The Michelin-starred chef shares his local heroes
Nottingham has a truly amazing food scene. We have fantastic farms, restaurants and produce some of the world’s best cheese. My three favourite dishes on the menu at Restaurant Sat Bains are the ‘Lenton Lane’ (named after the pot-holed road to the restaurant) which is inspired by a classic rocky road and has a hit of tobacco flavour in the chocolate as a nod to the half-demolished John Player factory up the road. ‘From the embers’ is a Restaurant Sat Bains classic – a poached Jersey Royal potato smoked over embers with seaweed butter, kombu, cream cheese and caviar. It’s rustic, nostalgic and completely luxurious, taking the humble spud to a new level. The braised oxtail is another example of championing an underused ingredient. We cook it slowly, roll it and pan-fry it, then serve it on pickled, candied beetroot with truffle gravy and lashings of truffle. The different textures really make it stand out.
My favourite places to eat in and around Nottingham are No.8 Deli (no8deli.co.uk) in West Bridgford – they do the most incredible baked goods and sandwiches; Filmore & Union (filmoreandunion.com) is a good place for a pit-stop while shopping; and
The Martin’s Arms in Colston Bassett (themartinsarms.co.uk) is a beautiful pub in the heart of stilton country serving quality food and real ales.