A family affair
"This place was called the Country Elephant when we took it over, but visitors always ask about its name," explains head chef, Robert Rees. "The real story is boring but we've made up a tale about an escaped circus elephant in the garden. American guests love it."
This home of good cooking is owned by Robert's brother, John, a City banker who helps in the kitchen at weekends, leaving Robert in charge of a brigade of one for the rest of the week. "It is pressurised but nothing goes out of the kitchen that we haven't cooked," he says.
Front of house is run by John's fiancée, Helen Cole, and manager Thomas White. And that is the entire staff list.
The restaurant closes on Monday and Tuesday. "We're full every weekend and 50% full during the week. Sunday evening is usually busy because we're the only ones open in the area."
But that is not the only reason. Robert trained at Le Gavroche; he learnt chocolate confectionery at the Ritz, Paris, and worked at Bath's Royal Crescent hotel in the late 1980s.
He describes his style of cooking as rustic: "A lot of it is traditional, occasionally adventurous, but nothing too outrageous or gimmicky because people around here wouldn't enjoy it."
Robert costs out each item on his menu with precision. "We're aiming at a 40% cost in our first year. We're running on tight margins." The restaurant opened in September 1994, having undergone extensive refurbishment since June when the Rees's took it over.
The main menu changes every two months, while the dessert menu changes only three times a year. The current starter of monkfish, crispy bacon and oyster vinaigrette salad (£5.95) has proved popular. "I purée the oysters with a little truffle oil and olive oil and the sauce naturally emulsifies." The golden pan-fried monkfish sits on croûtons made from home-made baguette.
Even Robert audibly swoons at describing the main course of grilled scallops with a coriander tuile (£15.75). The tuile is made like an ordinary almond biscuit but coriander seeds counteract any sweetness. The scallops (diver-caught from Loch Fyne) are pan-seared with the roes, stacked up with the tuiles, usually three or four deep. A Champagne butter sauce rounds off the flavours.
Robert puts his Ritz confectionery training to good use in desserts. He serves Albert Roux's classic lemon tart in an orange sablé pastry with a small brandy snap basket filled with berries macerated in Grand Marnier (£5.75). "Even though redcurrants cost £8.50 a punnet and give only 11 portions, it is worth it when people comment on the dessert."
His vanilla and poppy seed parfait (£5) is also likely to be remembered. He makes an unchurned vanilla ice-cream laced with so much vanilla and poppy seeds that "it looks more black than white."
Dessert wines are listed alongside the puddings on the menu because he "adores them".
The Country Elephant, New Street, Painswick, Gloucestershire, 01452 813 564
