Hardboiled Chef: July 2011

Southernhay House Hotel

Pre-opening madness, opening aplomb whilst fighting fires, settling in and working hard. Throw in some ice hockey and Glastonbury 2011 and you've got a June to remember. One thing is for sure, it's great to be back at the stove. As I take this much needed moment to reflect, I find I am certainly inspired by Deborah's vision and this grand house, its 'look', its history.
My menu is indeed nodding towards the grandes brasseries of Paris via the trends of modern London. French classics sit well with Empire Food now that Britain can hold its head high in the culinary world. There is no need for us to be one or the other...how limiting, how boring. Entente Cordiale dahling. I know not what Modern British cookery is...I give you...Antique British? Like this grand old home and its original and current owners...well travelled, well heeled and very cosmo. Oozing history but still reading the papers. Breathing new life into Southernhay and Exeter itself. Enough talk...eat, drink and be merry...for tomorrow you could be stuck in the mud in a Somerset field or in mad embrace while a city burns. I smell smoke, or could it be a wrongly braised pancetta. Right, I'm outta here...salmagundi and knickerbocker glories beckon.
Some images of my June-