Slow Grown And Slow Cooked - Sunday Roasts Millbrook Inn Style

Food doesn’t get more local than at the Millbrook Inn in South Pool, South Devon where award winning chef Jean-Philippe Bidart sources most of his meat ingredients from the pub’s own farm. And with the dark days of winter approaching, long late Sunday afternoon roasts are back on the menu when the fires will be roaring and everyone will be piling in to savour exquisite home grown meat.

Its true field to plate eating, from lamb to duck eggs and there isn’t much JP can’t get from the Millbrook Farm. If not, a call to a local farmer will soon result in a brace of pheasant arriving on the doorstep, or half a dozen rabbits.

Any other meat is sourced meticulously, such as Rose Veal coming from the award-winning Pitmans Farm, Cullompton which specializes in rearing rare breeds. And then there’s fish, crab and lobster of course, which is fished off the rugged South Devon coastline.

Every applauded taste and flavour on Jean-Philippe’s renowned menu owes its origin to the local landscape, and with each mouthful, visitors to the Millbrook are supporting a whole community too.

The farm is run by Malcolm Church, chef number two at the Millbrook, and his partner Claire Mundy, who oversees the running in the pub, the meat is butchered by Kristian Press, also a trainee chef, kitchen porter, Nev, is also a dab hand fencing, an essential cog in the running of a farm.

Life for The Millbrook Farm animals - chicken, ducks, geese, turkeys, guinea fowl, pigs and lamb  - is completely stress free. They are fed once a day and the rest of the time forage. This naturally lowers the fat content of the meat explains Jean-Philippe who added: “As a result the meat is more succulent, tender and has a real depth of flavour.”

The Millbrook Inn is a pub with a heart and the Millbrook Farm has become an integral part in ensuring its keeps beating. “There’s such a strong sense of community here and we wanted to take local sourcing as far as we could go, while providing local employment too. Developing the farm so that it becomes more interactive with the community while still being an appreciation of the best quality ingredients available has to be good for everyone,” said Ian Dent who owns the pub with his wife Diana Hunt.

The Millbrook’s winter Sunday’s are a long-standing favourite and this year will prove a show case for slow-growing free-range animals on the farm with an emphasis on dishes to share, which works well with roast and creates leisurely, memorable experiences.

“The menu is small on Sundays and we offer just one choice of meat for the roasts but its from our farm and accompanied with bowls of fresh vegetables, sublime roast potatoes with local ale on tap. It might be roasted chicken with all the trimmings, beef with Yorkshire pudding or slow-roasted saddleback pork with crackling and apple sauce, lamb. Whatever Jean-Philippe decides is on the menu, we’ll be fully booked for long, hearty evenings of indulging in proper food.” said Ian.

www.millbrookinnsouthpool.co.uk