As a tasting of what can be expected when you dine at SOURCE Gilpin Hotel & Lake House, Head Chef Ollie treated us, and a few other lucky diners, to a sample menu at Fortnum & Mason.
After a Q&A revealing his background, eleven years with Heston Blumentahl at The Fat Duck ending as sous chef, as well as a chance to hear from a representative of his local suppliers Lake District Farmers.
The Lakes area has a plethora of Michelin starred restaurants and, as Ollie pointed out, this should make it as famous in the foodie world as San Sebastian or the Loire Valley, and yet this fantastic success seems almost a secret. Ollie himself gained the restaurant its first star within months of his arrival to go with the three AA Rosettes.
So what does a taste of SOURCE taste like? With Ollie and his team cooking just a few feet away, we got down to business.
First up, Crown Prince Squash Custard with hazelnut, seaweed and caviar.
Ollie explains “The pumpkin is the main hero of the dish, which has that lovely autumnal flavour coming through. Then we do the seaweed. It’s like dashi, which gives the dish some umami depth of flavour. Hazelnut is a great combination with pumpkin, that’s also very seasonal. It’s topped with caviar, and that just gives it that indulgent flavour and texture. It elevates the dish and makes it a bit more interesting.”
It was a great starter, the custard really smooth, almost panna cotta-ish, and the crunch of the nuts and the saline pop of the caviar very effective texture contrasts.
Next up, Orkney scallop with celeriac, truffle and kelp.
Ollie again, “So, this dish is a bit like a lasagne, well it’s our take on a lasagne. We started playing around with different ways to make a puree out of celeriac by using the whole plant. The first portion is roasted really, really hard in loads of butter, which gives it a nice nutty flavour. We then add some stock and a bit of cream, before we put the second portion of celeriac in, and just simmer that for about 15 minutes. Finally, we put the third portion in at the end, and leave it for five minutes, before we strain it all and make a puree out of it.”
Well, that’s a lot of work for a small dish but that’s Michein dining and what you’re paying for. It was delicious.
Cornish Monkfish, cauliflower, yeast and sake butter sauce
“So obviously monkfish is amazing, ours is Cornish and we cook it on the bone in quite a classic way with lots of butter.
Part of this dish is inspired by those really well-done bits that you find when you cook cauliflower cheese”
Then we have a little bit of pickled lemon and a gel made from bonito, which gives it a smoky, acidic flavour. Rather than using a classic white wine in butter sauce, we had the bonito and we tried it out with sake instead and it just worked really well.”
This was probably my favourite dish, so many flavours and the monkfish superb
Lake District Beef and Ale, Onion, Mushroom XO
“Everyone likes steak and ale but it’s about pulling the idea apart and bringing it back together. The first element is the puree and it must be perfect.
We have elements of steak and ale pie, it’s all about the quality of the beef, then it just needs a couple of things to tie it together. Onions. Mushroom XO and just a beautiful sauce. It’s a simple dish but beautifully done. “
It was a brilliant piece of beef cooked perfectly, although for me the sauce was a little bit too intense
Sushi Rice Pudding, Miso caramel, Sesame and Sake Ice Cream
“Of all the dishes that transition through the SOURCE at Gilpin Hotel menu, the sushi rice pudding is the ‘fan’s favourite’ incorporating sushi rice, miso, furikake and sesame oil for a pre-dessert with a dramatic difference. I’m a big fan of the rice pudding. I didn’t expect to keep it on the menu for long, but it has become a signature dish of ours.”
This was so good. Rice pudding is almost Proustian and I don’t know why we don’t see more of it on menus. I suppose it’s too ‘easy’. Here it really is elevated so that whilst it’s still a rice pudding, it has so much more going on.
So, a taste of SOURCE. Certainly enough to get me going back for more at the actual source.
Gilpin Hotel & Lake House,
Crook Road, Windermere,
The English Lake District
https://thegilpin.co.uk/