Week beginning April 14th - Easter week menu

It's that time of year again where one bank holiday seems follow after another in a joint effort to make us all believe there are only 4 days in a working week. This sadly isn’t true.

The first of these holidays is Easter, which has a more religious significance to the bank holidays that occur in May. Therefore gives us a lot of inspiration for menu items, as this holiday is based around chocolate eggs, roast lamb and fruit-buns with preachy symbols piped on top.

So instead of our usual muffins, for the 5th year in a row we will be baking a fresh batch of hot cross buns during the week leading up to Easter. These are a specialty of ours and best served toasted with loads of butter and eaten during the morning so you have the rest of the day to burn off the calories. And if you’re wanting to accommodate some extra energy then add one of our jams, this week we will have marmalade, carrot and lemon; and strawberry made with the first of the English season.

We also welcome back two types of meats synonymous with this time of year, rabbit and lamb. Not together in one dish however, that would be just weird. Rabbit was very popular meat in the UK and was once commonly eaten. Until several out breaks of illness within the their breed which stopped the masses from consuming their tasty friend Peter Rabbit. These days they are mostly seen as a cute pet or if you’re a farmer they’re considered pest that burrow the land and consume produce. Rabbit is an excellent source of protein and very lean in fat. Most people would have a hard time telling the difference between chicken and rabbit meat, unless you’re a vegetarian then there is really is no reason to not like lapin meat. This week you’ll find the rabbit on our menu has been cooked in cider and baked in a pie with new season carrots. The second of our meat offerings lamb will be incorporated into a one of our three salads with poached quince, foraged chervil and the best of newly available turnips.

Lastly I must mention the return of Japanese knotweed. This time of year you can find it almost everywhere in the UK, more so along roadsides and especially alongside railway tracks. This dreaded plant originated around Japanese volcanoes and was imported during the Victorian era as an ornamental plant. It has since spread throughout the UK reeking havoc on infrastructure with their ever growing roots that wont die no matter how much pesticide is used. Japanese knotweed can lay dormant for 20 years before it decides to grow at a strong force of up to 10cm a day. What most people don’t realise is that it’s an edible vegetable, much like rhubarb. Japanese knotweed has quite a sour citrus flavour and is great eaten raw or made into a sauce or preserve, in terms of eating this plant it is very diverse and could potentially solve famine with its never ending growth spurt. This week I will be making a mayonnaise with mother natures revenge and incorporating it in with roasted Jerusalem artichokes.

Before you head off and bask in a four-day weekend come and enjoy our Easter menu downed with a cup of hot coffee.

Jared Bryant

Lead Chef

Kaffeine

@redjar50
 
Traditional bircher muesli with rhubarb and raspberry compote 3.60

Granola muesli with pomegranate molasses and rhubarb and raspberry compote 3.60
Fruit salad (pineapple, mango, strawberries, grapes, passion fruit) 3.70
Ciabatta roll with omelette, pancetta, rocket and tomato salsa 4.90
Ciabatta roll with courgette omelette, rocket and tomato salsa 4.90
Croissant with Italian roast ham, talleggio cheese, spinach & plum tomatoes 4.90
Seven seed bakery bloomer toast with home made preserves 1.90
Pumpkin seed and apricot fruit toast 2.40
Banana bread 2.40
Porridge with choices of cinnamon, dried fruit, chopped nuts, honey, golden syrup or compote 3.00

Pastries by Seven Seed bakery
French butter croissant 1.90
Pain au chocolat 2.50
Almond croissant 2.80

Baked Treats
Sweet Muffin: Hot-Cross Buns 2.40
Savoury Scone: Foraged pesto and cream cheese 2.40
Yarrow and blood orange friands 2.40
Super moist chocolate brownies 2.40
White chocolate blondies 2.40
Portuguese tarts 2.00
ANZAC cookies 2.00
Afgan Biscuits 2.00

Lunch

French retro baguettes 5.00
Smoked salmon, tarragon mustard, asparagus, capers, watercress
Courgette, red onion, crushed minted peas, brie and spinach

Foccacias 5.30

Ham, raspberry vinegar strawberries, mature cheddar, basil and rocket
Crumbed aubergine, tomato sauce, mozzarella, spinach

Salads: 5.50/6.90

Lamb, poached quince and chervil, turnips, with a wild chervil and mint dressing

Virgin caesar salad with fresh peas and wild cherry blossom

Roasted Jerusalem artichokes with Japanese knotweed mayonnaise

Tart: 4.40 or 7.90 with salad
Rabbit and carrot cider pie