The cream of Cornwall
It may be called Driftwood but it's anything but washed up. Janet Harmer visits a new venue in Cornwall.
Surrounded by a bounty of wonderful produce, breathtaking views, and supported by proprietors who want to run a quality operation, Mark Wishart, head chef of the newly opened Driftwood hotel near Portscatho, Cornwall, declares: "This is one of the best jobs I've ever had."
Wishart arrived in Cornwall after Paul Robinson, a former finance director, and his interior designer wife, Fiona, sold their Surrey home to buy what was then the Roseland House hotel. After a three-month refurbishment, the 10-bedroom hotel reopened on 17 May as the Driftwood.
The 35-seat restaurant is currently open only for breakfast and dinner, when a single daily-changing menu is available, offering three courses for £32. Unsurprisingly, considering its location, fish dominates the dishes. There is a choice of three starters, three main courses and two desserts, or cheese.
"One hundred per cent of what I do is inspired by the ingredients," says Wishart. "I write the menu as we go through the day, but it is largely based on the conversations I have first thing in the morning with the two local fishermen who supply us. It then gives us a chance to prepare our garnishes during the day, while the fish itself doesn't arrive until late afternoon."
The wonderful quality of the fish - whether it be turbot, sea bass, monkfish, John Dory or lemon sole - ensures that minimal embellishment is required from Wishart and his two chefs, Gary Bridle and Ged Callard. Turbot, for example, will be lightly dusted with a home-made curry spice mix, roasted and served with mash and a sauce vierge. "There is no need to do anything complicated," says Wishart.
Lemon sole is the most popular fish. "We recently sold 14 portions out of the 24 covers we had in one evening," says Wishart. He sometimes serves it on the bone à la meunière, accompanied by steamed broccoli, new potatoes and a lemon-butter sauce, or he may turn it into a fricassée with artichokes, oven-dried tomatoes and Ligurian black olives.
Meat from Ralph Michell at Calenick High Farm, Truro, is equally good. A recent hit was a loin of suckling pig that Wishart coated with a bright green herby-spicy salt mix made from Maldon sea salt, sage, rosemary, thyme, star anise, juniper berries, ground coriander seeds and ground fennel seeds.
Wishart left it for about 12 hours before roasting. "It helps firm up the meat as well as providing a great depth of flavour, without being overpowering," he says. The loin was served with cider fondants, stuffed apples, braised fennel, cider gravy and crispy crackling.
Desserts are usually fruit-based and have included strawberry shortcake with a fresh strawberry coulis and white chocolate mousse. The selection of cheeses is kept to a choice of three - usually a Cornish Yarg, a Cheddar and a Devon Blue - and served with home-made walnut bread, oatcakes, grapes and home-made fig or peach chutney.
Sample dishes from the Driftwood hotel
Escabèche of Gerrans Bay mackerel with coriander and garlic
Marinated plum tomatoes with local spider crab and avocado, watercress, apple and basil
Pan-fried diver-caught scallops with a Jerusalem artichoke purée, artichoke crisps and a black truffle vinaigrette
Pan-fried Newlyn turbot with choucroute, crushed new potatoes, juniper berry sauce
Steamed line-caught sea bass stuffed with confit tomatoes and basil, crushed new potatoes, fennel compote and sauce vierge
Grilled rib-eye steak topped with montpellier butter, ragoût of baby artichoke, fine green beans and new season carrots, saut‚ potatoes and Burgundy sauce
Bitter chocolate mousse with crisp orange tuiles and pistachio sauce
Lightly poached Comice pear with shortbread biscuits, Poire William sabayon and blueberry sauce
Mango and raspberry fool
£32 for three courses, including coffee or tea and petits fours, VAT and service
Driftwood hotel, Rosevine, near Portscatho, Cornwall TR2 5EW. Tel: 01872 580644. Web site: www.driftwoodhotel.co.uk
