Devonshire Arms

I've recently started a new job, one that I am enjoying to date, and in celebration of landing said job I went out for a celebratory meal with Gav (quel surprise?). It took me a while to decide where we would go and in the end I had to turn to Twitter for advice.

There were lots of suggestions for the Devonshire Arms, but I must admit to not being overly keen. The menu on the website looked pretty dull; more pub grub than fine dining. But on checking out some of chef Lee's tweets I soon worked out that he had more about him than pie and chips as he runs daily specials that are, well, special.

Of course the Devonshire Arms has very recently won two prestigious Eat Sheffield awards, including the top Best Restaurant award, so there is no doubting the quality of this restaurant now.

The pub itself is about 150 years old with a relatively new extension which houses the dining room with an open plan kitchen to the back. Overall there was a comfortable feel to the place and on arrival we were warmly welcomed by staff at the bar.

We decided to have a drink in the bar area whilst perusing the menu and specials board. There were about 4/5 each of starters and mains on the specials and although choosing starters was quite straight forward I struggled with the main. I was hoping for lamb or venison, but found neither so I decided to play safe with the rib-eye steak and chips from the main menu. After all it is my all time favourite meal.

After placing our orders we were seated in the relatively quiet restaurant (it was a Wednesday) where our starters quickly followed, as did the mains to the table next to us. It was at this point that I spied the pork special. Hoping that the chef wouldn't have commenced any prep for my dish, I asked if I could switch my order from the steak to the pork. Everyone happily obliged.

Back to the starters.

I'd decided on the scallops wrapped in Parma ham and served with a pea purée, from the specials board. It's a popular combination and could well be considered as another safe bet, but I love scallops so it's hard for me to say no to them.

And, I'm glad I didn't say no to these. They were fresh, beautifully tender and HUGE (hence a couple of them toppling over in the picture!). The Parma ham added a contrasting texture as well as extra flavour and the pea purée was the perfect accompaniment. It was a very good start.

The husband's choice was a little more humble than mine; cauliflower soup. It's something I wouldn't ever imagine ordering. Even the addition of the blue cheese in the title didn't do it for me.

Ha! How foolish am I? After just one spoonful, I was instantly jealous. The soup was packed with intense cauliflower flavour, but forget that bland overcooked slop served in hospitals, this was delicious. Of course the croutons topped with blue cheese were not ignored and the strong salty flavour worked well with the cauliflower, but the dish didn't depend on the cheese to work.

At this point we knew we were in safe hands. Anyone who can make me jealous of a cauliflower soup when I have three beautiful scallops in front of me, is good.

Onto the mains.... Pork isn't my favourite meat as I was raised on overcooked chops, but this was deliciously moist and tender with a slightly charred edge. It was some of the best pork I have ever had.

As seems to be the fashion at the moment the dish was served with long strips of crackling - one fashion that I can happily keep up with. Beneath the pork there was a good serving of crushed potatoes making it a decent sized dish, especially as we also had a selection of veg to share.

Gav had the duck from the specials board. It looked amazing with big juicy pieces of duck, fat blackberries and dauphinoise potatoes. The duck was nice and pink with a crispy skin and it worked well with the deep dark blackberries.

The portion sizes had been just right so we had enough room for dessert. I really do like cheesecake and the de-constructed pineapple version took my fancy.

The topping was thick and creamy and the biscuit base was spread in a strip from one end of the plate to the other. It wasn't your bog standard biscuit base either. It reminded me of granola and offered a good crunchy texture to eat with the topping.

Gav spotted that arctic roll was on offer. Retro desserts are always good fun and as this one came with jelly, there wasn't much chance of it passing him by.

Of course, it looked a bit better than the stuff we got served up with our school diners and Gav enjoyed it immensely. Strawberry jelly was packed with flavour, the sponge was sweet and the ice cream was good. A far cry from anything you'd pick up from Iceland.

We'd had a fabulous evening. Even though the adjacent bar was busy, the restaurant had a relaxed feel to it. Service had been attentive and friendly and the food had exceeded all my expectations. It had been a fine choice for a celebratory meal.

With Lee's creative specials changing regularly there is always going to be something new to try and it's great to see somewhere trying new things to keep the dining experience fresh and exciting.

I hear that they do a damn good Sunday dinner (read Nibbly Pig's review here) and I know that I already want to return. I think we'll wait until late autumn when a slap up Sunday dinner in a cosy pub meal is just what we're after.

For more information on those fantastic specials, follow chef Lee on Twitter @ChefsAtTheDev and get ready to drool over the pictures he often shares with us!

Mutton Stew

Autumn is one of my favourite times of the year.  I love how the trees turn to a mass of browns and oranges, how there's a crisp, fresh feel to the air and the sun still blazes down.  It also brings a bit of a change to our daily diets.  Salads take a bit of a back seat whilst soup becomes the lunch of choice and stew returns to our tables.

Last weekend I made a mutton stew.  The recipe called for lanb but the butcher rightly told me that mutton would be better (and cheaper).  She also advised me to soak the meat in salted water overnight to draw the blood out and tenderise the meat.  I hadn't even heard of this tip before, but I was willing to give it a go. 

I used this recipe and aside from the use of mutton rather than lamb, I didn't really tweak it too much.  Although I did use beef stock rather than lamb and I skipped the parsley (I don't like the stuff).

I served it with some curly kale cooked in butter.

It was a success!  The meat was tender despite having only been cooked for 3 hours or so, thanks to the pre-soaking.  I would probably cook it for longer if I do it again, but it was good. 

It also provided 6 servings which was perfect as we had meals for the week too.

Has anyone else cooked a stew this Autumn?  Any tips to share?

Eat Sheffield Awards 2011

Remember the Sheffield Food Festival in June? I do. I also remember the slight depression I slipped into when it was all over. Nothing serious thankfully, but after all that buzz and excitement, I wasn't quite ready to go back to work and get back to the same old routine.

But life went on and now it feels like a lifetime since I was trudging around Sheffield trying to cram in as many Food Festival events as possible.

So, when an invite to the Eat Sheffield Awards landed in my inbox, I jumped with delight (not literally... obviously... but you know... I was giddy). Another chance to go and submerge myself into the Sheffield Food scene. Best of all; I could get dressed up this time!

Walking towards the Winter Gardens I was a little nervous. There wasn't room for a plus one, so I was all on my lonesome. And as I walked towards the drinks reception I realised that it was going to be pretty difficult for me to spot who anyone was as I was faced with a sea of suits and evening dresses. Thankfully Abi of Street Food Chef recognised me, said hello and my nerves soon went.

The drinks reception lasted about an hour and it was great to have a mingle with everyone. Along with Street Food Chef's Abi and Richard, I managed to have quick chats with Komal of Fusion Organic Cafe, Joe Field of Sheffield Hallam University, Simon of What's On Up North and Niki Baker of Eat Sheffield who had organised the event.

With both wine and beer flowing (thanks to Thornbridge Brewery) and the music playing (thanks to Magic AM), there was a happy buzz and everyone was excited about the upcoming awards.

Soon enough we were called to dinner in the main lower ground floor of St Paul's Hotel. I was sat on the 'Media Table' amongst the likes of Jeni Harvey from The Yorkshire Post, Lesley Draper of The Sheffield Telegraph, Robin of Sheffield Blog and Simon of What's On Up North. All were friendly and chatty and it was great to meet other bloggers as well as some of the professionals!

The whole event depended on sponsorship which meant that dinner was another chance to help promote local food businesses. I did take photos of our dinner, but unfortunately I forgot to put the flash on and they're far to dark to post.... so you'll have to use your imagination.

First up was New England Butternut Squash Soup thanks to Glorious! Mains were sirloin of beef (Anglo Beef Processor) served with fondant potatoes and roasted veg care of Castle Market and the delicious Catherine's Choice caramalised red onion chutney. Dessert was a cheeseboard of Gruyere cheese thanks to Le Gruyere and Cafeology coffees were served with a bottle of Our Cow Molly milk to each table.

Then it was down to business. Notebooks out, pens poised, Twitter accounts logged into, the table turned its attention to the stage and waited for the awards.

You'll probably have heard all about them by now, but there's no harm in repeating the news.

• Favourite Café, sponsored by Cafeology: Fusion Organic
• Favourite British, sponsored by Bibendum: Silversmiths
• Favourite European, sponsored by Le Gruyere: La Mama
• Favourite Italian, sponsored by ABP Meats: Nonna's
• Favourite Indian, sponsored by Speedibake: Aagrah
• Favourite Asian Oriental, sponsored by Glorious!: Hui Wei
• Favourite Gastro Pub, sponsored by the Centre for Food Innovation at Sheffield Hallam University: Devonshire Arms
• Favourite Traditional Pub, sponsored by Brownill Vickers: The York
• Favourite Family Outing, sponsored by Mercury Taxis: Endcliffe Park Café
• Favourite Food Outlet, sponsored by the Sheffield Telegraph: Street Food Chef
• Sheffield Food Hero, sponsored by Magic AM: Ed Andrews of Our Cow Molly
• Newcomer 2011, sponsored by Ultrasharp: Wig and Pen
• Green and Sustainable award, sponsored by Sheffield Is My Planet: Silversmiths
• Eat Sheffield 2011 Restaurant of the Year, sponsored by Brownill Vickers: Devonshire Arms



Devonshire Arms owner Jill Swift with the Devonshire Arms chefs and Eat Sheffield’s Niki Baker (right)
Thanks Sheffield Hallam for the pic



Most of the winners I know and love. You'll have already seen me singing the praises of Fusion Organic Cafe, Silversmiths, Nonna's, Street Food Chef, Our Cow Molly and the Wig and Pen (click the links if you have missed the reviews) and the rest are just as deserving.

So all in all I think it was a pretty fair outcome. Of course, there are plenty more winners across the whole of Sheffield as the city's food community is constantly improving. This can only be a good thing for us diners, who are probably the real winners out of all of this!

Everyone had a fabulous night. Thanks to Niki of Eat Sheffield for organising another success in Sheffield food! For more information on the nominees and finalists click here. While you're at it have a good nosey around the Eat Sheffield website; there's quite a lot of information on there. From foodie news to restaurant listings, it's a good place to go to find out more about our food scene.

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What do you think to the results then?

Any surprises for you?

The Shopper

As a harderned Castle Market fan I've had my fill of struggling with bags of shopping.  I often treat myself to a bus home but it's always a bit embarrasing getting a bus for all of two stops.

Yesterday, after doing the usual and buying far more than I could carry, I thought enough was enough and on spotting some rather attractive shoppers on one of the stalls I gave in.

The two ladies in the store happily helped me out in my hour of need.  They picked out the perfect shopper for me, made it up and packed away all my shopping for me.

£16 very well spent.

I did joke that my husband would laugh at me once I got home but the ladies assured me that they're very popular now and I must admit that I had seen a rather attractive young chap with one earlier.... and his was tartan!

So what do you think?

Do you approve?

Or are you now in stitches?

Harmony Cafe

Gav and I first discovered Harmony Cafe a good 4 years ago when it first opened. It was a tiny little cafe, constantly packed with hungry diners and we were always lucky to get a table.

The food was worth the fight, but quite often we weren't up to it, so we didn't eat there as much as we would have liked. That may all change now though as Harmony have relocated a couple of doors down the road to 17 Westfield Terrace (where Cafe Guru used to be). This means that Harmony looks more restaurant than cafe and there are twice the number of tables to fight over.

We popped in one Saturday afternoon for a late lunch and we were pleased to see that the décor of the restaurant was smart and minimalist. There is still that cafe style to the place in that you make your orders at the counter. I personally don't mind ordering at a counter rather than having a waiter take them. It means that I'm not hanging around trying to catch a waiter's attention to make my order. It does also mean that the chances of the waiters getting a tip at the end of the meal are pretty slim...... which makes me wonder why restaurants still do this.

Onto the food. The menu is 'homestyle' as chef John wants to replicate the more homely traditional Chinese dishes, so that when the students come to Sheffield they won't feel too home-sick! It's a good plan. Not only do the Chinese students love this stuff, Sheffielders love the chance to try a new style of this popular cuisine. Of course Harmony aren't the only guys cooking home style; Mandar Inn and Orient Express are at it too. Given how busy each of these places are I don't think we need to worry about a saturation of the market just yet.

We spent a good 10 minutes looking over the menu. It's another long one and there are many delicious sounding dishes on there. We order drinks of pearl milk tea and plum juice. The tea, served cold, was incredibly sweet and milky. Plum juice tasted of, well, plums.

We decide to give a couple of the starters a go. After falling in love with hot and sour soup (£2.80) at the much missed Vietnamese Noodle Bar we order some along with curry fish balls with chips (£4.50).

Ordering hot and sour soup is kinda like taking part in a game of Russian roulette. Sometimes it so hot that it makes your eyebrows sweat and prevents your taste buds from enjoying the rest of your meal, and at others, it just makes your lips tingle a little. This one is on the mild side with just the right amount of heat so it doesn't blow our heads off. It's good and thick too; just how it should be.

Curry fish balls with chips was a strange one. The balls of fish are strangely spongy; a bizarre but not offensive texture. The chips are standard fries and are good and crispy. The curry sauce is the real highlight. Oh my. It's just like fish and chip shop curry sauce, but better. In fact the whole dish seems to be a bit of a play on the British fish and chip takeaway.

I started off by dipping my chips into the sauce, but soon gave in and just poured it all over my plate of chips. Mmmmm. Luxury!

For mains we have tasty braised beef with rice (£6.50) and a claypot of aubergine and minced pork in salty fish pot (£8). The beef was beyond tasty; it was gorgeous. Cooked away for hours and served up in its own juices the beef was beautifully tender; literally melt in the mouth. There was a back note of Chinese spicing which was good as it added a different aspect to the dish and reminded us of where we were.

The claypot was equally as delicious. Aubergine was perfectly cooked to the state of creaminess, mince was nicely complemented by the subtle fish sauce and there was a lot of pak choi in there making the dish healthy as well as tasty.

There weren't any desserts on the menu, but we all know that I ain't that fussed about desserts, and we were both stuffed, so that was no real loss.

All in all, the move down the round is a good one for Harmony. The food is as good as ever and there's been some real improvements to the décor (and the chances of getting a table)!

Has anyone else been yet? What did you think?