The Mileburn Restaurant

I was incredibly lucky to be taken to the Mileburn in Melbourne for my birthday this year.  I've no idea why it's taken me so long to go there, as I have read they are champions of local food.  What I didn't realise is how fresh and exciting their take on local seasonal produce would be.  We had the six course taster menu on Thursday night for an incredibly good value £26.00.  Their house white was exceptionally good, and for £16 was not overpriced.  My only gripe about the wine would be that we do have good local wine in Swadlincote which could have been on the menu.  All the wines were from the new world so air miles were large.  I do think that any restaurant serving local food should also think about local drink too!

Anyway, back to the food, the six course menu (8 courses at the weekend for £35) allows the chef to prepare good food for a good price with, presumably little waste as he know exactly what everyone is going to eat.  Great idea.  The first course was celeriac soup.  Now, if you are a grow your own or vegbox person they you will have had celeriac soup coming out of your ears by this time of year, but this soup was exceptional - smooth, sweet but with bite.  The second course was something my other half said he never would have thought he would have enjoyed - grilled cabbage and humous, but the cabbage was sweet and the humous had a little crunch of seeds on top.  Course 3 was smoked trout, which was exceptional fresh and unusual, served in a cup with fruit and a tangy sauce.  This guy definitely knows how to put flavours together.  Course 4, the main, was the most disappointing - only because the duck was not cooked well and was a little tough.  Otherwise the flavours was intense, although the promised rhubarb (seasonal tick) didn't hit the palate.  Course 5, the cheese course was  unusual and exciting, being a sandwich of biscuits and cheese, with a creamy blue cheese which was both rich and moreish.  I also approved of serving the cheese before the pudding in the French style.  I do like to keep my sweets and savouries separate.  Finally, a deconstructed lemon meringue.  I think it was called lemon meringue, although I'm not sure where the meringue part was, but maybe the chef was just too clever for me and was hiding the egg whites somewhere.  Anyway, when the separate parts were mixed together on the palate they were incredibly fresh and zingy.  It would have been good to have had a good glass of pudding wine for that course but sadly they don't serve it.  They are missing a trick I think on that one, as it was the perfect meal to end with a nice glass of something sweet.  But minor are my criticisms - it is certainly the best value for quality meal I have had in a very long time and I will be back...

Melbourne Food Fair at Assembly Rooms

Today was the first Food Fair held at Melbourne Assembly Rooms.  The organisers are hoping that it will be repeated every two months.  There was a great selection of stalls selling everything from cheese, pies, cakes, chocolate, fudge, fruit and veg, and much more.   Our lunch therefore consisted of cheese from the Leicestershire Handmade Cheese Company, a Pork Pie from Brocklebys of Melton Mowbray, Indian Snacks, fudge and homemade cakes.  The photo is of Brockleby's Blue chesse, and "real" Red Leicester.   A steady stream of local people arrived throughout the day, and the atmosphere was really friendly.  It was lovely to be able to ask the stallholders what was in their produce, and I even managed to buy a wheat-free slice of chocolate cake. 

Half a pig

I bought half a pig from Diana's Kitchen on Melbourne Common this week.  In fact it wasn't half a pig as Bob let's you choose exactly what you want, eg more loin, more sausages, joints of just the right size, and then applies a really generous discount because you are buying in bulk (over £100).  It took up a couple of drawers in the freezer, but this will last us months and is a really good way of buying really top quality pork.  It's also good to remember that small-scale livestock farmers can't stagger their supply as easily as the big intensive suppliers, so have a number of pigs ready around the same time - one sow can have a surprising amount of piglets in the same litter!  So the best way to support them and to get a bargain is to buy in bulk and put it in the freezer. Bob also does loads of other things, eg free range eggs and outdoor reared Dexter Beef.

Lunch at Calke Abbey

Calke buy local produce for their restaurant. My lunch was Standley's Barn pork sausages with mustard mash. I bought a bottle of National Forest Spring Water but needn't have bothered as there were jugs of tap water in the restaurant. Lovely!

Stanton by bridge honey

Purchased from Melbourne Healthcare Centre.