Kitchen
Three new dishes from Lucy's kitchen
Three dishes joined the short menu this month, and none of them took long to become regulars' favourites. Lucy Barrett explains where each one came from.
From the kitchen
Why the menu stays short
A short menu is a decision, not an accident. Lucy has always preferred to cook twenty dishes she can stand behind rather than forty she can only supervise. When a new dish arrives, an old one has to leave or earn its place, and the staff argue about which at the Wednesday meeting.
This round nobody had to leave. The three newcomers fill gaps that the regulars had been politely pointing at for months: something light and green, something vegetarian that isn't an afterthought, and something small to eat with the fingers.
Each dish is tested for a fortnight before it joins the card. The staff eat it at the Wednesday meeting, a few regulars get a small portion on the house, and Lucy keeps a notebook of the comments. A dish that nobody mentions isn't ready, and a dish that people argue about usually is.
The three newcomers
Barramundi on creamed corn
A fillet seared until the skin crackles, on a bed of sweet corn cooked slowly in butter, with steamed greens and a squeeze of lime. Lucy wanted a fish dish that tasted of the coast without any fuss, and this one arrived on the third try.
The vegetable pie
Pumpkin, spinach and ricotta under flaky pastry, served with a crisp green salad. It started as the staff lunch and was so popular that guests began asking for it. Vegetarians now order it as a first choice, which is exactly what Lucy hoped.
School prawns
Boiled in the shell, with a wedge of lemon and buttered bread. There's nothing clever about the dish and that is the point. You peel them at the table, talk with your hands full, and the napkin does its job.
Where to find them
All three are on the short menu now, served from half past five until the kitchen stops taking orders at nine. Ask Rachel about the vegetable pie if you're booking for a mixed table, because it's the dish that most often settles the question between a vegetarian and a hungry meat-eater.
“I came for the pie and I am still thinking about the prawns. Please tell Lucy that her short menu is the best argument for a short menu.”