When making dinner plans in Stow on the Wold, it usually consist of checking The Old Butchers' website for tables, and when they are full dropping Pete and Louise a message to see if they can squeeze us in. 

I'm pretty biased as I live just down the road, and If you can ignore trying to park during the day and driving through the town in the summer, Stow is brilliant.

Not only has it got history and beautiful honey-coloured architecture coming out of both both nostrils, it also boasts one of our favourite brunch spots in The Hive, D'Ambrosi which offers the most incredible 'food-to-go' (go and check it out for yourselves as that sentence doesn't do it justice) and in our view, it's the 'coffee capital of the Cotswolds' with at least five properly good places to enjoy a caffeine hit, including one the smallest coffee roasters in the UK, Stow Town Coffee.

There's also The Old Stocks. And if that sounds like a bit of an after thought, it was meant to.

They like to promote themselves as the "best kept secret" (which nobody really wants to be) and it always seems to play second fiddle to The Old Butchers with the locals. There is absolutely no reason why.

The last couple of times we have eaten here, we always kick ourselves that we haven't been back sooner, yet once again, we have left it over two years to come back which is completely crazy.

A lot has happened since our last visit. King Charles III was coronated, The Beatles released a new record and John Broughton became Head Chef at The Old Stocks. The latter happened back in November, but as I detest winter and hibernate for most of it, it has taken until now to finally go. 

The appointment of John is huge. For eighteen months before arriving at 'The Stocks', he was Sous Chef, then Head Chef at the excellent Royal Oak at Whatcote, the only pub in the Cotswolds to hold a Michelin Star. Prior to that, he spent five years at Foxhill Manor.

With a Christmas menu already written before he got there, it has taken until the last couple of months for him to properly put his stamp on the food. 

The menu he has created is designed as a two or three-course menu. You can have one course if you wish. It's all explained on the first page of the leather-bound files you get presented with as you get seated. I missed the section about the £2 unlimited still or sparkling water for the table that gets donated to charity as I said "tap is fine please" when asked. I'm too used to seeing £15 added to my bill and nobody owning up to ordering it.

Also explained is "The Tasteful Twelve", an idea stolen from a restaurant that GM Richard once visited, which on the surface sounded a bit gimmicky but is actually a lovely addition to the experience. The easiest way to describe it is that each of you roll a dice and the number it lands on corresponds with a flavoured liqueur which they add to a glass of prosecco. It's a clever way to break any ice between the servers, a conversation starter for the table and it shows that there's a playful element to the evening.

The menu is short, consisting of four starters and six mains.

I have no idea if it is or it isn't, but I always feel that it must be excruciating writing a menu for a hotel. Having to find a balance for overnight guests and the general public. I think they have got it spot on here. And if, like me, you have a preconceived view that some hotel restaurants are a little bit stuffy with no atmosphere, The Old Stocks is the complete opposite. It was a Wednesday night, vibrant and full to the brim.
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We opted for Cornish Crab tortellino, crab bisque & sea herbs and the Smoked ham hock and chicken terrine, piccalilli to kick things off, followed by the Duck breast, confit leg and liver croquette, with celeriac, pancetta and sherry and duck sauce and the Beef, caramelised onion, spring onion, mushroom and Madagascan pepper sauce for our mains. The sharing Côte de Boeuf was very tempting. 

Even knowing Chef John's background, I was still a little unsure what to expect. The Old Stocks' ethos has always been to offer luxury without being stuffy or pretentious.

This food is certainly luxury, yet far from stuffy and pretentious. The cooking is, as expected, utterly superb.

The crab starter was so good you would have been excused for thinking you were sitting by the coast rather than in the middle of the North Cotswolds, while although a terrine is never going to blow our minds, the braised ham hock and confied chicken legs were perfectly smoked and the piccalilli was beautifully smoked.

The beef rump and duck are water bathed first then seared and sliced for presentation exposing the perfect rose as explained by our superb waiter, and restaurant manager, Bogdan. He wasn't wrong, and I'm unsure if I have ever eaten more tender meat in my life.

The beef is served with boulangere potatoes,  thinly sliced, layered with Lyonnaise onions and cooked with beef stock, classic mushroom duxelle, chard spring onion and pepper sauce complete the dish. As I mentioned before, this is proper cooking. 

With that said, the duck was possibly even better. Served with confit leg and liver croquette, celeriac and a beautifully rich sherry and duck sauce.

You understand after the mains why two courses are encouraged as one course just isn't enough and doesn't do it justice.

We added a fondant potato side to share which was topped with buttered mash.

For pudding we opted for a Hazlenut Choux to share and an Espresso Martini (not to share). 

I'm no Greg Wallace, but I think I'm a good judge of a pudding. The fact I haven't got a sweet tooth and only ever "want one mouthful" means that if I have more that one, then it's got to be good, right? 

This was a choux bun was filled with hazelnut crémeux, candied hazelnut and praline ice cream and I definitely had at least half of it. 

Getting John Broughton in the kitchen has elevated the food to a new level. It's up there with some of the best food I have eaten for quite a while and you can tell the level of attention given to the menu in each mouthful. 

You will need two courses, not just to fill you up but purely because it tastes so good. It, definitely, won't be another two years until our next visit. 

www.oldstocksinn.com

"What are you up to next Tuesday?" a friend asked me just over three weeks ago.

Before I had the chance to find an excuse, it was soon followed with "A friend has started Fade Projects and creates Big Green Egg/Fire cooking classes and feasts. The food will be insane, and it's only in Guiting Power, so I'll put your name down"

The brains behind Fade Projects is Eddy, who has a healthy obsession with food, fire, the outdoors and Padel so I knew we would get on. 

The itinerary was sent over and was signed off with "Bring some warm clothing as we will be outside lots of the day" (at this stage it had rained for two weeks solid) and "Let me know when you want a game".

I arrived at Cloud Hill Cottage in Guiting Power, ready to tackle the elements. It turned out (at that point) to be the nicest day of the year so far. The garden was a sun trap and far too warm for winter attire.

It wasn't just me. Also invited was Seb, Eddy's Padel partner. Gabi, one of Eddy's foodie mates. Gee, the vision behind the Fade Project brand and the friend who badgered me to come. Matt, one of Eddy's fiends and top-notch photographer. In fact, every photo within this piece are his. And Annie, Eddy's partner, superstar host, runner, sous chef and pretty much everything else.

Cloud Hill Cottage is located right next door to The Hollow Bottom pub and is available to rent on Airbnb. It's one of the locations that Eddy has teamed up with to offer something extra to the group of guests that book a stay. It also has to be one of the shortest, if not the shortest, walks back from 'the pub' in the UK.

I have seen Big Green Eggs but have never cooked on them. In all honestly, I just thought they were glorified, expensive barbeques with brilliant branding and marketing. How wrong I was. 

Learning to light the Eggs (there were two of them; a Large and Mini Max) seemed to be a good place to start. Eddy obviously made this look simple and it was time to prep some food and enjoy a mid-morning beer while it reached the desired heat. 

First to be prepped was the Picanha. This was actually a new cut of beef for me. It's popular in Brazil and Portugal and is more commonly known as the Rump Cap over here.  Eddy explained that we (the royal we) were going to be reverse searing this. 

​Seb scored the layer of fat and rubbed in a generous amount of oil and salt. It was then cooked on an indirect set-up in the egg at 110. The meat was brought up to an internal temp of 48 using Eddy's pride and joy digital smart Meater thermometer (it was actually very cool and ridiculously clever), before whacking the heat up in the Egg to between 250-300 for a direct cook. It was then seared on all sides and rested.

While that that was resting, it was Gabi's turn to get involved with the chopping of herbs for the Chimichurri. Once the olive oil, harissa, lemon, and seasoning were added, it was pretty much there.

As you can see, the results were mouth-wateringly incredible. I thought we'd be having to wait for the final feast to to eat this, but we ate lots of what we cooked along the way which was a masterstroke.

It was now my turn to get involved with some rib-eye steaks. One was to be "seared" (cooked on the cast iron plancha griddle) and the other "dirty" (cooked directly in the coals). After seasoning with oil and salt, I put them in the Egg, wearing what looked like a falconry glove.

At this point, we were reminded to "burp" the egg. There have been lots of stories of lost eyebrows and forearm hair from people who had opened the lid on full heat. I'm no health and safety junkie, but it's essential that you open the lid slightly and then close it a couple of times to release some of the heat. 

They didn't need long at all. Once done, they rested before I cut them up (apparently like one of the Kardashians cutting a cucumber... I was proud not to get the joke) for people to try. They were both great, but the griddled one definitely just edged it.

While we were chatting, drinking and picking at meat in the sunshine, Eddy put a couple of red peppers straight on the coals to literally burn for the Middle Eastern Mummarah dip. Once blackened, Annie peeled the skins and and added walnuts, balsamic, paprika and lemon and blended it all together. 

The next task was the cauliflower which was assigned to Seb. This was to be roasted with soy and truffle dressing. Seb got to work cutting it into steaks and it was then caramelise on the baking stone. Once cooked, it was served with the dressing and ready to eat. Cauliflower shouldn't be allowed to taste like this. I don't want to say it, but it was possibly the highlight of the day. Charred, sweet, truffly (is that a word?) and everything else I didn't expect it to be. If I was a vegetarian, I would eat this every day. 

Apparently, that was all just a taster before we prepared the main feast. 

Next was rosemary and sea salt focaccia, making the dough from scratch. My gran always told me that my hands were too warm for any kind of baking so I've carried that as an excuse with me all my life. 

Luckily, Eddy is from a family of bakers and knocked up a dough without any of us realising. Gee got to work with the kneading and it was left to rise. 

While that was happening Eddy soaked a cedar wood plank for the salmon and started prepping the rack of lamb. 

The fat was scored and then seared on the baking stone. They were then cooked on the conveggtor (a Big Green Egg ceramic insert) that was turned upside down. The fat on the lamb was then caramelised and Eddy's trusty Meater was used to reach internal temperature of 57, before being taken out to rest.

The dough had returned from its visit to the conservatory and was knocked back into the shape of the pan and left to rise again. After which, Gee created some finger dents, covered in oil, salt and rosemary and baked it at 180.

If it wasn't for Eddy's showpiece apple tarte tatin (coming later), this would have the most impressive creation of the day. 

There's an old pottery shed at the bottom of the garden where Annie had worked her magic with the table and some festoon lighting, while Eddy got the planks out of the water for the salmon (Direct cook at 180-200) and knocked up some roasted new potatoes which when done at home are good, but on a Green Egg are next level. 

Before we sat down, Eddy whipped out the spiced rum and started to make a caramel from the rum and sugar. Once the bubbles were large enough, he added apples and then covered it with pastry and cooked it in the egg at 180. 

While we ate, drank and showered Eddy with compliments, it was time for the Apple Tarte Tatin. A sticky masterpiece that if you didn't see it happening, you wouldn't have believed it was cooked on ceramic barbeque. It was borderline showing off. 

Fade School (Big Green Egg Classes) and Feasts are available to residents and non residents of Cloud Hill Cottage in Guiting Power.

Alternatively Fade Projects will come to your home and either run a School or Feast event.

​Links:

Chef/Host/Creator: www.fadeprojects.co.uk
Photos: www.instagram.com/sonof_william
​House: Cloud Hill Cottage
​Meat: www.waghornesbutchers.co.uk
Egg: www.biggreenegg.co.uk

There seems to be a new restaurant opening in Cheltenham every week at the moment. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love it, but in all honestly, I can't keep up. 

"Have you been to Journey yet?" No. "What about Cantina del Barrio?" No. "LA Smoke Hut?" No... but tell me more.

The newest addition (it might not be now. it has been 5 days after all) to the town is The Nook on Five, Cheltenham's first-ever rooftop restaurant. 

The "on Five" bit represents the floor number it is on in the Quadrangle, a 1970s once tired-looking, now completely rejuvenated, building located on the corner of Imperial Square and Promenade and overlooking the beautiful Imperial Gardens. 

What they have done here is super impressive. I'm no George Clarke, but the building was pretty grim and a bit of an eyesore. I love David Bowie and a prawn cocktail as much as the next person, but the 70s have a lot to answer for.

I digress. 

The restaurant is fresh and modern with a whiff of newness. It's a beautiful sunny day so we get a luminous view across the Cheltenham skyline. It has all the feels of Kensington until you see the Eagle Tower in the distance. We can't even blame the 70s for that. 

I was surprised to discover that this was a family-run restaurant (I just presumed it was either part of a chain or under the ownership of some big investor) and then, later, amazed to hear that it was Alisha Philpotts', head chef and cousin of the owners, first ever restaurant. 

I go all out, choosing scallops, celeriac puree, peas and chicken skin granola to start, followed by the fillet steak, café de Paris butter, caramelised shallot, wild mushrooms and vine tomatoes from the grill menu. I was torn between that and the beef shin and treacle pie. 

The scallops were perfectly juicy and the puree and added crunch of the granola worked superbly well together and the steak was genuinely the best piece of meat I have eaten this year. 

The cooking was sublime. It's fine-dining, but not the type where you get a squiggle of jus in each corner of the plate. It's also pretty punchy pricewise. My main was £38 without a side that are all priced at £6 and big enough to share. 

We all know that we are paying for the whole experience (which was very special), the spectacular location (it's lovely up there), the service (which is outstanding), the sommelier (they offer some local gems from Gloucestershire, Worcestershire, Herefordshire and Wiltshire vineyards) and the most incredible pastry chef (the blueberry custard, white chocolate mousse, puff pastry pudding look liked a work of art), but ultimately they will be judged on the food it was truly superb.

It's not somewhere you will come to eat every week that's for sure, but if they can avoid any serious teething problems and keep the quality this high every time, they could very quickly become one of the best restaurants in town.

thenookcheltenham.co.uk

Actual restaurants in the North Cotswolds are few and far between. There are lots of superb pubs that are more of a restaurant than a pub nowadays and many hotels that boast restaurants but lack that buzz that an independent can offer. 

The Old Butchers is family-run, small and far from pretentious. Pete is chef, while wife Louise takes care of the front of house, armed with her daughter and others of a similar age. The tables are always full, yet there's never a feeling of sitting on top of other diners or being involved in their conversations. 

We took a couple of friends for their first ever visit. We'd hyped it up quite a bit for a good fortnight or so which can sometimes be risky, but we've never experienced anything less than brilliant on the (probably a dozen by now) occasions we have been there.

The menu is largely European, full of seafood, steak over charcoal and seasonal game. There's a "Lobster"  swing sign outside and lots of it on the menu.

A bottle of Sauvignon Blanc (the wine list is very good) and a couple of pints of Hawkstone (Clarkson's Lager) arrive as we survey the menu. Our friends are the type of people who study the menu before they arrive and pretty much know want they are going to order. I'm the opposite. 

"Fancy sharing the 1kg T-Bone?" throwing a slight curveball to my friend. He agrees, but then proceeds to tell me that he is a medium steak eater. I'm a rare. We agree on medium-rare. 

If Mussels Mariniere is on the menu I'm probably ordering it, along with a spoon for the glorious creamy, garlicky goodness. It was a generous serving for a starter and these were absolutely massive.

The others tucked into Cornish Scallops, served in a shell in a delicious pool of Nduja Butter which offered a bit of a kick.

The Prawn Cocktail, which usually comes with a Bloody Mary sorbet on top. However our friend asked if this could come on the side as she "didn't really trust it". She loved it.

​And the Pate en Croute, pickled walnut, cornichons and punchy wasabi, mustardy dip.

Our mains arrived soon after.

They had divided the T-bone onto separate plates so we didn't have to fight over it. It was on the rarer side of medium-rare, beautifully pink with juicy bits of fat on some of the slices. It came with fries, salad and a choice of sauces, we both opted for peppercorn. The meat cut like the proverbial butter and was deliciously rich and salty. It was magical. I would order steak out more often if it was all like this.

The Cornish Monkfish & Prawn Tandoori, with Spinach, a Lentil Dahl and raita looked incredible and apparently it was. As was the 1/2 Cornish Native Lobster & Garlic Butter and the immense Crab, Truffle Fries that were ordered to accompany it. 

Pudding was replaced by more wine, while we all gushed over what we had just eaten and started planning our next visit which, I imagine, won't be too far away.

​theoldbutchers.squarespace.com

Evesham always gets a bad rap, some fair and some a little unjust. For many, it's the Onslow and Daisy to the Hyacinth Bucket over-manicured Cotswolds, and unless you live there or you were visiting The Regal Cinema, there is no real reason to visit.

The town centre is littered with charity shops, an abundance of hairdressers and double denim from the first time around. It's in desperate need of a little TLC. However, in the Market Place where Bridge Street meets Vine Street there is a beacon of hope.

What began in a converted Rice Beaufort horse box during lockdown is now a super-stylish restaurant, serving awesome burgers and cocktails over two floors of an old pub. There is a huge emphasis on the locally sourced ingredients used both in the kitchen and behind the bar and a decent selection for the vegans and vegetarians that live amongst us. They also offer a delivery service on Thursday - Sunday on their food and drink to Evesham and the surrounding areas.

We had an hour and a half before Bond was due to start at The Regal, so we were just going to grab a quick burger and drink and get on our merry way. Obviously, after looking at the menu, this didn't happen. 

"You must try the Crispy Belly Bites". Of course we did.

"The Baby Bacon Fries are particularly good". Go on then, you've twisted my arm.

Eventually our table was covered in burgers and sides.

The Snack Daniels burger was as good as it sounded. Salt beef slices, cola and bourbon-braised brisket and Tubby Tom's Smokey Schweet BBQ sauce all fighting their way out of the bun. It was delightfully messy, smokey and sticky, and honestly the best thing I had eaten for a long time.

​The recommended pork belly bites were heavenly meaty cubes, with a crispy glaze and a subtle kick from the ginger and chilli that accompanied them during the roasting.

The "Bacon Baby" fries are pleasantly thicker than the normal skinny ones you often get and smothered in baconnaise and bacon bits, each one as addictive as the last. 

Even when you know you have ordered too much, I can never ignore mac 'n' cheese on a menu. These were topped with bacon bits, chives and crispy onions and, if anything, could have been much gooier with a lot more cheese.

The same has to be said for halloumi fries, you know you don't need them but you have to order them especially when they are rubbed in Tubby Tom's espresso and smoked chipotle dust and washed down with a dark 'n' stormy.

It was all incredibly impressive from start to finish, and in fear of sounding too overdramatic, the arrival of StirrUps is absolutely massive for the town. Evesham has finally got somewhere it can be proud of and it shows other business folk that nice places can be successful there.

www.stirr-ups.co.uk

It felt like we had to wait an age for the Double Red Duke to finally open its doors. After the announcement in November 2020 that Sam and Georgie Pearman had acquired what was The Plough at Clanfield and would launch in February 2021, lockdowns and various restrictions delayed that until May 17th. 

Even more exiting was hearing that they had secured the services of Hawksmoor and PittCue's Richard Turner to work alongside Head Chef Richard Sandiford. This could only mean two things, fire and an abundance of meat.

Of course the menu isn't just full of meat. There is a cheese & onion tatin, veggie mixed grill and a trio of salads for the herbivores amongst us, but there's no fun in any of that, 

Unsurprisingly, and right up our street, there is a separate menu for steak cuts from where we picked a incredible chunk of medium-rare ribeye. I sat and watched the chefs cooking various ribs and T-bones over the flames from the 14-seater kitchen counter which felt like the front row of the world's best theatre. I always find open kitchens captivating and could sit there all day, especially watching these masters of meat at work. 

Away from beef steaks, the "Large Plate" menu boasts wild fish on-the-bone, grilled rose veal chop, fried oysters & egg tartare, spit roast turbot (which looked amazing when it went by to another table) and half a chicken spit roast, as well as the classic fish & chips, pie & mash and the Double Red burger. 

​The "small plates" menu (nobody does "starters" anymore) is equally exciting and includes some exquisite Wood Roast Sea Scallops with Wild Garlic Butter, Milk & Honey Lamb Chops with Pea & Haggis Salad (I will try this when I go next) and some superb sticky and perfectly charred Apple Glazed Bacon Ribs, Apple, Tamarind & Fennel Slaw. 

If you're feeling hungry, which we were, there's also a "snacks" menu at the very beginning featuring some wonderful light and crispy Dublin Bay Scampi and three different flatbreads. We chose the Courgette, Wild Garlic & Mint one to share but you would probably need one each depending on how many other dishes you choose and how big your appetite is.

There wasn't any room for a dessert. If I was staying the night, and home was just a short walk away up the stairs, I would have probably dipped for the white chocolate cheesecake or the sticky toffee pudding. However, if the choice is more meat or leaving room for a pudding, there is only ever going to be one winner.

If staying the night is an option for you, then the nineteen bedrooms are all as heavenly as you would expect. They each, like the whole of the interior, carry the Pearman stamp. There is an abundance of snugs where you can hide away from the world for an afternoon, and  the magnificent Downton Abbey-famed Oxfordshire countryside is quite literally on the doorstep. What's not to like?

www.countrycreatures.com/double-red-duke