Dinner at the Northcote

Wow - what a way to start the holidays with a spectacular, flavourful, meal. Thinking back on it this morning I am amazed at how my taste buds were stretched and extended by flavours that were both familiar and radically challenging - either more wows or a yum are called for her. 

We first visited the Northcote in 2008 and couldn't believe how nice food, that we liked already, could become superstar food when in the hands of the right chef. We returned here in 2010 and again in 2012, and the impact was equally amazing. And so it was last night (2nd August) when we again enjoyed the delight of Dinner at the Northcote and were again amazed that simple ingredients could be lovingly developed into something truly exceptional.

We began the meal with pre-dinner drinks and a pre-dinner nibble in the new front lounge. This extension to the old lounge is light and airy and gives lovely views over the Ribble Valley, which though dark and shadowy when we began, brightened up as it became a lovely evening.

We were so pleased to explore the tasting menu when it arrived, that we forgot about taking photos of the pre-dinner nibbles. These consisted of a Beetroot meringue filled with beetroot jelly and curd cheese, these had to be eaten quickly as the filling oozed out of the crispy meringue in which is was encased. Oh dear, who knew that your tongue could tingle with delight as it encountered a sharp beetroot flavour while experiencing the popping texture of a meringue. It was worth sitting for a while to let your mouth experience such oozy goodness combined with a rich crunch. The other nibble was also tasty, but perhaps not as astounding as the first. This was slow cooked pork with deep fried tapioca flour resting on an English mustard mayonnaise. The mustardy tang giving a delightful counterpoint to the rich earthy flavour of the meat in the crunchy 'batter'.   

We were then led to our table, which again looked out over the Valley and prior to our seven course menu had an Amuse Bouche which was cows curd custard, sour sorrel granita and a Lancashire Cheese Stick. The words custard and granita had always implied sweetness to me, but in this case they were more about the texture; as the custard had the chunky homely flavours of a sharp curd and the grantia was a little bomb of sourness which set of the richness of the curd perfectly. The Lancashire cheese stick was, much as it looks, a fun item that could be dipped into the bowl, or eaten as it was.

Before our first course (as opposed to our three pre-menu items) arrived we had a selection of bread offered. Drew went for the Lancashire cheese bread and I for a wheatgerm bread covered with seeds. During the rest of the meal we also tried the other bread and a sourdough roll, all of which were freshly baked and delicious. 

Before moving on to the first course I'd ask my 'Meat is murder' (sorry I mean vegetarian) friends - of whom I know there are at least four reading this - to look away. 

The course was a raw piece of the meat all non-meat eaters love to hate - i.e. Veal. To give it its full name it was English Rose Veal Tartare with Sorrel and Burnt Leek, the burnt leek forming the lovely black ash you can see around the dish. The veal was chunky and had a little bite to it. Every bite produced a rich, juicy flavour, which set off by the darkness of the burnt leek was both unbelievable and delicious. Conversation stopped (not something my friends expect to hear about me!) as we took in the magic dance that this meat was doing on our tongues. I was reminded of the Splash Mountain ride at Disney World, where the first shock of getting wet is then accompanied by animated animals singing zip a dee doo dah before the next part of the ride. Well my mouth was doing that 'zip a dee doo dah' thing in response to this lovely dish.

Our next dish was Squid (lightly grilled and fried), pak choy, radish, chimole and miso served with salt and pepper rice krispies. Drew has never been a lover of squid, but this dish changed his mind. The combination of Mexican flavours in the chimole and Japanese flavours in the miso was not as odd in taste as it sounded in reading. They both provided alternative richness and sourness to both the crispy and the juicy squid. The salt and pepper rice puffs were a perfect seasoning to round off the taste and textures of the dish and the pak choi formed a lovely bed for the squid and a nice freshness in its own right - another excellent dish.

Next came another dish which surprised, this time in the way of serving as well as in the flavours. The salt baked onion skin formed the bowl from which we could eat a delightful onion, ash and chive soup which had Wilja potatoes added at the table when we removed our onion lid - who'd have thought I would ever have thought of the top of an onion as a lid, but that was what it was. The strong reduced onion and chive flavour made the soup a bath of all the flavours I really love, seasoned to perfection you got the chance not only to eat the soup but also to dig into the innards of the bowl for some soft onion flesh. The mix of flesh and soup combining textures to enhance the overall experience of the food - I have known the flavours of onion and potato from the earliest days of my life, but never in such a combination and with such intensity of flavour. 

You might think after all this mix of flavours on one's palate that you'd think the intensity would wear off. Well to disprove this idea the next dish, which sounds so simple River Lune Salmon, mushrooms and foraged herb tea, was another star of surprise flavours. Perhaps my favorite dish of the night. The salmon, sourced from the Lancashire river of its name was gently cooked so it was soft and ready to fall apart with the help of a spoon, but what really stood out in this dish was the mushrooms and herb tea. The mushrooms included tiny little pickled mushrooms which were intense in their vinegar and mushroom flavour, these were served with raw sliced shitake mushrooms and gently cooked king oyster mushrooms. The herb tea was sharp and went so well with the mushrooms without overpowering the gentle salmon - yum, yum, yum.  

The next course was Wheat fed Guinea Fowl with broad beans, girolles and lovage. We were served the delicate white meat of the breast of the Guinea Fowl, this was moist and juicy, the crispness of the broad beans and the sharp almost aniseed taste of the lovage brought out the subtle flavour of the bird, rather than overpowering it. A sharp picked onion and a crunchy brioche (i.e. sweet) crumb over the top added both texture and flavour. I could see myself eating this as a main dish on a menu, but compared to all the other lovely flavours of the evening this was probably the least memorable.

Our next meat course was Milk fed Herdwick spring lamb, buttermilk, whey, garden peas and mint. The lamb was served two ways, the first as a lovely pink piece of lean meat resting on a bed of onions which were soft and succulent, the second was the rump of the lamb slow cooked and then deep fried in tapioca, absolutely lovely. The onion softness and the lamb's juiciness is a texture and flavour I will remember for a long time. 

The next course was dessert, as usual I opted out of this so Drew was 'forced' to eat two. The title was 'English Strawberries and Cream' and it involved a white chocolate shell, covered with strawberry with a pana cotta and strawberry sauce inside, this was served with a strawberry sorbet, some fresh strawberries, a mint dressing all served on a bed of milk chocolate soil and  topped off by edible gold paper. Drew said the flavour of the strawberries were drawn out by the dish making them more strawberry in flavour than the normal strawberry.

Next came the cheese board with a selection of Leagram's curd cheese (which was like a young brie), Lancashire Bomb (a chedder style cheese of the mature flavour), a local blue cheese (with a nice kick) and a slice of Admiral Collingwood cheese with a lovely aftertaste. These were served with celery, grapes, homemade bread wafers and walnut bread all of which went down just as well as the cheese, a great way to finish a meal.

We moved back into the lounge for our teas and petit fours. I opted for I had a lovely refreshing green tea made up of a mix of Yuman, Chun Mee and White Peony teas. Drew opted for the 'Taste of the Orient' which was a Rooibos tea with lemon grass, mango, pink pepper and lime as complimentary flavours - he loved it. The petit fours were a chocolate and thyme tower, which after Drew had had both he decided wasn't his favorite mix of flavours and Baby Eccles cakes which he thoroughly loved. 

It was a lovely meal, and I'd like to take this opportunity to thank my former colleagues at the University of South Wales who donated towards a very generous gift voucher for this place as my retirement gift from the University. I hope you feel it has been well used. Thanks also to Charlotte Freeman who did all the organising of the gift voucher which worked so well to set up such a great start for the holiday.

Having gone down for dinner at 7, it was 11.45 when we came back up to bed. As ever, as an early riser, I was up at 4, and now are ready to go down for our Lancashire Breakfast, which won't be as unbelievable as last night's dinner, but I bet it will still be excellent.