REVIEW Oundle Mill

Jodie and I visited Oundle Mill the other evening. It used to be Barnwell mill, and after a massive refurbishment project it has risen up as a cleverly designed, urban chic restaurant and hotel in the country.
We dined in the Upstairs restaurant with black tables and napkins, purple crushed velvet chairs, low beams and down lights on the rough stone walls. A glass sided kitchen let us watch the chefs at work when we could tear our eyes away from the food.
The staff are very friendly and from the welcoming receptionist to the waitresses in the restaurant we were looked after exceptionally well. I think the only thing that let it down was their lack of knowledge of the dishes they were serving. The amuse bouche- a superb spiced tomato juice was explained, but for the rest of the meal we were not told all that we were eating, which would have helped.
To start J had ham hock terrine with cabbage and beetroot. This was served so beautifully and artfully it was a shame to mess it up. I had hotsmoked salmon with cured herring. Again very well arranged; a parcel of salmon, a plouche of leaves and herring fillets laid at angles on top of one another.
The main courses took art to another level. J ate roasted cod with winter vegetables and braised oxtail. I had haunch of venison with chocolate parfait and red cabbage. All the componenants in both these dishes tasted really good. The parfait was smooth and rich, the venison cooked to a beautiful pink, the oxtail fell apart and the cod was as opaque as the thinnest of china. However, there were other items on the plates. J had a homemade canneloni, I am presuming stuffed with oxtail. The red cabbage, although perfectly piquant had a rissotto croquette nestling within it, and the venison was supporting a quinelle of pureed vegetable- I'm guessing sweet potato/carrot?. The dishes described on the menu did not need the extras, in my opinion, and although it was all really well cooked and presented, I felt the more subtle flavours were lost in the explosion of everything else.
I thought it felt like 6 chefs had all put their best dishes on one plate, with only a vague chat about what anyone else was doing.
The pre pudding was a an eggshell filled with meringue and a fruit mousse-made to look like a boiled egg. It was really lovely, but not knowing exactly what was in it was a shame. For pudding J had passion fruit souffle with a berry sorbet, and I had a banana parfait with banana fritters. The souffle left J speechless for a while, and when she did speak she just said "that's the best souffle I've ever eaten" High praise indeed. My parfait was spectacular- I was expecting a smooth ice, but the pieces of banana added a really good flavour and feel. The fritters were lovely, and a pleasant warmth against the parfait.
Petit fours were also homemade- rich and genorous portions. I would say the pastry chef excelled on that evening.
The meal came to £99 including two glasses of wine. We will be trying the downstairs restaurant, and possibly looking for more simple food. Take a look at the website www.oundlemill.co.uk they are very proud of the refurb, as they should be, and I hope they go from strength to strength.

No guilt.

I am incensed. A regular customer leaves his paper with us everyday. I picked this up yesterday, and had a flick through to see what was happening in this freezing world of ours. Now, I expected a diet article. I expected the condescending tone, the guilt and the patronising twaddle that seem to be the main feature of these things. The "Didn't we all eat so much", and the "carb is so evil" things that are spouted by journalists that either have a diet of fags and coke- not the drink- or so many fad diets in 12 months that internally their systems are a nightmare that don't know how to hold on to fat, vitamins or protein. What I didn't expect was the terrible "diet plan" claiming to be healthy eating that was published.
Those that know me, are aware I'm not a sylph, I am probably about 6 sylphs put together. This is not pleasing to me, but I am aware of it, thanks and don't need telling. I am also a great believer in using proper food- grown locally, used fresh, bred with care and understanding, and not having been processed to within an inch of recognition.
In the currant climate could the diet makers or journalists not create eating plans, diets or whatever they choose to call them, ones that are based around proper food? Actual meat, from butchers, supermarkets if you insist, but over the counter rather than in polystyrene? Real vegetables, not frozen, not coloured, not sprayed? Could they not look at seasons, so our farmers get a look in, and seasonal food is cheaper. It's nice to have colourful things, some people like to have strawberries in December, but they are expensive, and as they don't taste as good as they could then that makes it worse. They may taste sweet, but they don't taste of strawberries. Fruit should smell. Tomatoes should smell. Apples should have such a complex scent that it leaves you thinking for hours exactly how to describe it.
Why would you write a diet thing that involves making fruit smoothies from expensive out of season fruit? Why would you write one that involves "cheese strings"? Why does the world need strings of cheese? Does that sound appetizing to anyone??
I think after a lovely Christmas meal- the best Turkey from Anderson's and all the trimmings one should not feel guilt. Feel thankful for the food, for living in a country where we can enjoy it but don't feel guilty. As for resolutions, how about supporting the local guys, eat fresh veg, and cook one thing a week that you've never cooked before. Look for seasonal, local and be a bit different. It's easy and cheaper, honestly.
Here's to a brave New Year. I hope that 2009 will be a happy and interesting year of change, of good will and of good health.