Lunch at Gidleigh Park, Devon

Lunch at Gidleigh Park

Gidleigh Park is where Michael Caines made a name for himself as one of the UK’s top chefs, holding two Michelin stars for seventeen of his twenty-one years here. When we visited, the head chef was Chris Simpson, who came from the two-Michelin starred Nathan Outlaw in Port Isaac and has also worked with Bruce Rennie of The Shore, Penzance, when they both worked with Martin Wishart in Edinburgh. Chris has since left Gidleigh Park. We visited here on our honeymoon.

Getting to Gidleigh Park is not difficult but it is hidden away in the Devonshire countryside so takes a bit of time as it seems that no matter which way you approach you will need to drive along single-track roads, but after a few miles the country house retreat emerges!

This was just a lunch stop before we checked into our hotel later that night.

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Bread and nibbles

Excellent bread and butter, so our theory stands that if the bread is above par then what follows will be worth the journey.

This is the amuse-bouche but being so excited by the lunch we forgot to take a note of what these actually were (food blogger fail 🙃).

Starters

Sweetbread
Veal sweetbread, pickled mushrooms, sourdough crumb. Very rich and earthy.

Sole
Lemon sole, brown shrimps, wild garlic and lemon.

Lamb
Dartmoor lamb, loin and shoulder, haricot beans, green sauce and hazelnuts, hen of the woods. Full of flavour with an earthy flavour provided by the mushroom again.

Cod
Cornish cod, Jerusalem artichoke, chicken dressing.

Palate cleanser

Another food blogger fail, as we forgot to take a note of this but it was very nice!

Banana
Banana espresso, chocolate, walnuts and lime. A crunch from the chocolate and walnuts with sweet flambe banana and grated lime zest. A great marriage of flavours.

Strawberry
Panna cotta, Brachetto, strawberries, rhubarb sorbet. Fresh, light and simple.

Verdict

👍

Gidleigh Park is the place to go if you are celebrating a special occasion or just love your food. The decor is an English country house hotel with wood panelling and stone fireplaces. Service is relaxed and friendly but you feel special. Exquisite taste combinations and a winning menu for us.