Charlotte Smith-Jarvis enjoys an early Valentine’s date at Stoke by Nayland Hotel
It had been a fair while since I last ate at Stoke by Nayland Hotel’s restaurant, Lakes.
I don’t know why I hadn’t been back sooner as I still had fond memories (yes I’m sad like that and remember everything I eat) of the meal – crisp breast of lamb, maple and bacon doughnut. Delicious.
Head chef Alan Paton has to be one of the hardest working, most driven and creative chefs in our region.
Whenever I speak to him I feel exasperated. He’s always either in the kitchen, out at demonstrations, helping promote young chefs, or (as was the case this week) taking part in competitions. On Wednesday he was off to London to try and make the UK’s best sausage roll!
We visited Lakes on Tuesday to try out Alan’s specially created Valentine’s menu, which is being served on February 12, 13 and 14 by candlelight.
The hotel has improved so dramatically over the years and you really cannot fail to be impressed by the slick entrance, with its oversized couches and soft, welcoming pastel-coloured palette.
A lounge, warmed by the glow of an applewood-fired wood burner, leads into the glossy restaurant which (in the daytime) looks over to the lakes on the golf course.
Unfussy in its décor, and nicely spaced, it is a comfortable and relaxed spot for dinner for two.
Our utterly charming waiter, who was really good-humoured and attentive all night, poured us a glass of Tattinger (included), which definitely put us in high spirits.
Then, along came a basket of homemade breads – there’s always a good selection at Lakes.
The decent sized pieces included tangy brie and apricot, earthy chorizo and salami and a sweet sultana and walnut bread. All quickly demolished.
To start, Jarv had ordered the applewood smoked pork belly and black pudding. Presented artistically, as was the rest of the meal, this dish consisted of black pudding in a crumb shell (a bit like a Scotch egg), resting on a well balanced sharply sweet rhubarb puree. This was only enhanced by the crisp and tender belly pork, sprinkle of vanilla salt and maple bacon.
I chose one of the veggie options (and you’ll understand why when you read what we had for our main course).
Hiding under a nest of endive was a piece of room temperature, perfectly ripe Gorgonzola. Piquant, oozing with creaminess and that sharp salty edge, it was a magnificent centrepiece. Around it was a bitter chocolate oil, nuggets of pistachio, sweet/sharp crushed cherries, and a Prosecco jelly. Some would say this errs on being a dessert or cheese plate, but the savoury bitterness of the endive kept it firmly in the realms of a starter.
I thoroughly enjoyed the culinary journey of this plate, and how every mouthful tasted different.
For our next course, the decks were cleared for a gargantuan serving platter.
Each of us was given a plate smeared with broccoli puree and smoked flaked almonds. Also individually served was a potato skin shell filled with the most divine light mousseline of potato, cheese and cream. Like eating a cloud of the best cheese mash – ever!
At the centre of the table was what had to be the ultimate surf and turf. If you manage to finish this lot you deserve a medal.
There was a golden crusted mac and cheese, woven through with flakes of the best quality smoked salmon.
A burnished, wibbly scallop (one each) was sandwiched between a delicate macaron made using scallop roe.
King prawns were wrapped in herbal pancetta.
Pulled duck was turned into ‘nuggets’, rolled in crumbs and served next to the huge, sweet teriyaki beef rolls, stuffed with kecap manis pickled, crunchy veg.
And, to finish the platter, some of the biggest, meatiest chicken wings either of us had ever seen. Sticky and aromatic, they were spot on. We couldn’t finish it all. Obviously we had to leave a space for dessert.
It’s a good job we did.
Puddings were spectacular. I made hubby share with me because, well, it’s in the spirit of Valentines isn’t it?
His pud was decadence itself. A not-too-rich brownie base, smeared with a Reese’s Pieces style peanut butter filling and topped with a glassy chocolate ganache, finished with nuggets of chocolate.
Oh, and that’s not the end of it. Also to be devoured was salted caramel and a quenelle of hazelnut ice cream.
Despite being a total choc-fest, the dessert wasn’t too sweet. We ate the lot.
My dessert was pretty as a picture. The pastry team had rustled up a totally romantic heart-shaped, Love Heart flavoured parfait, topped, of course, with crushed Love Hearts and candied violets.
A warm, sherbetty marshmallow and sweet lemon cream added delicate scent and perfume to the plate, making it really rather grown-up.
Afterwards we were lured to the wood-smoke scented lounge where we collapsed into the comfy chairs in a food coma, sipping on latte, only to be brought more food in the form of petit fours.
I am inherently greedy so managed to work my way through all of them. There was a slab of cocoa-dusted chocolate, made by combining the best dark chocolate with honey. Seemingly hard at first, the chocolate burst into small pearls that melted in the mouth.
The tiny Speculoos flavoured shortbread crumbled and dissolved on the tongue. And the cherry and lemon macaron was expertly done, with a smooth domed top, crunchy shell and chewy bottom.
What a culinary experience. So full of little touches and tastes that made us both smile.
An ideal treat to share with the one you love this February.
Contact:
Stoke By Nayland Hotel, 01206 262836
www.stokebynayland.com
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