Since the Michelin Guide started awarding the green star for restaurants with a focus on sustainability and local produce, I’ve really enjoyed having some of these places highlighted to me.
It’s baked entirely into the ethos at Culture, whose lunch menu represents a journey around their local area. Highlighted by the fact that their “bee guy” popped in to visit the kitchen mid meal, albeit with honey and not his bees.
Okay, so the meal (not in order)
1) Venison, beetroot, greens, and lion’s mane mushroom (looks like cauliflower). I wouldn’t have paired venison with a smokey tomato sauce, but their strong flavours matched. I also loved how the lion’s mane mushroom holds so much of the sauce it’s cooked in.
2) The best chocolate mousse of my life (more on the chocolate later), with meringue and a milky ice cream. This was all I could think about for the rest of the day, the rich chocolatey taste lingered on the spoon.
3) Mackerel was slightly salty with a lovely blowtorched crisp. Paired with a lightly pickled bit of cucumber.
4) Potatoes on potatoes, all from the garden. Pureed on top, with a mildly buttery flavour. Almost a dessert in its fluffiness, but very savoury. Underneath were finely diced herby potatoes.
5) Had a really good chat about how they pick out high quality wheat for their bread and mill it that morning. It gave an earthy flavour, a strong base for the creamy butter and mildly tangy local honey.
6) Wine cellar
7) Very wooden room with an open kitchen.
8-10) Some of my favourite wines
Wine pairing – Quite minerally for the early courses, before the Anselmi kicked in with a very tropical bouquet and some pineapple notes. I added the sweet wine to go with dessert as well, a very apricotty Sicilian.
They had some English wine on the menu (the Langhams Rosé from Dorset). It didn’t come by the glass, but they were able to point me to a wine bar around the corner that did serve it. This kind of knowledge about every last supplier and the local network surrounding them was outstanding.
11) The menu, highlighting a lot of the thought that goes into the dishes
12) Culture is right by the sea, but a tad difficult to find. It’s below the African restaurant on the main high street and down an alley.
13) Following from the English wines point, I asked about the chocolate they used in the dessert and where to buy more. They spoke in great depth about the challenges of making an ethically sound chocolate – especially when lots of big producers aren’t actually doing what they say they are regarding sustainability – and why they worked with Chocolarder. If I wanted, their HQ store was a three mile walk away or from a local produce shop 3 minutes away. Guess which one I went for?
Overall, a very affordable, high quality lunch offering that rewards enquiring minds. Could have added a cheese option but held off as I knew I’d be snacking through the afternoon before a big meal. Would love to hear if anyone has been there for dinner too.
by AndyVale