Worcester force

18 September 2002 by
Worcester force

"I was a culinary gypsy," says Calum MacCrimmon reflecting on his years spent cooking in ski resorts and the like, indulging his wanderlust and generally taking a carefree attitude to his career. The crossroads for the young chef came courtesy of a spell working for Andrew Pern at the award-winning Star Inn at Harome in North Yorkshire.

MacCrimmon was spurred on by the clear focus and passion of Pern's approach to cooking and says that it was here that he acquired the confidence to take a firm grip on his future. "Suddenly, I had the vision and enthusiasm to think I could do this for myself," he says. "Andrew was big on local produce before it became the fashion, and that was an inspiration to me."

In his four years at the Glasshouse - a 16th-century schoolhouse given a stylish contemporary makeover - MacCrimmon has stayed true to that initial stimulus, working hard at procuring the best of the local bounty and building a dialogue with suppliers to constantly improve the quality of ingredients.

The faith in the raw materials is readily apparent from a menu which displays the confidence to let the best produce speak for itself. The "supper menu" is of sensible length - offering eight starters, nine main courses, five puddings and a British cheeseboard - and there is an attractive economy to many of the combinations.

Starters range from the simple combination of air-dried Denham ham in the company of melon, fresh figs and mayonnaise (£5.95) to the more demanding spiced foie gras with warm potato pancake, red onion marmalade and Muscat sauce (£6.95). Main courses have a similar pared-down feel, with the likes of grilled fillet of sea bass, ratatouille and pesto potatoes (£14.95) or fillet of beef, watercress and Blue Vinney salad, crispy shallots and thick-cut chips (£17.25) being typical.

It's an approach that works well for MacCrimmon and his kitchen brigade of what amounts to three-and-a-half full-timers. Together they cope with about 15-20 covers on weeknights and 45-65 at weekends, when they will, where possible, resell a few tables. Lunchtimes have always been a challenge, requiring some initiative both in terms of menu pricing (£15.50 for two courses with coffee or £9.95 for a starter and a pudding) and the kind of targeted marketing of local businesses that won the restaurant the 2002 Catey for Best Independent Marketing Campaign.

Apart from his own culinary experience, inspiration for dishes often springs from MacCrimmon's large library of cookbooks. His latest acquisition is the French Laundry Cookbook by Thomas Keller, which he celebrates not so much for the recipes as for "the philosophy, his constant striving to learn more about the food and his commitment to excellent ingredients".

Which brings us back to his driving passion: top-notch produce that hasn't been processed, modified or cultivated for quantity above quality. "The other week I read that thing in the paper about what chicken nuggets are made of," he says. "It just made me feel ill."

The Glasshouse Restaurant, Church Street, Worcester WR1 2RH. Tel: 01905 611120. www.theglasshouse.co.uk

A selection from the Glasshouse menu

Caesar salad with deep-fried anchovies, £4.75
Clear gazpacho with crab and basil, £5.50
Poached ox tongue with potato salad and grain mustard vinaigrette, £5.50
Risotto of peas, broad beans, courgettes, mint and Parmesan, £13.75
Fillet of cod, rocket mash, hazelnut butter, £13.95
Skewers of local lamb with thyme and oregano, shallot relish, barbecue sauce, new potatoes, £14.95
Summer fruits and Pimm's No 1 jelly, strawberry consommé, Granny Smith sorbet, crème fraîche, £4.95

The Caterer Breakfast Briefing Email

Start the working day with The Caterer’s free breakfast briefing email

Sign Up and manage your preferences below

Check mark icon
Thank you

You have successfully signed up for the Caterer Breakfast Briefing Email and will hear from us soon!

Jacobs Media is honoured to be the recipient of the 2020 Queen's Award for Enterprise.

The highest official awards for UK businesses since being established by royal warrant in 1965. Read more.

close

Ad Blocker detected

We have noticed you are using an adblocker and – although we support freedom of choice – we would like to ask you to enable ads on our site. They are an important revenue source which supports free access of our website's content, especially during the COVID-19 crisis.

trade tracker pixel tracking