Lunch At Chatsworth Farm Shop & Cafe
It occurred to me, randomly, that just about the only place I haven’t visited on the Chatsworth Estate is the farm shop and café and (as I often do!) I verbalised this fact out loud. The Man Bird is well used to this weirdness and so didn’t skip a beat before replying “well we can always stop there for a brunch/early lunch, depending on how organised we are, as we set off for our night away”, which was still secret to me at this point.
I did think it was a bit odd when the jalopy turned into the Devonshire Arms at Pilsley’s car park, but The Man Bird said that it was only a short walk to the farm shop and café - which was bound to be packed out, so there’d be no parking spaces – and that it’d help us work up an appetite; fair enough, thought I. It was only as I followed him inside the pub that he let the cat-out-of-the-bag and revealed that we were staying overnight in ‘Hill Top’, home of the venue’s highest four poster bed which had been on my ‘to do’ list of places to stay. All I’m going to say is “if Carlsberg did husbands”!!
Lady Luck was shining strongly down on us as our room had been cleaned and the team kindly let us check in early. With our overnight bags dropped off in the room we made our way up to the farm shop and cafe, narrowly missing out on the breakfast service; not that it mattered, we were equally happy with the lunchtime offerings (served Noon-3pm). I was going to have the quiche but then spied the Steak, Pheasant and Hooky Ale Pie (£12) on the specials board and opted for that instead, and The Man Bird plumped for the 6oz Chatsworth Rump Burger, triple cooked Chips, Burger Relish and Salad (also £12). To quench our thirsts we had Ginger Beer (me) and Cloudy Lemonade (him).
All the food is cooked fresh to order so you may experience a bit of a longer wait than usual at peak, busy times. Personally, I would rather wait an extra 5 or 10 minutes and have piping hot, fresh food than have quick service and a lukewarm meal, wouldn’t you? As it was, we didn’t notice a significantly longer wait for our meals and smiled happily at our lovely server as she carefully placed the plates before us.
My individual pie was a superb size and as I cut through its flaky pastry top, I was rewarded with plumes of steam that carried the most mouth-watering aroma on their swirling tendrils. The pie was absolutely stuffed to the rafters with chunks of Steak and pieces of Pheasant, both cocooned in thick, rich gravy that had a beautiful tang of Hooky Ale clearly discernible in it – yummy!! There was a large hillock of creamy, seasoned mash on one side of the pie and Cauliflower florets, Carrot batons and shredded Kale the other side. All of the vegetables had been cooked perfectly, so none of them were limp or soggy; simply delicious and just-firm. I savoured each mouthful and upon completion of the meal I sat back happily in my seat, enjoying the warmth and fullness within my tummy.
His Nibs’ burger was nice and ample, with a hint of pink at its centre. The flavour and juiciness of the beef rump was excellent and very satiating and the seeded, toasted bun added both taste and texture in the mouth. I was riding the crest of the luck wave and gratefully received the pair of Gherkin slices, licking the salty juice from my fingers as I pilfered them from within the bun’s clutches – the slices of fresh beef Tomato came my way, too: result! I wasn’t so fortunate when it came to the chunky chips and burger relish though: a single chip was passed to me by The Man Bird and I was ‘allowed’ to dunk it into the relish pot just the once. Much as it pains me to admit it, I would’ve done exactly the same thing had the tables been turned; the chips were just glorious (crispy outside, soft inside) and the relish’s zinginess had my taste buds singing for more.
We ordered a couple more drinks: ginger beer for His Nibs this time and a pot of tea for me. By this point in time our tummies were nicely full and although our original plan was to share a slice of homemade Apple Pie, we really couldn’t eat another morsel. I guess it’s a good reason to take Mummy Bird with us on a return visit, isn’t it?
On our way out we paid a visit to the farm shop, loading up on more treats to take back to the nest the following day, as well as grabbing a couple of items for Mummy as a way of saying thank you for looking after things for us whilst we were away. Yet again the Chatsworth staff were on their A-Game and the experience in the Farm Shop and the Café had both been seamless in quality; Hot Wings happily awarded to these ‘The Palace of The Peaks’ venues.
All Prices Correct At The Time Of Publishing
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