Food festival showcases Cumbrian produce

A 21-course lunch will be served to guests at the start of a new Cumbrian food festival on Tuesday 18th November.

The festival at The Waterhead Hotel's Bay Restaurant runs until Saturday the 22nd of November and aims to give some of the county's best local produce a new twist.

Michael Weston-Cole, the head chef at the Bay Restaurant, says: "Cumbrian produce really has gone from strength to strength over the last five to ten years and we can now lay claim to be Britain's greatest food county. That's why we wanted to create a festival that really demonstrates the excellence of Cumbrian food.

"During the festival we'll be doing some new takes on traditional Cumbrian recipes as well as creating new and international dishes using the very best local produce. So in addition to a Historic Cumbria night, we've got Modern British, Classic French and East Meets West menus."

"We're starting the festival with our Ultimate Cumbrian Taster Menu to show the diversity and quality of our local produce and to give people a taste of what is to come over the following four evenings at the festival. We think it's the most courses ever served at a restaurant in the North West. It's a real challenge for the team in the kitchen and the waiting staff but once we'd sat down and thought of all the different things we wanted to do we decided we needed 21 dishes to do justice to Cumbrian food."

On Wednesday the 19th there will be an Historic Cumbria menu for dinner in the Bay Restaurant.

Steven Doherty, who was head chef at one of London's most prestigious restaurants, Le Gavroche, will take charge of the kitchen for the Classic French evening on Thursday the 20th.

This will be followed by an East Meets West evening on the 21st and a Modern British evening on Saturday 22nd.

During the festival people will be able to try dishes like:

• Cumberland sausage loaf with Lyth Valley damson cheese
• Crispy wantons with Morecambe Bay shrimps
• Westmorland smoked cheese delight, gooseberry curd
• Mansergh Hall Herdwick tattie pot with warm Cumberland sauce
• Vietnamese braised fell-bred lamb shanks, coriander mash
• John Peel Tart
• Soft Pancakes Served with a vibrant ratatouille of vegetables, local cheese and carrot and spinach gratin.

Throughout the festival diners will be able to watch the chefs working in the kitchen on screens set up in the restaurant. There will also be opportunities to meet some of the local suppliers.

Dinner during the festival will be £30 per person for a three course meal. Reservations can be made by calling 015394-30708.

More information on the festival, including a blog by Michael Weston-Cole, is available at www.elh.co.uk/restaurants

Words: Clare Riley

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