Choice cuts
CHRIS and Judy Bradley never intended to operate a no-choice menu when, 13 years ago, they opened their 24-seat restaurant, Mr Underhill's, in the heart of the Suffolk countryside. It was more a matter of necessity than choice.
They had wanted to run a roadside inn, offering a choice of three dishes at each course, but the difficulties they had in obtaining satisfactory supplies forced them to think again. "Our intention was to provide good-quality food at a reasonable price," says Chris Bradley, the chef half of the partnership.
"With Robert Carrier nearby at Hintlesham Hall, we thought there would be a good selection of local supplies, but it wasn't the case. With the restrictions we had on supplies, the only way we could achieve our aim was to operate a set menu."
A no-choice menu was quite unusual in the early 1980s - the only other restaurant operating one, as far as the Bradleys were aware, was John Tovey's Miller Howe in the Lake District. The format quickly became an important marketing feature of Mr Underhill's and gave the restaurant strong buying power with suppliers. Despite experimenting with alternative menu formats over the years, today the Bradleys continue to offer no choice, except for dessert.
"People became suspicious when we tried to change," says Chris. "Our reputation had been built on cooking the best- quality fresh produce, and the customers thought that we must be doing something different if we were now offering a choice. The only way we would be able to change now would be if we expanded or moved to another restaurant."
With the set-menu format, Chris inevitably has to stick to safe ingredients to ensure that the menu appeals to everyone, although he always aims to cook imaginatively. "Although I sometimes get bored with the restrictive nature of the menu, I never have to cook anything I don't want to," he says.
No choice, however, doesn't necessarily mean literally that. Customers are told in advance how the menu operates and if they happen to be vegetarian, would prefer fish to meat or would simply like something different, then Chris will do it. "But most people do like to be given a balanced, well-thought out meal, chosen for them," he says.
However, the Bradleys believe that the set menu may well cost them up to 10% in lost custom, although this is partly balanced by the fact that the explanation of the menu, which might involve a couple of telephone calls, tends to result in very few no-shows.
Chris usually plans the daily-changing menus on a weekly basis. The restaurant is open from Tuesday to Saturday evenings, for Sunday lunch, and at other lunchtimes by appointment.
He buys produce according to the seasons and always considers the weather forecast (a robust, hot dish will be chosen in preference to a lighter, fresh-tasting dish on a wet and windy day), who is coming (he won't repeat adish for a return customer, unless requested to do so) and the preferences of large parties. He also has to bear in mindthe quality and quantities of fish and meat available, theherbs available in the garden behind the restaurant, and his 60% gross profit margin.
He even has to consider what animals are grazing on the pastures opposite the restaurant - he won't put lamb on the menu when they can be seen in the field from the restaurant.
The main course, which is the starting point for planning each menu, is inevitably a meat dish. If Chris does decide to cook fish as the main course, which is probably only once or twice in the summer, then he always has a meat dish ready as an alternative. "Customers just don't seem happy to accept a no-choice menu without meat," he says. "I'd love to do a classic escalope of salmon with sorrel sauce as the centre-piece of a menu, but the customers seem to prefer it as a starter."
Game is rarely served, except for pheasant and venison. "Being in the middle of the country, game such as rabbit, hare and pigeon, is very plentiful. Customers don't want to come to the restaurant and eat something they can so easily get hold of themselves. They would rather have an expensive cut of meat or a cheaper cut which has been elaborately prepared."
Cheap lamb shanks, for example, are slowly cooked, then glazed with honey and herbs and put back in the oven to roast, producing a crispy, caramelised coating to contrast with the tender meat inside. This dish is typical of many of Chris's dishes, which are inspired by a mixture of culinary cultures. The slow stewing of the lamb shanks stems from a dish he enjoyed on holiday in Italy, while the glazing and crisping aspect was inspired by the deep-fried Peking duck and Mongolian lamb found in Chinese restaurants.
All main courses are garnished with a mixed julienne of three vegetables, which always includes carrots, and maybe fennel, celeriac or courgettes. Each table is also served with separate dishes of potatoes - usually gratin dauphinois or potatoes roasted in duck fat during the winter and steamed new potatoes during the summer - and a green vegetable, such as haricot vert dressed with lemon oil.
Chris is able to be more flexible with the starters, as customers seem to be more willing at that stage to try something that involves more unusual combinations of ingredients. "So long as they are confident about their main course, then they seem happier to take a risk with the first one," he says. Dishes such as Japanese raw beef, blinis served with a tartare of salmon and smoked salmon, and Indonesian sates all reflect the Bradleys' eclectic approach to their food.
"We tend to stumble across dishes on our travels, aswell as picking up ideas from books and eating out atrestaurants in this country," says Chris, who had never cooked professionally until opening Mr Underhill's.
Their style of food, the Bradleys believe, is evidence that Michelin does not just recognise restaurants with a French slant. They received a star for the first time in the 1994 guide, having held a red M for 12 years. They are also named as the Suffolk County Restaurant of the Year in the current edition of The Good Food Guide.
Cheese is a major feature of Mr Underhill's menu: customers can help themselves from a board of between six and 10 cheeses. "It encourages customers to try new cheeses in their own time without having a waiter standing over them and it paces out the meal nicely - most people will quite happily spend at least half an hour over their cheese," says Judy, who does all the cheese buying.
Judy only buys small, whole cheeses and cuts them up to divide between the different boards. Unused cheese is either wrapped up and taken home by customers, kept for the Bradleys' lunch the next day, or discarded. "This way we can ensure that the cheese is always served when it is at its best and there are no problems in complying with the environmental health regulations."
She concentrates on French, Italian, Scottish and Irish cheeses because English cheeses are more readily available at home to her customers. Whole English cheeses are also generally too large to fit into her style of service. The customers certainly support the method of service, with around 85% of them choosing cheese.
For dessert, customers are always provided with four or five options. There was no problem with availability of ingredients for desserts, unlike other courses. Chris also believes that people are more fickle about what they want to eat for a pudding. By this stage of the meal, some will want something sticky and rich, while others will only choose a light and refreshing dessert.
"But what often happens is that everyone orders the same anyway," he says. "Once one table has chosen their puddings, everyone follows suit." A lemon tart and a crÁ¤me brÁ±lée remained on the menu for many years due to customer demand, but have now been taken off. "They are the least cost-effective of any desserts as they have to be shifted in one night." Other favourites are Italian bread and butter pudding and chocolate marquise.
A four-course meal at Mr Underhill's costs £30, and includes canapés, breads baked by a local baker and vegetables. Customers choosing two courses (starter and main course) pay £22, with an extra £4.50 for either cheese or dessert. Coffee at £2.25 includes a wide selection of petits fours.
In his choice of three recipes featured here, Chris hopes to show that his priority is always a terrific concentration of flavours. "None of them are particularly elaborate dishes," he says. "But they do show that by buying the very best ingredients, you can make a really simple dish quite excellent. This is particularly evident in the dessert where we use Cocoa Barry chocolate. The tart will not work using a chocolate with a cocoa solids content of less than 70%."
The warm smoked salmon starter is enhanced by a home-made basil and ginger vinegar, which Chris makes every year and now sells, together with other food items, from the restaurant. This dish was conceived when Chris acquired a side of smoked salmon which was only very lightly smoked. "Briefly putting it into the oven really brings out a good smokey flavour," he says.
The main course was inspired by a present of herbes de Provence vinegar that a friend brought back from France. Chris now makes his own and uses Barbary duck for this recipe, which is a variation of a classic duck dish, using honey to cut through the high fat content of the meat. o
