I started off last bank holiday with a Friday night venture to the handsome village of Charlbury in the Cotswolds, to kick off the long weekend with a seat at their spring supper club.
For those out of the loop, countryside pub The Bell was taken over by The Daylesford estate last year and has been given a chic makeover. The pub has been sensitively restored in keeping with Daylesford Organic's ethos of reflecting and respecting the surrounding environment (and naturally filling the interiors with Daylesford's many coveted homeware ranges). You can now stay the night in one of the 12 bedrooms of varying sizes and out the back of the pub sits events space The Barn, home to regular events.
At the front of the barn, there's a kitchen table and an open flame grill which our meal was cooked on in front of us.
Guest Chef Adam Caisley, familiar to the Daylesford estate and former head chef of sister site The Wild Rabbit Kingham was our kitchen host for the evening.
The menu was a carefully crafted celebration of spring, using produce from Daylesford’s farm. Adding more depth and a further element to each course were a number of preserved autumnal and winter ingredients marrying the seasons on our plates. Jars of pickles and fermented vegetables were perched on the shelves, giving us an inkling of the tastes to come.
Following a welcome cocktail, we were seated on a long table with fellow guests, with the opportunity to get to know one another over some Daylesford garden radishes and organic sourdough with whipped butter, anchovy and sea salt.
Group dining with a load of strangers isn’t for everyone, but braving a supper club is a great way to meet new acquaintances. We got chatting with a couple who had come from South London for a weekend in the Cotswolds, a couple who had recently relocated to a nearby village citing proximity to Soho Farmhouse being the main Cotswolds draw and a family from local town Moreton-in-Marsh.
Adam rather humbly presented each dish to us with a detailed description. ‘First course is ember baked Jersey royal, Wigmore, pickled onion, radish, and potato crumb......basically just a spud!’ he concluded.
My favourite dish of the evening came next - smoked Shetland mussels in a rich cider-infused broth with wild garlic.
Equally pleasing dishes of scallop, then a lovely rack of lamb (slow cooked over ash) with asparagus followed.
Sadly we missed the rhubarb dessert finale as we had to dash off for the train so note to self to book an overnight stay next visit.
The whole evening was memorable, tasty and well worth the £95 price tag for its uniqueness.
Visit the Bell at Charlbury for details on more supper clubs this year.
From £95 per person - www.thebellatcharlbury.com
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