The Which? Good Food Guide 2007 is published today. Congratulations to the Cauldron Bistro on the hard work gone into achieving the well deserved accolade “also recommended” (i.e. not quite getting 1 out of 10). Shell Bay in Studland was another also ran. Locally, Poole boasts a restaurant with a score of 3/10, as does Christchurch, and Bournemouth has a 4/10. Looking to our coastal competitors Lymington and Lyme Regis get a 2/10; West Bay and Looe 3/10; St Mawes has a 3/10, and St Ives has 3 and 4/10 restaurants. Padstow has two 2’s, a 5, and a 6/10.
Wednesday, September 20, 2006
Gourmet Swanage?
The Which? Good Food Guide 2007 is published today. Congratulations to the Cauldron Bistro on the hard work gone into achieving the well deserved accolade “also recommended” (i.e. not quite getting 1 out of 10). Shell Bay in Studland was another also ran. Locally, Poole boasts a restaurant with a score of 3/10, as does Christchurch, and Bournemouth has a 4/10. Looking to our coastal competitors Lymington and Lyme Regis get a 2/10; West Bay and Looe 3/10; St Mawes has a 3/10, and St Ives has 3 and 4/10 restaurants. Padstow has two 2’s, a 5, and a 6/10.
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And the pasties are better in Padstow than here! If this was a leauge table of schools or health care services people would be up in arms i think.
Both are published regularly. You must have missed them. Schools are at http://www.dfes.gov.uk/performancetables/
2003 hospital league talbes are at http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/bsp/hi/nhs_league_03/html/tables.stm
no doubt newer ones are online as well.
Nick, this is very interesting. I am tempted to ask whether you think there is a formula for running a restaurant which would get featured but formula is the wrong word. What are the inspectors looking for and do you think its something that some Swanage restaurants could deliver? Is it something they don't regard as very relevant to their businesses? It looks like a way of getting your restaurant a lot of extra trade but they must think differently.
Here is another thought. Cornwall has the "Food in Cornwall Association " which publishes an annual guide. They judge establishments on the criteria of ‘The Cornish Dining Experience’ taking into account local quality sourcing, freshness of skilled preparation, value for money within its sector, & customer expectations & service.
Their website says "One thing that has immeasurably improved is the availability of quality locally produced dairy, meat, and vegetables to add to the superlative & abundant fish.
Cornwall now produces 45 different cheeses of great quality and diversity. Many of our members use small farms and specialist growers for fresh supplies – in the ground this morning, on your plate this evening.
This move to local purchasing has many environmental and social benefits, which will assist in the sustainability of our economy. The greatest benefit however, is that you the consumer knows that you are getting the best of the region’s produce on your plate."
How would our restaurants fare on these criteria I wonder, particularly local sourcing. Is there a similar organisation in Dorset? I am not aware of one. I have seen some publications from the County Council who are aware of the issue but it does not seem to have taken off here.
I am passionate about local foodstuffs and look forward to using them extensively in a future restaurant concern. It is perhaps a little unfair to blame restaurateurs, who are only running businesses, when shoe shops don’t sell local shoes, jewellers local precious stones etc. However taking the examples quoted in the guide for nearby restaurants the Cauldron boasts “Aberdeen Angus sirloin”; and Shell Bay “tuna, halibut, and mahi mahi”- hardly examples of local produce. With a little more effort our eateries could celebrate the extensive examples of very high quality Dorset foodstuffs, which I am sure would endear them to restaurant guide inspectors and tourists alike.
Check out:
http://www.dorsetfooddirectory.org.uk/indexes/alpha_index.htm
What sums it up for me is the bucket of freshly caught mackerel which sits most days on the Quay waiting for sale, only to end up used the next day as bait…
and a local fishmongers that doesn't sell local fish!
Often see "locally caught" on menu boards outside pubs and restaurants in Swanage and wonder how much is in fact caught locally.
I hope you will be able to source stuff locally. I don't know why the local restaurants are not more into local produce. From a business point of view it gives you a premium product. This is something restaurant businesses in other places are aware of so why not here? They dont seem to be able to think beyond a nice big van from the cash and carry bringing everything they need.
I was a bit surprised earlier in the year when walking thro' town early a.m.
One of our pubs was having food delivered.
Vacuum sealed packs of pre-cut and presumably, blanched veg.
Caterer's suppliers price lists of packaged dishes bear an uncanny resemblence to the menu's of many restaurants. Its part of the general decline in cooking. Look at all the predigested food in supermarkets, down to bangers and mash and packaged salads. Is it any wonder restaurants use this stuff? How many of their customers have tasted freshly picked and cooked vegetables in the last ten years?
Some restaurants really do buy fish from local fishermen but its only a trickle compared with the amount that is delivered by vans from Grimsby. The fish most people eat here has come further than they have. This is neither new nor peculiar to Swanage. Twenty odd years ago I visited North Spain, an area which makes much of its seafood and has numerous seafood restaurants. In one small town I used the local supermarket and was a little surprised to find the freezers stocked with catering packs of Norwegian and Scottish prawns and languostines. The spider crab I ate probably came from Swanage bay!
This suggests there is a gap in the market for "slow food" the antithesis of fast food, real food as opposed to junk food, but inevitably its a premium niche. How much are you prepared to pay to have a commis chef slice your carrots?
ask the fisheries dept if you can supply local fish to local pubs/resturants and see the reply. thats why they dont bother.
so what IS their reply?
Depends what you mean by local fish. If its caught by Dorset based boats and landed in Poole that should be good enough for most people.
This looks more like an issue of traceabilty than anything else. When you buy a chicken from some supermarkets you can look up a number on the label on the web and find out what farm it came from, the name of the farmer and whatever else. Theres no good reason why something similar should not be applied to fish as well.
It already applies to fish too. The only way as a member of the general public you can get a fish that hasn't got tranfer documents and a certificate of origin is to buy it direct from the fisherman. In theory.
Thanks Nick, I was unaware of that. I appreciate this is all a bit of a tangent from gourmet food but it is relevant. Caring enough about what you feed your customers to establish its provenance is an important aspect though.
its a fact that local fishermen cannot supply to pubs/resturants etc if they dont have the licence to do so i think they need 2 one to catch and 1 to supply also the pub/resturant needs the correct licence/paperwork to buy said fish/crabs also its illegal to sell or even cook fish/crab etc caught by friends and relatives to sell in pubs fine is £50k
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