...welcome to the sisterhood: Tom Kerridge's Hand and Flowers

Tom Kerridge has been getting a lot of press recently with the launch of his BBC series Proper Pub Food, following on from beeing awarded a second Michellin star in 2012. Having always had a bit of a soft spot for him (and the look of his food) on Great British Menu, I decided to go and see for myself what all the fuss is about.

His gastropub, The Hand and Flowers, is in Marlow, Buckinghamshire - a sweet little town on the river Thames. It takes a good hour and a half to get there and you can either get the hourly train straight to Marlow or a faster and more regular train to High Wycombe followed by a taxi. If you are driving there are some scenic stately homes near enough so you could make a proper outing if it. On foot however, there isn't much to do (other than a nice little riverside walk), so it is a big trip just for a meal.

Although Elle and I rarely give bad reviews and simply omit our worse experiences from the blog, there is so much hype around this place that I thought it might be useful viewing. First though, I must admit that my expectations were extremely high. Upon opening in 2005 the pub quickly rose to fame and was awarded a Michellin star that year, achieving its second in 2012 - the first pub to do so. Although I don't have the income or the inclination to seek out Michelin starred establishments wherever I go, the few I have been to have indeed been very good and two Michelin stars begs the question, why, what is so much more surprising / consistent / delicious?!

I was disappointed not to find the answer. I didn't love any of it. Nothing gave me that heady sense of euphoria that a really, really excellent dish can, nor did I feel comforted, warm and fuzzy by the end. I didn't feel ripped off in any way (the prices are pretty reasonable), I just didn't feel at all inspired and was left a little confused by Michelin's accolade.

When we arrived I was surprised to find a sweet little pub-like building in a not so picturesque location (admittedly we went mid-construction of a second bar area). Nevertheless, the window tables look out on to a road where I had envisaged a nice little garden, or even better, the river! We arrived 10 minutes early and waited 20 minutes to be seated (the couple before us had overstayed their allotted two hours but the staff were too polite to rush them). As an apology, our drinks were complementary. Fine by me.

To start with I had the Demi “En Croute” of Whole Baby Truffle with Foie Gras and Port for £18.50, a golf ball sized pastry with a white truffle centre, surrounded by chicken and frois gras parfait. I liked this a lot but the frois gras didn't stand up to the truffle, it's flavour having been too diluted by the chicken. The sauce was good, meaty, sweet but sharp, and tied the whole thing together. So far so good.

The Mr had the salt cod scotch egg with red pepper sauce and chorizo for £11.50 -a quails egg encased by turmeric-stained salt cod which had been breaded and deep fried. I like salt cod but here it was too salty, and any delicacy of flavour was taken away by the stodgy, deep fried coating. Give me the Bull and Last's scotch egg any day!

For the main course I had the Tenderloin of Wiltshire Pork with Pickled Mustard Leaf, Malt Glazed Cheek, Garlic Sausage and Potato Dauphine for £25.50 and was very disappointed. The loin was a beautiful cut of meat, full of flavour and delicately handled (sous vide I think) but the other elements pulled the dish in a direction that I really didn't like. The 'garlic sausage' was very smokey and reminiscent of frankfurters whilst the pickled mustard leaf had the flavour of sauerkraut. The mustardy mayonnaise was cloying and didn't really go with the meat whilst a piece of ham lay confusedly on the plate. The whole dish was a disparate mix of Bavarian flavours which hadn't been adequately communicated by the menu description (if it had I would have steered clear since that sort of cuisine is one of my least favourites). The sweet, glazed pork cheek was at least pretty tasty on its own.

I also tried the Slow Cooked Duck Breast with Peas, Duck Fat Chips and Gravy for £28 which was much better bit still a little soul-less - a tried and tested formula that is safe but not magnificent and easily done en masse. The duck fat chips were too processed for my liking and lacking any deep potato flavour. The greens were far too salty but once again the main meat element, the duck breast, was perfectly cooked with a good sauce.

For pudding we shared the Hand & Flowers Chocolate and Ale Cake with Salted Caramel and Muscovado Ice Cream. This was good and tiny (which is probably a good thing because it is so rich). When you delve into it and hit its salt caramel centre, the delicious sauce will seep out of it. It was good but not incredible.

All in all, it really pains me to say that I don't think it was worth the journey.... I might however return for the £16 fish and chips since I really want to give Tom Kerridge another chance!

tom kerridge hand and flowers blog review tom kerridge hand and flowers blog review tom kerridge hand and flowers blog review

...welcome to the sisterhood

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Monday 30 September 2013

Tom Kerridge's Hand and Flowers