W
L
HIPPING HALL
by Carl Housbey
I would imagine that if you take the time to read this column every
month, you probably have more than a passing interest in food and
are quite likely to watch TV programmes such as Saturday Kitchen
or Great British Menu. In which case you will have no doubt seen
many of these dishes I am about to describe in the recent series of
Masterchef the Professionals, where Chef Oli Martin wowed the
judges throughout the competition with his innovative and daring
cooking.
We should all be very grateful that Andrew Wildsmith the owner of
Hipping Hall persuaded Oli to take part in the competition, as it has
given him a massive boost in confidence which can now be tasted in
every single mouthful. I have eaten Oli’s food many times over the years
and it has always been absolutely superb, but my recent visit for lunch
just blew my mind and I can easily see why Gregg Wallace called him
a genius.
Hipping Hall sits right on the border between Cumbria, Lancashire,
and Yorkshire. Oli’s modern British cuisine takes inspiration from all
three counties, let’s see if you can guess where each dish comes from.
I will start you off with an easy one, the amuse bouche, a “Butter Pie”
which was a single mouthful of beautifully light, crisp pastry with a
tangy topping of grated Mrs Kirkhams Lancashire Cheese, my mouth is
watering just typing this.
Our first course of 100-day aged Rib Eye with January King cabbage was
so flavoursome that I can still taste it now, the tender beef almost melted
in the mouth and is well worth waiting 100 days for. Next was a light
fluffy slice of “Eggy Bread” with earthy Hen of the Woods mushrooms
and creamy St James cheese, which is produced at Holker Farm in
Cumbria if you are in need of another clue, bonus points if you knew
that it’s supplied by The Courtyard Dairy in Yorkshire.
The fish course was fresh from the sea North Atlantic Cod, with smoked
shrimps and broccoli in a beurre blanc, all of which was so delicious we
48 wirrallife.com
just had to ask for some more bread to mop up the sauce, and by the
end the plate looked like it had been polished. No prizes for guessing
where the next course comes from, which was Goosnargh Duck breast
that had been dry aged in a Himalayan salt chamber and was served
with a rainbow-like array of carrot, contrasting with the darkness of the
accompanying black garlic puree – another outstanding dish.
We are now at the dessert stage of the meal, the first of which was a crisp
buckwheat tartlet case filled with sharp Yorkshire Rhubarb and sorrel
ice cream topped with sorrel leaves, a real palate cleanser and a great way
to transition into the “Pine-Apple”. This has compressed apple cubes at
the bottom, a fermented spruce honey parfait with apple pine syrup, and
pine yoghurt foam, all topped off by a crispy apple skin tuille and was
one of the two dishes that had the Masterchef judges in raptures, with
very good reason. We finished the meal with an optional extra course
of the now famous “Spaghetti Bolognese” which we just had to try for
ourselves after seeing the reactions of Gregg Wallace, Monica Galetti
and Marcus Wareing on the TV, if you missed it look it up on YouTube.
The Masterchef judges used the words “wizard”, “genius”, and “nutter”
to describe Oli, but they forgot to mention that he is also a down to
earth, genuine, friendly person that you can’t help to like if you are lucky
enough to meet him. So get to Hipping Hall and find out for yourself.
Hipping Hall currently offers two set lunches, a four course for £29.50
and a six course for £45.00. They also have a ten-course dinner available
for £70.00, whichever takes your fancy.
Book now by clicking on www.hippinghall.com or by calling 015242
71187, and if you are having dinner, I highly recommend you also book
one of the extremely comfortable rooms for the night.
To see what else I get up to, why not follow me on Twitter @carlhousbey