A Lunch Less Ordinary – Wicked Witch

General manager of The Wicked Witch, Domenico D’Angelo, confirms the pulling power of his head chef. ‘Dameon started with us in June and he’s got a massive following in the area’ he says. ‘He was at the Collyweston Slater for a while and then he opened Assiette in Stamford which was awarded three rosettes within a year of opening, so he built up a real following. We get so many people ringing up to book tables saying “Wow, we didn’t realise Dameon Clarke was with you – we’ve been trying to find him for the last year!”’

Despite the harshness of the economic environment over the last year since the Witch opened, D’Angelo is extremely pleased with how the business has been going. ‘It’s been really, really good’ he says.

We’ve just going from strength to strength. And I think we’ve even exceeded where we wanted to be on the quality of food we’re offering. It’s like we’ve gone from being a pub with a good restaurant to being a great restaurant that just happens to have a bar. So it’s more about the food now. I’d like to think we’re at a two-rosette standard so I’d love to get Michelin out here to see if they agree! That’s definitely something that Dameon and I would like to pursue, although I don’t know if the owners feel the same way and, ultimately, it’s up to them

Those owners include Peterborough United manager Darren Ferguson and his wife Nicola (and, yes, Sir Alex has eaten at his son’s establishment!) who took over the former Millstone pub premises in late 2011 and re-opened as the Wicked Witch in February 2012. Together with their business partners, Mark and Sarah Bunce, the Fergusons spent a lot of time first imagining, and then actually creating, the kind of environment that would encourage people to relax, take their time, and enjoy the experience of eating out at the Witch, and their lengthy Sunday lunch concept is central to that philosophy as D’Angelo explains.

Sunday is a bit different to the rest of the week. I think you can go anywhere and have a carvery or roast dinner and be in and out within an hour. But the owners of The Wicked Witch wanted to create a special dining experience on a Sunday so you can really take the time to chill out and enjoy it. So you might want to have a glass of champagne or a cocktail on one of the sofas in the bar, then go through to your table and have lunch and then relax in the lounge area listening to some mellow music with a coffee or a glass of wine

‘Murray Hockridge provides the focal point for that experience. If we didn’t have him, I don’t think people would stay for so long. We try to offer that sort of relaxed experience throughout the week so, for example, we don’t try to turn tables over quickly. If you book a table for 6pm on a Saturday night, I can almost guarantee it’ll be yours for the night. We will not rush you in order to take another booking.
But there’s no denying that Sunday is so much more relaxed than any other day. And even if you have got work the next day, if you come in for lunch at around 1pm, you’re not going to be in a hurry – you’ve still got a good six hours or so to chill out and enjoy the weekend before thinking about getting ready for Monday morning.’