THE log fire is crackling in the Hinchliffe Arms, nestled in the wooded glen called Cragg Vale. There’s always a hearty Pennine welcome here, but the autumn and winter are perhaps the special seasons to savour chef/patron Robert Owen Brown’s food, rooted in the abundance of raw materials to hand. And, of course, game is the star turn in the seasonal larder.
You may know Rob from his acclaimed career in Manchester kitchens, culminating in the riverside Mark Addy, spectacular pop-ups roasting whole Dexter cattle or sharing his hard-won culinary wisdom on Jay Rayner’s Radio Four panel show, The Kitchen Cabinet. ToM's review of the Hinchliffe gave it five stars.
Top food critic Jay said of Rob’s cookbook, Crispy Squirrel and Vimto Trifle: “Robert Owen Brown is the real thing… a chef who combines oceans of technique with an instinct to feed and a deep understanding of gutsy cooking.”
Train those attributes on the likes of pheasant and partridge, grouse and mallard, snipe and woodcock and you unleash a feast of gamey flavours. It helps too, if like Rob, you have access to some of the UK’s finest shoots. He regularly provides shoot catering at Chipchase Castle, a fairy-tale Jacobean mansion in the North Tyne Valley, paradise for the shooting parties who roam its 3,000 prime acres. Nearer home further game treasures are sourced from Cheshire shoots such as Great Oak, Lymm.
The good news is that Rob is putting all this feathered cornucopia to good use all the way through to the end of January with the Hinchliffe menu featuring a regularly changing game special – priced at just £10, lunch and dinner. The same offer is also available at Rob’s latest dining pub venture, The Turnpike at Rishworth, a former 18th century coaching inn.
The grouse season may be over but there’s a wealth of other birds to put on the plate. Expect Owen Brown signature dishes such as…
• Roast pheasant breast with sweet chestnuts, smoked dry cure bacon, whisky and caramelised onion.
• Plump partridge with honey, roast pear and sweet stem ginger.
• Mallard with damson and elderberry syrup, smoked celeriac and thyme.
Wonderful flavours there but just part of the advantages of supporting wild game. Rob says: “We are keen to get across how important it is to get this amazing produce into the food chain. It’s fresh, fed naturally, healthy and seasonal.
“Wild game is leaner than farmed meats, yet high in protein and valuable minerals And obviously there are no antibiotics or hormones to worry about, unlike factory-farmed meat. Our game is the finest in the world and by ordering it you supporting our precious rural economy, which is under real pressure. Wildlife management is important for conserving our threatened habitats.”
The Hinchliffe Arms, Church Bank Lane, Cragg Vale, Hebden Bridge HX7 5TA. 01422 883256. Open 12pm-11pm every day. The Turnpike, Oldham Road, Rishworth, HXS 4RH. 01422 822789. Check with the pubs for which game specials are on.
Thanks to Joby Catto for all the pictures bar the Chipchase shooting party.