Lifestyle

A Lunch Less Ordinary – Wicked Witch

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By the time we settle down in a very expensive-looking vintage leather sofa to be spellbound by Hockridge’s incredible turbo falsetto, we’ve already been treated to a Sunday lunch that could easily hold its own with the world’s best cuisine: butternut squash veloute with smoked duck, red onion marmalade and pine nuts, followed by slow roast sirloin of Lincoln red beef, Yorkshire pudding, thyme and garlic roasted potatoes and red wine gravy.

The menu at the Witch changes every week to incorporate the best seasonal ingredients and offer a variety of tastes and it’s all been put together with a great respect for the traditional British roast dinner by a chef who has worked all overthe world: Dameon Clarke.

I just like to cook what I like to eat on a Sunday A nice roast joint, potatoes cooked in goose fat, and nice roasted vegetables. It’s something that the British people do really well on a Sunday and I think it’s a great tradition. Yorkshire puddings and all the trimmings…I just love a Sunday lunch

While he may be adventurous with other styles of food, Clarke maintains a level of respect bordering on reverence for the great British Sunday lunch.

I think your hands are quite tied with a Sunday roast because it is a tradition so you don’t want to mess around with it too much. The secret is just to do it well. We source all our meat locally and cook it to perfection so the beef is served medium rare and the lamb is pink. We always have roast beef and roast pork on the menu but we change things like the starters, fish courses, and desserts every week just to offer a bit of variety. But there’s always five starters, five mains, and five dessert options available

Clarke has worked alongside celebrity chefs including Michel Roux Jnr and Gary Rhodes, and has cheffed in countries as far afield as Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and Australia. And if he wanted to introduce natives of any of those countries to a dish that best represented all that’s best about British food, it would be something very like what we’ve just been served at the Witch.

If I was choosing a British dish to cook for someone from another country it would probably be a Sunday roast. We actually do have quite a few customers from different countries who love coming in for Sunday lunch

Clarke’s reputation as a chef is such that he attracts loyal bands of customers wherever he works and the Witch is no exception. ‘Yes, I’ve got a real good following locally’ he laughs. ‘I’m lucky to have some very loyal customers. For example, there’s one couple who I’ve cooked for every week for the last six years, so no matter where I’m working they’ll come and have a meal once a week.’

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