On the trail

A trip through Essex’s thriving food scene

1 SQUARE 1

At the helm of this slick yet traditional restaurant in Great Dunmow is Alex Webb: 25 years young and full of culinary spark. The winner of 2020’s MasterChef: The Professionals has devised a tasting menu packing creative punches like turbot with a scallop and mushroom mousse, sea herbs and pickled onions; and poached chicken breast with cauliflower textures and English truffle. square1restaurant.co.uk

Take a road trip through the county’s culinary heartland and discover a thriving food scene Words: Kerry Walker

2 THE FLITCH OF BACON

Just a short drive away, in the village of Little Dunmow, this restaurant with rooms takes its unusual moniker from the medieval Dunmow Flitch Trials. In a stylishly revamped 16thcentury, Grade I-listed pub, the menu includes ‘Flitch of Bacon’ (cauliflower cream, maple-glazed bacon and Granny Smith apple), plus crispy hen’s egg, girolle mushroom, pancetta and truffle cappuccino. flitchofbacon.co.uk

3 MALDON

With its pretty High Street dominated by a hexagonal church spire, the quaint town of Maldon is well worth a pitstop. The town has been prized for the texture and taste of its local sea salt ever since the Saxons harvested the stuff by digging clay pits into the briny depths of the River Blackwater’s salt marshes. It’s now a cupboard staple for chefs and food-lovers the world over. maldonsalt.com

4 NATIVE

Run by self-taught chef and wild food pioneer Ivan TisdallDownes, this restaurant sits right on the coastline of Osea Island, out in the mudflats of east Essex, accessed either by boat or Roman causeway. Season-driven, forage-focused flavours swing from wood pigeon kebab to stone bass with celeriac puree and nasturtium, and Maldon oysters with bog myrtle cream. nativerestaurant.co.uk

5 TIPTREE

The jam that’s a staple of many a hotel breakfast hails from the orchard-rimmed village of the same name, a 30-minute drive north of Osea along quiet country B-roads. Here you’ll find the flagship tearoom, museum and jam shop. Pop in for a cream tea with homemade scones and tangy Little Scarlet strawberry preserve, and stock up on hardto-find jams from mulberry to greengage. tiptree.com

6 MERSEA ISLAND

Head over to Mersea Island for Colchester native oysters — each one a plump, sweet, briny burst of the sea. Go for a seafood platter at the West Mersea Oyster Bar, with a view of the sea and bobbing boats, or the tiny, firstcome-first-served The Company Shed, where island-produced sparkling white wines and oyster-laced stout also feature on the menu. thecompanyshed.co westmerseaoysterbar.co.uk