In the latest episode of On the Pass, The Morning Advertiser (MA) heads to the Mutton at Hazeley Heath in Hampshire to meet chef Rob Boer and find out why the country pub is backing the tasting menu at a time when others are moving away from the format.
Boer has been with the Mutton since it opened four years ago and helped shape its food offer from the beginning, building a menu designed to combine accessible pub classics with more ambitious dishes.
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“We’ve got fish and chips, we’ve got a steak, and then we have dishes that are interesting for people who are a bit more adventurous,” he said.
Boer, who trained at Westminster before working at Michelin-starred the Black Rat, describes his cooking as “a twist on a classic”, combining British and seasonal produce with influences from around the world.
Tasting menu
Around a year ago, the Mutton introduced a surprise tasting menu alongside its main offer.
Advertised as five courses, with additional snacks and petits fours, diners can flag allergies, dislikes or dishes they particularly want to try, but many leave the menu entirely in the kitchen’s hands.
Boer said keeping it as an optional addition rather than imposing the format on every diner has been key to making it work.
“It’s more for those adventurous guests, I just thought it was a nice thing to have for those people who wanted to try something else, a bit of everything.”
The format also has benefits behind the scenes.
“It’s great for margins and waste. If there’s a dish that maybe we’ve prepped too much or it’s not selling as well, then we can obviously use it on the taster menu. We get nibbles and things that we’ve only got a couple of portions of, which is not enough to put on the menu, then we’re able to use it for that.
“Also, if we’re coming up with new dishes, it’s a great way to trial them and get feedback.”
Watch the full episode above, or on YouTube here.
Missed the previous eps?
The next episode of On the Pass will head to the Freemasons at Wiswell in Lancashire, where chef Mike Shaw will discuss his journey from some of the country’s best-known kitchens to running a destination gastropub in the Ribble Valley.
- Want to be featured in a future episode of On the Pass? Contact Phoebe Fraser at phoebe.fraser@wrbm.com.
