More for your money
A revamp of the main restaurant at Mitton Hall Country House Hotel in Whalley, Lancashire, is central to improvement plans being put in place by the new owners of the property, businessmen John Ashworth and Alan Greenhalgh. An extension is expected to increase the number of bedrooms from 16 to 35.
New executive chef Graham Henderson joined in December to oversee the opening of the mahogany-panelled Sir Thomas More restaurant, a 50-seat venue decidedly more upmarket and culinary-led than its Italian-oriented predecessor. The emphasis is now on freshly prepared ingredients, including the daily baking of five different breads, and average spend has risen from £10 to £25-£30 per head, excluding wine.
At present, the restaurant is open for dinner only, seven nights a week, although there are plans to introduce a lunch service later in the year. There is just one menu on offer: an à la carte with a choice of eight starters, nine main courses, four desserts and cheese. Henderson, who was previously head chef of the Well Springs restaurant in nearby Pendle, expects that he will change this every couple of months.
Among the starters proving popular with customers is a dish of hothouse smoked salmon with lemon and parsley crème fraîche (£5.50). Henderson smokes the salmon himself - in a biscuit tin over hickory wood chips - for just 10 minutes, after marinating the fish overnight in molasses and rock salt.
Also selling well is a terrine of sautéd chicken livers, wild mushrooms and Cognac (£5.50). Lined with Parma ham and filled with a mix of chanterelle, oyster and shiitake mushrooms combined with the livers, the terrine is served with toasted brioche.
There is generally a greater demand for meat dishes than for fish, which Henderson believes stems from the lacklustre choice of fish on the previous menu. Now he offers salmon, lemon sole, sea bass and scallops among his main courses. However, the best-selling main course dish is tournedos of Aberdeen Angus beef, "neeps and tatties", quenelle of haggis, sauce Albufera (£15.95) - a dish reflecting his Scottish-Irish ancestry.
Puddings include a vanilla pod and pear brûlée (£4). A half-pear, poached first in stock syrup flavoured with lemon, cinnamon and clove, is fanned over the traditional custard mix, sprinkled with granulated sugar and gratinéd with a blowtorch.
Henderson cites frequent eating-out trips to London and the books of Marco Pierre White, Nico Ladenis and Gary Rhodes as his main sources of inspiration.
While the majority of customers now booking a table at the Sir Thomas More are delighted by what they are experiencing, there are still a few diners who suffer culture shock when faced with the new menu. But if they don't like what they see, they still have the option of eating in the hotel's second restaurant, the Italian pizza and pasta outlet, Bella Vale.
Sir Thomas More restaurant at Mitton Hall Country House Hotel, Mitton Road, Mitton, Whalley, Lancs BB7 9PQ. Tel: 01254 826544
