HAND AND FLOWERS, MARLOW

When you think of a pub, beer, bar snacks, sticky surfaces, loud punters and large hearty portions like pie, fish and chips, sausage and mash come to mind…

…Not two Michelin Stars. Hand and Flowers owned by Tom Kerridge is regarded as the best pub in Europe. And I probably agree. The service was that great, I still remember it clear as day like I was yesterday. Can you remember what you ate exactly three years? It was my 18th Birthday, so it is a distinctive memory that will never be forgotten. Now I’m trying to remember the day before that and what I ate but my memory has slipped because it was important.

The brain is a magnificent thing.

The waitress bought over a paper cone filled with scrumptious looking fried whitebait with Mary rose sauce and homemade sourdough. My starter was salt cod Scotch egg with red pepper sauce and chorizo.

For the main course I had the tenderloin of Wiltshire Pork with pickled mustard leaf, malt glazed cheek, garlic sausage and potato dauphine. The mustard mayo was spiky but also subtle and light which contrasted with the sweet caramelised shallot, salty garlicky sausage, succulent tenderloin, crunchy potato dauphine and silky smooth jus which just cohered everything together. I savoured every single mouthful because it was delicious.

And then for dessert, I ordered the rosewater and raspberry soufflé with caramelised white chocolate ice cream and basil sauce. This was a perfect soufflé; the soufflé had risen equally and extremely light.