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Lunch at Gidleigh Park Hotel, Chagford in Devon

Gidleigh Park food review by Jill Pendleton. Thursday 10th February 2011

 

The front of Gidleigh Park Hotel as seen through the trees in winter, with a rippling stream in the foreground and the black and white timbers of the building showing through the bare winter branches.a selection of yummy fresh bread in a basket. Small loaves of every shape and texture made in the kitchen at Gidleigh Park hotel.

Lucky me, as I mentioned in my blog on the 10th of February, one of my customers was treating me to lunch out.
Destination unknown, but instructions were 'not to wear wellies'.

So when my pal Linda arrived and said "Gidleigh ok ?" you can imagine I was well chuffed.


comfy chairs in the sitting room at Gidleigh Park Hotel. A wood panelled room with antique furniture.One of the side tables in the sitting room at Gidleigh Prk htel with a de-luxe Scrabble board on the top, and a large selection of current magazines and periodicals below.

We arrived in heavy rain and apologised for turning up late, but hey it didn't matter one bit to the attentive girl who
met us at the door. Everything about dining at Gidleigh Hotel is smooth. In house is upper class traditional decor,
rich fabrics, thick carpets, quality pictures in quality frames, armfuls of fresh flowers, efficient staff who carry out
their duties in an ordered and quiet manner. Nothing but nothing, is too much trouble for the diner or guest.

There's not many places that manage to carry that off. That clever trick of making you feel that you are
a welcome guest, not just a customer.


An amuse bouche, the French name for pleas thh mouth. Tasty morsels to get the taste buds working. On the left a poached quails egg in a tiny serving cup with a savoury concoction on the right of the dish sitting in one of those Chinese type soup spoons. With a napkin and cutlery in the foreground.a mound of food on a white plate. Mashed potatoes at the base, a chunk of hake in the centre and a handful of green saladstuff on the top. With decoration in swirls around the lot.

We opted for a pre-lunch drink in the bar, because the sitting room was filling up, and menus were quickly in hand followed by a couple of amuse bouches for each of us, courtesy of the chef. See photo left above.
Normally morsels of magic, the tiny pot on the left has a poached quail's egg. And here I have to make my only teeny
tiny off note mention. It was barely cooked. Just the merest of white membranes over the contents, the yolk and the white were very much a runny affair, so no, not for me. Every other mouthful of food I had was utterly magical
and I wanted it to last forever,and I know that you will probably say, Jill how ungrateful especially when you
were being treated, there you go. Needless to say Lin thoroughly enjoyed hers.

 

a delicate salmon roll
Just time to sit with the gin and tonic, orders taken and we are invited into one of the wood panelled dining rooms overlooking the terrace. White linen cloths in place and young waiting staff dressed in black and white, with giant
aprons almost to the floor, just like in Parisienne cafes. This above, was another treat from the chef at the start
of our meal. From memory salmon with rice ? The waitress did tell us, but we didn't quite take it in.
But I do remember that the splodges of amber jus were absolutely yummy.


2 pieces of chicken terrine on a glass see through plate. surrounded by nuts an salad decoration.

The photos speak for themselves don't they ? This is Lin's starter, a terrine of chicken with truffle and leek salad .


A piece of bream fish in a bubbly sauce with a salad at each side. One of the starters at Gidleigh Park.

It's such a treat to have food served to you that has been so lovingly prepared. Here's my bream starter.

 

Breast of pheasant cut into chunks on the left, with lentils and orange puree, and red wine sauce on a white plate.

This is Lin's pheasant with cumin and pumpkin puree, lentils, butter onions and cumin scented red wine sauce.
The presentation, the flavours, a try of something you haven't tasted before and the ambience all combine
to make the experience so very enjoyable. My hake main course is on show on the right further up the page.
With crushed olive potatoes, plus a langoustine and vanilla bisque. Great !


the wonderfully smart sitting room at the hotel, with a log fire, and lots of comfy settees to relax in.

Following our meal we took coffee in the sitting room, and there was further joy to come .
Just look at the 3 extra surprises below. We had chosen to forgo the pudding because we were full enough.
But these 3 small tasters (below) just rounded the meal off perfectly, and the one thing that us gluttons use as
an excuse on any occasion is that something sweet following a meal always acts as an aid to digestion.....
Just enough creme brulee, a double mouthful of tarte citron and can you believe the best ever tasting Jaffa
cake, an orangey explosion of taste, made right here in house ? It was seriously good.

 

3 small treats that came with coffee at Gidleigh Park Hotel. A creme brulee, a lemon tart and a home made Jaffa cake all served on a tray for one.One of the very plush bathrooms, with 2 baths side by side, as an en-suite t Gidleigh Park.

Every dish was delicious. We chose from the Lunch menu which was £29 for two courses, £39.50 for three courses.

There was also the table d'hote menu and something called the tasters menu at I think, £120 for 3 courses,

but I wasn't paying, so it wouldn't have been at all right for me to choose from it, even though Linda very
kindly tried pushing me to 'have what you fancy, go on, you have just what you like'
Just what I like is just what I got. A most enjoyable meal in the middle of a dull February day.

 

Gidleigh Park is the very best of Dartmoor Accommodation. To see more visit my hotels page.


Back to my Food Reviews 2011 page. Gidleigh Park Hotel website. Telephone 01647 432367