New Chef, New Menu At The Blacksmiths Loft, Derby
Published On Saturday 10 Oct 2015 by Sticky Beak
This venue is now closed Last time we went to the Blacksmiths Loft we had a fantastic time, as you know. Since then a new chef, Chris Parry, has overhauled the menu to put his own unique stamp on the food there. When we were asked if The Boy Wonder and I would like to revisit and sample some new dishes; of course we said yes without hesitation and flew off without further ado. Having being duly seated we were handed the menu and wine list to look at. We decided to have a bottle of wine and chose a very cheeky Zinfandel called Burlesque Old Vine and I have to say it was a fantastic tipple, probably my joint favourite with the Love Grass Shiraz that I have at Blueys in Alfreton. As we were making our choices Rudy brought us a little Amuse Bouche, Artichoke Arancini, to nibble on and it was a little ball of delight that tempted the taste buds. For starters I had the Scallops with Red lentil Dahl, Cauliflower puree, Cumin caramel and Coriander. The Scallops were cooked perfectly and were a lovely size as they sat on the Dahl, which itself was lovely and flavoursome. I absolutely loved the Cumin caramel, its crunch and taste went superbly with the other flavours and textures in the dish. His Nibs opted for the Pork, Pistachio and Apricot terrine with puffed pork, Goji berry ketchup and pickled Fennel, and said it was absolutely beautiful. It had a great texture to it, quite chunky and rustic so that you got a real hit of all the flavours on the tongue, and the pickled fennel provided a bit of extra crunch. I chose the Ashover Pork plate for my main course and this consisted of tenderloin, glazed cheek and a shredded pork doughnut with Chorizo jam, burnt apple puree, braised red cabbage and jus. I also ordered some autumn greens (broccoli, mange tout and green beans) with caraway butter and watercress pesto as an accompaniment. Every single item was cooked to perfection; the vegetables had a hint of crunch to them, the meat just came away in ribbons and oh-my-word that doughnut was magnificent! The cabbage was sweet and tender and the puree and jam added a smoky warmth to the dish. It was a joy to eat such a flavoursome platter. The puddings were no less impressive; I had Pistachio cake with Honeycomb ice cream and grapefruit curd whilst the Boy Wonder had Chocolate and Cardamom torte with Mango Pannacotta and coconut ice cream. My cake was wonderfully moist and the pieces of Pistachio added some texture to the beautiful sponge with the curd added a lovely tangy hint of citrus. The honeycomb ice cream was gorgeously rich and just topped the dish off perfectly.
The decor hasn’t changed so you still have that quietly refined setting that I really like, and the staff were still as friendly as before. Our previous server (who was new at the time of our last visit) was on duty last night looking after tables in another section and it was lovely to see how much his confidence has grown. Rudy was our server for this occasion, and a very smart, charming French man he was too; nothing was too much trouble for him and he had that art of doing things without you really noticing he’d done them, such as refilling glasses.
The Man Bird plumped for one of his favourites, Venison; and it was served as braised shoulder and ragu with squash, chicory, pear and bitter chocolate. He ordered a side dish of Chervil and garlic new Potatoes to go with his meaty feast. Again, the meat was incredibly tender and had that lovely rich, slightly earthy taste that a good quality Venison should have.
His Nibs was grinning maniacally as he made his way through his incredibly dense, rich torte. The balance of all the flavours was just majestic, all credit to Chris’ talent. We finished with some Lattes, and commented on what a fantastic revisit we had had at Blacksmiths Loft. I still heartily recommend you pay a visit here; if you’ve visited in the past it is worth going again to see what new dishes can tempt you - believe me there are plenty of marvellous morsels on offer to lead you astray in the nicest possible way. Hot Wings are making their way to this new Chef and his team, congratulations Chris.
| A Celebration of Flavours - The Sunday Thali at Lasani, Southwell Covid and The Lockdowns (wouldn't that be a fab name for an alt-rock group? - just sayin') proved to be a pivotal time for many businesses and people; one of them Read The Article | |
| Autumn Comforts and Culinary Delights at The Peacock, Owler Bar I never mind when a good day gets made even better, and this was most definitely the case last week. Landing in our inbox was a lovely invitation to enjoy the Read The Article | |
| Stairway to Roast Heaven at Piccalilli Nottingham Another Sunday rolled around, and we all know what that means - time for one of the best meals: an iconic British Roast Dinner. Heading off for Nottingham city, The Man Bird was well prepped Read The Article | |
| Evening Delights at Scoozi Clevedon: From Burrata to Beef Short-Rib The Man's day job took us down to Bristol and we took the opportunity to go out for dinner with one of his colleagues and their husband. Having previously dined at Scoozi Read The Article | |
| Tapas Madrid Ashbourne Serves Up a Fiesta of Flavour Over the years, we've met many a lovely manager, and Mark is no exception. Having previously been at the Moon and Dog pub in Derby, and at another venue in Ashbourne, Mark Read The Article | |
| A Tasty Sunday Lunch at The Tavern at Tansley It had been a good while, i.e. several years, since we'd last visited The Tavern at Tansley but, with the weather being dodgy (to say the least!) a foray out into the wilds of the ‘Shire wasn’t Read The Article | |
| From Empty Cupboards to Thai Treasures - Our Feast at Mimi Kitchen, Eastwood It's no secret that I'm a bit lacking in the kitchen, and I've never tried to pretend otherwise. However, you would think that I'd at least be able to ensure that Read The Article | |
| Sunday Roasts and Country Charm at The Red Lion, Birchover Finally, the rain came! Like most things, this was a double-edged sword: on the one hand, the gardens certainly needed the water; on the other, it was impeding mine and The Read The Article | |
| Exploring the New A La Carte Menu at Hart's Hotel & Kitchen, Nottingham The recipe for success is a simple one: give the people what they want. Another factor is not being afraid to try something new, even though there are no guarantees Read The Article | |
| Trying Out The New Afternoon Tea At Fairways At Chevin Golf Club There are Afternoon Teas and then there are the ones served at Fairways at Chevin Golf Club in Duffield. It has been an absolute joy to savour each Afternoon Tea that we've Read The Article | |