I suppose that I was, by now, starting to develop
what has been described as my ‘poet and peasant’
or ‘rich man, poor man’ style of cookery, that’s to say
using a blend of luxury and everyday ingredients in
one dish to obtain something that blends robustness
with finesse. An example is our grilled black pudding
with pan-fried foie gras, Pickering watercress salad,
apple and vanilla chutney, scrumpy reduction.
As I look back, I see that many of my dishes are
variations on classics in some form or another, or
an anglicising of French dishes. I certainly don’t like
to overwhelm people with too many flavours on a
plate, nor do I see any virtue in scaring customers
with bizarre combinations. I think that ours
appreciate that.
