EATING OUT

Dining at an old inn run by a new master, Tom finds a corner of Berkshire that is forever France

There were two photographs, hung in pride of place, on the wall at chef Simon Bonwick’s last restaurant, The Crown at Burchetts Green. The first was of Gallic master Fernand Point, described by many as the father of modern French cookery. The other, Point’s great friend Eugénie, ‘La Mère Brazier’, the first person to hold six Michelin stars. Elizabeth David once described her cooking as ‘calm, elegant and seemingly effortless’. Words that could be equally applied to Bonwick, who is certainly one of the finest chefs of his generation.

He’s yet to hang these heroes in The Dew Drop Inn, his new place near Hurley in Berkshire, but assures me they’ll be up soon. The pub sits in the middle of a forest, very much a destination sort of place. But Bonwick is very much a destination sort of chef. Hikers drop by for a lunchtime rabbit pie, say, or a ‘nice doorstep sandwich of Highland beef’, while dinner is rather more classic. Highland beef ‘cooked on a string [ àla ficelle] with rather a nice sauce’; fresh fish ‘like when in Provence’; and ‘slow roast mountain lamb with garlic and thyme’.

Gutsy regional French food, then, although there’s a purity to his cooking, an absolute command of both flavour and technique. He held a Michelin

Mash is equal parts butter to potato, as is right

star at The Crown. Not that it overly bothered him. Quite the opposite. ‘The Voldemort’, he says with a laugh. Accolades hold little appeal.

There’s crusty, fresh baked bread, and crab, just picked, still blessed with that sublime sweetness of the truly fresh. Matchsticks of apple add sharpness and crunch. For main, beef cheek, cooked for hours in litres of wine until it becomes soft enough to sleep in. Although that would be a waste, with its beefy majesty and deeply sticky juice. Mash is equal parts butter to potato, as is right and proper. Pudding is an oozing chocolate fondant, with home-made vanilla ice cream. Old school, but immaculate.

What makes The Dew Drop Inn all the more remarkable is that Bonwick runs the kitchen on his own. With occasional help from his son Charlie. But after a brief spell consulting in London, it’s damned good to have him back doing what he does best. No-nonsense, mainly French food, cooked by a master. At decent prices too. One gets the feeling that Point and Brazier would very much approve.

About £35 per head. The Dew Drop Inn, Honey Lane, Hurley; dewdropinnhurley.com