This was our fifth visit to Core over the past year and have become quite good friends with some of the staff. Also during this time it’s been nice to have had nice conversations with Clare & head chef Jonny. This is why last monday I couldn’t have been any more delighted that the restaurant gained 2 Michelin Stars along with other recent awards of 5 AA Rosettes & Clare becoming Worlds Best Female Chef. All three awards are so well deserved as the food is outstanding and the service from each member of staff under the guidance of restaurant director Rob is first class. Our visit on this occasion was as fabulous as our previous experiences. We received the usual warm and friendly welcome on arrival then as before decided to enjoy one of their amazing cocktails a Classic Negroni & the Gin & Pickle made by head barman Ale who it’s also pleasure to chat to. While enjoying our cocktails it was nice of head chef Jonny to take time out to come and say hello as well as restaurant manager Davide.
NEGRONI
GIN & PICKLE
It was then time to seated but not before having a lovely chat with Clare which was nice as we could personally congratulate her and all the team on the recent awards. Yet straight away you could already see that she was very focused on the plans for the restaurant in the future. We were then seated in one of the two booths which are very comfortable and give a fabulous view of the whole restaurant. While enjoying some amazing snacks that included a Caesar Salad and Cheese & Onion Gougeres . The sommelier Gareth asked us about the wine list it was at that point we realised that we hadn’t seen a menu to which Rob said with a little smile on his face that Clare & Jonny had created for us a Surprise Menu if that was okay and of course we said yes. With that Gareth recommended a fabulous Australian Chenin Blanc from Mac Forbes to match the first three courses.
SNACKS
MAC FORBES – AUSTRALIAN CHENIN BLANC
Now it was on to the first course a stunning Sharpham Park spelt with morels , asparagus & wild garlic. This was followed by the amazing Potato & Roe with a dulce buerre blanc , herring & trout roe a dish that should always be on the menu.
SHARPHAM PARK SPELT
POTATO & ROE
The next two courses were new dishes. We first had a fantastic Sea Bass with Oyster & Caviar simply heaven on a plate. This was followed by an adaptation of the Oxtail Stuffed Roscoff Onion and i have to say it was outstanding.
SEA BASS with OYSTER & CAVIAR
OXTAIL STUFFED ROSCOFF ONION
Now it was time for the main course and once again the dish was amazing. A fabulous Duck & Nectarine with thyme , honey & timut pepper. This was matched perfectly with a glass of Pinot Noir & Chatteauneuf de Pape. Before we had dessert we decided to have a cheese course which now consists of three cheeses the Colton Basset Stilton , Goats Cheese & Lincolnshire Poacher
DUCK & NECTARINE
CHEESE COURSE
So now we move on to dessert and we started with The other Carrot with ginger , walnuts & sweet cicely which has now been made smaller to be served as a pre dessert. This led us to the main dessert which was a take on a malteser called the Coreteaser a pure chocolate delight and matched beautifully with a stunning Sweet Wine a Bodegas Bentomiz Ariyanas 2012 with flavours of Orange Marmalade
THE other CARROT
THE CORETEASER
BODEGAS BENTOMIZ ARIYANAS 2012
So after coffee and some delightful Petit Fours we decided to finish with another fabulous cocktail in the bar and a nice surprise as head chef Jonny came over to ask how everything was today. This brought to an end to another amazing dining experience at Core and one I’ll be looking forward to repeating in the near future.
PETIT FOURS
So Congratulations once again to Clare , Jonny , Rob and all of the team on their recent accolades and wish them all the best for the future. Thank you and see you again soon
#5AARosettes #2MichelinStars
My Hospitality Life 