Simon Rogan's L’Enclume continues to evolve, and the brilliance and adventure of the food at this Lake District restaurant is now world-renowned.
Despite openings in London and as far away as Hong Kong, L'Enclume in Cumbria remains Simon Rogan's flagship restaurant. And despite the idyll of the place and the country house feel of the restaurant itself, the cuisine bears the stamp of his inimitable modernism.
Located in one of the most scenic parts of Britain in a secluded stone-walled building which also features a number of rooms for staying guests, L’Enclume blends contemporary methods with timeless elegance. Food arrives in the form of tasting menus of small dishes – which can include the intriguing 'carrot sacks' with brawn, juniper, fried cake and cress, or other carefully thought up ingredients like goat's milk mousse, cockle butter and burnt pear.
Amid the invention, Simon takes care not to lose sight of the familiar. Potted trout is served with radish, dill and rye toast, and while miniature potatoes might come rolled in onion ash, it’s the flavour that we’ll recognise. Meat can take the form of a duck 'sweetbread' or the pairing of hake and chicken skin, while rare foraged herbs and vegetation from Simon's own farm – a huge feat in itself – are used expertly.
There’s a great wine list chosen to help diners on their quest for 'interaction with the food'. Two pricing options are available and vegetarians and vegans are well looked after.
The Good Food Guide continues to award L'Enclume with a perfect 10/10, which along with its five AA rosettes and three Michelin stars (which it finally won in 2022), cements its status as one of – if not the – best eateries in the country.
Cavendish Street, Cartmel Nr Grange over Sands, Cumbria, LA11 6PZ
Simon Rogan’s father worked at a wholesale fruit and vegetable market, coming home every evening with a box of the day’s the best produce. A fussy eater at the time, Simon Rogan was suspicious of the unfamiliar exotics he brought back, such as star and kiwi fruits, but credits this early exposure with sparking his life-long interest in ingredients and seasonal produce.
Already a keen home cook, aged fourteen he took a weekend job in a Greek restaurant in his hometown of Southampton, but at that point the financial freedom it afforded was the motivator. Football was more on his mind, with trials for Chelsea and a training contract with Fulham in the offing; but realising this was a pipe dream, he focused on catering college instead, which he attended on day release while he continued to work. He told GQ of his time there: ‘I was surrounded by aspiring chefs who were far more experienced than me and were working in the great country-house hotels of the New Forest … I couldn’t stand for that! So that fired up my competitive spirit and I vowed to become the best chef I could.’
