Regional & Seasonal: The King’s Arms in Rutland

At a rustic pub and smokehouse in Rutland, food is made from scratch and sourced from the community

Between fields sprouting green winter crops or furrowed with turned earth, a small road swings into a Rutland village. Near its centre is a Grade II listed building, the oldest part of which dates to 1694. Chickens scuttle in the yard, and a fig tree creeps up the wall by a door. This is the King’s Arms at Wing, where the menu relies on whatever seasonal food comes through the door that week. The inn sits less than two miles south of manmade reservoir Rutland Water, in the centre of the UK’s smallest county. It is run by husband and wife team, James and Kate Goss, who moved in 15 years ago. Kate takes charge of the day-to-day management and customer care, while head chef James crafts the menu. Trout from Rutland Water is often brought in by fishermen, who sup ale, conversing by the bar. “On day one, a local fisherman turned up and gave me a sack of trout,” recalls James. “We cut it up, filleted it, cured it, smoked it and sold it.” This marked the start of what they refer to as a nose-to-tail, field-to-fork approach. Food is all locally and seasonally sourced, and the menu changes daily. “It’s all homemade,” says James of their dishes. “We cut our own chips, we make our own ketchup and mustards. We make all the jams and marmalades, black pudding; even our baked beans. The eggs come from the chickens outside. When you sit down for a meal, you are served food from here.” On a large board is a sketched map of the county, showing the locations of all the inn’s friends and suppliers. These include farms, game dealers, breweries and fishermen. “The guys bringing in fish would have a couple of pints on us or they’d take home a piece of black pudding or some sausages for their dinner,” explains James. “That is what started building these ties and, slowly but surely, the network built up. The place and community have looked after us, and we’ve tried to give back what we can.” Leather armchairs and sofas are arranged near the fire, which, towards the middle of the room, is open to the front and back. Old beams cross the ceiling, and blackboards hang on the walls, the information they display regularly scrubbed off and updated. “We’ve decorated a bit inside, but we want it to feel like a proper old-style pub, as it always was,” says James. “People sit there in the winter, in front of the fire, and they talk.” Regulars greet the staff with familiarity, mingling with people who have heard of the pub by reputation and stopped by for a hearty meal.

The smokehouse at the back of the property frequently draws in new and hungry customers. Using experience gained in Switzerland and Denmark, James and his team prepare all their meat from scratch. Fish, game, bacon and hams are smoked on-site, with an insistence on high quality produce. “The guys working in the kitchen take ownership of what’s in the fridge and freezer,” says James. “They have to get the piece of bacon, trim it back, salt it, cure it, keep turning it; then they have to dry it, smoke it, age it, and only then do they get to slice and serve it. All of a sudden it isn’t just a piece of bacon any more; it’s something that has a story for them.” Produce from the smokehouse is available to take home too, with another blackboard by the entrance displaying what is on offer at the delicatessen counter. Sometimes a farmer will bring in a muntjac, which will find its way onto the menu, or some locally culled rabbits. “In the autumn, you can come in on Sundays, and the lads all will have been out. I’ve walked in with geese hanging off my hose reel; a bag of rabbits, a tray of wigeon... We walk the dogs and go mushroom hunting; we’re always looking. It’s not an ethos or concept, it’s just what it is. It just makes sense.”