With a Michelin star in the bag, chef Liam Nichols shows his refined tasting menu without fuss or faff
Delia Smith and Alan Partridge adorna wall of Store, a small 16-cover restaurant, situated in the former home of Colman's Mustard.
Chef Liam Nichols is (as you may have guessed) Norwich born and bred, having trained at City College and taken his first job at the Wildebeest, a stone's throw from his newly Michelin-starred restaurant in Stoke Mill, 15 minutes outside of the city.
After Covid saw him return from his travels to the UK, he partnered with Andy Rudd and Ludo Laccarino, the founders of Stoke Mill restaurant, to set up a lockdown takeaway service.
As the fog of the pandemic cleared, and after imbibing a few drinks, the three decided that Nichols should create a tasting menu restaurant in the small room adjacent to the existing restaurant, and so Store was born.
Nichols says: "I wanted it to be dark, have loud music and be casual. I wanted people to come in, be fully relaxed and not feel they have to behave in a certain way. When it's loud in here that's when it's best, when guests are having fun."
The chef serves a seven-course tasting menu priced at £110 (with an additional cheese course available), in one sitting, for 16 guests. In the kitchen he has the support of Hazel Yuill, who he took on as an apprentice on launch, with a team of two front of house.
He says: "We have to be quite clever about our menu creation because we have to be able to get 16 plates out quickly and nicely, so there's no fiddly bits or tweezers. One course goes out and we get ready for the next one. "Obviously, there's a level of refinement in there, but I like to do simple, tasty food. We've developed a good style now."
Menus start with four snacks, followed by a seafood course, recently a roasted hand-dived scallop from Orkney served with a "punchy" Thai green curry sauce.
He says: "Hopefully that sauce absolutely packs a punch, it's spicy and fragrant with loads of lime and lemongrass blended with spinach and coriander so it's bright, bright green. Then we add the roasted scallop – the best we can get – pickled Chinese radish and loads of lime zest on top. I like clean, tasty food, elegantly served in a nice bowl, and with that bright green sauce."
Bread follows, made using Norfolk grains by Baker Tom who lives in the village and once ran lauded Norwich bakery Dozen, and then two vegetable-led courses.
A favourite has been a tartiflette baby potato, which Nicholls says was "really hard to take off". A baby potato is cooked in pure butter, low and slow, for about four hours. Meanwhile the chef caramelises pancetta and onion before adding cream, thyme and garlic. He pours the creamy mixture over the potato before topping with Reblochon cheese and baking in a very hot oven. He tops the dish with crispy matchstick potatoes, seasons with Asian salt and vinegar powder and adds a crispy piece of Parma ham.
Nichols says: "That was one of my favourite dishes, it's so simple and you can't go wrong with those flavours. When you have a dish people are really enjoying it's really hard to take it off, but you have to, you have to keep the menu changing." A recent addition has seen beetroot lightly smoked in a Bertha oven, glazed with beetroot juice, beetroot vinegar and sherry vinegar, served with St Jude Curd, made in nearby Fen Farm Dairy, a tarragon emulsion, nuts and seeds glazed in beetroot juice, fried beetroot, a beetroot and honey tuille, fresh grapes, chervil and nasturtium leaves.
Fish and meat courses follow, showcasing the region's produce, such as venison shot in nearby Earsham. The chef liking to put a prime cut alongside a tertiary cut with simple garnishes.
Chocolate tarts feature frequently among two desserts and follow Nichols' mantra of doing things "simply, but well". A sweet shortcrust pastry is filled with a mix of Valrhona chocolate, cream and eggs and cooked during service to be served at a warm room temperature, alongside a set raspberry jam, crème fraîche and a raspberry tuille.
Two year's after opening Store is making waves in the county and further afield and was awarded its Michelin star in the 2023 Great Britain and Ireland guide. Nichols says: "You never expect it, I never expected it, I'm not that confident. When we started this the goal was to be busy, all you want is a buy restaurant.
"We just wanted to fill our 16 seats, because you can't move forward without being busy. The star came and put us on a platform where we are busy, which is very nice."
From the menu
- Scallop, katsu, coriander
- Baker Tom's malted grain sourdough
- Chicken, waffle, artichoke
- Blue cheese, apple, grapes
- Haddock, cauliflower, egg yolk
- Venison, parsnip, chestnut
- Rice, rice, rice
- Rhubarb, ginger
Tasting menu, £110
Mill Road, Stoke Holy Cross, Norwich NR14 8PA www.stokemill.co.uk/category/store
