I am off to Goa for a couple of weeks sunshine, back on 21st November all ready for Christmas.
It has been a beautiful autumn. This is a picture of 'Kent's man' Stuart clearing the golden leaves.
All will carry on smoothly here with out me. I get very forgetful these days!

Langar and Sikhism

Today I was honoured to be invited with my daughter Louise to celebrate the birthday of Guru Nanak Sahib at Langar Hall, Church street, Lenton. Guru Nanak Sahib started the practice of Langar that prevails today in the Gurdwaras all over the world.

LANGAR is an institution of fundamental importance in Sikhism. It is sitting together to partake of food from a common kitchen regardless of caste, creed, sex, age or social status.

Eating together must take precedence over meeting together. ( nothing changes)

Langar is a Sanskrit word. In Saxon times Langar was a place of pilgrimage when Langar Hall was situated a mile to the north of the church, by the river Smite, the pilgrims walked up the hill to the 11th century church and then on towards Colston Bassett where the priory of St Ethelburgers was a place of pilgrimage 'to where great multitudes resort'

Draw a line on the map from the Observatory in Edinborough to Grenwich and you will find the line goes straight through reception and out through the study.

There is something very special about Langar.

These gooles welcomed a few guests on arrival on Saturday night and did a little tour of the dining room. We gave them all one cornetto to go away. They left this pumpkin on the desk. It was a good night with three birthday parties in private rooms and a full dining room. Well that's over for another year. I forgot the flash so the pictures came out darker than they should be.

sunday October 25 09

Beetroot soup


Here is Ross. He is very serious about food and cooking. Tonight he has brought me a plate of steamed fillet of lemon sole with lobster sauce and a tiny 'lasagna' of shrimps and crab. No photograph because the camera battery is flat and the charger lost. That is the story of my life. BUT here comes Lila and Pascal to help me through the maze of understanding this 'cool' new apple mac book pro. Impressed?

We have returned to our good value Sunday night menu. Two courses £20 plus any dessert for £5.00. Everyone relaxed and happy, not too busy with around 25 in the restaurant. And you may stay the night in any room at single rate including breakfasts. This is to tempt customers away from Saturday night when we are full to bursting.

I know all the menus on our web are out of date and I will get on and change them. Six months ago I promised a news letter. Its also on the way..in the post? Trouble is that the special events we planned are all b

ooked up, including Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year's Eve. Pascal and I are busy dreaming up some good things for 2010. Here is a picture of the last of the beetroot soup

Now Ross is making pumpkin and lentil soup with creme fraiche and pine nuts. Its a treat!

FENNEL & PARSNIP BREAD

A few temptations! With my lovely new computer I am just wondering how this blog will come out. I spent all Sunday evening doing it only to find that nothing appeared. Now I am filling in the time on reception. Its Monday night, 30 in for dinner, everyone happy, shooting party tucking into Ross's butter poached lobster, the lovers in a corner of the candle lit dining room are sharing the last of the hot damson soufflees. Just looking at the picture of that Stilton cheese and fennel bread makes me hungry.


STILTON CHEESE




News? All those comforting puddings are back on the lunch menu. Sticky toffee, crumbles, bread and butter. Then the steak and ale pie, the dumplings and suet puddings are here to get us through autumn and winter. We have enjoyed some perfect sunny autumn days this October which promises to be a record month for visitors. With thanks to all our customers for keeping wolves from the door.





HAND CUT CHIPS

PETIT FOURS served with coffee

Welcome to October. Sunshine all day. Thank goodness Pascal and head chef Garry are back from their holidays. The last couple of weeks without them caused the first well deserved complaints for 2009 and I am glad to report that they have solved the problems.

Santosh arrived from The Oberoi in Jaipur and Charlton house Somerset (where he played cricket for the county on his days off) He is helping Pascal with the running of the restaurant adding a bit of that Oberoi polish to the service. I get told off if I interfere.

The Times lunch voucher promotion was a great success. I grumbled about it for the first week until got the hang of what was expected. Now I am working on an autumn lunch voucher, friendly menu, for all our guests...that means I will have to remember to change the menus on the web. Check it!

We got a good report in the 2010 Good Food Guide and Good Hotel Guide and Hardens. Those are genuine guides. The customers write the reports and we are not able to buy a place there or say how wonderful we are..

The sheep in the photograph will not appear on the menu. Well perhaps as boiled mutton with caper sauce in a few years time when it is not so sweet. Meanwhile it comes to work every day eating fallen leaves on the lawn.

Grouse and Partridge

Grouse was on the menu at Langar during the last two weeks of August and the first two weeks of September, (sorry you may have missed it.) Those who were persuaded to try it served simply, roast, then the breast taken off the bone, were delighted and will no doubt order it again next year. This reminds me of the first French chef I employed circa 1990 when I brought him the first locally shot partridge he threw it in the bin saying it was 'vermin' ! I battled on and after a few years, customers became familiar with this delicious game bird.
The first shoot this season at Belvoir will bring us partridge on the menu next week, then it is on the menu until after Christmas. We serve it off the bone, not too pink and not too gamey. Can't better plain roast with bread sauce and bacon.
All the 7 chefs in the kitchen are local English boys, all home trained making the youngest and best team Langar has ever had. Customers give them great praise and only occasionally complain about the service. Now the students have gone back to university we are advertising for a 'hands on head waiter-assistant restaurant manager'
We have enjoyed a truely lovely Indian Summer these past two weeks. Don't mention Christmas. Oh dear! I have just remembered I am on the bar tonight. Will choose some photos later. Imogen

Did you recognise Langar in The Sunday Times colour supplement? And again in September Tatler and Vogue ? Pictures taken by Paul Smith when he chose Langar for the winter fashion shoot. Goodness that was fun. Here are our versions taken at the time. Thank you Paul!

Take a look at http://www.paulsmith.com/ and his blog. It's brilliant, up to date and there you will find even better pictures of Langar.

Autumn already! What happened to those summer days? Sorry I skipped the August blog.

Thanks to our lovely customers and our exceptional team of young chefs in the kitchen, we have been so so busy. Students and school children kept the service going in the dining room while staff took holidays. I expect it is against the law to employ 14 year olds but if they enjoy it and do well, I shall carry on encouraging the young. What were you doing when you were 14?

We have been working on our autumn-winter menus and Christmas party menus. Partridge, pheasant, venison, more pigeon of course, goose, turkey, beef and pork. Stocking up on Bordeaux, ordering Christmas crackers and jolly awful Xmas paper napkins.

Christmas time is filling up so get in touch quickly if you would like to come then otherwise we hope you will book in for a winter break, party or any excuse to escape and celebrate.

Pascal is now going to show me how to get to read your comments. Hope there are some!

Langar is in the centre of the Stilton Cheese making area. You can walk through the fields to Colston Basset. Cropwell Bishop & Long Clwson are just a few miles away. All have delightful little shops in their reception area where you can buy small cheeses or whole ones to take home. Then at Welbeck in North Nottinghamshire there is a new dairy who are bravely making the only unpasturised cheese. This has to be called Stichelton to protect the other dairies who are obliged to pasturise their cheeses. Now that was a very sad story, nothing to do with the actural cheese and a long time ago. I'll tell you when you ask.

Langar is busy every lunch time, every dinner time, and the rooms too. I have never known so many genuine compliments about the food and the place especially from those customers who travel and dine all over the world.

I am delighted. I love all the young chefs in the kitchen team who work long hours with enthusiasm and never shout or swear. I have to do all that for them. Then there is Pascal and Mikey who say their job is to look after me when they are not looking after all of you. Next week I shall take a photograph of the team. Of course half of them will be off on holiday!

Oh yes its the Game Fair at Belvoir next week. If you come here by car from the Melton/ Grantham area avoid the country roads.

Ross's new Luscious Lobster dish 'Butter poached lobster, girolles, basil, lobster broth' is absolutely delicious. It is on the menu as a starter. I like it as a main course with a dish of aparagus on the side. On the right is Garry's turbot with tarragon gnocci, braised little gem and mussel sauce. Just thinking about this makes me hungry.
Next week I shall put the puddings on.

Steve Davies, photographer, happened to call in for lunch one day when he was staying with his sister and returned to spend a day photographing in the kitchen and the garden. So now I have some new pictures to put on each week.


These perfect summers days are pure joy. Guests sit in the garden, eat in the shade of the weeping lime tree, children play happily on the trampline while parents and friends down a few of our 'special' Pimms. Everyone is happy.

See you soon. Best wishes Imogen