The Peak District

[thom]

Right, we're on to a topic I have touched on previously here, but I felt compelled to give the subject it's own thread - The Peak District and it's food scene (or lack of)

Having recently left the bright lights of central Manchester to return to the family seat of Glossop in the Peak District (hometown of Vivienne Westwood, Stuart Hall, Paul Raymond and the League of Gentleman no less. Oh, and Shaun Ryder and Bez) I was keen to get to grips with the local food and drink scene and see how (and if) it had changed in my absence.

At first I thought it absolutely hadn't. Crushing. This is a National park like The Yorkshire Dales or The Lake District, both hotbeds of food and hospitality. It is an area of outstanding beauty; it's not short of cash and it is now becoming affluent commuter territory for the inhabitants of Manchester and Sheffield etc (these proximity of these major centres of population also make this National Park the second most visited in the world, after Mount Fuji no less!).

Now, after a lot of hard work, resilience, dashed hopes and driving to the arse end of nowhere on potential lost causes I have actually uncovered a handful of hardy culinary perennials and some green shoots of gastronomic excitement.

So, I thought I would share them with you. Be warned my comments will be long, meandering, full of smart-arse opinion and short on hard facts. It does though make a change from my normal long, meandering, smart-arse and hard fact-lite posts about Manchester.

Anyway a brief overview will follow below, and I shall fill things in with more detail as my dining dictates and when my schedule allows (ie the next time I am feigning work).

[thom]

Ok. I'll start on my doorstep in Glossop:

Old favourite for a kick-off - (Mettricks Butchers)

A wonderful, wonderful butcher which has twice won awards for the best butchers shops in the UK (One from Radio 4, one from Meat Trades Gazette!). Fantastic, passionate family, working with local farms to produce the best possible meat. They still have their own small abbatoir and home-kill all their animals, and home-cure they own bacons and make their own sausages. Their High Peak lamb in particular is fantastic and recently won a North West Fine Food Award ahead of the more famous Lake District Herdwick lamb.

Next, a really local one (to me at least) - De La Tierra Chocolates

I only found this stuff when it was on sale in the Love Saves the Day deli round the corner from my office in Manchester. Weirdly, it seems to be handmade out of a terrace house about 250m from my front door! The chocolate itself is seriously good, with the dark slabs studded with cherries being a particularly favourite of mine. You chocolate nerds can read all about the beans etc on the website but sourcing from Venusuela (sp?) seems to be the big thing.

Ok, somewhere you can actually eat out next - Dowds Restaurant

The fact that this place doesn't even have it's own website yet doesn't suprise me. Nor does the fact that the reviewing website classes Glossop as being in Cheshire (rather than Derbyshire). This is the sort of restaurant that no-one on here would rave about, but as the review points out in Glossop it IS worth flagging up. Here is a place that is an independent, trying to cook bistro/brasserie style cooking to a decent standard, and every town or neighbourhood should have such a place. Until twelve months ago, we didn't.

Anyway it's actually not bad. As with so many of these places touches on the menu occassionally make you think it's over-reaching, but some of the cooking is decent, and it's cosy enough in a "not trying to hard" sort of way. Oh come on, I know it's not going to have you going there in droves but I cite it as it is the only restaurant of it's type (ie not a 80's style Italian, Indian, Greek etc) for a local population of 40,000+!

Next up, two places just over the hill in Hayfield. Firstly, The Pack Horse.

This place is not some high-falutin dining pub, and the recent refurb may be a bit bland for some (The Star at Harome it is not) but it actually does exactly what you want pub food to do (especially after a day yomping across the moors in the drizzle) and it's a proper community pub to boot. They source from within a ten miles radius, use Mettricks meat, and the chef (ex of the Waltzing Weasel down the road) does an excellent Bread and Butter pudding. Simple pub stodge done absolutely right.

The other good place in town has a terrible name - Grumbleys

Now I have to admit I have not eaten at this place for a while, but when I did it was pretty good. Simple pasta, well cooked, light saucing; it hit the spot. It seems to have developed a bit in the meantime and local word of mouth is great (though the sterling reviews on the website look a bit old now). It's next on my to do list.

I'll try and write up the nearest Michelin star place next - Fischers of Baslow Hall - which has always been highly rated but seems to have loosened up and raised it's game recently. Also, it's related bistro Rowleys is actually excellent with a fine light touch with the cooking and very sensible prices (alas the purple, faux-ostrich skin banquettes). The other relatively recent launch of note is The Walnut Club, which despite having a unexplained monkey on it's website is all kinds of intriguing - great reviews, an ex-Novelli chef, an ambitious and intriguing menu, and a claim to be entirely organic.

Ok, ok the reports so far may not have you actually moving to the Peak District, but should you visit here you'll be glad of this thread damn you!

Cheers

Thom

[BertieWooster]

Fischers I've done a couple of times, and I'm still struggling to work out how it has a star. Its okay, but in thatLondon, I just don't think it would survive. It feels (and is) like the sort of hotel grandparents would drag one to for Sunday lunch. All the fussy service, because that's what ones meant to do, without really delivering on it.

Spend far too much time in Hathersage and The Walnut Club was a great new opening. The whole organic, regional, seasonal thing is so done to death though isn't it? Its packed of a Friday and Saturday evening, but suffers from real identity crisis. Is it a great restaurant, is it a club for the movers and shakers, is it a laid back response to olde worlde tea shoppes? And its not really any of them.

Course my real complaint about the place is the size of the portions. Last time I tok the olds there, Mrs W. ended up buying me a sandwich from the (exceptionally good) deli next door to stp my stomach grumbling. Course, I AM morbidly obese, so its my own fault. I prefer the George. Or, indeed, the cafe at David Mellor. Not only the best cutlery in the world, but excellent food too. And you get to see his magic traffic lights.

Do ALL of the League of Gentlemen live in Glossop?

[fisherman]

As far as I know Bertie, none of the League Of Gentlemen live there, they hail from all around this wonderful country of ours. The show was filmed not too far from there though.

[fisherman]

But, bringing the thread back on toopic, I've said it before, and I'll say it again,

Fischers is a very very good restaurant, but lunch is (or was) a much better deal than dinner, I have no idea how much it costs these days as I haven't been since I was a regular visitor 3 or more years ago, but back then, it was a very good lunch at a good price, dinner was always good too, but lunch always seemed a better deal.

[kutsu]

I had a fucking awesome lunch at Fischers in May. Seriously the best piece of beef I've ever eaten.

[ernustus]

ive been to fischers at baslow hall for lunch about a year ago and out of the 7 michelin establishments ive eaten in , i was the most dissapointed at baslow hall.

Ok. I'll start on my doorstep in Glossop:

Old favourite for a kick-off - (Mettricks Butchers)

A wonderful, wonderful butcher which has twice won awards for the best butchers shops in the UK (One from Radio 4, one from Meat Trades Gazette!). Fantastic, passionate family, working with local farms to produce the best possible meat. They still have their own small abbatoir and home-kill all their animals, and home-cure they own bacons and make their own sausages. Their High Peak lamb in particular is fantastic and recently won a North West Fine Food Award ahead of the more famous Lake District Herdwick lamb.

Next, a really local one (to me at least) - De La Tierra Chocolates

I only found this stuff when it was on sale in the Love Saves the Day deli round the corner from my office in Manchester. Weirdly, it seems to be handmade out of a terrace house about 250m from my front door! The chocolate itself is seriously good, with the dark slabs studded with cherries being a particularly favourite of mine. You chocolate nerds can read all about the beans etc on the website but sourcing from Venusuela (sp?) seems to be the big thing.

Ok, somewhere you can actually eat out next - Dowds Restaurant

The fact that this place doesn't even have it's own website yet doesn't suprise me. Nor does the fact that the reviewing website classes Glossop as being in Cheshire (rather than Derbyshire). This is the sort of restaurant that no-one on here would rave about, but as the review points out in Glossop it IS worth flagging up. Here is a place that is an independent, trying to cook bistro/brasserie style cooking to a decent standard, and every town or neighbourhood should have such a place. Until twelve months ago, we didn't.

Anyway it's actually not bad. As with so many of these places touches on the menu occassionally make you think it's over-reaching, but some of the cooking is decent, and it's cosy enough in a "not trying to hard" sort of way. Oh come on, I know it's not going to have you going there in droves but I cite it as it is the only restaurant of it's type (ie not a 80's style Italian, Indian, Greek etc) for a local population of 40,000+!

Next up, two places just over the hill in Hayfield. Firstly, The Pack Horse.

This place is not some high-falutin dining pub, and the recent refurb may be a bit bland for some (The Star at Harome it is not) but it actually does exactly what you want pub food to do (especially after a day yomping across the moors in the drizzle) and it's a proper community pub to boot. They source from within a ten miles radius, use Mettricks meat, and the chef (ex of the Waltzing Weasel down the road) does an excellent Bread and Butter pudding. Simple pub stodge done absolutely right.

The other good place in town has a terrible name - Grumbleys

Now I have to admit I have not eaten at this place for a while, but when I did it was pretty good. Simple pasta, well cooked, light saucing; it hit the spot. It seems to have developed a bit in the meantime and local word of mouth is great (though the sterling reviews on the website look a bit old now). It's next on my to do list.

I'll try and write up the nearest Michelin star place next - Fischers of Baslow Hall - which has always been highly rated but seems to have loosened up and raised it's game recently. Also, it's related bistro Rowleys is actually excellent with a fine light touch with the cooking and very sensible prices (alas the purple, faux-ostrich skin banquettes). The other relatively recent launch of note is The Walnut Club, which despite having a unexplained monkey on it's website is all kinds of intriguing - great reviews, an ex-Novelli chef, an ambitious and intriguing menu, and a claim to be entirely organic.

Ok, ok the reports so far may not have you actually moving to the Peak District, but should you visit here you'll be glad of this thread damn you!

Cheers

Thom

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