The Olive Branch and red liOn inn

The Olive Branch, Clipsham – 01780 410 355 www.theolivebranchpub.com

The Red Lion Inn, Stathern – 01949 860 868 www.theredlioninn.co.uk

Happy New Year! Having entertained all of you in December, we held our Christmas party in early January – it

was a great night of real ales (the Castle Rock Harvest Pale went down very well), pizzas and games (Twister proved popular!) at the Lord Nelson pub in Oakham. Six of us then took a train to London and visited ‘10 Greek Street’, a new Soho restaurant specialising in great British bistro food. It’s a no-reservation sort of place so we had to wait for a table, and while doing so enjoyed cocktails at Quo Vadis. This restaurant is owned by the Hart brothers, sons of Tim Hart, to whom Sean and I are indebted because of the huge amount we learned during our time working at his hotel, Hambleton Hall, and his Nottingham restaurant, Hart’s. All that knowledge has helped us to mould our pubs, and our trip

TO YOuR fIRST NewSLeTTeR Of 2013welcome...

until March 1, 2013 we’re giving away a meal for two to one person drawn at random from our email database every month. To enter the competition, visit our website – www.theolivebranchpub.com – and look for the link saying ‘win a Meal’. we will never share your details with anyone else. GOOd luck!

win A MeAL eVeRY MONTH!

made us reflect on the great British food, drink and hospitality revolution we have been part of during the last 20 years. It also re-invigorated our passion for our industry, inspiring new ideas and helping us dream up events for 2013, the first of which are outlined in this newsletter...

Cookery demonstrationsThis spring and summer, head chef Sean hope will again be performing cookery demonstrations at both The Olive Branch and red lion inn. The day begins at 10am with coffee before sitting down to watch as Sean creates starter, main course and pudding, while offering practical tips and taking questions. You then get to eat what you’ve seen cooked and enjoy a complimentary glass of wine. recipes for each dish are given to all attendees and prices are £40 or £45 per head, depending on the venue.

Demo datesThe Olive Branch – Tuesday, March 12 red lion inn – Tuesday, March 19The Olive Branch – Tuesday, June 11 red lion inn – Tuesday, June 18 To book, call The Olive Branch on 01780 410355 or red lion inn on 01949 860868.

Sean demonstrating at the red lion inn

The demos are informal, and you get to eat what you see cooked

Two recipes from head chef Sean Hope…

SlOw-rOaST chicken wiTh JerSeY rOYalS and Olive & leMOn capOnaTa For the caponata...1 tbsp clear honey 1 tbsp smooth dijon mustard 2 tbsp rapeseed oil 2 tbsp chopped parsley2 tbsp green pitted olives 1 shallot, finely chopped 1 tbsp miniature capers 1 tbsp chopped gherkins 1 preserved lemon – flesh removed, zest finely chopped

Serves 4-6whole free-range chicken (around 2.2kg) 2 sprigs rosemary & 1 sprig thymelarge knob of soft butter 1/2 lemon 9 cloves garlic, crushed 10 crushed pink peppercorns 2 tbsp worcester sauce 1kg Jersey royal potatoes, halved

1 Pre-heat oven to Gas 6 (200C). Place chicken in a roasting tin and smear breasts and thighs with soft butter.2 Put lemon, a sprig of rosemary, four garlic cloves and thyme in

cavity and season with sea salt and fresh milled black pepper.3 Meanwhile, place Jersey Royals into a roasting tin, cover with remaining rosemary and garlic cloves, plus sea salt and crushed peppercorns. Add worcester sauce and drizzle with a good quality rapeseed oil.4 Roast both chicken and potatoes for 20 minutes. Remove, cover both roasting tins with foil and reduce temperature to Gas 1 (100C). Slow roast chicken and potatoes for two hours. Allow chicken to rest for 10 minutes before serving.

1 Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl. 2 Store in a sealed Kilner jar in the fridge. However, it is best served at room temperature.

Sean says: “for me, a slow-cooked free-range chicken served with tangy caponata and roast new potatoes makes the perfect Sunday lunch. from around mid-March, Jersey Royals come into season, so this is a good way of celebrating their arrival. As a side dish, I recommend serving a large bowl of fresh rocket and watercress, drizzled with good quality balsamic vinegar.”

pOTTed crOMer craB “Cromer crab is a great culinary tradition and is relatively local, coming from one of our nearest stretches of coastline – north Norfolk,” says Sean. “Historically, Cromer crabs were only caught in summer, but they tend to be available throughout the year now. The Cromer Crab in particular is known for its tender flesh, and high proportion of white meat.”

Serves 6300g fresh cromer crab meat 4 tbsp creme fraiche 2 tsp hot creamed horseradish 2 spring onions, finely chopped 1/2 tsp ground cayenne pepper50g melted butter 100g cooked sweetcorn pink peppercorns

1 Mix all the ingredients together with half the butter. 2 Place mix into ramekins.3 Pour over the remaining butter to seal, adding pink peppercorns on top. 4 Chill for 24 hours before serving.5 Serve with lemon wedges and sourdough toast.

where TO BuY? we source our chickens from family-run Fosse

Meadows Farm of Frolesworth near

lutterworth, leicestershire. You can

find out more at www.fossemeadows.com

we’ll be serving a six-course tasting menu with wines to match at our french wine Dinners on february 28 and March 5 at The Olive Branch. The evenings will be hosted by Christian Honorez, from the Rhône Valley. Christian used to be a chef in france before moving to the uK in 1985 to work in the wine

trade. Today he has more than 25 years’ experience of selecting top quality wines for great restaurants and has sat on the Decanter Awards judging panel since 2005.

enjoy lunch, drinks and dinner for even lesswHEn? LuncH Mon-Sat & tuE-tHur EvEningS at tHE rED Lion inn, jan 14-Mar 30

The Six Nations is a great sporting event and also a good excuse to enjoy a beer or two (so we’re told). we’re showing all the england fixtures and most of the other games in the bar at the Red Lion Inn, Stathern. The england games are as follows…

SaT, FeB 2: england v Scotland, 4pm

Sun, FeB 10: Ireland v england, 3pm

SaT, FeB 23: england v france, 5pm

Sun, Mar 10: england v Italy, 3pm

SaT, Mar 16: wales v england, 5pm

SIx NATIONS RuGBYwHEn? rED Lion inn, Sat FEB 2-Sat Mar 16

French wine dinner wiTh chriSTian hOnOrezwHEn? FEB 28 anD Mar 5

christian honorez

until the end of March, the Red Lion Inn and The Olive Branch are running their legendary ‘Lunch for even Less’ offers, meaning you can enjoy three delicious courses for as little as £15.

This year we have also decided to extend the offer to most evenings at the Red Lion Inn, and we’ve created an accompanying ‘Drinks for even

Less’ Menu, too. ‘Lunch for even

Less’ allows you to have three courses at The Olive Branch for £19.50, or three courses at the Red

Lion Inn for £15. It runs every lunchtime, Monday to Saturday, from January 14 to March 30 (although please remember that the Red Lion Inn is closed on Mondays, except Bank Holidays).

Between those dates you can enjoy ‘Dinner for even Less’ in the evenings at the Red Lion Inn from Tuesday to Thursday.

ReD LION INNCurried parsnip soup

Cod croquettes, pepperadeConfit duck rillette, sourdough toast

****Pan-fried salmon, gnocchi, peas, mint

Campanelle pasta, gorgonzola, spinach, walnutsShort rib of beef, horseradish mash, kale

****Panfruttone & butter pudding, custard

Cappuccino mousse, chocolate ice cream Stilton rarebit, pub chutney

TwO COuRSeS fOR £13.50 (THIRD fOR £1.50)

THe OLIVe BRANCHSmoked salmon brandade, toasted sourdough

Pub-cured bresaola, celeriac remoulade, rocket, parmesan****

Pan-fried fillet of salmon, beetroot rosti, horseradish cream

Beef bourguignon, roast potatoes, mashed carrot****

Spiced fruit parfait, chocolate mousseTreacle tart, clotted cream ice cream

TwO COuRSeS £15.50 (THIRD fOR £4)

BOOK NOwPRICe: fROM £13.50/

TwO COuRSeSCALL: 01949 860 868 (RL)

01780 410 355 (OB)

Morteaux sausage roll, onion marmalade – Champagne extra Brut

Les Genevraux 2004, Jérôme Dehours

****french onion soup, frogs’ leg fritter –

Pinot Auxerrois 2011, Albert Mann, Alsace

****Olive Branch Bouillabaisse (gurnard,

monkfish, scallops, bream), Mediterranean vegetables – Corail Rosé 2011, Chateau de Roquefort,

Provence

****Roast breast of Gressingham duck, duck leg boulangére, beetroot and orange – Chassagne Montrachet

2009, Bruno Colin, Burgundy

****Twice-baked cheese soufflé, poached

pear – Chardonnay Griffez 2008, Aigle a deux tetes, Jura

****Lemon tart – Monbazillac Clos des

Verdots 2007, Sud Ouest

BOOK NOwPRICe: £80/PeRSON

CALL: 01780 410 355 (OB)

eaSTer aT The red liOnPlease note that the Red Lion Inn is open for both lunch and dinner bookings on Sunday, March 31, and for lunch bookings on Monday, April 1 (12-3pm).

NewS, eVeNTS & OffeRS

BOOK NOwPRICe: £18.50/PeRSON

CALL: 01780 410 355

This Valentine’s Day we’re offering a delicious five-course meal plus coffee at The Olive Branch for £70, or four courses plus coffee at the Red Lion Inn for £40. If you’re feeling particularly romantic you can take a room in award-winning Beech House (our luxury accommodation opposite The Olive Branch) after your meal for an all-in price of just £300 (that covers

dinner for two, your room and breakfast in the morning). Just imagine how popular you’ll be.

HeAD TO THe BeeCH THIS VALeNTINe’S DAYwHEn? tHur, FEB 14

SprinG iS in The air: leT’S Turn On The TapaS

By George, this is delicious!

Imagine sitting in the warm sun on The Olive Branch’s garden terrace under the vine-covered pergola, enjoying tapas with a glass of Spanish white wine. It may seem like a distant dream, but spring is just around the corner and 2013 must surely (please?) bring fairer weather than 2012. from April 1, for £18.50 per person, you can enjoy The Olive Branch’s Pub Tapas Board, plus a selection of mini puddings and a glass of Spanish wine or estrella lager. The tapas consists of wonderful small dishes such as tiger prawns, whitebait, ham hock terrine and vegetable tartlet (see right). This offer is available every lunchtime, Monday to Thursday. Please mention the tapas deal when booking.

Tuesday April 23 is St George’s Day, and to celebrate our dragon-slaying patron saint in style we’re holding special dinners at both The Olive Branch and Red Lion Inn. The menus are beefy and satisfyingly english.

enjoy great steak this St George’s day

BOOK NOwPRICe: ReD LION £40 OLIVe BRANCH £70

CALL: 01949 860 868 (RL) 01780 410 355 (OB)

Chilled gazpacho****

Chorizo braised in cider****

Cheese and ham croquettes****

Crevettes, garlic aioli****

Mediterranean vegetable tart****

Deep-fried padron peppers****

Crispy vegetables****

Devilled whitebait****

Brawn terrine, piccalilli****

Pickles and olives

ReMeMBeR MOTHeRING SuNDAYwHEn? Sun, MarcH 10we’re looking forward to making lots of deserving mums happy by serving them three courses plus coffee on March 10. In Clipsham the price is £39.50 (£24.50 for children), while in Stathern it’s £32.50 (£16.50 for children). There will be a choice of five dishes for each course.

BOOK NOwPRICe: fROM £32.50/PeRSON

CALL: 01949 860 868 (RL)01780 410 355 (OB)

BOOK NOwPRICe: fROM £70/PeRSON CALL: 01949 860 868 (RL)

01780 410 355 (OB)

Beef consomme, oxtail tortellini – Lustua fino sherry

****Morecambe Bay potted shrimps,

Hambleton Bakery sourdough toast, pickled shallot salad – Muscadet sur

Lie, Loire, france

****Rolled sirlion of Richard Taylor’s selected 28-day aged beef – Red

Lion-selected Claret

****Raspberry victoria sponge – eglantine

North Star

pencilS aT The readYwHEn? SEconD SunDay oF EvEry MontHThe Red Lion Inn’s monthly pub quiz (set by the Vale of Belvoir’s premier quiz master!) starts at 7.30pm on february 10, March 17 and April 14. March 17 is St Patrick’s Day, so Irish stew will be served instead of the usual pizzas.

enJOY a GOurMeT GOlF Mini-BreakBeech House and The Olive Branch are perfectly located for golfers. with the beautiful and highly respected course at Luffenham Heath just a short drive away, three 18-holers within striking distance at Greetham Valley and Rutland County, a nine-holer

at Rutland water Golf Course offering

stunning views across the reservoir, plus

Burghley Park Club near Stamford, there’s plenty of choice. And at the end of a day of sand traps and rough,

you can enjoy a smooth meal at The Olive Branch before

rejuvenating yourself in luxury at Beech House.

we can offer one night in a superior

room – dinner, bed and breakfast – plus a round of golf for two at Luffenham Heath for £275. Rounds at other courses can be booked upon request but may be subject to a price difference.

NewS, eVeNTS & OffeRScraft beer tasting at the red lion innwHEn? tHur, FEB 28If you love beer then this event should be in your diary. Join us at the Red Lion Inn and help us choose the beers that will feature as food-matching suggestions on our menus in 2013. Guild of British Beer writers’ Brewer of the Year Sara Barton, founder of Grantham’s Brewster’s Brewing Company (see back page), will be on hand for this tasting and we will take in about 15 beers from the uK, europe and the world. The craft brewing movement continues to grow apace both in the uK and uS,

with exciting brewers like Sara injecting new ideas and pushing the boundaries of the traditional real ale scene.

So if you want to understand what ‘craft keg’ is all about, find out how an American pale ale is brewed, or simply fancy trying some excellent beers, come along to this tasting. After the sampling session,

you can buy (or order) any of the ales you’ve tried at a special take-out price, or even

stay for some Red Lion Inn fish and chips to soak it all up for an extra £6.50.

BOOK NOwPRICe: fROM £275

CALL: 01780 410 355

BOOK NOwPRICe: £18.50/PeRSONCALL: 01949 860 868

Chicken liver parfait

****Stilton choux bun

****Cod croquette

****Bresaola crouton

****Chocolate truffle

until March 31, two people can stay in a Superior Room in award-winning Beech House for two nights – and enjoy breakfast – for the special price of just £195. This deal excludes friday february 8 until Saturday february 16, and also excludes all other Saturdays. Book on 01780 410 355.

SpEciaL £195 BeeCH HOuSe wINTeR DeAL

BOOK NOwPRICe: fROM £195

CALL: 01780 410 355

Shake YOur ruMp aT The red liOn On Sunday May 5 we’d love you to join us to kick back with a beer and burger at our live band night at the Red Lion Inn. for £12.50 you’ll get a Red Lion rump steak burger and a pint (we recommend a Helles Belles from Brewster’s – see back page), plus get to listen to some top quality live music.

The small but perfectly formed kitchen at The Olive Branch in clipsham is a hive of

constant high-fahrenheit activity. during the team’s daily quest for culinary perfection, it

has seen plenty of burnt hands over the years, plus the occasional smashed plate

and more than a few “for chefs’ ears only” expletives. like a camera placed beneath the

waters of a calm ocean, these pictures provide an insight into what goes on behind the – hopefully – perfectly relaxed surface of The Olive Branch. as the saying goes, if you

can’t stand the heat...

IT’S HOT IN THe OLIVe BRANCH

KITCHeN

culinary artwork mid-production

The finishing touch

it’s a bit tight for room at times

restaurant manager pedro Torres keeps tidy

in go the lobsters!

Sean hope grapples with some special cheeses

constructing the starters requires concentration

BeeRS fROM uK BReweR Of THe YeAR ON DRAuGHT IN OuR PuBS

Stathern’s ale queen

fOLLOw uS ON TwITTeR AND fACeBOOK@TheOliveBranch

Olive Branch clipsham

@redlionStathern

red lion inn Stathern

It all started in 1998 in a barn a few yards from the Red Lion Inn. There, Sara Barton mashed her ‘Maiden Brew’ – the very first

beer created by Brewster’s Brewing Company – before unleashing it on our pleasantly surprised Stathern regulars.

fast forward 15 years and Sara, now brewing in Grantham, having outgrown her Stathern barn, holds the title of Guild of British Beer writers’ Brewer of the Year 2012. In addition, one of her beers – Brewster’s Pale Ale – was recently chosen by Jamie Oliver to represent Britain in his food fight TV show.

The Red Lion Inn has close links with Brewster’s founder Sara, who has become a leading light among a growing band of British female brewers (or ‘brewsters’ to give them their Old english name). After Sara first started making beer in her parents’ barn in Stathern, we are proud to say that the Red Lion Inn was one of the very first pubs to sell her ale.

Today, Sara’s beers make a welcome return to our pubs, available as regular draught ales. Brewster’s Pale Ale, a crisp 5% blonde beer, is soon to be on tap at The Olive Branch. This brew was one of just four uK ales selected by Jamie Oliver to go head to head with the beers of Belgium in his recent TV show. Meanwhile, at the Red Lion Inn you can enjoy Brewster’s Helles Belles, a gold-medal-winning German-style craft lager.

Since starting Brewster’s Brewing Co in 1998, Sara has worked her socks off and has taken her business

One final thing…Your feedback is important to us.

please get in touch by calling 01780 410 355 (The Olive

Branch) or 01949 860 868 (red lion inn) or emailing

info@theolivebranchpub.com or info@theredlioninn.co.uk

Our websites: www.theolivebranchpub.com,

wwww.theredlioninn.co.uk

This newsletter is by Rocco Media. Photos: Clive Doyle, Matt wright

and Graham flemington.

from strength to strength, eventually outgrowing her Stathern brewery and moving to larger premises in Grantham in 2006. However, in the history of Brewster’s, 2012 must surely be the stand-out year so far. Just a few months ago, 15 years since Sara’s Stathern-produced ‘Maiden Brew’ first went on sale in the

Red Lion, Sara was named Brewer of the Year by the Guild of British Beer

writers. A couple of weeks later, she got the call from Jamie Oliver’s production company.

Despite all the awards and new-found TV fame, Sara’s beers remain beautifully simple, delicious and local. Next time you order a Pale Ale or Helles Belles in The Olive Branch or Red Lion Inn, it’s worth remembering that all that goes into them are local water, Brewster’s own yeast, barley grown in Lincolnshire and malted in Grantham, and hops from around the world.

Brewster’s pale ale – a Jamie Oliver

favourite and coming soon in

The Olive Branch

Sara Barton in her Grantham brewery