Grainne Jakobson takes a trip out from her kitchen to visit The Brook House Inn, Eskdale

Last updated at 11:50, Thursday, 28 January 2010

Good food with Grainne Jakobson

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Grainne Jakobson takes a trip out from her kitchen to visit The Brook House Inn, Eskdale
OVER the years there have been massive changes in the way we ‘eat out’ in this country, not just in the types of places we eat in but also in the types of foods that we eat. In history only travellers ate out when they stopped at various inns and staging posts on, what were then long and arduous journeys.
From this came the traditions of food being offered in public houses as well as accommodation. Then came the fashion for, only, the very wealthy and royalty, to have cooks in all the great houses, cooks who had to produce vast amounts of food for meals that could involve many, many different dishes at each meal and, of course, each house sought to produce the best and most spectacular meals. Eventually the cooks moved out of the grand house and into the better hotels and evolved into the powerful chefs who could never be crossed and ruled the kitchen with a rod of iron. Hotels were then the place where the rich and wealthy ate. Over the years there has been a process of democratisation of the whole industry and the rituals of eating out have become less grand. From the ’50s onwards foreign travel sparked an interest in different sorts of foods from other countries and the French ‘Bistros’ and the Italian ‘Trattorias’ were all the rage. TV programmes about food and cooking became very popular and the TV celebrity chefs and cooks were born. Right into the 60s the French had a stranglehold on British eating habits, menus were written only in French and diners would, more often than not, be subject to fussy head waiters looking disdainfully at our poor attempts to pronounce the complicated French terms etc. Such was this effect that many of the words we use nowadays for food derive from the French such as gastronomy, menu, maitre d’hotel etc. Nowadays there has been a huge growth in small restaurants, some chef owned and others not and the British food and British food producers compete with the very best from around the world. TV programmes about food and cooking became very popular and TV celebrity chefs were born adding a touch of glamour to what is without doubt a hard career choice with very long hours and often poor pay. The traditional dishes of Britain now stand side by side by what is best described as Modern British cooking which best reflects our multi cultural nation and has taken the best from each culture. The term ‘gastro pub’ has become a common one for pubs that have moved on from serving simple pub food to serving modern British food to a very standard, I prefer to describe them as what they are: a pub that serves good food. In the case of Brook House Inn in Eskdale this is very good food indeed. To recommend an eating place can often be very tricky as chefs may come and go, ownership may change and restaurants can ‘go down hill’ very quickly. For a restaurant maintaining a very high standard is difficult but my family has been eating at this pub for over 10 years and the food has always been excellent.
Brook House Inn is situated in the beautiful but isolated Eskdale valley and run by the Thornley family – and this is a key to their success – it really is a family business. The family comprise Mum and Dad Christine and Trevor Thornley, their son Gareth who is the head chef (and his wife Lesley who is ‘front of house’) and their daughter Sarah who is also ‘front of house’ (and her husband Shaun is also a chef). In addition there are very loyal members of staff including Owain Murphy who is the bar manager and local serving staff and kitchen assistants.
The pub has an excellent menu offering traditional meals such the best Cumberland sausage from Bewleys in Bootle and homemade beef and beer pie and modern British dishes such as a goats cheese and tomato tart with salsa verde and a black pudding tower with local cheese and orange and parsley butter. In addition to these there is a specials board. On a recent visit I had an excellent rabbit and pistachio terrine with beetroot sauce, grilled sea bream with stir fried vegetables and rice and a lovely clementine syllabub with homemade tuilles and a ‘shot’ of muscat dessert wine…..delicious! Everything is clearly homemade from soups and stocks to bread and even the horseradish sauce. I prefer to sit in the cosy bar with the log fire but you must book ahead for this, however, there are tables in the dining room to the rear of the pub. Also you can order good named wines by the glass. The pub also sells coffee and teas with homemade cakes and biscuits which is great for the tired walkers who need a break before carrying on down or up the valley. Apart from the food the pub is famous for its great selection of real ales such as Hawkshead Bitter and Loweswater Gold from local breweries and a huge selection of over 160 whiskeys. Head chef Gareth, who obviously knows a thing or two about whisky, can even provide you with a tasting selection of four different whiskies with explanatory notes which is a good excuse for buying four whiskies at a time! Should you want to really enjoy these wines and whisky accommodation is available! There are quiz nights, beer festivals and black pudding bonanzas – clearly non of the family is putting their feet up anytime soon. Waiting in the wings is the next generation, grand daughter Emma (Gareth and Lesley’s daughter) is ready to help and Ben and Jacob (Sarah and Shaun’s sons) are ready to help, perhaps, carry on the family tradition.
‘Eating out’ is, I am pleased to say, still an ‘event’ and we do it to mark all sorts of important celebrations: a romantic dinner for two, a birthday or anniversary dinner, or even a goodbye and it is so disappointing when it is ruined by poor food or poor service – go to the Brook House and you won’t be disappointed.
Brook House: 019467 23288.

White chocolate, whisky and lemon panacotta with a raspberry coulis

Serves 6
Ingredients
2 leaves of gelatine
400ml (14 fl oz) double cream
40g ( 1 ½ oz) caster sugar
2 tsp Irish whisky
200g (7 oz) white chocolate, broken into small pieces
1 lemon zested finely

Method
1. Soak gelatine in cold water for five minutes until softened.
2. Heat cream, sugar, whisky, lemon zest and chocolate gently until just simmering then take off the heat and stir gently until the chocolate is melted.
3. Take gelatine, squeeze to remove excess water, stir into mixture. Pass through sieve to remove any lumps.
4. Pour into dariole moulds and leave to set for at least 12 hours. Turn out by briefly dipping mould into hot water and turn onto plate. It is a good idea to keep the plates in the freezer then unmould the panacotta to stop it melting before reaching the table.

TO CONTACT GRAINNE JAKOBSON...

New programme
A new programme of home demonstrations for 2010 starts with A Taste of Morocco.
Beat the winter blues and try the delicate tastes and flavours of this exotic cuisine. This easy style of cooking reflects the hot climate and the important traditions of eating together as a family.

Tuesday, February 23: am
Thursday, February 25: am
Friday, February 26: pm
To contact Grainne:
Address: Woodend Cookery, Woodend, Egremont CA22 2TA. Telephone: (01946) 813017. Email: gmjakobson@sky.com. Website: www.woodendcookery.co.uk

First published at 15:42, Wednesday, 27 January 2010
Published by http://www.whitehaven-news.co.uk