A Fine Dinner beside Rutland Water to Celebrate our 46th Wedding Anniversary
Hambleton Hall
Origins
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| Rutland |
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| Lynne outside Hambleton Hall, Hambleton, Rutland |
Walter then travelled in the USA and returned to build Hambleton Hall. Although described as a ‘hunting box’, he must have spent much of
his time here as he rode with the Warwickshire, Cottesmore, Quorn, Belvoir and
Fernie hounds - that could be a full time occupation in the winter. Gregarious and much involved with local social events, he never
married and died in 1899 of influenza.
As a Hotel and Restaurant
Rutland water was constructed in the 1970s and Hambleton Hall suddenly became a waterside residence, the perfect setting for a
country house hotel.
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| The Hambleton Peninsula in Rutland Water At its widest Rutland is approximately 26 km (17 miles) across |
It was bought by Tim and Stefa Hart in 1979 who have run it as a restaurant and 17 room hotel ever since. The Good Hotel Guide named
it luxury hotel of the year in 2018, and the restaurant has been awarded a Michelin
Star every year since 1982. Aaron Patterson started his career at Hambleton
Hall as an apprentice, left to widen his knowledge and returned in 1992 as a
very youthful head chef. He maintained the Michelin star at the changeover – not always easy – and has maintained it for a remarkable 30 years.
Why Were We There?
Every year – except last year, the plague
year was different – we celebrate our wedding anniversary by treating ourselves
to an excursion into the realms of ‘fine dining’. We know we will be cosseted
by impeccably trained staff, the food will be beautifully cooked and presented
and there should be at least one dish that will be truly memorable. It is never
cheap, but quality costs and walking in with a feeling of extravagance in your
heart is, I find, strangely liberating.
Sometimes we make a two-day trip, but usually I choose a destination within an hour or two’s drive (and, by tradition, Lynne finds out
where it is when we arrive). I have a preference for rural retreats over city
restaurants, but they have to have rooms, or be a short walk or at most a brief
taxi ride from suitable accommodation. This limits choice and, on a Monday (and
often Tuesday), it is hard to find a rural restaurant of this class, other than in a hotel, that is open. Hambleton Hall became this year's choice, almost by default.
Hambleton Hall may be a hotel, but we did not stay there. Dinner is an expense worth paying for, but I baulk at spending enormous sums
for somewhere to sleep. We paid a fifth of the price at the Finches Arms a five-minute
stroll away in Hambleton – and that was slightly more expensive (and slightly
better) than the average B&B. A Hambleton Hall room could not have been
cleaner nor the bed more comfortable, and the décor is identical in the dark.
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| Finches Arms, Hambleton - where we actually stayed |
Drinks and Canapés
At the appointed time, we strolled up to Hambleton Hall in warm evening sunshine and were settled at a table on the terrace facing
the garden and, beyond that, Rutland Water.
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| On the terrace at Hambleton Hall. I hate this picture, not just because it makes Lynne look 20 years younger than me (our actual age difference is 4 days) but because I appear to have been taken out for the evening by my carer. |
I caught a whiff of aniseed as we passed one of the other tables and that put an idea in my mind. Lynne voiced it first,
though she claimed not to have noticed the prompt. ‘I think I would like a Pernod,’
she said, so we both drank Pernod as we perused our menus and nibbled the canapés.
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| Pernod and canapés, garden and Rutland Water, Hambleton Hall |
The problem with Pernod, nice though it is, is its ability to ruthlessly colonize a whole mouthful of taste-buds. Consequently, the
canapés, nice though they were, slipped down with little critical analysis.
Choosing a Wine
I love a really comprehensive wine list with its almost unending roll call of famous names - and famous prices to match. Nothing here was cheap, but Hambleton Hall offered a reasonable choice under £30 and paying a little more opened up a large range of possibilities. Our food choices dictated red,
and I started searching in the Rhône. My eye lit on a 2013 Ventoux, older than
most Ventoux is likely to get, but I decided to take the risk (update: it is
no longer on the list, maybe we tidied up the bin). Aromatic and well balanced, with red fruits and
peppery notes, its finish held a velvety bloom that I associate
with wine that has been properly cellared rather stood on a supermarket shelf.
It was an excellent choice with no sign of being over the hill.
Starters
We were led inside to a dining room with widely separated tables that would undoubtedly been too
chintz-y for Jay Rayner, but seemed very comfortable to us. After an amuse-bouche, a pot of green herb-based paste that
was far more flavourful and interesting than it looked, we moved on to our starters.
Pâté de Foie Gras with Cherries and Almonds
Lynne chose Pâté de Foie Gras with cherries and almonds. There were also a few leaves and petals, and of course, we had already been presented with
a basket of freshly-baked bread, most of which went back uneaten as it always
does. Hambleton, like other restaurants of this class, use artisan bakers or make
their own, so this is a shame. I make a similar comment every year.
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| Pâté de foie Gras, cherries and almonds, Hambleton Hall |
Foie gras is the liver of a force-fed goose or duck. Pâté de foie gras must contain at least 50% foie gras so is slightly less sumptuous,
but equally unacceptable in its production methods. We both know this, but most
years it will appear somewhere on a menu and one or other of us will make an
excuse ‘it’s a rare treat’ or ’the goose is dead, anyway’ and order it. The truth is, it
is so delicious, so savoury that it is irresistible. And that is a poor excuse, but it is all we have.
The cherries added necessary acidity and the almonds a pleasing crunch, the rest was largely decoration.
Seared Smoked Lincolnshire Eel, Horseradish, Apple, Marigold
I have enjoyed some fine eel dishes in the past – an eel
curry in Vietnam and a Lake
Ohrid eel in North Macedonia come to mind – so I thought I would give this
one a go. It turned out to be a great choice, though not mainly for the eel.
The eel was clearly smoked, though I would not have guessed its county affiliation - was that just telling us the ’food miles' were minimal?
It was very nice, but the smoking had rendered it strikingly similar in flavour
and texture to the smoked mackerel available at no great cost from any
supermarket. ‘Very nice’ is disappointing at this level. The acidity of the few
sticks of apple worked well with the eel’s oiliness and the bits and bobs did
their bit, but the real star on the plate was rather unexpected.
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| Seared, smoked Lincolnshire eel, horseradish, apple, marigold |
The white sphere was ice-cream - horseradish ice-cream. I have heard of savoury ice-creams but never previously
encountered one. Fresh and clean, there had been no holding back on the horseradish
and having my sinuses cleared by an ice-cream was a new experience. It worked
on its own and was a delight with the eel. What an unexpected marvel! It
might not please everybody, but it certainly pleased me.
Main Courses
Loin of Launde Farm Lamb, Roast Aubergine, Feta, Red Pepper Purée
While all the other mains and starters more or less adhered to the concept of ‘modern British’, the lamb choice was east Mediterranean in
style. The lamb itself, though, could hardly be more local, Launde Farm being
some 10km away on the border of Rutland and Leicestershire. Launde Farm foods
started in 2008 with a commitment to use ‘traditional and sustainable methods’
to supply ‘ethically reared lambs of outstanding flavour’.
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| Loin of Launde Farm Lamb |
Lynne was more than happy with her lamb and thought the whole dish came together in a most pleasing way.
Breast of Merrifield Duck, Sweetheart Cabbage, Hibiscus, Salsify
Free range and fed to grow at a slower more natural rate for fuller flavour, Merrifield Ducks are produced on Merrifield farm near
Crediton in Devon by Creedy Carver. This was as fine a duck breast as I could
wish to encounter, cooked slightly pink, thinly sliced with the crisped skin on
top. The sauce was rich and comforting, the fondant potato (unmentioned on the
menu) a magical transformation of the humble spud. Salsify seems to have
replace artichoke as the chef-y vegetable of choice. I never saw the point of artichokes
but the little sticks of salsify in this dish were delicately flavoured but
delicious.
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| Merrifield duck, Hambleton Hall |
Desserts
Hambleton’s Tiramisu
Lynne chose ‘Hambleton’s Tiramisu’. Tiramisu appears on every pub menu, and we shared one at Piccolino’s in Edinburgh a couple of weeks ago, so I was mildly surprised by her choice - but surely ‘Hambleton’s Tiramisu’ must be special.
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| Hambleton's Tiramisu |
And so it was, the deconstructed Tiramisu being very clever and very pretty. Lynne’s verdict was that a Tiramisu is always pleasing,
but this one was no more pleasing than any other, which, in this context, makes
it disappointing. Is the fashion for ‘deconstructed’ dishes a blind alley? They
were originally put together that way and became classics (or family favourites,
depending on ingredients and complexity) because that is how they work. Pulling
them apart may allow them to be reassessed, but who needs to ‘reassess a Tiramisu’?
Best left alone, I think.
Mango Soufflé, Lime Leaf Ice-cream
Unusually (possibly uniquely) I thought my dessert the best dish of the whole meal. Indeed, some years have past since I last ate
anything so good.
I have long been curating (so much better than ‘collecting’) a small list of culinary platonic forms. Such food and drink exists in a ‘place
beyond heaven’ but I have found it best exemplified by, for example, scrambled egg at The Yorke Arms, Ramsgill, a dry martini in the Sheraton Sky Lounge, Hong Kong, a pineapple at Cai Rang floating market, Vietnam and Thai red curry at a small restaurant spreading out across the street in Bangkok's Sukhumvit district. I now nominate Hambleton Mango soufflé to be the
as close to the Platonic ideal of ‘soufflé’ as can exist in this vale of tears.
It had risen manfully, the exterior had the most delicate crispness, the inside
was voluptuous and the exotic flavour of ripe mango danced enchantingly*.
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| Mango soufflé and lime leaf ice cream |
The lime leaf ice-cream was pretty damn good, too. Sweetly, it reminded me of the lime leaves in that spicy red curry. Last time I bought
some in England I opened the packet and found a dozen sad, wizened little
things no use to man nor beast. Aaron Patterson clearly has a supply of fresh leaves, and knows how to use them.
End of the Evening
And so, we returned to the terrace for coffee, petit fours and a glass of grappa. Sitting in the warm evening air, pleasantly full
and having consumed just the right amount of wine we felt satisfied and mellow.
Aaron Patterson errs (if 'errs' is the right word) on the side of comfort rather than cutting
edge, but his touch is sure and there were several truly memorable moments. We
know we are very lucky to be able to experience such pleasures in such
surroundings, but the night was one for luxuriating in our good fortune, not introspection.
Tomorrow we could count are blessings, think a little about those less fortunate and return to the real world, but not tonight.
* To this list I must now (Aug 2021) add a piece of deep fried battered cod from a restaurant - actually a glorified chippy at the Ingólfur Square end of Austurstræti in Reykjavik. Never before have I encountered a cod so light, fluffy and sumptuous.
Abergavenny and the Walnut Tree (2010)
Ludlow and La Bécasse (2011) (restaurant closed, post withdrawn)
Ilkley and The Box Tree(2012)
Pateley Bridge and the Yorke Arms (2013) (No longer a restaurant, post renamed Parceval Gardens and Pateley Br)
The Harrow at Little Bedwyn (2014)
The Slaughters and the Lords of the Manor (2015)
Loam, Fine Dining in Galway (2016)
Penarth and Restaurant James Sommerin (2017) (restaurant closed, post withdrawn. JS has a new restaurant in Penarth)
The Checkers, Montgomery (2017) (no longer a restaurant, post withdrawn. Now re-opened under new management)
Tyddyn Llan, Llandrillo, Denbighshire (2018)
Fischer's at Baslow Hall, Derbyshire (2019)
Hambleton Hall, Rutland (2021)
The Olive Tree, Queensberry Hotel, Bath (2022)
Dinner at Pensons near Tenbury Wells (2023) (restaurant closed Dec 2023, post withdrawn)
The Cross, Kenilworth (& Kenilworth Castle) 2024
