The approach to Swinton Park on the Swinton Estate is suitably grand and features quite improbably picturesque herds of deer calmly surveying the scene while admiring one another’s splendid antlers, one assumes. Post meal we would get a tour of the wider establishment but first up we made our way over to the site of the Cookery School to make our acquaintance with Josh. It’s a relaxed space with a wide central island giving us plenty of space to sit side by side with a great view of the action. Before taking those seats we made ourselves comfortable in a snug corner area for snacks accompanied by a glass of local cider. The snacks were a puffed piece of beef fat coated in wild garlic and a dainty lozenge of salsify, both great precursors to the plates to come and more than enough sustenance to fortify us for the dozen steps to our seats.

We were greeted at the counter by a course that Josh had kindly thrown in and didn’t feature on the menu we’d been given. I’ve never been warned before to not eat something all in one go and as such was a little trepidatious as I breached the delicate sphere I’d been told held raw fish. What I didn’t expect to emerge was a puff of smoke! I’m not averse to a touch of theatre and the kiss of smoke wasn’t powerful enough to overwhelm the fish making this memorable and surprisingly well balanced. The first dish as we embarked on the menu was Lincolnshire Poacher with a leek veloute that pushed the cheese into a Dairy Lea like consistency for a tinge of nostalgia coupled with the formidable taste of the cheese, relieved by the alium sauce. Next up a pearlescent chunk of monkfish contrasted by XO sauce with kohlrabi and a sliver of pickled red cabbage to make up another punchy plate defined by delicate cookery and original flavour combinations.

The meat course showcased beef, with carrot and cabbage also on the plate along with a delicately constructed leaf and accents of both wild garlic and lovage. Again everything was allowed to reach its full potential but the starring touch was a lustrously indulgent beef sauce that used chunks of slow cooked beef tendon to give it a uniquely characterful richness. Tendon might not sound like the most indulgent ingredient but you’ve got to admire Josh’s boldness in leaving that word on the menu and not coming up with something more palatably euphemistic.

The first sweet dish was a mochi paired with kombucha and raspberry while a touch of luxury and salinity came from a dab of caviar. The texture of some mochi can be a touch gelatinous and unpleasant but this was a perfectly executed example, hardly a surprise at this stage of the proceedings, which set the stage for a final sweet dish. The use of savoury in desserts has picked up momentum over the last few years so the appearance here of chicken of the woods is less of a surprise than it might once have been, the mushroom notes rounding out the sweet milk ice cream and touch of bitterness from shards of brittle biscuit to come up with a truly impressive and original final course.

At £60 this lunch has to be one of the best value hospitality experiences of this nature in Yorkshire right now, not sacrificing the quality of the dishes in favour of showmanship or letting the environment compromise them. The menu was confidently put together and executed to perfection in front of us, with Josh never being knocked off his stride by our steady stream of questions. Chef’s Table by Josh Barnes deserves to be one of the key pillars of Swinton Park on the Swinton Estate’s appeal.

The post Chef’s Table by Josh Barnes appeared first on York on a Fork.

You can read more about Chateaus de Mercues and its surrounding area in this previous post, but this was a meal with more elements than could be done justice in that piece. There’s an illicit thrill to be had from marching through a busy restaurant into what other diners must presume is the inner workings of the kitchen. In reality, this was the the secret entrance to Head Chef Julien Poisot’s den, part of which is a table tucked unobtrusively beyond the pass for lucky guests to enjoy a unique culinary experience with full view of the chefs at work. Predictably I was the first of the party to arrive, my compulsive punctuality and enthusiasm for food intersecting neatly to give me a few minutes solitary contemplation of the menu to come.

The group was a couple more people than the chef’s table at Le Duèze Cahors had been designed for so things were a little snug, but we were all on good terms so that was hardly a concern. With wine production taking place on the premises, you’d expect the drinks to equal the food, the sparkling Bellefleur we started with presaged a series of fantastic accompaniments that leant heavily on the region’s feted malbec.

The menu leaned as heavily as one would hope on local produce throughout the succession of dishes and started with snacks including brioche and a caper leaf containing steak tartare. Being a sucker for raw beef, I happily celebrated that particular mouthful before moving onto the first main courses. Smoked duck, Jerusalem artichoke and foie gras featured in the first dish, a take on a Pot au Feu that was lighter than those components might suggest. Incidentally, foie gras raised its head several times over the course of this meal; it’s not an ingredient they’re squeamish about around here.

Next up was the obligatory “textures of” dish, in this case an effective run through of Jerusalem artichoke before the chef started to really stretch his leg with one that made oyster and caviar the stars, stuffing them into a potato case. Oysters are never going to make a list of my favourites, but with a generous amount of caviar around too and a richly indulgent sauce, it laid down a marker to represent the indulgences to come.

Next up, more foie gras, this time both roasted and carpaccio along with ceps and a delicate broth ripe to be accented by a crunchy topping of bread crumbs which gave it a nice bite of texture. “Cyril’s snails” did its best to sell this French delicacy to our Anglicised tastes and, it must be said, was more successful at this than many of us expected. The crunchy potato basket and smoked garlic cream turned out a memorably simple presentation and the flavour of the title ingredient met a happier audience than the texture.

As I’ve said, this isn’t the place for you are squeamish about foie gras, a point underlined by its third appearance on the menu. This time paired with swede and poached pear, the least memorable dish of the evening. Scallops with artichoke and mushroom came and went, the scallop was cooked expertly and was well judged against the earthy artichoke… which was also the title of the next plate. “Artichoke” came stuffed with beef cheek this time and with white truffle thrown around to make sure there was no chance of forgetting the quality of the experience. Beef cheek rewards care and Chef had clearly lavished plenty of affection on this occasion to underscore the richness and indulgence of the menu so far.

It’s rare to come across a tasting menu featuring only one sweet dish, not something I would necessarily complain about given my preference for savoury. We worked our way back down to Earth with a passion fruit soufflé which reached skywards and which was good friends with fruit sorbet and “fresh fruit exotic salad”. Served elaborately to leave a dramatic final impression, these were remarkably fresh notes on which to finish a quite extravagent meal.

I always assumed that the backlash against tasting menus would be a passing thing and I think that’s proving to be the case, for reasons ably demonstrated by Le Duèze Cahors. This menu gave the chef the opportunity to highlight the local specialties that he obviously takes pride in working with, something that could be missed by ordering a la carte. Of course not every meal is going to benefit from giving a chef carte blanche to show off in the way they see fit but on occasions such as this, it’s entirely appropriate.

Disclaimer: This meal was included in a press trip.

The post Chef’s Table at Le Duèze Cahors appeared first on York on a Fork.

Mak Tok have spent the last two years building up a sterling reputation for chilli pastes that rely on the founder’s Malaysian heritage and for flavour and character. “Mak Tok” is Malay for Grandmother, the name being adopted in honour of kind hearted lady whose love and enthusiasm set the Mak Tok founder on the path that would lead him to set out to create the perfect chilli paste.

After two years of growth, it was only appropriate to celebrate so Mak Tok teamed up with the newly relocated Malton Cookery School for that second birthday and I made my way up on a Saturday night to join in the fun. The event started rather unusually for a chef’s table with a musical number from the multitalented Mak Tok founder and his guitar. He then mixed a selection of finely cut vegetables and fruits with rice crackers for texture and a dressing to make “Auspicious Salad”. Plenty of fresh coriander helped make up a fresh tasting salad with carrot and apple that set the scene for the next course of traditional Malaysian Satay.

Satay skewers might not be the most surprising choice for a Malaysian meal, but these were well balanced and a good way to show off Mak Tok’s chilli paste. Next up we were given a demonstration of how to put together exemplary coconut rice to go with a Rendang Curry. The garnishes with this dish brought it all together, notably some dried anchovies were rammed with enough enjoyment for me to find out where they had been sourced.

The food was rounded off by a brace of desserts featuring glutinous rice and tapioca. The flavours were certainly crowd pleasing and the guys gave an element of theatre by having us roll our own rice balls. While the texture of tapioca is forever divisive, the toasted palm sugar served with them here was enough to win over a few fence-sitters.

To finish the evening, our host pulled out another stringed instrument, this time mounted horizontally to perhaps allow the busy chef to take the weight off of his feet for a moment. The team at Malton Cookery School did a great job in making us welcome while ensuring the Mak Tok guys had the platform to show off their product and skills to their full potential. It’s going to be fun keeping an eye on where they head from here. Happy birthday!

Disclaimer: No charge was made for my attendance, opinions are impartial.

The post Happy Birthday to Mak Tok in Malton! appeared first on York on a Fork.

Over fizz and samples of a Spanish beer brewed with seawater we met up with the ever lovely Nutmegs, seven and introduced ourselves to Yorkshire Pudd while our appetites built up nicely. It appears change is afoot at the Dean Court with a new general manager having taken the reigns not too long ago and Benji Thornton taking over as head chef in the restaurant after already serving a fair stint in the kitchen. We didn’t linger long over the delicious canapés, including ham hock and cones of goat cheese, before it was time to move through to the dining room and take stock of the menu.

A temporary cooking station had been set up between two tables that afforded all the attendees a good view of Benji prepping and cooking our food, the first course of which was pan-fried wood pigeon breast with beetroot and foraged mushrooms. It should be noted that the mushroom here is not necessarily as one would expect. The giant puffball mushroom we’d been shown earlier by our professional forager was, quite simply, monstrous. We’d never seen anything like it so alongside the ‘chicken of the forest mushroom’ we were eager to get tasting. Sadly there were no prizes for guessing what the latter mushroom tasted of; eerily like chicken to the point of confusion! The mushrooms drew out the earthy flavours of the pigeon alongside delightful beetroot. After being smoked with hay, I expected the beetroot to be a touch more unusually flavoured, but still a well-balanced dish that didn’t betray any nervousness on Benji’s behalf!

Having hit his stride now, Benji wasted no time in getting on with the main course of Gressingham duck breast, Yorkshire rhubarb, confit radish, toasted seeds and pickled blackberries. There were quite a few elements needing to come together, but the dish wasn’t too crowded. Benji again got the meat spot on and the sharp rhubarb cut nicely across the rich meat. A couple of us agreed that the only thing missing from the selection was a carbohydrate to mop up the sauce, quickly rectified with a requested basket of bread.

The final course was a dark chocolate torte with white chocolate mousse, salted caramel and sous vide strawberries. Thankfully it wasn’t too rich or too heavy after being a couple of courses to the good. It may be now so unfashionable as to be a major faux pas to serve unsalted caramel, but with good reason, this was a well-balanced end to a well-constructed menu.

Along with all this, we had a couple of drinks matched with our food: a very distinguished 2012 Crozes-Hermitage lifted the wood pigeon and a rosé prosecco made an interesting pairing with rhubarb and duck. A tawny port rounded things off well.

Before we left, we had a chat with Benji and congratulated him on the smooth running of the evening. Good food is an achievement in itself, but to turn it out from an unfamiliar environment using portable equipment exposes chefs to errors they wouldn’t usually make, so it’s a credit to Benji that he not only made things run to plan but also kept up a narrative and fielded questions throughout. He’s featured in the Relish North East recipe book so I insisted he embrace his evening’s celebrity and sign my copy before I left! The regular menu features some tempting looking dishes so I’ve little doubt a return visit will be on the cards at some point.

Disclaimer: we were invited to enjoy this complimentary evening with no editorial requests made

The post Chef’s table at the Dean Court appeared first on York on a Fork.