few weeks so may still be finding their feet. If you are in the area it's worth a visit; if not, stay somewhere local.

Please leave your comments below... x

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Simon Rogan's Great British Menu at Rogan and Co.

We've watched the Great British Menu since day one. We cheered on our favourite chefs, and have sampled their 'Great British Menus' back in their restaurants. Can you imagine our excitement when one of our favourite chefs, Simon Rogan was to appear on the show? 

We are huge fans of L'Enclume, and hoped that he would bring something a little more exciting to the show. After winning the North West regional heat, Simon's dessert was picked for the banquet. We only had one option. We had to go and try this creation! So, my partner in crime, Mrs Petticoat (aka Vicki) booked us a table pronto. The Horwich Fine Dining Society were once again on tour. 

I hope you now understand the level of excitement we are talking about here? We were a little disappointed to hear that the Great British Menu was being served in L'Enclume's sister restaurant Rogan and Co. This also meant that we couldn't stay over in their rooms, and everywhere locally was booked up. So we booked a lunch reservation instead.

Yesterday Vicki called to check our reservation, and was informed that there was nothing there, and nothing that could be done. After a trip to work to retrieve the confirmation email, only then were we given a guarantee of a table. A table we booked weeks ago. This wasn't a great start, but we tried not to let it dampen our spirits. 

On arriving at the restaurant, we were seated and menus were brought over. It was Father's Day, so a special menu was also available. Unfortunately, this is where our experience started to go rapidly downhill. Please understand that I am not in the business of writing scathing reviews, and always try to remain constructive. I will therefore give you the facts. 

We were left almost twenty minutes without a drinks order being taken, whilst other diners were seated and theirs taken immediately. No apologies were made when it was taken, and the manager proceded to take our food order soon after that. About ten minutes later, some canapes arrived. I have to say these were lovely, if not a little hot! We didn't quite catch what they were, other than that they contained eel and had a smoky taste. I really liked these!

Then came some bread rolls. The bread itself was tasty, but we weren't actually told what flavours they were. One was clearly a crusty white roll, the other darker one had a treacly taste. These were a pleasant little filler as we were all starving!

I was particularly excited about the starter, as it had been so well received by Marcus Wareing during the filming of the Great British Menu. It was a warm salad, which reminded me a little of the Satio Tempestas which we had at Frantzen/Lindeberg in March (which was phenomenal). I can only describe this dish as 'nice'. The leaves were crispy compared to the smooth custard and there were lots of little additions on the plate which added a certain something. However, having eaten at L'Enclume several times, this felt a bit like a watered down version of what Simon normally serves. 

Grilled salad smoked over embers, ragstone, custard and cobnut

It was the fish course next. I'm not a huge fan of fish, but this one was lobster which I love. When this came, we all looked at each other in disbelief. Where was the lobster? There were two tiny pieces hidden under some yellow beetroot. When I got home I Googled a picture of what the dish had looked like on the TV. This reaffirmed what we had all thought. This dish was considerably smaller, and part of mine was overcooked.

Native lobster soaked in its own juices, with pickled beetroots,
sweet apple and cuckoo flower

Below is an image from the BBC website of the same dish. Considerably more lobster is served with this dish.

At this point the service slowed down considerably. Our waitress walked past our table several times, acknowledging that we still had plates in front of us and no drinks. In the end, we went and ordered drinks at the bar. It was nearly twenty minutes before our plates were removed. I would normally welcome a break before the main course, but we were all still ravenous!

We had been eyeing up the roast beef going past us which was on the Father's Day menu, and were looking forward to the suckling pig main. When it arrived it was tiny. Our hearts sank! The piece of pork belly was only twice the size of the canapes we had when we arrived. I have to say that the pork itself was obviously of high quality and was rich in flavour. I liked this. I would have just preferred to have slightly more of it. This amount is fine when you are in the middle of a fifteen course tasting menu, but in this instance was just not substantial enough for a main course.

Suckling pig cooked 24 hours with northern mead and nasturtium 

After the main course, again we had a lengthy wait before our plates were removed and our desserts arrived. Unfortunately, this time we had no cutlery to eat it with. My husband asked at the bar and it arrived promptly. I enjoyed this dessert. The hazelnuts were made into a sweet brittle and the ice-cream was smooth and creamy. The pears were tangy and it worked well as a combination of flavours.

Hazelnuts and sweet cheese, rosehips and anise hyssop

After our meal, we all felt a little deflated. We had been really excited about going back to Cartmel for this special menu, and were about to leave feeling quite angry. I decided to speak to the manager in a quieter part of the restaurant. I explained that the portion sizes, the difference to what we had seen on the show and the poor service had meant that we had not had the greatest dining experience. He assured me that Simon had cooked the meals himself, and suggested that sometimes customers have high expectations because of what the judges say on the show. I explained that we were also judging today's food by the standards of previous meals at L'Enclume. He said he would feed this back to Simon. Although I appreciated the fact he was doing something with my feedback, I wanted some acknowledgement that front of house were just as much to blame. 

I really am a huge fan of Simon's, but I couldn't help but feel like this food was like seeing about 30% of what he is capable of. Likewise, we have had fantastic service in L'Enclume.

Please do not let my review of this one occasion put you off going to L'Enclume. We have had some fantastic experiences there and fully intend to go back. I think perhaps the concept of recreating the Great British Menu at Rogan and Co is flawed. I understand that there is a huge overhaul of menu and processes underway at Rogan and Co, so this may have contributed to the disjointed feel in the dining room.

The Great British Menu cost £59 per head for four courses. We did receive a discount based on our feedback.

A Return to Lucy's of Ambleside - Up the Duff Pudding Club

We've been off work this week, so decided to make the most of it by cramming in some trips to our favourite places. A few weeks ago, we discovered Lucy's of Ambleside. We were so bowled over by their food and hospitality, we planned a return trip whilst we were still there! We booked on for Lucy's famous Up the Duff Pudding Club. 

We decided to drive up to Ambleside a little earlier than originally planned and get  some lunch. This was a fatal mistake! After three hours in traffic and another 30 minutes trying to find a parking space, we finally managed to get out of the car and stretch our legs. Starving, we headed for a pub that was still serving food at 3pm! This wasn't great, but we were Hank Marvin! 

However, we made the most of our afternoon by perusing what Ambleside had hidden from us on our first trip. We played a little Crazy Golf (I'm not even joking...), had home made lemonade and cakes at The Apple Pie and tea on the balcony at Zephirellis.

You can imagine by now that we might be quite full? Yes. We were. Most people might have gone home. No. We had pudding club yet to come... I'll be honest. I thought I would walk it. I'm used to cake club! Let me tell you now, puddings are a whole different ball game! 

When you walk into Lucy's and announce you are 'here for pudding club', there's a real buzz of excitement. I get the impression that the staff never tire of explaining all the different desserts, and seeing how people get one with them. There's no 'egging on' or hidden laughter on failure to eat a Queen of Puddings (purely an example...) They seem to genuinely be very supportive of your plight!

Our waitress Amy talked us through how pudding club works. You are given a special menu with spaces from one to six written in a list. You pick from either the pudding club menu or the normal dessert menu (which is MASSIVE). That's around thirty choices. You are then given the list back, for you to add your feedback to the chef. All the puddings on the special menu were Jubilee themed, but they change every month.

So, here we go. We picked twelve different puddings. Most were from the Jubilee menu, but a few were from the normal menu too. Here's the rundown...

Number 1: Battenberg Iced Terrine
Raspberry and vanilla ice creams encased in marzipan and sponge. This was massive!

Number 2: Queen of Puddings
A traditional pudding made from bread, jam an meringue. And blue glitter. The meringues were just perfect. Firm on the outside, soft on the inside (just like an armadillo, if any of you remember the advert...)

Number 3: King Charles II Syllabub with Earl Grey Biscuits
Apparently, King Charles II was quite partial to a bit of syllabub! This one was really rich and smooth, so went perfectly with the Earl Grey tuilles. Pretty as hell fire! I must note here, this small amount would be more than enough to finish you off normally! We were only on the second course...

Number 4: Bakewell Pudding

And the arguement rages on. When is it a pudding? What makes it a tart? I thought 'puddings' were the ones that looked like a deflated Yorkshire pud. However, I think I like Lucy's description more: 'It's not a tart, it's a pudding... tarts reside on Council steps!' Either way, this was phenomenal! Bakewells are my favourite desserts!

Number 5: Jamie's Wicked Chocolate Tart
My husband had this on our last visit, and loved it so much he just had to have it again!

Number 6: Red Velvet and English Rose Sponge
Oh this was lovely! Light and moist with a subtle rose flavour. My only criticism was that it was HUGE! I mean really colossal! Even our waitress and Lucy laughed when they saw it! I could have had a little cry... The people on the table next to us were a course or two behind. They looked fearful...

Number 7: Lemon and Ginger Eton Mess
Again, you really don't get an accurate idea of the scale of these puddings from the photos. This was a beautifully messy pile of stem ginger, lemon, cream and meringue, drizzled with lemon syrup and electric blue glitter...

At this point the 'Cake Ache' as I call it had well and truly set in. You know what I mean, the numb bum cheeks, the achy legs, the sugar headache... I treated it like cramp and tried to walk it off by doing a lap of reception. This did not work. It just made sitting down again that bit more painful! I soldiered on...

Number 8: Red, White and Blue Slate
I picked this because the words 'little', 'mini' and 'tiny' were used. Trade Descriptions anyone!? This included a blueberry and white chocolate blondie, a stout and chocolate muffin and a raspberry and chocolate macaroon. They look small, but packed a punch with flavour!

Number 9: Buckingham Palace Tart
My husband said he wished he'd had this when he wasn't quite so mortally full! This was a slab of tart. It included grated apples combined with orange segments baked in orange pastry, served with warm marmalade. If only you could have seen his face...

Number 10: Jubilee Meringue Stack
Oh this was pretty. Layers of chewy white meringue with fresh cream, raspberries and blueberries, doused in edible glitter (go team edible glitter...) If there's one thing Lucy's do really well, it's a chewy meringue!

Number 11: Hot Chocolate Fondant
These were made to order to achieve that gooey centre. This was my husband's last dessert. Possibly ever! He looked so full I thought we may never get home! He looked at the ice cream like it had just branded him with a four letter expletive beginning with 'C'.

Number 12: Lancashire Lemon Tart
This was my final dessert. The one that on my last visit had converted me to a fan of Lucy's forever. It's similar to a lemon bakewell, with the zestiest filling ever. I love it. Even when I am so full I might be sick or burst. Or both.

We didn't eat every scrap of every pudding put in front of us, but we had a damned good go! Anything you leave is wrapped up for you to take home. You can also stop mid-way through if you want and take the remainder home. This will sort out the amateurs from the professionals... who was rifling through a goody bag this morning?! I was. Greedy pig... 

Not only do Lucy's do fantastic desserts for pudding club, but it's also a brilliant night out! You find camaraderie with the people sat around you, encouraging each other that the pudding was in fact massive, so it was not their fult that they couldn't eat it all... 

If you ever get the chance to go, you must. A few words of advice though:

• DO NOT eat your lunch at 3.30pm then start pudding club at 7pm.
• DO NOT have a cake about 5pm from the Apple Pie.
• DO NOT think home made chocolate milkshake is a better option than tea, two hours before pudding club.
• DO wear clothes that allow you to breathe in and out (we saw one chap in tracky pants... show off!)
• DO have a coffee afterwards to save you from crashing on the motorway.
• DO remember you can take whatever you don't eat home with you...

Another fantastic experience at Lucy's. I love the area, the food and the staff.

Up the Duff Pudding Club costs £25 per head and includes six puddings, a glass of dessert wine (or something of your choice) and a coffee. For more information, click here.

Disclaimer: Lucy's Of Ambleside did not pay me to do this review. I did it because I am a total piglet, and one visit just wasn't enough...

Lucy's of Ambleside - Award Winning Desserts

I think Russ Abbot captured it best when he said "I love a party with a happy atmosphere". The minute you walk through the door of Lucy's, you cannot help but notice the lovely atmosphere about the place. From the homely trinkets to the colourful hand written dessert boards.

I found Lucy's by accident. Forever on my quest for the most amazing desserts, I googled 'Dessert Awards'. This led me to the Harden's Rémy Martin Awards. In 2010 a little restaurant in Ambleside won the Best Dessert – Rest of UK Coeur de Cognac Award. Previous and subsequent winners have included Le Manior and Marcus Wareing... I knew this was going to be something a little special...

We thought we would combine the reservation with a little day trip to Ambleside. It's an utterly stunning place. Lake Windermere is just down the road, it's full of pretty tea rooms, traditional pubs and unique shops and it was glorious weather! We couldn't believe our luck.

We booked in for 12pm, but owing to my OCD about timekeeping, we arrived at 11.30am. We were seated and the waitress explained that the daily specials menu would also be available from 12pm. We met Lucy whilst we were waiting. She is everything I imagined. Warm, enthusiastic and passionate about all the food they serve. She's a fan of our very own Thyme Deli too!

We sat and had a drink, which gave us the opportunity to read the dessert boards. Yes, pleural. The amount and variety of desserts here is utterly staggering. Everywhere you look, there are more options! All are homemade, so you know the only thing coming out of a freezer is the ice cream. 

Here are some of the choices available... (pictures say it so much better than words, plus it would take me about two weeks to write them out...)

Oh, and this... Forgot to mention that. 

All are available hot or cold with custard, ice cream, cream or soya cream and many of the standard desserts have a gluten free alternative! See the top picture for 'starred' desserts and the 'Gluten Free Goodies' board. Are you listening Mummy's Little Peeps? Just contemplate how many different variations that is...

We both chose a Sunday roast off the specials; I had lamb and my husband had beef. Both were phenomenal! We both ate every scrap! Portion sizes were perfect. They came with a large Yorkshire pudding, roast potatoes and a side bowl of vegetables. I particularly liked the fact they left a huge boat of gravy! You can never have too much gravy....

Needless to say, this was very enjoyable!

And the bit we've all been waiting for... the desserts. Lucy claims to be 'Queen of Desserts'. I had to check this claim. It was only fair. I'm not ashamed to tell you that we had three desserts between us. Well, we were testing them! We opted for Lancashire Lemon Tart (a lemon version of a Bakewell tart), Jamie's Wicked Chocolate Tart (passed on personally from Mr Oliver no less) and the Appleby Ginger Pudding (ginger sponge layered with apples). I was actually in heaven! 

All three desserts were a tour de force! I'm not a fan of chocolate desserts, but that was wonderful. It had ground almonds in the mix, which made it slightly lighter than your average tart. The ginger pudding was fluffy and spicy with sharp apples running through it. Absolutely gorgeous. However, the jewel in the crown had to be the Lancashire Lemon Tart. Flashbacks to the perfection that was the pistachio financier at the Pollen St Social... It was that good. It's in my top five ever! My life may never be complete unless I get to eat this again! Have a butcher's for yourselves...

Dealt with.

We enjoyed our experience at Lucy's so much, that we booked on for the next Up the Duff Pudding Club. This sounds like heaven! It's like cake club, but with puddings...

Lucy's is about an hour and twenty minutes from Bolton, and is in the centre of Ambleside. We truly had a fantastic time, and even my savoury favouring husband can't wait to go back! (Note: he was the one who ate almost a whole chocolate tart and most of the ginger pud...) If you like our desserts, you haven't experienced anything until you have been to Lucy's. I cannot recommend them highly enough.

I will leave you with a lovely little quote from Lucy's grandmother from their pudding page...

'When you cut into a cake (or a pudding in this instance!) the calories would fly away...'

Follow Lucy on Twitter: @LucyofAmbleside
Have a ganders at her website here: Lucy's of Ambleside

Please leave your comments below x

Disclaimer: Lucy's did not pay me for this review. I would pay her every day of my life for her desserts, but I would be dead.