Fine dining in a pub? Nigel Haworth shows it can be done very well and with no swank involved
If I didn’t already love Nigel Haworth’s cooking I’d be happy just to bask in his wonderful accent. Those Lancashire tones are just so soothing.
Food fans will know Nigel from his appearances on TV, particularly cooking his Lancashire Hotpot on The Great British Menu, and many will have been lucky enough to have eaten at Northcote, just a short drive away from where I’m meeting him today at his pub The Three Fishes.
At Northcote Nigel spent thirty successful years, earning a Michelin Star and an enviable reputation. Having done all he wanted there, and looking for a quieter life, he reacquired The Three Fishes in Milton, a gastro-pub which he originally launched in 2004.
As he says with a laugh, his life hasn’t become that much quieter though. The Three Fishes is a labour of love and he’s in the kitchen almost every day and already the pub is a gastro go-to in an area that’s not short of classy food action. What he likes is that the pressure of a place like Northcote is off now, the new operation is smaller and more intimate and he can interact more with customers and share his love of food with them.
When he’s not in the kitchen leading his team with good humour and effortless professionalism, he could well be out in the pub’s one acre kitchen garden or in the polytunnels, checking progress on the wealth of organic vegetables grown by his head gardener and selecting what to put on the day’s menu.
As an allotment holder myself, I’m keen to see what’s growing and prepared to be envious, even in May, at all their produce pushing through.
In the polytunnels broad beans are taller than I am, already showing good pod growth and within weeks they’ll be heading to the kitchen. Salads are already cropping and peas are not far behind. Tomatoes of all types and colour are ready to be transplanted to the outside, as are courgettes and squashes. You have to be careful though, as while today is very sunny and warm, summer isn’t here yet and a cold Lancashire night could spell disaster for tender plants.
Outside though, many things are already under way – more broad beans, which will follow on from the ones in the polytunnel, heaving beds of herbs, rows of licoricey fennel, onions, shallots and plenty of garlic, ‘Nigel cooks the young garlic stems, they’re subtle and delicious’, and everything is micro irrigated to use only small amounts of precious water and grown on nothing but natural compost. The garden is totally organic, with Nigel’s focus on producing zero-waste, farm-to-table cookery.
That fine ethos doesn’t clash with producing great food of course, and Nigel cooks up a superb classic garden pub lunch of crisply battered goujons of hake fillet served with chunky triple-cooked chips, home made tartar sauce, and crisp mange touts “we don’t have the mushy peas today,’ he apologises, and of course, as it’s a pub, I have a pint of local Arkwright ale. In the evening he offers a more ‘elevated’ dining experience, while still staying unpretentious and approachable. I will be back later for that.
For now I head off to check out the beautiful Ribble Valley and check in to Everything Retreat, about thirty minutes drive away. Here in total tranquility on a gentle slope with wonderful views and just the odd bleat of sheep to disturb the silence, has been created a collection of twelve beautifully designed self-catering individual luxury lodges, each with a wood burner for extra cosiness.
It’s not just a perfect place to base yourself for exploring the local trails, historic ruins, charming market towns and scenic views, but also to ‘retreat’ from busy lives and bliss out in your own hot tub and take part in wellness sessions, pilates and yoga too. And dogs are very much encouraged, reception has a big bag of treats to welcome them, as well as a glass of champagne for their owners.
If you don’t fancy cooking for yourself, then there’s the Balance Bar kitchen and in the mornings a lovely breakfast ‘hamper’ is delivered to your terrace to be enjoyed in the morning air while watching the sheep over the way. My Continental Breakfast Box was to have Dorset cereals, freshly baked pastries, yogurts, breads, meats, cheeses and a selection of spreads and juice
Back at The Three Fishes though it was time for dinner and The Farm to Fork menu which kicks off with ‘Nigel’s Lancashire Bread Rolls’, cute little mini loaves with the appetite sharpening tang of local cheese, all ready to be heavily loaded with a choice of parsley pesto, black pea hummus or whey butter.
It’s green asparagus time, a welcome break after the priapic white monsters and here they’re crisply partnered with goats curd, pea shoots and claytonia, which is not a mythical Eastern European country but it is in fact (I looked it up) Winter Purslane or Miner’s Lettuce, a cold-hardy salad leaf. The additional colourful flowers were a cheerful herald of spring.
This came with the first paired wine, a delicious Pouilly Fume, presented by the very knowledgeable sommelier, who was young and local. Nigel has a knack of finding unique emerging talent and nurturing it, always thinking of the next generation.
A serving of wild sorrel soup with Orkney scallop and some baby leek, was really perhaps scallop on top of wild sorrel sauce, but there was just enough of the ‘soup’ to justify the spoon. This is the sort of dish that wins stars, superbly executed with the excellent scallop just kissed by a roaring hot pan so the exterior caramelised without overcooking the interior. The light citrus flavour of wild sorrel meant I was scraping my bowl.
Herb fed chicken came with a crispy lattice on top, a good foil to the butter-soft chicken and the creamy celeriac. The emerging garlic from the cottage garden came as shoots, and a cafe au lait sauce, such a classic, bound it all together perfectly along with a glass of Spätburgunder wine, the German name for Pinot Noir.
Unusually this set menu stops with the savouries at this point and begins desserts, kicking off in the French style with cheese. A Lancashire cheese board so good as to make any Frenchman thoughtful. Six excellent cheeses, with stars being Shorrock’s cheese which comes in the shape of a cartoon bomb and a Shipston’s Blue made with buffalo milk.
One thing not yet grown in a British garden is Alphonse Mango, global warming probably has some way to go before that happens. Alphonse are the very best mangos, with only a short season, and when served here with coconut blossom cream and a lime granita, the sharp/sweet contrast is refreshing.
And to end there’s something not seen that often these days – a souffle. In fact I can’t recall the last time I had one. Fiendishly difficult to get right, a souffle is not something a young and trendy chef wants to chance his, or her, tattooed arm with. This was perfect, evenly risen all round and with a creamy center. A grand finale before I headed back to Everything Retreat, nicely sated, but not stuffed.
It was good to see Nigel in his own kitchen, in his own place, and so happily in his element. At 65, just a few months older than me, he seems to be rejuvenated by his new challenge and Ribble Valley diners are delighted to have him still in his beloved Lancashire and I was sorry to leave.
The Three Fishes
Mitton Road
Mitton
Clitheroe
BB7 9PQ
Everything Retreat,
Pendle View Lodges
Primrose Lane,
Mellor,
BB2 7EQ