The Peterborough Evening Telegraph
Birthday treat was on the menu for Malcolm
Three course meal was perfect surprise for grandad (84)
A grandad was given a five star treat - and a story to dine out on - for a very special birthday present. Malcolm Sambells, (84) from Dogsthorpe, celebrated his birthday with a slap up meal f rom top city restaurant Clarkes.
But because Mr Sambells is housebound suffering with emphysema, he was unable to visit the St John’s Square eatery himself, so the management of the restaurant sent the three course feast to his home - and refused to accept payment for the delicious meal.
Malcolm said: “It was a wonderful surprise.
“The food was gorgeous and i t was very kind of Clarkes. The whole thing really made my day and eating such a lovely gourmet lunch is definitely not the usual Sunday routine’.”
For his special birthday treat Malcolm was served crispy squid Waldorf to start, a main course of black pudding and sherry cured pork belly and greengage chutney and blackberry Bakewell tart and clotted cream ice cream for dessert.
A three course lunch menu at Clarkes costs £20, while a three course a la carte menu costs £40.
Malcolm’s grandaughter, Louise Sambells ( 31) said: “We never know what to get him because he is housebound with emphysema and never wants anything.
“But recently he has commented that he has heard, and seen in the paper, good things about a posh new restaurant called Clarkes. Clearly, he could never go there, so we called them and asked if they would cook him a gourmet Sunday lunch which they were happy to do.
“We found out what he wanted and was told to collect on the Sunday.
“When we arrived, the chef had plated it all up as if he was serving to a customer in the restaurant. It looked amazing! When we went to pay, they would not take any money and said that it was a birthday present from Clarkes.
“It was such a lovely thing for them to do and as expected, my grandad was totally surprised and loved every bite.
“Clarkes made an 84 year old man really happy and we are all very grateful. Definitely recommend them to anyone.”
Manager Lee Clarke said: “I loved the idea of doing a delivery when I heard Malcolm really wanted to come to the restaurant, but could not make it.
“We wanted to do something special, so we plated the meal up exactly as we would in the restaurant. We gave him all the trimmings so he could experience the dinner properly. When the family came to pick up the food, they had their money out, but I could not accept payment from them. They were so humble about it.
“It is great he really enjoyed his birthday dinner. It is not something we will be doing again, but it was great to get such positive feedback.”
“We wanted to do something special” Lee Clarke