You may have noted that Ludlow, a small but historic Shropshire town, birthplace of the English food festival (alive and kicking again this year in two weeks time after last year’s online version), scored third equal on the list of cities and towns having Michelin mentioned restaurants in the 2021 Guide (see Blog 167). Beaten only by the mighty Birmingham itself and Cheltenham, Ludlow has five Michelin mentioned restaurants putting it on par with Stratford upon Avon. And I am back in this very pleasant town which combines the joys of the Mercian countryside, the hills of Cymru looming in the near distance, with the pleasantness of its acceptable distance from the urbanisation of the great West Midlands cities and towns.
Since I began my not-infrequent trips here I have stayed at the very congenial Fishmore Hall, just out in the country not far from the edge of the town’s modern housing estates which do not usually come to mind when one thinks of medieval Ludlow, capital of the Marches. Consequentially I have eaten more than my share of usually fine meals at the hotel’s fine restaurant Forelles, delightfully housed in a large conservatory with the local beef in the next field and Clee Hill looking down on us all. But I have never ventured into a journey along its Tasting menu. Well not until now. One look at the menu persuaded me to detour off my usual à la carte route and to take the longer, more winding and more decorous route that led to the final course of six.
Fishmore Hall recently officially appointed its new Head Chef - Phil Kerry, formerly sous chef at Fishmore - after its former Head Chef, Joe Gould, forsook the Midlands and headed to a challenging job in Scotland. This has been a brilliant appointment. On my visits here since Kerry took over, first during the interregnum and then as crowned occupier of the post, I have I have had some quite fabulous dishes at Forelles and the excellence has even shone through in the simpler but usually delicious food being served up in the accompanying bistro. Fishmore, or rather Forelles, appears to finally be there - in a place any proprietor and chef would wish to find their restaurant, A very good restaurant in its category (une tres bonne table dans sa categorie) or in modern terms high quality cooking worth a stop which is rather understated but is dripping with meaning (see Blog 4).
And there I was in a place I wished to be starting at the beginning with three perfect little canopés - a tiny goats cheese cornet and a little morsel of a fish cake among the three nibbles. How remarkably good. Then a profoundly flavoured tomato consommé served as a cappucino with its basil, balsamic and Parmesan elements adding to the wondrous and thrilling combination of flavours. A tiny dish but memorable for all the right reasons. By now, I was hooked and giving no resistance as Chef reeled me in.
On to a starter made up of an abundance of asparagus under a runny poached egg yolk and a crispy little piece of Melba toast with soothing buttermilk and lovage oil. Spoilt a little by this particular dish being a little cold (perhaps it was meant to be) but still a fine dish.
And then something really great and very dramatic in its presentation - two scallop shells, one containing a delicious, accurately cooked scallop on a bed of sea vegetables including samphire, the sea washing through it, as well as the salt of a robust dashi and in the other shell a tasty smoked roe, the whole looking very pretty.
And then the dish which told me that Forelles has finally got there - a completely admirable and accurately cooked piece of beef on a bed of garlic-suffused potato, an unctuous beef sauce, sweet tender onion and shiitake. One of the best courses I have eaten anywhere this year.
Predessert. Another delight. Tongue-tingling pink peppercorn pannacotta matched with a champagne sorbet and sweet thin slices of peach. A perfect transitional dish. Light, refreshing, clever, inventive. Afterwards a single dessert (who needs two?). We seem to have entered a situation where a chocolate dessert is the last dish we must have. Unfortunately I am not a fan of dark chocolate puddings, I don’t need to end on something so deeply rich. I prefer sweetness rather than the potent flavour of chocolate. But this was as good as I could hope for - a pleasing crumbly base under a glossy, gold-leafed half-globe topping the chocolate mousse centre and served with a soothing ice cream. For the chocolate lover, this was a beautiful gem.
Afterwards some enjoyable petits fours. And so to bed.
Post scriptum:-
There are three small pear trees in the gardens of Fishmore Hall which are of the forelle variety. They’re looking rather undistinguished at present and rather like a lot of garden fruit this year they seem to be in a state of delayed development. But for what it’s worth here’s one of them:-
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