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The Kings Arms
u
Christchurch
Men
of the
month
Award-winning Chef Patron Alex Aitken takes Tom East on a tour
of Dorset’s top producers with his 15 Mile Menu…
T
he Kings Arms is the only restaurant in Dorset to be
awarded Michelin Bib Gourmand status three years
in a row. Given to places "offering exceptional good
food at moderate prices", you can eat here for under
£20. And you’ll be eating some of the county’s finest
local produce in dishes crafted by Chef Patron Alex
Aitken and his team. His 15 Mile Menu uses produce
that’s been sourced from suppliers within 15 miles of
the restaurant, and it only costs £15 for two courses
(£20 on a Friday and Saturday evening). Alex took us
through some of the local delights on his menu…
Local 'Breadport' Artisan Breads
"They’re brilliant breads from a guy called Stefan in
New Milton – he’s Slovakian. I was at Wimborne
Farmer’s Market and bought one, took it home and
the next day I went to see him at his bakery. I think
Eastern Europeans have been baking great bread for
a long time, and it’s traditional old fashioned baking
with natural ferments rather than lots of yeast. You
get a better flavour – the bread’s chewier though.
We will get some people who live on ‘white sliced’
saying: 'Your bread’s chewy,' and we say: 'Yes!'".
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Wild Garlic and Nettle Risotto
Alex and his
team at The
Kings Arms
"I picked two kilos of wild garlic on Sunday
morning. It was a lovely morning, and I went for a
walk with my wife through some private land that I
know has wild garlic. I’ve been an avid forager from
before it became popular, and wild garlic is now
bang in season. The nettles are a bit like spinach, so
you’ve got great iron qualities to them, and the wild
garlic gives it that garlic flavour. There’s no getting
away from it – when I was picking the wild garlic on
Sunday, the smell is on your hands."
Kings Cured Salmon and Pickle Mussels
"One of our best friends at Kings is a guy called
Lukasz Dwornik and, together with Martyn
Jennings, he’s made a gin in Christchurch called
Pothecary gin. Their botanicals are lime leaves,
juniper, Sicilian lemon zest, and what we’ve done is
use the same botanicals as well as their gin and salt
and sugar to cure the salmon. Pickles are a great way
of adding acidity to a dish. When you’re cooking
you’re trying to find a balance of sweet and sour and
acidity is a great way of cutting through oils."
Potted Beef and Dripping
"I adore dripping. I’m terrible, I’m the guy that when
you’re done with your roast dinner, lets the fat go
cold, and underneath that fat you’ve got this intense
gravy and a number of juices that have dripped out
of the meat. I’m in there scraping Stefan’s bread
across the bottom of the dish so I can get all the
fat and all the meat juice. The flavour is amazing.
We cook some beef very slowly, season it with the
aromatics, but we keep all the dripping from beef,
and that’s actually used to flavour the potted beef."
Alex's Favourite Local Producers
"Definitely Dan Tanner from the Sopley Farm. You
can pick your own there – we don’t have to but we
love their fruit and vegetables. Their asparagus is
amazing - it’s just so local, so if you pick it and use it
the day that it’s picked it tastes much better. You want
it for that zingy, fresh flavour. On the fringe of our 15
miles is Mike Smales, a cheese producer in the New
Forest. He’s got Lyburn Cheese and we use his Old
Winchester on our Cheese Souffles and they’re our
number one seller – I’ve sold millions of them!"
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www.menu-dorset.co.uk
The Kings Arms, 18 Castle Street,
Christchurch, Dorset BH23 1DT
Tel: [phone]
www.thekings-christchurch.co.uk
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