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The Blacksmiths Inn, Westow

Gary Marshall
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Bapi

Bapi

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Posted
bapi's one of those great regulars, only comes twice a year but regular as clockwork  :laugh:

Cheeky bugger. As you know, the little monkey in my avatar has meant that our opportunity to dine out has naturally been somewhat curtailed. We have had about 8 meals out in total this year and two of them were with you!

But you are right- twice is a bit crap. Will rectify that soon, even if it's only for lunch.

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Domestic Goddess

Domestic Goddess

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Gary, should I ever have the luck to visit the UK in the future, I would definitely stay at your inn. I love reading all the updates and menus and seeing all your pics. Keep 'em coming!

Doddie aka Domestic Goddess

"Nobody loves pork more than a Filipino"

eGFoodblog: Adobo and Fried Chicken in Korea

The dark side... my own blog: A Box of Jalapenos

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Gary Marshall

Gary Marshall

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well the sunday lunch season is in full swing, last week we thought we were going to break 50 covers for the first time this season, but a cancellation pulled us back to 47, yesterday we had 50 booked in by saturday night so sunday was a meticulously run operation which went very well, with a tally of 62 by the end of the day, phew!

if we could seat all who rang or called in on spec for tables it would have been 80 -odd!

had an old chap out with his family he called me over and said 'i've been rearing beasts (that's cows in yorkshire farmer talk) for 60 years and this is one of the best i've ever tasted, so nice to see it cooked so perfectly'

which was nice.

you don't win friends with salad

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BertieWooster

BertieWooster

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Booked in for between xmas and New Year. Looking forward to it.

EDIT: and, yes., I know that's a mind-blowingly stupid statement. Obviously I'm looking forward to it, otherwise I wouldn't have booked it. Put it down to sleep-cycle changing to cope with the Ashes.

Edited by BertieWooster (log)

It no longer exists, but it was lovely.

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  • 3 weeks later...
Gary Marshall

Gary Marshall

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After a very pleasant saturday that saw a trip to anthonys various outposts around leeds and then back to the pub - sometimes all you need is a steak, chips & a bottle of morey st denis :laugh: i thought struggling through my hangover with a fully booked lunch to contend with would be the biggest of my sunday problems - indeed one of the regulars who i'd been chatting with on saturday night said he was 'amazed' i was behind the bar given the 'state' i was in the night before. They forget i've been doing this all- day drinking lark for some time now!

anyway all started well then at 12.30 with 21 arriving at 1pm with more to follow, we had a power cut

this meant.....

no gas in the kitchen - it won't work if the electric extraction isn't working.

no telephone - ours are powered and mobile reception virtually non- existent.

no cash - till wouldn't open

no credit card machine.

no light in most of the kitchen.

no glass/pot wash

luckily the food was ready to go the joints resting, yorkshires/roasties ready at least but the hot starters were off as were any main course that wasn't pork or beef.

i had the dilemma that even if we could serve some food or drink, could we take payment for it, most of our food sales are on cards and we had little change for bar drinks. we also had to run hand written tabs for all the tables as food orders usually go straight in the till. We soon found some change and the old school credit card back-up machine so we were in business - sort of!

i had luckily bought a few extra torches the other week in anticipation of winter so that helped, but it was so dark that behind the bar we were struggling to find wine bottles and see enough to pour it! In the kitchen andy had his KP's and waitresses holding torches at strategic heights so he could see to carve the meat as the 'business' end of the kitchen has no natural light.

anyway whilst all of this was happening we were fielding customers who were arriving for their lunch, as the pub is lit with a lot of candles anyway some were unaware we had a problem, most customers were understanding and could see we were doing our best to serve them something others were saying daft things like - can you heat this up a little for me. FFS! if had power we would, i think sarah's glacial stare said a lot, in fact when she said look forget it , we won't charge you and pulled the plates away they got the message!

anyway in what seemed like the longest hour and a half of my life power returned at just before two so we managed to serve a few more properly and even with the power off we still managed to serve over 40! fair to say that once the power returned and we were tidied up i felt i'd earned a pint!

Edited by Gary Marshall (log)

you don't win friends with salad

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BertieWooster

BertieWooster

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It's days like that you know whether you're cut out for the licensed trade I guess.

Remember having a lovely meal at the White Horse and Griffin in Whitby during a power cut. Candles everywhere rather complemented the 18th century building. Course, it didn't help the staff navigate the tightly packed tables and a few dishes got dropped.

It no longer exists, but it was lovely.

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  • 1 month later...
BertieWooster

BertieWooster

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All deserved too. I like mash, so had no complaints on that front!

(but wasn't the Good Pub Guide award from before you took over?)

Back in March I think, there's an English Heritage day at Wharram Percy that will doubtless be extremely wet, so will need a nice warm bar to recover from in.

It no longer exists, but it was lovely.

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Gary Marshall

Gary Marshall

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(but wasn't the Good Pub Guide award from before you took over?)

the dining pub of the year award was awarded about a week before we took over, this years good food guide entry though is all our own work :smile: and we have maintained our entries in the good pub guide, alistair sawdays & michelin red book & pubs and inns.

you don't win friends with salad

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Zoticus

Zoticus

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(but wasn't the Good Pub Guide award from before you took over?)

the dining pub of the year award was awarded about a week before we took over, this years good food guide entry though is all our own work :smile: and we have maintained our entries in the good pub guide, alistair sawdays & michelin red book & pubs and inns.

Well done! Please post whether it has any effect on business, it would be very interesting to know.

On another note altogether, is this for real: "Heston Blumenthal's triple-cooked chips (his one great contribution to British gastronomy so far)"? Only one?

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BertieWooster

BertieWooster

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(but wasn't the Good Pub Guide award from before you took over?)

the dining pub of the year award was awarded about a week before we took over, this years good food guide entry though is all our own work :smile: and we have maintained our entries in the good pub guide, alistair sawdays & michelin red book & pubs and inns.

and all well deserved of course

It no longer exists, but it was lovely.

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jayrayner

jayrayner

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On another note altogether, is this for real: "Heston Blumenthal's triple-cooked chips (his one great contribution to British gastronomy so far)"? Only one?

Please don't underestimate what I mean by this. I was writing something about Joel Robuchon recently (part of a book) in which I argued that the mark of his greatness was the fact that he had changed the way chefs looked at, thought about and made something as basic as mashed potato.

THere are any number of chefs who have created great individual dishes, who have pioneered new flavour pairings and methods - Heston Blumenthal among them, and much more often than most. But very few have managed to change something as basic as Robuchon did.

Blumenthal has also, to my mind, done exactly the same with the humble chip. his triple cooked chip is now, like the name of the Glasgow restaurant, ubiquitous. I see it on menus everywhere. That seems to me to be the mark of a truly great chef, and his one truly great contribution to British gastronomy so far.

Jay

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Bapi

Bapi

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Nice review my friend and well deserved. Now all you have to do is open more during the week for lunch !!

Loved the line about the winemakers of Burgundy planning foreign trips every time you open a wine list. :smile:

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beepop

beepop

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well done blacksmihs inn.....i'm sure you will be packed after this review.

It was a thoroughly good read as well. In fact, I also thought AA Gill's review of the Fish & Chip Shop in Whitley was also brilliant and I never thought Gill would get to a place like this, let alone review it.

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Zoticus

Zoticus

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Posted (edited)
I also thought AA Gill's review of the Fish & Chip Shop in Whitley was also brilliant and I never thought Gill would get to a place like this, let alone review it.

Apparently, there's a notoriously stern dominatrix based in Whitby.

[Edited for typo]

Edited by Zoticus (log)
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