DINING OUT Looking forward to 2023 with Clipsham’s Olive Branch.

from Rutland Pride December 2022

WEDDINGS A Christmas wedding for local couple Britt and Matt.

A New Kitchen and a New Chapter for THE OLIVE BRANCH

After The Olive Branch’s annus horribilis, the team has not only survived but emerged stronger and better than ever... and with a brand new kitchen to work in. Luke Holland shows us around!

BACK IN NOVEMBER 1992, Her Majesty The Queen dubbed the year her annus horribilis, following a year of royal scandal, turmoil and of course the fire at Windsor Castle. 2022 was to prove similarly challenging for Clipsham’s Olive Branch. On 15th December 2021 – having shaken off Covid, and after being named Pub of the Year in The Good Pub Guide, UK Pub of the Year, and GQ Food & Drink winner 2021, and as the team were gearing up for a busy festive season – a faulty tumble drier overheated and decimated the pub’s kitchen. A year on from the fire, Executive Head Chef Luke Holland is showing me around his well-appointed and brand spanking new kitchen. It’s a belter: one of the best-looking and the best-equipped kitchen I’ve ever seen... domestic or commercial!

“We’re more than a restaurant,” says Luke. “It’s a complete cliché but we’re a family here, and on that night we were all in tears, just sobbing on each other’s shoulders. The kitchen was reduced to nothing. Not a single thing could be salvaged.” “Because we’re a family we hurt together, but we pull together too. The fire took place on the Friday. We called a company which provides temporary commercial kitchens and by Monday they had delivered a Portacabin building, albeit a fraction of the size of our usual kitchen and scarcely as well-equipped.” “We redesigned the menu to fit the circumstances and actually what we found was that we were working in a much sharper, much more focused way, whilst still retaining the quality and presentation of our dishes. That’s testimony to the team’s technical ability but also a determination to give our diners the very best experience possible, even in challenging circumstances.” “Over the past year, our customers have loved our dishes, and only after they’ve enjoyed their meals have we thanked them for the compliment but explained the circumstances in which the team is working, and that’s commanded even more respect from diners and usual.”

In addition to maintaining the pub’s high standards and creativity, Luke has also been working with owner Ben Jones to design their new, state-of-the-art kitchen in place of the old one... and it’s a beauty! The kitchen is due to be commissioned as I write this. The team will move in and begin working there on 3rd November... so what’s the first dish that Luke will cook in his new, £500k kitchen? One of the new dishes we’ve photographed here, from The Olive Branch’s winter menu? Nope. >>

Words & Images: Rob Davis.

Slow cooked Beef Rib.

MEET THE CHEF

LUKE HOLLAND

Festive Food Heaven: I’ll be cooking at home for family this year, so an amazing rib of beef is on the menu. I love mince pies, too, with lovely buttery shortcrust pastry and lots of filling! Food Hell: Sprouts! At The Olive Branch we microplane them, add bicarbonate of soda, butter and salt then quenelle them. Only then are they edible... otherwise, I can’t stand them! n

on the MENU

Evening Dining: £39.50/two courses. £9.50/third course. Starters Carrot dumplings, braised ox tail and tongue, onion broth £9.50 (lunch menu). Venison tartare, artichoke, lovage and crispy quail egg (evening menu). Main Courses Roast Cod Cheeks, cauliflower, smoked butter, fermented honey, pickled mussels £22.50 (lunch menu). Slow cooked Beef Rib, smoked mustard, sour cream, fermented cabbage, Lincolnshire Poacher, pub chips £35.50 (lunch menu). Burghley Park Lamb Rump, curried aubergine, grilled onion, aged yoghurt (evening menu). Goosnargh Guinea Hen (Leg & Breast), charred sweetcorn, peanut butter, nasturtium, girolles (evening menu). Desserts: Beetroot cream, hedgerow bramble, frozen horseradish £9.25 (lunch menu). Baked apple terrine, honey beer, apple marigold (evening menu). Selection of three English cheese Ragstone, Vintage Red Leicester, Lincolnshire Poacher, Cropwell Bishop, Baron Bigod, Barkham Blue, Shropshire Blue, Black Bomber.

NB: This is a sample menu, and featured dishes are subject to availability and change.

Venison tartare. Braised ox tail & tongue.

Beetroot cream, hedgerow bramble, frozen horseradish. Roast Cod Cheeks.

“The Olive Branch remains completely unique. It’s a fantastic place to work, a fantastic place to create first class food. 2022 has been challenging, but we’re all ready to make 2023 our best year ever!”

>> “Bacon butties,” says Luke. “One each for the whole team, with really thick smoked local bacon, and handmade brown sauce. The team have worked so hard, they all deserve it. Then we’ll get to work!” The kitchen has been designed and made to Luke’s exacting specification – bespoke to the millimetre with Athanor equipment – it’s all electric, with air conditioning, stainless steel hotplates and granite work surfaces. The metro tiles are Olive Branch green with black highlights to match the chefs’ uniforms and equally well-equipped is the pass, the pastry sections and the butchery out the back. Next to it is the restaurant’s hen house. There’s also a paddock – across the road from the pub, adjacent to its letting rooms, Beech House – from which Luke sources or grows as many ingredients as possible. What Luke can’t grow, he buys locally, and on the back of the menu is a map naming all of suppliers and showing where they’re based.

In-house the team produce desserts, petit fours, and the marmalades, jams and muffins served to guests at Beech House at breakfast. Even head barman Aaron produces his own coffee liqueur, limoncello and rhubarb or marigold gins, with produce grown in the paddock. A local microbrewery is even commissioned to create craft ales to complement dishes on The Olive Branch’s tasting menu. On both the lunchtime and evening menus, there’s a choice of six starters, seven main courses and five desserts, plus a well-curated selection of cheese, and a wine list that extends to 25 pages with even the really desirable options still priced under £40.

The pub shop is still doing a roaring trade as well. It offers wine, beer, cheese and The Olive Branch’s homemade pickles, preserves, jams and marmalades and so on. Wine dinners are a regular treat – co-hosted with Charles Hawkins of Awin Barratt Siegel – as are cooking demonstrations and butchery classes hosted by Luke and the team, which will return in earnest in 2023. Unusually for such a popular restaurant, The Olive Branch will close on Christmas Day. Luke’s son is four years old and whilst others in the hospitality industry are missing out on a family Christmas, he and Ben both think it’s important for their team to be with their family. For the same reason, the team only works a four-day week to prevent the kind of exhaustion which is so common in the industry. “Ben really is a great boss and he goes above and beyond for the team,” says Luke. “And this in turn means the team isn’t burnt out and tired, they can still feel creative and in return we retain staff well, which is why we can give the customers the best experience. Alongside great ingredients, a lovely dining room and now a brand new kitchen, a happy healthy team with lots of experience and enthusiasm are all reasons for why we enjoy such a great reputation but also such good support from our customers, something that we’re really grateful for and that we never take for granted.” “The Olive Branch remains completely unique. It’s a fantastic place to work, and a fantastic place to create first class food. After a year with ups and downs, we’re all ready to make 2023 our best year ever!” n