insideSUSSEX Magazine Issue 12 - February 2016 | Page 52
FOOD+DRINK
SPOILED ROTTEN
AT THE PASS
BY DONNA MARTIN
I’ve come to the realisation, and will
shamelessly admit, that I love (really love) to be
spoiled. Spoiled rotten. No, no, not the tantrumthrowing child kind of spoiled. I mean the kind
of spoiled accompanied by “would you like
some more Champagne with your canapés?”
When the words ‘I’ and ‘spoiled’ come
together in one of my sentences, I can
guarantee it involves food. When you hear me
use ‘I’, ‘spoiled’ and ‘Michelin star’ in the same
sentence, you’ve found me in my happy place.
I recently used those three words together
after visiting Matt Gillan at The Pass at South
Lodge Hotel. Invited by a colleague who has
introduced me to some of my other ‘happy
place’ restaurants, I was keen to experience this
much talked about establishment for myself.
South Lodge Hotel is impressive in and of itself.
The 5-star country house hotel exudes luxury;
just looking at it from the gravel drive makes you
wonder if your jeans and jumper are appropriate,
but once you cross the threshold, you realise
that South Lodge isn’t about pretentiousness.
It’s about comfort, enjoyment and making sure
guests really don’t want to leave.
Head chef at The Pass, Matt Gillan, began
his career at The Hen and Chicken in Froyle,
Hampshire, and navigated his way through
some of the country’s top kitchens – Restaurant
Gordon Ramsay, Midsummer House and The
Vineyard at Stockcross – before finding his way
to South Lodge in 2006. Starting as sous chef
in The Camellia Restaurant, Matt’s expertise
and creativity in the kitchen proved that he was
just the man to head up South Lodge’s new
concept restaurant, The Pass, in 2008. Since
its launch, The Pass has earned 4 AA Rosettes
and in 2011, a coveted Michelin star, which
Matt has retained each year.
I’d heard about The Pass (seriously, who
hasn’t? Matt’s win on BBC’s Great British
Menu in 2015 has certainly caused quite a stir),
and though familiar with the name Matt Gillan,
The Pass and South Lodge Hotel, I intentionally
didn’t ask around or do any in-depth research
before dining there. I wanted to see what the
hype was all about, without the hype (if you
know what I mean).
Upon entering the restaurant, I almost felt as
though I’d stumbled into a room that should
be marked ‘Staff Only’; only I knew it was
where I was supposed to be, with the obvious
‘Matt Gillan at The Pass’ words etched on the
double doors. The open concept couldn’t be
any more, well, open – giving diners a wideangle view of the kitchen and chefs, busily but
calmly working their gastronomic magic.
And that’s the overwhelming appeal of The
Pass – they have taken the Chef’s Table
concept to a whole new level, allowing
customers to have an intimate glimpse into the
inner gears and cogs of the Michelin-starred
kitchen, while providing an unexpected balance
of privacy and social interaction.
So…the food. Was it as mind-blowingly good
as I was hoping it would be? Whoa nelly, let me
tell you, was it ever. The Pass offers set lunch
menus – your choice of four, six or eight courses
– with the option of accompanying wines or
juices. The menus are cleverly written, giving you
a sexy strip tease of what’s to come. A few of my
courses’ descriptions were: chicken/sourdough/
radish, skate/salsify/liquorice, honeycomb/mead/
fennel. No lengthy wordsmithery, no embellished
foodie sales pitches; just a few simple words, to
the point, that make you painfully curious and full
of anticipation.
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Our first course, appropriately called ‘snacks’,
was a colourful smorgasbord of delightful, and
somewhat strange-looking mini morsels. One
in particular made me raise my eyebrows – a
small white cup filled with potato foam, some
sort of lime at the base, and crispy puffed
smoked rice on top. Potato, lime and smoked
anything, I wasn’t so sure; but one taste and I
was confident that Matt could put any edible
substance in front of me and I would deem it
my favourite thing in the whole wide world.
Five courses followed, each accompanied by
an expertly matched wine, ending with not one,
but two sweet treats – my favourite being the
honeycomb/mead/fennel course that was a
crazy but beautiful combination of flavours and
textures that I could never have come up with
in a million years. That’s why Matt Gillan is a
chef, and I am not.
As far as Sussex dining experiences go, The
Pass is a restaurant I will not soon forget. So
many of the meals I’ve enjoyed in the past end
up morphing into one giant memory, and I can’t
remember what I ate where. Not this meal; I
can guarantee my lunch at The Pass won’t
get lost in my mind – this was the definition of
being spoiled. Prepare to be impressed.
Matt Gillan at The Pass
South Lodge Hotel
Brighton Road
Horsham
West Sussex
RH13 6PS
01403 891711
www.southlodgehotel.co.uk
@SouthLodgeHotel
@MattGillan