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Right here we go, so it’s been a while since I posted something on here but have been busy at work and not had enough time to do anything else but did manage to get out for lunch so I ventured down to cuckfeild to check out Ben goldsmiths “the Talbot inn”.
Having noone to have lunch with I put it out there on twitter and was pleasantly surprised to see that Bens sous chef Greg would be able to join me for lunch, so knowing we would be well looked after I headed down full of excitement. I met Greg in the bar downstairs and Ben came out to say hi, it’s always nice to put a face to names so meeting @ben_goldsmith & @gregchef was a nice way to start lunch.
Right onto the food, having looked at the menu online the night before I had a fair idea of what I was going to order but ended up changing my mind on the main after speaking to Greg. To start we were served some nice homemade bread and then the first course hit the table.
Ox Tongue, Broccoli Puree
This was amazing, it’s the first time I have had tongue and was blown away; the flavour and texture were a lot softer and richer than I had imagined, lovely little rounds of pickled broccoli stem was a nice touch and added a little acidity
Then on for my starter I picked
Eggs and Bacon, Smoked bacon & Carrot
This was the stand out dish for me, a big round of pork belly pork tender, soft boiled egg that had been breaded and fried crisp, beautifully smooth carrot puree & a smoked bacon emulsion. I could have eaten this couple of times over. The incredible flavours in this dish made it really stand out.
Greg’s starter was
Cured Mackerel Tart, Fennel, orange & Shallot
Again faultless presentation
For my main course I ended up deciding on
Cod Cheeks & Chicken Wings, Maple Syrup, Kohlrabi, Roast Potatoes
A hearty plate of cod cheeks in a crisp beer batter beautifully moist fish resting on boneless chicken wings (very very good), silky smooth cauliflower puree, crisp cauliflower beignet nestling between the cod cheeks and some roasted potatoes all the elements cooked perfectly and combing on the plate to trill the taste buds
Greg chose
Roasted Wood Pigeon, Beetroot, Parsnips and Potato Terrine
Although I didn’t try this you could see the pigeon was cooked perfectly and was beautiful on the plate as well.
Before dessert arrived we were treated to a portion of bens chocolate brownie as Ben and Greg seem to be having a little chocolate battle, the brownie was moist, rich and decadent the vanilla ice cream severed with it also loaded with vanilla seeds.
For my dessert proper I had picked
Valrhona Chocolate, Cornflakes and Milk
I know it’s another chocolate dessert but didn’t know I was getting the brownie too so, this dish was layers of different items including crushed cornflakes and a coffee mousse all covered in Valrhona chocolate but the stand out element for me was the milk ice cream that had been rolled in powdered cornflakes making it taste like a bowl of breakfast cereal but in a totally different way.
Greg had
Melon Jelly, Passion Fruit and Blood Orange
This again was beautifully presented and looked like a really nice way to end the meal.
Right that was my lunch which I really enjoyed great food, great company but don’t take my word for it get yourselves down to
The Talbot inn
High St
Cuckfield,
Haywards Heath,
Sussex
RH17 5JX
So no time for a recipe post today but maybe next time but thanks for reading and I won’t leave it so long till the next post.
But remember live to eat don’t eat to live
