Summer celebration

Welcomed by a jazz band, guests enjoyed a five-course meal of the local produce that features heavily on all Summer Lodge menus, including West Bay lobster, pink roasted Dorset lamb, West Country cheeses, and "an exuberance of raspberry" dessert plate. All courses were accompanied by wines from Christopher Piper Wines, also celebrating its 20th anniversary.

Ford received the applause of guests and, over coffee, talked about the menus he has created for hotel residents and other diners. Local produce is used wherever possible and so the menus are crammed with references to Dorset, Somerset, Devon and Cornwall. Dorset lamb, which on a recent menu was a pink roasted rump, served with locally grown fresh asparagus and broad beans (£26), is a favourite among regular diners. The Cornish crab used recently in a ravioli with fresh ginger (£12.50) came from the restaurant's long-term supplier in West Bay on the Dorset coast.

"I don't like to mess around with the food too much," explains Ford. "I prefer to source top-quality ingredients and use them in a way that brings out the best in them."

Lunchtime customers choose between two table d'hôte menus, one priced at £13.75 and another at £18.50, plus an Á la carte Terrace menu designed for guests who want a light meal, eaten either in the restaurant or on the terrace in the hotel's spectacular mature English garden. At dinner there is a choice of two menus: an Á la carte, or a country cooking menu.

"The country cooking menu is a simpler format of food, where we try to incorporate more traditional English dishes. Potted salmon or duck would be a typical starter, followed by a roast or a casserole in the winter. We do a lot of slow-cooked dishes, braising and pot-roasting," says Ford.

Modern and classic

The Á la carte menu is a mixture of modern English and classic French cooking with what Ford describes as "our own interpretations on both". Starters of pressed terrine of ham hock layered with baby leeks (£7) and roasted quail stuffed with wild mushroom mousse (£9.50) featured on a recent menu, followed by main courses of grilled fillet of Cornish brill served with basil crushed potatoes (£25) and sea bass served with aubergine caviare (£25).

"I particularly like the fish dishes we do here," says Ford. "We buy huge fish which give us nice chunky fillets, which we then cook in foaming butter, so that the skin crisps but the fish is still moist in the middle. The sea bass dish is really light, simple and full of flavour."

Ford and his team are planning to make some changes to the menus in the next few weeks, which could include a new Á la carte dinner menu and the introduction of a country cooking gourmet tasting menu. A new one-price lunchtime country cooking menu may also replace the two existing menus. n

Summer Lodge Hotel, Evershot, Dorset, DT2 0JR. Tel: 01935 83424