28, High Street, Biddenden, Kent, UK. TN27 8AH Telephone: 01580 291341
Lunch: Tuesday - Friday, 12.00 - 1.45 + Sunday (2.30) Dinner: Tuesday-Saturday,
7.00 - 9.30
Tracey MacLeod THE INDEPENDENT 24 April 2004
Kent may be the Garden of England, but it sure ain't the kitchen. Of the Home Counties,
only Essex is more sparsely represented in the Good Food Guide. So Kentish folk (Kenters?)
must have been tossing their hay-sprigged hats in the air a couple of years ago when
the talented chef Graham Garrett forsook his native London to take over vacant premises
in the village of Biddenden, near Tenterden.
A former rock drummer who taught himself to cook and went on to work with Nico Ladenis,
Garrett's last post was at Richard Corrigan's The House in Chelsea.
Biddenden is tiny; barely more than a church and a street of narrow, white, weather-boarded
houses. "A typical Wealden village," according to my lunch guest, Charlie, who fancies
himself as a bit of a latter-day Pevsner. The West House, a Grade II-listed building,
is built on an equally miniature scale. The heavy front door opens directly into
a wood-beamed dining room - orchids bloom where once there might have been horse
brasses, and a side table sports artisan cheeses and bottles of calvados in place
of scones.
There's nothing fancy about The West House, either in terms of cooking or service.
Front of house consists of Garrett's wife, Jackie, while he's the only cook in the
kitchen. His Michelin star has been achieved purely on the merits of what he sends
out on the plate.
Garrett's style is perfectly balanced between those of his mentors, Nico and Corrigan.
His food is both refined and generous-hearted. Luxe ingredients appear, but for every
foie gras vinaigrette, there's a braised lamb-shank or poached Gloucester Old Spot
pork belly. continued...
Most of the pictures were by photographer, Sebastian Edge WWW.PHOTOEDGE.CO.UK ©
Croque-en-Bouche and The West House Restaurant, Biddenden, Kent, UK.
My starter of white bean velouté was discreetly dressed with truffle oil, allowing
its silky flavour to emerge. Bourride, traditionally a fish soup finished with aioli,
substituted mussels for white fish, though it was crowned by two delectably fresh
pan-fried dabs.
Garrett has reportedly been surprised by the adventurousness of local taste; potted
rabbit and lambs' kidneys have both been popular choices on his daily-changing menu
of five starters and five main courses. His Sunday-lunch selection majored on tried
and tested ingredients; local rib of beef, rump of Romney lamb, and brill and cod
from the South Coast.
Northern French locals would be reassured by The West House's duck confit, its skin
as crisp as Peking duck, its flesh soft as butter. Accompanying cabbage was spiked
with sweet Agen prunes, while crisply roasted pink fir apple potatoes were dressed
with beetroot and onion marmalade, lending a Mittel-European sweet-savoury feel to
the dish. Slices of tender roast lamb rested on creamed onion …. a "perfect partnership".
Puddings were sophisticated, given the one-man-band in the kitchen. Warm chocolate
soufflé tart bled deliquescent sweetness, cut by slivers of caramelised blood orange
and Earl Grey ice cream. My choice was like a trifle for grown-ups: layered in a
Martini glass, first chilled rhubarb, then lemon-flavoured yoghurt and, on top, a
pistachio-nutty sprinkling of crumble.
Wine and coffee served with warm cinnamon madeleines, brought our bill to around
£40 a head. Remarkably good value for remarkably good food, served in a pleasant,
unpretentious atmosphere.
