A Curious dinner at Swan Chapel Down

The new Managing Director of Beer of Curious Brew, Gareth Bath, is hosting a curious dinner at 7pm on Thursday 22 February 2018 at Swan Chapel Down. The evening will include a tutored tasting of the range of Curious Brewery beers and cider followed by a Curious two course dinner.

The menu offers locally sourced cod in a Curious Brew batter with triple-cooked Morghew Estate chips, paired with Curious Brew lager and Curious IPA and for dessert, Curious Porter steamed pudding, paired with Curious Porter.

Dinner will finish with a glass of Lamberhurst Fine & Rare English Grape Brandy, described as 'utterly, completely, overwhelmingly, mouth fillingly delicious' by Jonathan Ray for The Spectator. Places are £40.00 per person (£30.00 for Chapel Down and Curious shareholders).

To reserve your place, contact bookings@chapeldown.com or telephone 01580 766111. Places are limited and will be available on a first-come-first-served basis. Cheers!

The Wine Kitchen goes west

Simon Ulph, head chef at The Swan Wine Kitchen in Tenterden, Kent

The Elephant restaurant in Torquay has announced the first date in its next guest chef series. The seafront restaurant, which has retained its Michelin star for a 13th year, will be hosting some of the UK’s top chefs over the coming months.

Simon Ulph is the first chef to take-over on Wednesday 22 November 2017. Simon is head chef at The Swan Wine Kitchen in Tenterden, Kent. Part of the I’ll be Mother family, The Swan is set in the award-winning Chapel Down vineyard and winery, one of the leading English wine producers in the UK.

Simon is cooking a 5-course menu, with each course paired with a wine or beer from Chapel Down. Chapel Down wine expert Freddie O’Sullivan will introduce each beverage pairing.

Simon has previously worked at Morimoto in Napa, California where he developed a passion for Japanese and Asian flavours, which strongly influence his cooking today and most recently as head chef of Thompsons on the Isle of Wight.

Diners at Simon’s guest chef dinner at The Elephant can look forward to the following menu:

A glass of Chapel Down Brut on arrival
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Cured halibut, Union Red and garlic purée, fermented mushrooms, kale
Chapel Down Union Red
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Seared Orkney scallops, salt baked and pickled swede, burnt apple and thyme
Chapel Down Orange Bacchus
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Roasted venison loin, miso braised haunch croquette, smoked pear purée, sauce grand veneur
Chapel Down Pinot Noir
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Curious cider sorbet, granola and poached blackberries
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Salted caramel tart, bitter chocolate sorbet
Curious Porter
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The dinner is priced at £75 per person. As the evening involves the pairings being presented with each course, there will only be one sitting, which will begin at 7.30pm prompt. 

It will be the first guest chef event since Simon Hulstone and his wife Katy took over full ownership of the restaurant, following a management buyout from co-owners and business partners Friederike Etsemmi and Peter Morgan.

Simon commented, “By taking over taking the restaurant, we are putting down roots in Torquay, where we’re all very happy to live. It’s not just about fantastic local produce and the stunning location for the restaurant, Torquay is our home and we can’t see ourselves anywhere else.

Please call 01803 2000 044 or email info@elephantrestaurant.co.uk to book your table. 
 

Simon Hulstone, chef patron of The Elephant in Torquay, Devon