8 The Trouble House
After a turbulent history, the Trouble house has put its past behind it, says David Hancock and become one of Britain's eight pubs with a Michelin star
The Trouble House Tetbury, Gloucestershire. Tel:01666 502206
Michael Bedford left the bright lights and big brigade of City Rhodes, London in 2000 for the bucolic charms of the Cotswalds and has not looked back. He and wife Sarah took over as tenants of this stone built, 17th-century Wadworth's pub, hard beside the main Tetbury to Cirencester road on the edge of Prince Charles's Highgrove Estate, and have since created one of the most popular Cotswolds gastro pubs. So much so, it is best to reserve a table as business is brisk.
Unlike many food pubs across the region, the Trouble House remains unpretentious, a place where locals quaff pints of 6X at the bar while gastronauts - the pub gained a Michelin star in 2004 - fill adjoining dining areas to experience Michael's classy yet rustic, French-inspired cooking.
The setting is homely, with scrubbed oak and pine tables, wooden floors, hop-adorned beams, open log fires and pastel-painted walls adornedwith food themed pictures, and the atmosphere is relaxed and easy going - both perfectly complement his refreshingly simple and direct style of cooking. There's nothing city slick about Michael's food or menus: the latter are short, unfussy, modern, and listed on daily-changing chalkboards.
Good ideas, sound techniques, attention to detail and use of impeccable ingredients results in full-flavoured and robust dishes, as seen in braised pigs trotter stuffed with black pudding and chicken mousse, confit of rabbit leg with Toulouse sausage, home-made pasta and mustard cream, and roast saddle of venison with shallot tarte Tatin.
The wines, like the food, are well balanced and kindly priced, the 60-bin list tours the world and offers 14 by the glass.
All-in-all the Trouble House is a friendly and honest operation, with service overseen by Sarah Bedford, who previously worked front-of-house at Le Manoir aux Quat' Saisons. It is certainly a farcry from the days when the pub earned its unique name after a series of unfortunate events that included agricultural riots, two suicides and a disastrous fire.
Behind the scenes at...The Trouble House
Owners/licensees: Michael & Sarah Bedford (Wadworth lease)
Head chef: Michael Bedford
Turnover: £350,000 to £450,000
Wet:dry split: 30:70
Covers a week: 400
Covers for diners: 52 plus 24 outside
Best-selling dishes: Foie gras terrine, pickled grapes and Monbazillac jelly; pure-bred Short Horn ribeye with French fries
On the menu: Crab risotto; braised shank of lamb, swede mash; orange & rosemary syrup cake
Top tip/why successful: "It was the right time and the right place, just as the gastro pub trend was taking off. Commitment and being handson is an important factor. Also, from the outset, we decided we would only invest in the property, both in terms of refurbishment and employing more staff, as the business developed. We started slowly, preserving some money and energy, and then Matthew Fort's first review changed things..."
Best business ideas/innovation: "Introducing a dessert plate to the menu has encouraged more diners to sample a pudding as few tend to tuck into three courses these days."
New for 2006: To maintain the high standards.
Recipe
Classic cassoulet with duck confit
Ingredients
Breadcrumbs
20 duck legs
500g/1lb 2oz haricot blanc beans
400g/14oz thick-sliced streaky smoked bacon
2 heads of garlic - peeled
8 carrots - peeled and sliced
2 onions - peeled and sliced
3.6l/6pts of white chicken stock
½ bunch thyme
4 bay leaves
400g/14oz salt
30g/1oz black peppercorns
500g/1lb 2oz Toulouse sausage
4.8l/1gallon of duck fat
Duck confit method
Take 2 bay leaves, 2 sprigs of thyme, all of the salt and peppercorns and 1 head of garlic. Mix this all together and crush well in a mortar and pestle. Coat the duck legs in this mixture and leave for 24-48 hours. After this time, wash the duck legs in cold running water for 6 hours. Confit the duck legs in the duck fat at 130ºC/ 250°F/gas mark ½ for 4 to 6 hours until the duck is tender.
Cassoulet method
Fry the carrots and bacon in a heavy-bottomed pot with a little of the duck fat until tender but without colour. Add the onion and continue to cook for a further 10 minutes until the vegetables are soft. At this stage add the Toulouse sausage, beans, herbs, garlic and chicken stock. Bake in the oven for 4 to 5 hours at 140ºC/275°F/gas mark 1 or until the beans are completely soft. Fry one duck leg in a pan, shin side down, until golden. Place a good portion of the beans in an earthenware dish and place the duck leg (golden side up) on top of the beans and sprinkle the breadcrumbs over the top of the leg and bake for 15 minutes or until the breadcrumbs are golden.
