FIRST COURSES

A "ballotine" of organic Scottish salmon, fennel marmalade, horseradish crème fraiche with sweet and sour cucumbers.
Remember gentlemen, it's not just France we are fighting for, it's Champagne. Winston S. Churchill.

Sautéed tiger prawns on a bed of orange infused puy lentils with crystallised zest and Chardonnay butter sauce.
It is wonderful if we chose the right diet what an extraordinary small amount would suffice. Gandhi.

A plate of Langhirano Parma ham with glazed fresh figs and a salad of rocket and parmesan.
The palate is as worthy and as capable of education as the eye or the ear. Brillat-Savarin.

Read's salt cod fish cake in a crispy crumb with baby leaf spinach and topped with a poached hen's egg.
Music with dinner is an insult to both the cook and the musician. G.K. Chesterton.

Our own potted chicken liver parfait topped with Cox apple jelly, pickled vegetables and crisp Foccacia toast.
Prices subject to alteration according to customer's attitude. David Pitchford.

A salad of white crabmeat with diced green apples and baby gem lettuce with cider mayonnaise and a brown meat crisp.
Grub first, then ethics. Brecht.

A hot soufflé of mature Montgomery Cheddar cheese set on a bed of smoked haddock glazed in a creamed sauce.
When ordering lunch the big executives are just as indecisive as the rest of us. William Feather.

MAIN COURSES

Slow cooked belly of English pork with sweet and sour plums, celeriac puree and a spiced pork sauce.
My wife and I tried to breakfast together but we had to stop or our marriage would have been wrecked. Winston S.Churchill.

Roast loin of Kentish lamb, puree of Jerusalem artichokes, Epigrammes of slow cooked lamb breast, fondant potato and rosemary jus.
If you throw a lamb chop in the oven, what's to keep it from getting done? Joan Crawford.

Pan fried breast of free-range organic chicken with garlic and thyme polenta, puree of cauliflower and roasted chicken veloute.
No man can be wise on an empty stomach. George Eliot.

A medium-rare fillet of Scottish beef with a raviolo of field mushrooms, pancetta, winter vegetables and Merlot jus. (£5 Supplement).
Never eat more than you can lift. Miss Piggy.

A fillet of sea bream on a lightly curried cauliflower cous-cous with golden sultanas, toasted almonds and onion bhaji.
How long does getting thin take? Pooh asked anxiously. A.A. Milne.

Breast of Gressingham duckling with an onion "tart-tatin", orange braised chicory, and almond potatoes.
A good meal in troubled times is always that much salvaged from disaster. A. J. Liebling.

DESSERTS AND CHEESES

A dark chocolate and salted caramel delice with hazelnut praline and milk ice cream.
Cuisine is when things taste like themselves. Curnonsky.

A hot prune and Armagnac soufflé with home made vanilla ice cream and butter shortbread biscuits. (Please allow up to 15 minutes)
Strange to see how a good dinner reconciles everyone. Samuel Pepys.

Read's traditional deep lemon tart with homemade lemon sorbet and glazed meringue.
Once in a lifetime one should be allowed to have as much sweetness as one could possibly want and hold. Judith Olney.

Apple and calvados mousse with a green apple sorbet, from our walled kitchen garden.
Cookery has become an art, a noble science cooks are gentlemen. Robert Burton.

The image - if you cannot make up your mind! A selection of Read's desserts.
Eating and sleeping are a waste of time. Gerald Ford.

A selection of British cheeses served with grapes, biscuits and bread.
Poets have been mysteriously silent on the subject of cheese. G. K. Chesterton.


Teas or Coffee with sweet nibbles: £3.00
If this is coffee, please bring me some tea; if this is tea bring me some coffee. Abraham Lincoln.