When Tom Kerridge opened The Hand & Flowers with his wife Beth in 2005, he breathed new life into gastro pubs.
By applying the peerless technical skill he acquired from his first job as commis chef at Calcot Manor in Gloucestershire, and working with Gary Rhodes and Phillip Britten, he elevated comfort food to new heights.
Within a year, The Hand & Flowers won a Michelin star, 6/10 in the Good Food Guide and 3 AA rosettes.
The warm personality that made him a hit on the Great British Menu extends to his unstuffy attitude to dining.
Kerridge told the Financial Times, 'If you want to come to the Hand & Flowers and sit out in the garden in flip flops that's fine. But you’re still going to eat Michelin-star food'.
Glazed omelette of smoked haddock and parmesan is Kerridge's take on a classic Omelette Arnold Bennett that improves on the original. Served in a copper pan, it’s both light in texture and hugely rich in flavour.
You'll find something as simple and delicious as moules marinière (mussels) with warm stout and brown bread on Kerridge's menu.
But he's just as likely to push the boat out by poaching duck legs in duck fat with star anise and other spices.
He adds the flaked meat to peas, cooked in chicken stock, and serves them with honey roast duck breast, triple-cooked duck fat chips and a duck gravy flavoured with honey and cloves.
Tom Kerridge appears on Great British Menu 2012 as a judge and mentor to the South West competitors.
Restaurants
The Hand and Flowers
This beautifully refurbished public house in Marlow is one of very few restaurants in the UK – and the first pub – to have been awarded two Michelin stars and has seen its reputation grow meteorically in the few years since it opened in this form.
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