With restored cottages, pudding parties and stylish bakery-cafés, the rural Cotswolds in south-central England is upping its game as a food and lifestyle destination
Friday nights at the Three Ways House hotel—a 48-room property located in the rural region of the Cotswolds—have a different kind of air. There is an underlying tension; anticipation. The furniture in the lounge is pushed back to the walls to accommodate a group of 60 guests, who make small talk as they wait for their host to make the important announcement they have been waiting for: the seven puddings they will have for dinner. Once they have been revealed, applause breaks, and the staff take the puddings on a little parade from the kitchen to the restaurant.
The guests are members of The Pudding Club, a tradition started by the hotel’s previous owner, Jean Turner, in 1985, after she learned that there were many people who wanted to enjoy old-fashioned British puddings like Spotted Dick and Sticky Toffee but could not find them in restaurants. “Turner decided to have a meal with some friends, where they’d have a light main course and seven puddings,” says Jill Coombe, the current owner of the hotel. “The club has since grown, and the format remains the same. Our guests are excited about [having puddings] without someone telling them, ‘No, you should not eat this much’.”
There are rules, though. The host invites one table at a time to help themselves to a portion of pudding. You aren’t allowed to come back for second helpings if you haven’t finished what you have in your bowl. The proof is indeed in the pudding.
“We don’t advertise [The Pudding Club], but people know about us. We have had visitors from Japan, too,” adds Coombe. “People come in pairs, and then return as a group of ten. We have also added some Saturday nights to satisfy demand.”
Denne historien er fra March/April 2019-utgaven av WINE&DINE.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra March/April 2019-utgaven av WINE&DINE.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
New Blood
The next-generation is breathing new life into the forgotten art of spice-mixing, peppering the traditional trade with renewed ideas and fresh perspectives.
Sharing Is Caring
Compared to its flagship at Serene Centre, Fat Belly Social at Boon Tat Street is a classier and bolder affair, in more than one sense.
Nutmeg's Role In Singapore's History
From tales of it being used to ward off the plague in mid-1300s Europe to one of the ingredients in dessert, we have all known, tasted, or at least heard of nutmeg. But not many know of the spice’s role in Singapore’s history.
New And Improved
The ever-profound chef-owner Kenjiro ‘Hatch’ Hashida finds more room, three to be exact, to express a Ha Ri philosophy at Hashida Singapore’s new location at Amoy Street.
Pairing Spice-Driven Cuisines With Wine
Pairing spice-driven cuisines with wine has long been a challenge but with a little imagination, it doesn’t have to be.
Let Land Grow Wild
Niew Tai-Ran has worn many hats: aeronautical engineering major, investment banker, avid surfer, and, for the last 14 years, winemaker. Discover how this Malaysia-born, Singapore-native is championing the “do-nothing farming” philosophy at his vineyard in Oregon.
The South Asian Misnomer
Incredibly diverse and varied than most know, Indian food is far more intriguing than butter chicken or thosai. Here is a crash course on the extensive cuisine from region to region, recognisable for the seemingly infinite ways of using spices.
Keepers Of The Spice Trade
From its glory days along trade routes to pantry staples all over the world, spices have become so commonplace that we’ve taken them for granted. For these three trailblazers, however, spice is their livelihood and motivation: Langit Collective working with indigenous rural farming communities in Malaysia; IDH’s Sustainable Spice Initiative; and chef Nak’s one-woman mission to share forgotten Khmer cuisine.
Sugar, Spice And Everything Nice
Like food, spices bring vibrancy and variety to alcoholic beverages. Surfacing in unexpected ways on the palate, find everything from cumin to tamarind, cloves to cardamom enriching these drinks.
Building Blocks From The Archipelago
For the smorgasbord of dishes found in Indonesian cuisine, it is a little known secret that the modest bumbu, in all its variants, is the bedrock of such flavourful fare.