david goodfellow

Also appreciated was the clear and concise text that shared olfactory as well as papillary description. Thanks for the complete "picture". Thank you Margaret. So glad to have your seal of approval.

I simply doooonnnn't believe it (Victor Meldrew voice) You were clearly discrete of course, and no one said anything? This reminds me of my experience at Danesfield House. Bloody receptionists, what do they know. Still thanks for that review, its their loss though, I have no intention whatsoever in giving them my hard earned cash. They can stay in the wilderness as far as I'm concerned.

Thanks Sid (is it ok to call you Sid?) Much appreciated. Take plenty of photos on your visit and don't forget to include them here with your review. I may just relax my view about credit card confirmation. Not as much as three days though. Quite scandalous what some people will resort to. What springs to mind though is when things go wrong through no fault of your own. We were on our way to the soft opening of Pollen Street Social, there was a pile up only a couple of minutes in front of us on the M6 which took thankfully only two hours to clear and very fortunately the restaurant were understanding, even though we arrived more than an hour later then booked. It could have been a lot, lot worse of course.

We used to be fairly regular visitors to Cheltenham up until four of five years ago. The draw was always Michelin superstar Le Champignon Sauvage, but for personal reasons we have not been back since then. Lumiere came to our attention perhaps a year or so ago. I had heard good things about chef Jon Howe and I was curious to give it a try. Its a fairly easy to find location, but beware driving past as you will be locked into the one way system, and may find it a struggle to find your way back. Unless of course you have a reliable sat nav or street map. Its small but perfectly formed inside. An intimate, cosy retreat from the daytime hustle and bustle just a little further up the road in town proper. There is btw no on street parking, but ample paid parking not far away, a very short stroll almost behind the restaurant. This is a small operation with chef and mostly one helper in the kitchen. Front of house is the same, Jon's partner, the extremely pleasant Helen in charge of service, with one, perhaps two assistants. We chose the seven course tasting menu which is quite fairly priced at £60 pp. Amuse. Squid crackers, served with tzatziki, and cheese scones with a filling of truffled cream cheese and beetroot jam. Bread is good, and freshly made on site, and is a choice of four, Brown with kibbled onions, Brown with celeriac and raisin, rosemary and sea salt and a white with sunblush tomato?. First up proper was a playfull course of Popcorn Soup with a sweety type bag of popcorn chicken. The bag actually contained four chicken nuggets, but my wife in her haste scoffed one before I had time to take a photo. As it was a surprise menu, we were very pleased with the next course. Diver caught Oban scallops No stingy half scallops here. Two plump, perfectly cooked lumps of loveliness. Either side were squares of ultra tasty crispy pork belly. To the rear is a slick of carrot, orange and anise puree, and shards of caramel on the top. Oh and bacon crumbs to the front of the slate. As sourcing as opposed to saucing is all the rage now, the next dish and indeed the whole menu really echoed that ethos. Cheltenham beetroot Sussex Slipcote, chorizo, sweetcorn, long pepper tuile. Down the centre is pickled Chioggia beetroot, cigars of Cheltenham beetroot stuffed with chorizo and apple jam. Ruby beetroot jelly and ruby beetroot puree. Sweetcorn powder Sussex Slipcote is an award winning , organic ewes milk cheese from, guess where? Long pepper, as in the potato tuile, was revered at one time as the ultimate pepper, but its complexity is I'm afraid wasted on me. I loved the vivid colours of the next dish, it ate rather well too. Line caught Cornish Red Mullet. A smashing plate of food, visually exciting. Deliciously simple but effective. Well textured throughout the dish. Beating hands down the last Red Mullet which we ate, which seemed "muddy" by comparison. Mixed in with the saffron sauced orzo, ( Italian for barley, but is in fact rice shaped pasta ) were some sea fresh tasting baby mussels and clams, and the right balance of fennel. Next up chefs take on a Tequila Slammer. To be eaten in order of, Salt tuile and Tequila sorbet, and finally, on its own the lime sphere. Do not bite into the sphere before its safely inside the mouth. Again sourcing to the fore, the main course, Badminton Estate, Red deer. Two thick discs of Venison cooked to perfection, melt in the mouth and most importantly top full of flavour. A delight not only for the taste buds, but also for the smell of it. Braised red cabbage, sweet peppered swede puree ,"Brussels and squeak", Cep and chocolate jus. Desserts next, and we were interested in seeing what would come from the kitchen with just chef and one helper. Would it match up to the food so far? " Milk and Cookies." A very simple dessert, a couple of crunchy hot White chocolate and cranberry Biscotti served with some Parsnip milk. We preferred the final dessert which was as good a rendition of a souffle that we have eaten. Canon Pyon Damsons. I assume the damsons in the souffle are from Canon Pyon, a Herefordshire village just off the A4110. I did not ask, I just googled it. Perfectly risen with just a very very slight, and enjoyable crust to it. Not overpowered by the said damsons, but truth be told they could have been from anywhere I would not have known any different. Alongside the souffle is a leaning glass of plum infused sake and to its right is an almond milk sorbet. All in all a very enjoyable meal. We thought it worth the journey, some may not. However if you are in the area we think this is a must try. The food here is comparable with a number of Michelin starred restaurants that we have eaten at this year and we think that it is only a matter of time before they are promoted. In fact Michelin already know of them as this is a quote from the 2012 guide. " Elegant, comfortable and personally run restaurant. Cooking is modern, original and inventive and makes excellent use of local suppliers" Our bill came to £155 with a gluggable bottle of Tempranillo,(from what to me seemed a very reasonably priced list). We did not take coffees or pre dinner drinks, had Gloucestershire tap water and left a tip, (no service charge imposed.) Although you could eat for far less from the equally very fairly priced set menu. Jon Howe and the lovely Helen. In passing we touched on cancellation policies, and guess what ? These guys had a table of ten cancel on them, just before they were due to arrive for dinner. No notice whatsoever, at a quarter to eight on a Saturday night because one of the party was ill. All of the mise en place had been done, and it was a tasting menu. It all ended up in the bin. Shame on you, this impacts on any business but even more so on a small family business. This is a huge loss.

This photos, no photos debate has taken place on here on a number of occasions, and guess what? Time and again the consensus of opinion is for, not against. Only a tiny minority seem not to want to embrace this new media. From a personal point of view, (and it has been touched on before above) a picture is worth a thousand words, and indeed saves me waffling on with prose that may or may not be appreciated. I sometimes become bored reading some food blogs full of overlong descriptive waffle, so try to keep it short and too the point. Btw, After visiting your profile I could not help but notice that you posted on Youpala Bistro. A post that included multiple photos. Double standards?

I see on their respective Twitter pages Critical Couple and Sped98 are dining here tonight. Both seem concerned about a camera ban I think the likelyhood of that happening is a trillion to one. There is more chance of them breaking down on the Motorway. Remember that cancellation policy guys. If you struggle at all, give me a call I'll come out and get you there on time Seriously though I'm really looking forward to those photos. Its about time he had some photo exposure on here. Enjoy.

Did you get any photos?

Thanks very much for your replies. Its good to see things from someone else's point of view. Of course that is what egullet is all about, food, eating it, discussing it, dreaming about it, (sometimes), and whist I do not always agree with what is written I have to respect everyone's perspective.

It would be most unusual for them to have all or even any of the dishes in there photo archive. Plus they will most certainly not go to the trouble of taking photos of the dishes that we may eat on the day. From a review point of view, this is for me a pointless exercise.

As eager as the next food obsessive and an avid restaurant collector, my quest to add newly Michelin starred Coworth Park,( or should that really be John Campbell ) to my conquests has stalled. I booked a table for this Saturday lunch, and requested a table with good light preferably near a window. Asked why, I replied that I would like to take a few photos of the food. Well. " Can you hold the line please" Long pause. "Sorry Sir photos are not allowed in the restaurant. I have just spoken to PR and they can supply you with photos if you wish" "Can I have a word with PR please?" As much as I pleaded with PR for common sense, and my request that they consult with another level, they phoned me back today to reiterate the ban. Guess what? I cancelled. I am not making a round trip journey of nearly seven hours to review a restaurant which steadfastly sticks to this rule. Of course they have the right to impose what restrictions they like but I wonder if John Campbell has anything to do with it. I doubt it very much. I suspect like most chefs he would like his creations shown off to the wider world. Has anyone else been, or wish to comment. Photos would be nice too

Hi Linda, I'm really pleased with those photos. We asked to move table for better light conditions. It makes it all the better for me that they are appreciated, and of course the kitchens work is shown to good advantage. Of the six starters, smoked salmon with scrambled egg featured and some seared scallops, sweetcorn puree & parmesan nage also. The six main courses had one vegetarian option, Stuffed Spanish onion with root vegetables, pilau rice & light vegetable nage. Venison, Pork belly, Celtic pride Beef, plus the two specials were the others. My Oxtail dish was one of them, plus just one fish dish, a Sea Bass dish, but I cannot remember what it was served with. I suppose that they rely on the land (and local) for ingredients, rather than the sea, even though the sea is really not that far away. The supply chain for fish may not be that good either. Some chefs also prefer working with meat, although I'm not sure that is the case here.

THE CHECKERS I love it when the new Michelin guide is published. The eager anticipation of new unheard of places that Michelin deem fitting to include in their guide is one of the highlights of my foodie year. It seems appropriate that Michelin should do the hard work in finding these hidden gems, so that followers like me can benefit without making costly mistakes. The Checkers is a new one on me, as is the chef Stephane Borie. This Frenchman spent seven years training alongside Michel Roux at the three Michelin starred Waterside Inn. He met his partner and co owner of The Checkers Sarah Francis, whilst working there. I can,t even hazard a guess as to how many very good chefs the Roux dynasty have produced, but suffice to say they are scattered throughout the British Isles and now here in Wales. Located in the pretty town square the pub has undergone a major refit. Its very effective in its muted colours and feels warm and inviting. Even though this is now in reality a restaurant I suspect the locals still drop in for a pint or two of the excellent ales on offer. The menu is reasonably varied with perhaps five starters, six mains, cheese and about six desserts. Oh and did I mention a couple of specials depending on what produce the kitchen are offered on the day. Bread is home made and is very good indeed. We got off to a cracking start with my choice of Pheasant and foie gras pithiviers with walnut and granny smith dressing. (£12). A wonderful plate of food, very well presented. The glossy pastry case displayed the chefs lightness of touch. Delicious gamey pheasant intersperced with foie gras. Crunchy salted walnuts and a silky smooth sauce. I lusted after my wife,s choice of Pan fried foie gras with quince puree and Monbazillac jus (£13). Again, this dish presented well. Beautifully seared foie gas which just evaporated in the mouth. Bursting with flavour, and everything in harmony, a glorious plate of food. A thoughtful slice of (not too sweet) homemade toasted brioche was there to mop up the juices. I was slightly overwhelmed when my trencherman portion of one of the daily specials arrived, Oxtail,smoked bacon, horseradish mash, (£16). It drew gasps of admiration from a party of four behind us. Easily enough for two, its not hard to love the generosity of this kitchen. Furthermore, even though its a fairly humble ingredient, this is no cheap dish to produce. A bargain for the money. Big deep flavours, I suppose essentially a beef bourguignon. It delivered bigtime. Again, the other main course displayed the chefs generosity. No measly Michelin style meanness here. Dainty it aint. As good a portion of prime ingredient we have had anywhere. A round of applause please for the kitchen. Roasted loin of Venison, with creamed potato, curried parsnip puree & garlic and thyme jus. Needless to say the happy bunny sitting across the table declared it a winner. We really struggled with desserts. My wife did not want one and truth be told I had overfaced myself on the oxtail. Still we had travelled nearly two hours to get here, and faced the same long journey back, so it just did not seem right not to try them. Lemon scented creme brulee with ginger ice cream (£7) Hot hazelnut souffle (£8) Both delicious desserts, and both classics, and you can understand why, looking at the photos and of course eating them. Mid Wales is not easy to access, and even though we don,t (as the crow flies) live so very far from here, the roads can be very difficult to make good time on. Having said that at no time there or back did we regard this journey as a chore. In fact the joy of the meal was well worth the trip, so don't be put of in the slightest by the location. In fact they are currently running a two night break including dinner for a bargain price. So you could treat yourself perhaps? As you may gather we think the Michelin guys have got this rating spot on and we are grateful to them for bringing it to our attention. Hope you get chance to try it sometime. Three course lunch for two, two halves of bitter, bottle of decent house wine, copious Welsh tap water, no tea/coffees, tip. £110. The Frenchman

Will have to give this place a try John. Sounds right up my street, and of course not a million miles away.

Well John, a bit of a mixed report there. Was the big man in the kitchen? Its a big night in The Lakes tomorrow night for not only Stephen but a lot of other chefs. Perhaps he was not in charge on the day. I was very tempted to go

Just stumbled on this two minute video capturing a bit of the delight that Michelin stars cause. Thought it was worth sharing. Daily Mail

I bow to your industry knowledge Gary, but this subject is really a can of worms, and I think its best to agree to disagree. Time and again I visit pubs at all levels and marvel at how long ago they had a lick of paint, nevermind a top to toe refurb. Of course I don't always get the chance to look inside kitchens My comparison was mainly based on big city establishments, most especially London. I doubt very much staff would tolerate minimum wage when the cost of living is such a lot higher. Plus of course staggeringly large rent and rates are incurred. I resent paying London prices in urban areas, and that service charge infuriates me even more. Interesting that you should make a comparison with the phenomenon that is Yauatcha, did this not change hands for a stupendous amount of money due to its insane popularity (profitability). Me thinks a comparison with a host of other places is more relevent. I think this subject could be debated over a very long lunch and we still would not agree. Still as always I respect and look forward to your contributions.

Ye gods Howard, you don't mind spending on your wine, do you. If I were a restaurant owner you could eat for free at my place Me thinks Sat Bains has shot himself in the foot somewhat

Thanks for that Howard, been waiting for your report. Dare I ask what the price of the wine package was?

I wonder what Tom Kerridge would think if Michelin judged his food only against other pubs. (did they?) Would that dilute his very welcome uplift to two Michelin stars? Is it only really worth one if compared to say Sat Bains? I don't think big Tom would agree. Thinking about it, we are due a return visit. I will let you know. Hand and Flowers

Thanks for all your comments, much appreciated and good to get other peoples point of view. Matthew I'm bemused. Looking at Michelin, I do not see different listings for restaurants and pubs they are all under the listing "one star". Why should standards be any lower? Its well documented on here that I'm a big fan of Pollen Street Social. Jason Atherton's "pub dish" is head and shoulders above the one that I commented on. Good that we agree on a couple of things though John I have fallen for this drinks at the bar, to be added to the bill stuff before. I was off my guard this time. In the past, especially when in company I settle the bill in cash before going into the restaurant. Man Like you I'm not really into spoiling what should be a pleasant event by confronting the management about service, unless I'm in the mood and it is completely dire. The grouse btw was cooked to my satisfaction, however as I ate closer to the breast bone, deep inside the bird, it became quite rare. Country. You answered the question better than I could have done liuzhou See above. Richard You know what your on about, and I respect your opinion with such a strong link to the industry.

This place came to my attention about three years ago, just before I started a thread on here about the Hand and Flowers £10 set lunch. It had a glowing review by Matthew Norman praising its £14.50 set lunch, so I listed it as a must try. Someday. As it won its first Michelin star last week I thought it best to get there before the crowds flocked in. It really is in a picture post card setting, deep in the heart of the Oxfordshire countryside, yet only about thirty miles from London. It is surrounded by beautiful well tended gardens with some interesting sculptures dotted about the place, both inside and out. The interior to the front is pure pub, but this is not really pub territory, its serious restaurant stuff with pricing to match. They impose a "suggested" 12.5% service charge, which is not in keeping with the distinct lack of same. There is a growing tendency for some gastro-y type pubs to add this abomination, when its clear their staff are just not up to the job. I particularly don't like being served by some distant youth who is dreaming of whats in his girlfriends pants, instead of paying attention to what is not in my wine glass. The gulf between one star Michelin restaurants and some one star Michelin "pubs" is glaring, mostly they are not at all close in the service stakes. If I'm being charged for service, I want service, not to have a jug of water plonked on the table for me to have to bloody well pour myself. Again I like meals explained, not plonked down with barely a smile, and a quick dart back to the kitchen. Get more staff, who can spend a bit more time with the customer, by doing so, you can offer better service We had two halves of Wadsworth 6x (£4) at the bar, and were charged 50p service charge on top, for them being handed to me a full eighteen inches away. Thankfully the a la carte menu, (the only one available on Saturday) was not so heavily laden with Knightsbridgey prices, as the one on the website was. Although having said that there was still three starters at £14.50 ( £16.31 inc service) and two mains at £28.50( £32.06). The menu read quite well with a choice of eight on starter and main. The heavily artexed lemon yellow dining room is pleasant indeed. With its quality mismatched tables and chairs. Some more sculptures adorn the tables as well as the room itself. Bread was, I assumed, made on the premises. I should have asked really. A choice of foccacia and sultana and walnut. It was decent, especially liberally coated with the butter, which I found to be very pleasant. Herself started with Seared foie gras, calvados poached apples, cassis and brioche. (£16.51 inc service) We did not detect any distinctive calvados flavour. The foie gras was as you would expect. The brioche I suppose was to there to break up the richness. We both thought the apples to be too tart. Her second choice starter would have been Confit tamworth pork shoulder with black pudding and apple puree.(£10.69)and as we both fancied grouse for main, (but I wanted to try different things) I thought it only fair to have this dish myself so that she could try a taste for herself. As far as I'm concerned, as tasty as it was, this is pub grub. It may be poshed up a bit with the slick of black pudding puree but it is basic fare. I wanted the grouse, as it was to be my first this season. However if my wife had of made a fuss I would have chosen something else. I see little point in going to a restaurant with the purpose to review it and choose the same dishes. Traditional roast grouse with bread sauce and game chips. (£32.06) The grouse announced its arrival a couple of metres away from us. That distinctive pongy, gamey aroma wafted across the table, dominating all before it. It was not the prettiest looking plate of food, although having said that I suppose its extremely hard to prettify. The watercress perhaps would have been more suited stuffed up its rectum. I was more than happy eating this bird. Once I had broken through the somewhat tough seared shell, it was perfectly cooked inside. Intensely full on gamey flavour, and most certainly a mans dish, although my wife enjoyed a taste. Watercress is a classic accompaniment, this was suitably dressed. The dressing had however leached into most of the game chips (crisps) rendering them soggy and unpleasant. The bread sauce served on the side was too thin and lacklustre. Turn your eyes away if your squeamish the remains look like something from an abattior. Our other main course was a reasonably priced Partridge with choucroute, salardaise potato and perry jus. (£21.94). Again, most certainly not the prettiest plate of food, in fact it looked a mess. Thank goodness it ate ok. Thumbs up from the wife. She loved it. " Far nicer than that main course at " Dinner ". Hmmm. The dessert menu consists of seven choices (£9.56). British and French cheese,(£11.81) Coffee (£3.32) Petit four (£5.06) Various Ice creams, and Sorbets. I may have been tempted to try a couple of desserts but at nearly £10 each there was no way. We opted to share one between us and asked our waitress which one she thought was the best choice on the list. My wife is always fearfull when I resort to this tactic, as she has strong likes and dislikes. "Salted caramel and chocolate mousse with malted ice cream" was the quick reply. "Ok, we will go with that". Not bad I have to say. All the better as it was not sickly sweet, but not worth a tenner nevertheless. As you may gather my wife enjoyed the experience a bit more than me. I was a little underwhelmed. Perhaps my expectation level was raised with the Michelin award. We are somewhat spoit by being able, and having dined at all levels from pubs, neighborhood restaurants, one, two, and right up to Michelin three star places, so comparisons are inevitable. Essentially most pubs enjoy no massive start up costs. There fabric remains the same over many decades. Staff and other overheads are considerably lower than big city establishments who really have to charge more to recoup some of their outlay never mind cover overheads, or god forbid make a profit. Yet some pubs feel they can charge London prices in rural locations. My main gripe is that service charge of course. If you make the charge, make sure people are taken care of. Don't leave them up a corner to fend for themselves. Saturday lunch for two people, two and a half courses each. One decent bottle of fruity chilean house wine (£19.69) two halves, jug of finest Oxfordshire tap water, no coffees £114.75 including service

ROAST CHICKEN with WAFFLES is the recipe. Two hours preparation, then, no cooking required? ( see the recipe) Its an American Chicken chasseur. Even I can do that I wonder how many chef's will be watching this?

Don't forget Thomas Keller is on tomorrow's SATURDAY KITCHEN, along with Tom Kitchin. We should get some idea what all the fuss is about. Remember you heard it here first

Ah John, at last I'm famous. It sounds like all of 15 seconds worth. I hope that you mentioned that you are egullets North West correspondent Credit where credits due. Glad you enjoyed the food, its certainly worth a journey. Have to agree a bit on the venue. It is a bit of an aquired taste. I bet there has been more than a few wild wedding nights at the place though. Looking forward to my next visit now.

Booked in at new Michelin star The Sir Charles Napier, hope the old buggers up to scratch I heard good things about it before the anouncement. Pictures and report to follow.