Great expectations
The problem with winning a Michelin star is there is so little time to simmer in the rich sauce of glory. You get it, you celebrate, then you start to worry about losing it.
As it's almost that time of year again, it's time to worry, or at least to allow for some healthy anticipation for Harry's Place, the tiny Lincolnshire restaurant which was one of the most remarkable first Michelin star winners of 1994.
Size alone marks Harry's Place as exceptional. Just three tables and 10 covers make eating here more like dining in a private home than a restaurant.
But it is not just the size that makes Harry's Place unlike most of its Michelin bedfellows, it's chef-patron Harry Hallam himself. Almost uniquely among Michelin-starred chefs, he is not formally trained. He did a catering course at Birmingham College of food in the 1960s but has never worked in a leading British kitchen.
He prefers to work by himself, for himself, experimenting his way to good food. His wife, Caroline - who is maistresse d', waitress and sommelier all rolled into one - is his only member of staff.
The handwritten menu offers two choices from each of the three courses, plus three cheeses.
It changes at least once a week, according to "what's available and what we want to feature to achieve a good balance. We will also take into consideration whether certain customers have eaten particular dishes before," Hallam explains.
First courses average £6-£10; main courses come in at either side of ú20; and both puddings and cheese are ú6. Vegetables are included in the price of the main course.
Raw materials are some of the best on offer: grouse from Yorkshire, baby halibut from Scotland, sea bass from Wales, scallops from the Orkneys.
First courses include chicken livers served chilled with a sherry and black pepper jelly with Cumberland sauce and a salad of green leaves, ú8.50; and a fish soup with anchovy and saffron rouille, £8.50.
Popular main dishes include wild salmon with Orkney king scallops in Sauternes sauce, Noilly Prat and chives, ú20, and loin of baby roe deer in a tarragon, white wine and madeira sauce, £20
Greengage soufflé or a more substantial pudding such as bread and butter pudding with vanilla ice-cream are wonderful conclusions to food which comes top of its ranking - three out of five - in the Good Food Guide 1995.
Dessert of the moment is an almond and mincemeat pithivier. Instead of a slice, Hallam has perfected making individual gâteaux. "This way the puff pastry is thinner and is in keeping with the rest of the menu," he explains.
The wine list is short, offering 15 or so bottles from France. Nothing comes in at less than ú18.50 but mark-ups are not large.
Coffee is just ú1 for as much espresso as you want, and there are no hidden extras. No service charge is added to the bill.
The target market for Harry's Place, says Caroline, was "anybody who likes good food". Much of its business comes from outside the village, and often beyond Lincolnshire - foodies are evidently seeking it out. This is another reason why Harry's Place has valued its star so dearly.
Harry's Place,
17 High Street, Great Gonerby,
Grantham, Lincolnshire
01476 61780
Starters
Soup of pheasant and lentils, £7.50
Orkney king scallops lightly seared and served with a sauce of mango, lime and ginger, and a salad of green leaves, £12
Main course
Fillet of baby halibut lightly sautéd and served with a sauce of white wine, mussel and halibut fumet, oyster mushrooms and tarragon, £18.50
Lincolnshire salt marsh teal served with a sauce of Madeira, redcurrant and coriander, £18.50
Desserts
Pithiviers of almonds and mincemeat with vanilla ice-cream, £6
Caramel mousse brûlée served with fresh raspberries, £6
Our selection of cheeses, £6 - Epoisses de Bourgogne,Colston Bassett blue Stilton, Tomme de Savoie and Torville-cider washed Caerphilly
