Regional & Seasonal: The Bull, Ditchling
In the shadow of the South Downs, spring is slowly beginning to unfurl. The first green shoots are pushing up through the earth in the kitchen garden of The Bull in the East Sussex village of Ditchling. Inside, the pub is a refuge from the still changeable weather. Its dark beams and open fires welcome visitors pink-cheeked after a bracing walk on Ditchling Beacon. At 814ft (248m) high this is the third highest point of the Downs. The Bull is one of the village’s oldest buildings, dating to the early 16th century. The original owners were the Nevill family, the lords of the manor of Ditchling. It is their coat of arms, featuring a bull’s head, which has given the pub its name. Since 2003 it has been owned by Dominic and Vanessa Worrall, and today is run by general manager Molly Raftery. “It’s a beautiful old building,” she says. “The feel of the pub is dark, cosy and romantic. “Looking out from the gardens onto the South Downs, surrounded by growing food destined for your plate, is wonderful. Our gardener sits with our chef at the start of each season to discuss what’s coming into season, what to grow next and when it’s all best to use.” For the past three years, the kitchen garden has supplied herbs, fruit and vegetables for the pub. Menus at The Bull change regularly, with an overall focus on quality, seasonality and local producers. “We’re passionate about food and taste. The only thing we don’t make ourselves is bread and that’s purely because of a lack of space. Everything else comes in fresh as raw ingredients. It’s the only way we’ve ever done it and we can confidently say we know exactly what’s in a dish, because we have put it together,” says Molly. The names of the pub’s suppliers rattle off her tongue. Fish comes from Brighton and Newhaven Fish Sales. “They use short-range boats that come in to shore near Hove Lagoon.” For 13 years Russells of Hassocks, located four miles away, has supplied fruit, while beef is sourced from Trenchmore Farm in Cowfold, 11 miles away. Here there’s a special reciprocal arrangement. “We have our own brewery, Bedlam Brewery, four miles away in Albourne. The spent grain from the beer-making goes to Trenchmore for feeding the cattle,” explains Molly. The relationship between pub and brewery brings a historic tradition at The Bull full circle. Until 1851 the pub had its own brew house attached to the main building. “People can sample the beers here, and we use them in some of our dishes too.” Among The Bull’s sweeter dishes is the traditional steamed
suet dessert of Sussex pond pudding, with a caramelised lemon sitting at its centre. First recorded in the late 1600s, the pudding contains large amounts of butter and sugar. This feature gave rise to its name. When cut into, the caramelised sauce oozes out to form a pond around the pastry case. Over time, fruit was introduced. It is not known exactly when a lemon became preferred, but it is thought to be a 20th century adaptation. “It has a tart flavour and it’s quite heavy, but with cream to cut through it, it’s delicious,” says Molly. “You don’t see old-fashioned puddings like this very much any more and it’s always been popular. People actually call us to see if it’s on when they are coming.” The pudding has been mellowed slightly to suit modern palates. “Instead of using the traditional whole lemon, we take the zest and pith off, and use slices of lemon instead. We have refined it a little, otherwise it can be bitter,” says Dion Scott, The Bull’s head chef. A keen forager and kitchen gardener, he loves planning and overseeing the plots. “Because of the weather in this part of the country being a bit warmer, everything comes in earlier and stays a bit later. I like having things come on the menu before anyone else. It makes spring an exciting time.”
Set in the rolling South Downs, a historic Sussex pub serves its own version of a 350-year-old pudding