Several weeks ago I booked the
only available table at the Ox Barn, the latest restaurant to open at the
privately owned Thyme, Southrop. Ox Barn
was launched about two years ago with Charlie Hibbert as Head Chef. It is very much a family business with his
mother, Caryn, as founder and Creative Director on the entire estate and her
daughter, Millie, who also works for the business co-coordinating various
projects.
Left to Right- Mike Little, Charlie Hibbert & Emma Shwarz |
I visited Thyme for an early
dinner reservation at 6pm on the same night as the re-launch of the hotel since
Covid-19. As you can imagine everyone
was busy, however, on request we were able to have a tour by Steve, their Head
Gardener, who toured us around the estate’s market garden which helps
supplement the ingredients for Ox Barn and the estate’s other venues. The restaurant is, as the name suggests- in a
converted barn. The ceiling reveals the exposed wooden rafters with an opposing modern concrete floor and open- planned
kitchen. The mix between old and new gives
the room a contemporary feel. The restaurant
over-looks pristine gardens with dry chocolate box stone walls, olive trees and
purple lavender- with plenty of outdoor seating. Thyme at Southrop also includes a small hotel,
spa, private bar, village pub (yet to re-open) and a cookery school.
Now to get back to the food- the
entire purpose of my visit. I dined with
a colleague from Slow Food named Emma Schwarz.
Emma is founder of the Rare Brand Market and chair of Slow Food Sussex
based in Chichester. The menu is
intentionally very short with only a choice of four starters, four main courses
and four desserts. I don’t mind this
limit at all- whenever, I see a long menu I think of microwaves defrosting
frozen meals and rows of deep fat fryers!
To begin our meal, we ate two
little snacks- crushed broad beans and peas on toast and a small plate of English
charcucterie with corncichons. Then, as
a starter I chose a beautifully flavoured pork terrine with prunes and toasted
sourdough. Emma ate a salad of peaches
and goats curd. Both dishes were simply
presented and allowed the individual ingredients to sing. Charlie’s style of cooking is simple in both
design and ingredients. It is bold and
there is no-where to hide- no swipes of a puree or perfectly placed
peashoots/leaves. It is honest cooking
and it tastes delicious.
Following our starter Emma ate roast pork and I chose the fish dish- a perfectly cooked piece of Brill, garnished with fresh watercress and served with new potatoes rolled generously in a butter and herb emulsion (similar to making mayonnaise). The pork was thinly sliced and locally sourced, served slightly pink with what Emma called a “thin jus”.
My fish was well executed with a crispy skin. It was probably unnecessary, however, we also ordered two side dishes- a small bowl of triple cooked chips and a plate of french beans tossed in more butter and herbs. The beans were al dente- in fact I insisted to Emma that they may have met the water for a moment and been brought out again. Emma suggested that they didn’t even make the water but were instead tossed in a pan with the butter and served. However they were “cooked” matters not- there was no mistake- as they tasted beautifully fresh.
For dessert we both ordered an
almond tart served with whipped cream and ice-cream. We also tasted blackcurrant sorbet and
gooseberry rippled ice-cream. The sorbet
was smooth and brightly coloured with a slight acidity. The tart was amazing! Charlie visited our table towards the end of
our meal and gave us the recipe which he recited by heart- equal amounts of
butter, sugar and nuts, 8 eggs and cooked in a raw pastry case for 2 hours on a
very low heat. The result is a crisp
pastry (no soggy base) and a nutty, in places chewy filling.
Charlie initially trained as a
chef in New Zealand and Ireland where he attended the Ballymaloe Cookery School
run by the super talented Darina Allen.
Once back in the UK he worked at a popular London restaurant called Quo
Vadis. Now, Charlie seems quite
literally at home at the Ox Barn where his cooking is brave and perfectly
partnered with the ingredients from their garden. We will certainly both be back and perhaps
next time we might even stay overnight in one of their magnificent rooms.
Cost- A la Carte menu. We spent £120 for 3 courses plus coffee and two glasses of wine.
Sounds like a great find! Simple seasonal food expertly cooked - just what Slow Food is all abut! You made me want to eat it myself.
ReplyDeleteDiana Morgan< Slow Food Sussex, founder of EcoStepByStep