“It would now be possible to dine out somewhere absolutely great every night for a month without having to revisit the same place twice.” London? No; Chris Meredith, chef of Michelin-starred Gilpin Lodge Country House Hotel, near Windermere, is talking about Cumbria’s Lake District.

Also boasting a Michelin star is L’enclume, at Cartmel, just outside Grange-Over-Sands. Chef-patron Simon Rogan launched the restaurant in 2002, converting a former blacksmiths (L’enclume is French for ‘anvil’). Locals, once wary of Simon’s inventive and adventurous cooking, now vie for bookings with national and international diners. L’Enclume was recently voted one of the UK’s top 15 restaurants by The Good Food Guide.

“We’re trying to be a bit different with everything we do, to introduce people to new experiences,” says Simon. “My focus is on both finding new and unusual ingredients and on new cooking techniques and the result is that diners tend not to forget a meal with us in a hurry.”

No kidding. Breast of squab pigeon is slow-cooked at less than 60ºC in blackcurrant and Darjeeling tea. The meat is meltingly tender – unusual for pigeon – beautifully offset by zingy fruit and earthy tea notes.

That’s just one of the many thrills available across nine-, 14- and 25-course tasting menus.

Simon is ambitious. “I want to explore the unusual alpine herbs and flowers that grow in the mountains of north Cumbria later this summer,” he says. “And I am being contacted about new equipment all the time that I might be able to use in the kitchen. So I’m messing around with lots of things at the moment, some of which will make it on to the table.”

At Gilpin Lodge, Chris Meredith admits his cooking is “far less extreme”, although he still tries “hard to innovate”, gradually introducing “more exciting things, so diners here are now happy to try pig’s head and veal sweetbreads.” One of his modern techniques is cooking meat slowly in a water bath, for a more tender result.

For bold flavours, head to Grasmere’s the Jumble Room. This 10-year-old institution was the first eatery for proprietors Andy and Chrissy Hill. Chrissy, who now draws rave reviews as a chef, used to be a hairdresser. She ended up in the kitchen when their chef didn’t turn up.

“I simply cook the food that I like to eat,” she says modestly. Andy adds proudly: “Chrissy is a self-taught chef and has a natural gift. She uses the best possible local ingredients – only buying in things like mangoes and coconut milk – and turns them into something interesting.”

If all that sounds appetising, then plan your trip to the ‘Taste District’ soon.

Back