The Samuel Fox Country Inn, Bradwell

You may remember banging on about the Samuel Fox in the past...  For those of you who wondered what happened to the Sam Fox after Charlie left you might be interested in the newsletter that landed in my inbox today.

"My name is James Duckett and I am the new head chef and proprietor of the Samuel Fox Country Inn. The Samuel Fox underwent a complete refurbishment in 2008 and since then has gained an enviable reputation for comfortable accommodation and fine food. However, since former managers Charlie and Kelly left earlier this year standards were allowed to slip somewhat. Having taken over the helm earlier this month my commitment is to ensure that the Samuel Fox is once again a very special place to stay, dine or just enjoy a drink at the bar.

The Samuel Fox team

 I am joined in the kitchen by sous chef Rob, with whom I've worked in a previous restaurant venture, and at front of house by bar and restaurant managers, Sabrina and Gareth. Together we're dedicated to ensuring that the Samuel Fox is a superb place to stay, a focus for lovers of good food and also a place where both visitors and locals alike are welcome to pop in for a drink in convivial surroundings.

James Duckett - chef proprietor
New to the Samuel Fox and the Peak District, I was born in Lancashire and my early career was spent working in the kitchens of some of the best restaurants in the UK, France, Holland, Spain and Australia. I've worked under such celebrated Michelin starred chefs as Albert Roux, Michel Roux jnr, Marcus Wareing and Phil Howard and I've run my own restaurants in Andalucia and more recently in Devon. In between times I've cooked on super yachts in the Caribbean and headed up the kitchen at a prominent private members club. This is my first pub venture and I'm sure it will prove to be an exciting challenge.

The Restaurant and Bar
In the restaurant and bar you may now enjoy choosing from entirely new lunch and dinner à la carte menus, featuring contemporary dishes based on British and continental classical cuisine, as well as from the ‘blackboard’ offering some traditional pub dishes and specials.  And for Sunday lunch my menu also features traditional roasts.  All my dishes are prepared on the premises by Rob and me using the best of fresh local produce wherever possible.  We have a good wine list and there are always two local real ales available at the bar as well as a selection of wines by the glass.  The interlinked restaurant and bar areas are light and airy and enjoy wonderful views over the stunning Hope Valley landscape.

Accommodation 

The Samuel Fox has four beautifully appointed ensuite room each with large flat screen TV, ironing board and a welcome tray with beverages making facilities, fruit, sherry and chocolates.

Christmas and New Year at the Samuel Fox  

For the Christmas and New Year festive period we have some very tempting offers for you.  I’ve pulled together some great dishes for my menus for the pre-Christmas party season; Christmas Day lunch; Boxing Day lunch and dinner; New Year’s Eve dinner; and New Year’s Day lunch.  We’re also offering Inclusive packages for couples  wishing to ‘escape’ and enjoy a complete break over Christmas or New Year, staying in one of the our superbly appointed en suite bedrooms. 

You can find all my menus as well as room rates and autumn and winter break special offers on the inn website. Also, you can see some reviews we’ve received since I took over the Samuel Fox.  It seems we’re on the right track! Whether staying on business, enjoying a weekend or midweek break in the glorious Hope Valley, seeking somewhere special to dine or just wishing to enjoy a well kept pint at the bar, you’ll find a very warm welcome awaits you from us all at the Samuel Fox Country Inn."

Check out the new menus here.

It might be a while before we get to try Sam Fox again, but I will be back. In the meantime, if you get chance to visit, do let me know what you think!

Phoenix Catering, Sheffield

For most of us, the lunch hour is the most precious hour of the day. It's great to escape the office, go for a mooch, sit in the local park or feed the ducks by the canal. Thinking about it, it can be the most amazing 'me time'; no kids, no chores, no phones or emails... hell, you could even switch Twitter off too.

So, how do we feel when this precious hour is snatched away from us, sometimes without any notice, by our employers/clients? Do we jump for joy? No. Do we scream, shout and stomp? No. We just shrug our shoulders and think 'oh well, at least we'll get a free sandwich'. But is that really good enough? Giving up our one and only chance of a bit of 'me time' just for a cruddy sandwich? Afterall they do say that there's no such thing as a free lunch...

You might wonder where all this is leading... Well I was recently contacted by Phoenix Catering who wanted me to try one of their business buffets and as my colleagues and I munched our way through our lunch hour I started thinking about all the work lunches I've had in the past. My work place is pretty good as all the food is made fresh in-house but a few years ago I had the 'joy' of being subjected to ready made Iceland style sausages rolls, bland bhajis, pork pies and the like. And although I enjoy comfort food as much as the next person, a plate of beige food does not please me.

So, if our employers are stealing our precious lunch hours and we let them on the basis that we'll get a 'free' lunch then the least they can do is make sure that the lunch is tasty, right? As I've said, my place does a pretty good lunch, but with a selection of sandwiches, quiche and a variety of fried goods, it's hardly the healthiest. Yeah, there's the obligatory fruit bowl but nobody's gonna start chomping on an apple whilst mingling with colleagues and clients are they?

On taking delivery of the business lunch sample from Phoenix Catering I was impressed with the colour and vibrancy of the platters. There was a tropical fruit platter, a huge selection of crudités and a tomato and mozzarella salad along with sandwiches and brownies. Sarah, the owner of Phoenix Catering, told me that the sample was enough for four, but as I unwrapped the platters and laid them out, it was clear that this was enough for a very hungry four.

Sarah had prepared a selection of the most popular sandwiches; sweet chilli chicken, roast beef and tomato and ham salad. The use of simple sliced bread did disappoint and I think we'd have all preferred to see wraps or pittas, but the fillings pleased. Both the ham and beef were thickly sliced and my only complaint was that the beef was overcooked for my liking. Sweet chilli chicken was tasty without being too hot and there were lots of chunks of peppers in there keeping the sandwich fresh tasting.

Tomato and mozzarella salad isn't something I usually see at a working lunch and it was good to see it here. Admittedly the tomatoes were a bit bland, but as Sarah sources all her salad from the Yorkshire region, I wasn't expecting a burst of Italian favours. The basil (which is home grown), however, did have good flavour as did the slices of black olives.

A large selection of crudités was sticks of red pepper, carrot, celery and cucumber served with freshly made tomato and houmous dips. It was clear that all the veg was freshly prepared as it was all sweet tasting and juicy. Houmous packed a good garlic punch, but we all agreed that the tomato dip could have done with a bit of heat and my colleague's emergency bottle of Tabasco sauce pepped it up nicely. All in all it we were grateful to have something healthy and tasty; something we could have picked away at all afternoon without having to feel guilty.

The fruit platter was probably the highlight of the lot. Give me a fruit bowl and I won't touch any of it, give me fruit all nicely sliced up and easy to eat and I will happily scoff away. It's silly, I know, but it works. Slices of juicy orange, melon, pineapple and kiwi along with a scattering of grapes were devoured quickly and enjoyed by all.

After all that healthy food we felt that a slice of brownie wouldn't hurt and with offerings from #Brownies, they were difficult to decline. And it's good to know that Sarah's keen to use as much local produce as possible. Aside from the Brownies, meats and salads, there's dairy produce from Longley Farm and the bread is from Woodthorpe Bakery. As well as keeping things local, Sarah prepares the food fresh every day to ensure her customers get the best of the ingredients.

I'd let Sarah decide what she was going to send me and I'm very happy with the choices she made. For anyone ordering it's good to know that the menu is pretty flexible with sandwiches and brownies being the staples and choices of savouries, nachos, meats and cheeses amongst other things available as add ons. Prices start at £5 a head which seems reasonable for Sheffield especially as there's free delivery included. They can deliver 7 days a week and breakfast is available too.

Maggie May's, Sheffield

Maggie May's is not somewhere I would normally venture. Located in the venue that previously housed a virtual golf course and, later, a naff bar with good cocktails but impossibly loud music, it's a little off the beaten track and somewhere that's proving popular with, er, how can I put this politely... the older crowd. It even advertises itself as somewhere to celebrate a 40th, 50th or 60th birthday, so it really doesn't sound like somewhere I'd venture for my lunch.

And it is only lunch that I've had here, midweek too, as Friday and Saturday nights are party time... and the parties start early at Maggie May's. Music is mostly 60's, 70's & 80's and it's all dancing, rather than eating, so if you're after food, keep it midweek (and note that the kitchen is closed on Sunday and Monday).

So, with such a strong focus on the music side of things, can this place stand up as a serious eatery? Well, yes, it's actually quite a nice place to be in the week. It's a smart looking bar with comfortable seating AND it's managed to get itself a decent chef! Lee Vintin, who was previously at Devonshire Arms, has come in, devised a menu  and taken charge of the kitchen. The food, in line with the music, is 'Noshtalgic' with dishes served in baskets (note - sitting at one of the high tables helps with getting your knife and fork into these things) and menus printed on old LPs.

It might all seem a bit gimmicky but Lee knows his stuff and can cook damn well so the food is absolutely for real. Organic Buffalo burgers are their speciality, but my favourites are the pulled pork sandwich and the chicken & chips. There's also wraps and pizzas on the menu, but I haven't ventured that far yet, and now that Lee's introduced a specials menu of fried chicken and bangers & mash, there's little chance I'm gonna be ordering pizza!

On an impromptu day off I took Gav here for lunch (I'd been a few times with work and he hadn't tried it yet). I'd heard about the specials and was hankering after some of their fried chicken so I was pleased to find it available. The barmaid was pushing the bangers & mash (rightly so as we're talking Moss Valley sausages, who also provide the pork for the pulled pork by the way), but I've had their sausages before and wanted to try something new. Also, I don't know about you, but I don't like ordering bangers and mash when I'm out; it's too easy, something that I'd be able to throw together at home, I'd rather go for something a bit more complex.

Now, I do have a bit of a past when it comes to fried chicken. I worked in KFC as a student and developed a love for their chicken pieces and burgers, but I haven't had it in years (yes, sometimes I do cut off my nose to spite my face with this not eating in chains lark), so I was only ever going to order the fried chicken burger (£6.95) here. It came in a Welbeck Bakery bottom baked bun with mayo, iceberg and cheese (an extra 95p) with sides of a mountain of fries, coleslaw and a small salad.

The chicken was juicy and tasty and although I know that I shouldn't compare an independent to to fast food chain (really, I shouldn't), but this did kind of take me back... except it was better. The bun was really tasty and had a good substance, the chicken fillet had been flattened so that it filled the bun nicely and the cheese had melted over the meat. Fries were perfectly seasoned. Side salad was a little over dressed for my liking, but included some of the tastier items such as cherry tomatoes, grated carrot and pepper. Coleslaw was fine, but I barely touched it; I was stuffed.

I'd recommended the pulled pork sandwich (£6.25) to Gav, who was not disappointed! The Cajun fries alone wowed just by smelling amazing and thankfully their taste lived up to the promising aromas. There was more coleslaw and an enormous strip of pork crackling... and that's before he got to the sandwich. The bottom baked bun was packed full of tasty and tender pork along with some salad leaves and I don't care that their signature dish is the buffalo burger, this is the star of the menu.

As always I was too full to even look at the dessert menu, which is a huge shame given that there's knickerbocker glory on there. Maybe next time I'll stick to a slider and salad so that I can fit one in! And of course there will be a next time; the place is a hit with my colleagues, so much so that I've booked our Christmas do here.

I highly recommend a visit; you'll love the food and the prices (especially if you go on a Tuesday as there's 25% off all food and drink!).

Restaurant Mark Greenaway, Edinburgh

When planning my trip to Edinburgh I headed to Twitter for suggestions of where to dine and I think it was the chef of Losehill House who suggested I try Mark Greenaway's restaurant. He sent me a link to this blog review which kind of sealed the deal for me and I booked us in for lunch on the Tuesday (annoyingly the last day of our holiday, which meant that we would have to set off home very shortly after eating, but it was the only time we were free).

Although I was looking forward to eating at Mark Greenaway's restaurant, Tuesday came round far too quickly, (doesn't the last day of every holiday?) and after being rudely kicked out of our self catering flat at 10am (why so early???) we had three and a half hours to kill before lunch. The rain had returned (after three really good days, it was bound to return at some point) so we decided to hit the shops, after all what better to way to whet the appetite than a tour around the food halls?!

Time for lunch and we find Mark Greenaway located at 12 Picardy Place, opposite the rather soulless Omni (a complex full of chain bars and restaurants, a gym and a cinema). Thankfully where we were headed was just a little more sophisticated. With dark grey walls, high ceilings, smart lighting and a lot of stone, the room felt cool as we were shown to our table (no bad thing; it seems that everyone else in Edinburgh thinks that us tourists can't cope with the cooler Scottish temperature, cranking the heating up to the max and leaving me in a hot pickle).

Our waiter was as equally smart and, dressed in grey, he complemented the room nicely, but under that cool exterior was a warm personality and the service was easy, chatty and comfortable from the off. And although we were sat in a large room with only one table of two joining us, some chilled out and sometimes jazzy, music softly filled the room and with this we felt free to chat rather than whisper.

With two menus on offer; the market menu and the a la carte, I really wanted to stick to the first. It's available from Tuesday to Saturday from 12-3 & 5.30- 6.45 and offers three courses for an amazing £20. There was even a paired wine flight for about the £15 mark. However with only one meat option for main, pork, and the offer of a delicious sounding beef main on the a la carte I ended up with the more expensive option... and on hearing that I was the only one drinking, our waiter suggested that he choose a glass to accompany each course, which was the perfect option for us and a really nice touch.

After a delicious amuse bouche of an espuma (or foam to you and me) my meal kicked off with a pork cheek pave. Pork cheek is a favourite of mine, it's packed with flavour and when cooked long and slow it is surprisingly tender. Here my pork cheeks were served cold, the meat packed into the cobblestone shape and wrapped in a beetroot leather. With some apple jelly on the plate the simple flavours worked nicely and although there was some sea buckthorn on there, it was served in very moderate quantities meaning that I didn't have to have a GBM moment and declare it the most vile of ingredients. As well as tasting good, the dish looked amazing with pretty edible flowers adorning the plate.

Gav was happy enough with the market menu and his starter of duck egg with duck ham (yes, you read that right, prosciutto made from duck!) and a duck croquette looked great and, he reported, tasted good too. The ham was a real revelation for him and with its salty flavours, it was perfect with the rich duck egg. Duck croquette was made up of soft and tender meat and the only complaint I heard from him was that he didn't like the pan it was served in as it made it a bit fiddly to eat (but given that this probably just meant that he couldn't eat it quickly enough, this is in turn, was actually a compliment).

My main was that ever so tempting beef dish. Thick, beautifully tender slices of sirloin were perfectly seasoned making for some really tasty meat. Served with a small piece of short rib which had been cooked away for so long it was sticky with its own juices, this really was a joy for any meat lover. And, as if my carnivorous cravings hadn't been satisfied enough, there was bone marrow 'crumble' too; slow cooked beef stuffed into a bone and topped with a crumb. Simple sides of confit potatoes (or croquettes), a horseradish cream and a rich red wine jus (which was served on the side) ensured that the focus was where it should be; on the meat. I was in heaven!

And although Gav had the slightly lighter option of the pork belly, it was perfectly satisfactory. There was a surprising amount of meat (opposed to fat) to his portion and the skin was good and crispy with a thin crackling consistency. Again, simple sides of mash and apple kept the focus on the porky star of the show and he enjoyed the comforting feel to the dish (remember, the weather was pretty vile outside).

Looking at the dessert menu, I spotted a true favourite of mine; lemon tart. In my opinion there's nothing better than a zingy, refreshing end to a meal and I tend to go for it whenever I see it. However the inclusion of ingredients such as watermelon, coconut jelly and pistachio purée in the description did concern me. Why mess around with such perfection?! My plate arrived and I was glad to see that although these ingredients were present, they didn't actually interfere with the tart itself (which came in sections scattered around the plate). It was good to see extra dollops of the citrusy yuzu sauce dotted around along with a tube of something which I can only describe as a thick and creamy lemon curd. Whatever it was, it packed a punch and really satisfied my requirement for something refreshing. Coconut jelly was pleasant enough, but not required, the watermelon added extra freshness to the plate, but I didn't 'get' the pistachio purée as it didn't seem to work with anything for me. Having said this, there was enough lemon on the plate to meet the requirement of any lemon tart and I was happy.

Gav went for peanut and caramel cheesecake. Served as a mille-feuille, with a strip of dark chocolate, salt caramel and a white chocolate tuille it was like no other cheesecake I have seen and it was stunning. First appearances would suggest that this was a dainty dish, one to be enjoyed on a hot summers day, but once the hot caramel sauce was poured, the dish transformed into one more suiting to the weather outside and one that, surprisingly, satisfied Gav's cravings for sticky toffee pudding (that's the trouble with too much fine dining; the lack of a proper pud). It's something that Gav will remember for some time; a real feat for a dessert from a lunch time offer menu.

We declined coffee, as we really did need to head back home, and left feeling perfectly satisfied. The food had been absolutely spot on (and it had been good to see that the market menu was as interesting as the a la carte), our waiter had been professional but personable and he'd shown off his skills as sommelier in every wine pairing he made. And with the bill coming in at less than £90, the wallet was happy too.

One to return to... and one for you to try...

Angels with Bagpipes, Edinburgh

Angels with Bagpipes is in the Good Food Guide. The Good Food Guide is my second port of call for restaurant recommendations (following Twitter). Angles with Bagpipes has a lunch deal consisting of three courses for £15.95. So... today we ate at Angels with Bagpipes.

Situated on the Royal Mile (say a 10 minute walk from the flat we're staying in), AwB was ideally located as the bad weather (which had plagued us on Thursday) was threatening to return. It's a smart restaurant located on a strip saturated with bland chains and traditional pubs serving up cheap grub. To find somewhere serving up decent freshly prepared food here is pretty good going.

We'd drooled over the menu before setting off and although the a la carte looked tempting, the lunch deal had enough to hold our interest and meant that we could save a fair few pennies.

Remembering an amazing cauliflower soup with blue cheese Gav had a year or so ago at Devonshire Arms, I had to have it here for my starter here and I was glad that I did. Creamy and salty (with the cheese) it was exactly what I needed given the weather (and my hangover). It was a decent portion too with my bowl being a lot deeper than I'd expected.

Gav had the croque madame which was served with a fried egg (the menu says quail, but that yolk looks pretty big for a quails egg) and some wild mushrooms. It was simple and tasty, although I think Gav would have liked a slightly bigger madame!

For mains it was going to be the mackerel or the lamb for me and in the end I opted for the lamb. It was a decent serving and the meat was well cooked; it literally fell apart at the touch of my fork, but was still pink. However, it was a bit bland tasting, which was a shame, but didn't kill the dish for me. On the plus side the gravy was flavoursome and the mash was perfectly creamy.

Gav had gone for the mackerel and he regretted it. It was a 'light' portion as one fillet was served on some beetroot and fennel. Essentially, he needed some potato on the side and he was envious of my mash. Having said that, there was nothing wrong with anything on the plate and the fish was beautifully cooked with soft flesh and crispy barbecued skin.

I had been craving cheese for some time and with the savoury option only adding an extra £1.25 to the cost of lunch and Gav craving a bit of stodge, we both went for it. Three decent chunks of cheese (I forget the names of them) were served with an ample supply of crackers and some rather tasty pear chutney.

Three courses and a bottle of Scottish cider for me and a beer for him along with a bottle of still water left us happy and the bill of around £47 left us even happier! With friendly and efficient service, a pleasant atmosphere, good food and an amazing lunch deal this is certainly one to try...

The Bon Vivant, Edinburgh

I have had the pleasure of eating at some pretty amazing places this weekend. Kitchin and Martin Wishart are probably well considered to be 'the best', but you won't see me blogging about either of them. After all, what could I possibly say about either of them that hasn't been said before? Yes, the food was excellent, yes I'm glad we dined at both of them, but aside from churning out the usual gushing crap, what else could I say? The whole thought of trying to be clever and trying to tell you about the complex food combinations and balancing acts simply scares and bores me!

And, if I'm honest, it's partly because neither restaurant blew me away. Maybe it's because the sommelier at Sat Bains was the best I've ever come across, because the service at Dinner was super slick and because the food at St John was amazing... Of course, some of the dishes at both Kitchin and MW were fantastic; razor clams at Kitchin were perfection in a clamshell and a beetroot macaroon with horseradish cream at MW was a culinary masterpiece, but my experiences, on a whole, did not blow me away.

And, as I sat at The Bon Vivant (a recommendation from one of our favourite barmen; someone who knows how to mix the perfect drink for me and therefore understands my taste), I pondered on the fact that my experience had far surpassed those of Kitchin and MW. Yes, ok, the food was not as complex and the decor wasn't as pristine but the atmosphere (and waiter) ensured that I was totally comfortable and the food was exactly what we were after (good quality, well presented dishes for a fraction of the price at both Kitchin and MW).

Impressed to find a number (10?) of champagnes served by the glass we decided to splurge a little and went for an aperitif of our favourite Veuve Cliquot. At a tenner a glass, this was some treat, but with reasonably priced bottles of wine (including another favourite of ours - Nero D'Avola for £18), we felt that the budget could be stretched a little.

Starters are served as 'bites' or full starter portions and although the bites would have made for easy sharing food, we decided to order full starters each. My brie was breaded in panko breadcrumbs and deep fried  making the cheese perfectly gooey. It's not a starter I would usually go for, as it's all a bit safe, but I wanted to try the panzanella salad it was served with (mainly because it was the freshest sounding aspect of a very rich menu). And, it was pretty safe, but it was, well, you know, nice! The freshness of the salad balanced out the richness of the cheese and it was an ample (but not daunting) serving.

Gav went for haggis pakora; a real fusion dish (although this time there were only two cuisines, not the three I had in my dish with Japanese breadcrumbs, French brie and Tuscan salad). There were three decent chunks of haggis which was well spiced and suited the pakora coating well. They came with a raita which had a bit of a kick to it, but as haggis is hardly the hottest dish in the world, the heat of the chilli in the raita wasn't overkill.

Onto mains and I had to go with another of my favourites; the venison. One big fat lump of tasty, juicy, pink meat came with a crust of pistachios and hazelnuts. Served on a bed of kale (I think) and one fondant potato, it was a perfectly satisfying serving.

Gav had duck which, again, was pink and tasty. The menu had said that it would come with macaroni, which it did; a bizarre but Scottish addition to the dish and a good alternative to the standard potato! There was plenty of veg on the dish too, including a cute little bundle of green beans wrapped up in some pancetta.

I have no idea how Gav fitted in dessert, but I guess the chocolate torte with pistachio ice cream was too much for him to resist... and rightly so. Not only did it look good (have you spotted the beautiful flowers on there?), it tasted good, and was another rich dish. We rounded things off with an Americano and an espresso which came with dinkie petite fours; a nice touch.

With a bill of around £84 this is exceptionally good food for the price; you'd be hard pushed to find something of the same value in Sheffield, never mind about a capital city. It was brilliant and my experience both here and at The Dogs is making me question why I would spend £70 a head ever again...