New Year Treat at The Old Mill Restaurant

This seems to be the time of year when people really struggle; Christmas and New Year are now in the past and the sense of excitement and anticipation has been replaced with a cold and dreary present. Any break from the norm is a real treat, so when The Intellectual Dinner Club was invited to dine at The Old Mill Restaurant we jumped at the chance.

As we set out for the evening the weather was cold and drizzly but Radio 2 was playing comfortingly on the car stereo; a French singer causing us to imagine that we were in Paris and the night would end with an expensive cognac and a slim cigar. We arrived at the Brighouse Restaurant in good spirits where we were immediately shown to our table in a cosy little corner next to the bar. As we were handed menus and asked for our drink preferences our waitress leapt into action with a lighter to ensure that our table had candlelight. It was reassuring to know that she understood the importance of ‘ambience’.

The restaurant had a cosy country décor with authentic wooden beams, exposed stone and cream paintwork. It felt relaxed and welcoming and although it obviously has a history as an old corn mill it also feels modern. It was a good feeling for all four of us to be back together after the past few weeks of madness and as we scanned the menu we realised how hungry we all were. We settled on an Antipasti Sharing Platter for our starter. This was lovely, picky food – perfect to take the edge off our hunger but not enough to fill us up and spoil our main course; and the gooey balsamic vinegar was gorgeous mopped up with soft bread all washed down with a nice glass of wine.

The weather has been making the headlines this week so it wasn’t long before we all began to recount our stories of gale-force winds. I have had a few restless nights sleep as the ferocity of the wind has woken me. I sleep in the attic and it’s blown so hard against the roof I thought the house was moving; it genuinely scared me. While driving to her parents house Catherine experienced a terrifying white-knuckle journey on the motorway where she was buffeted about next to precarious looking lorries and trucks. When she heard later on that a truck had blown over on that same stretch of motorway she felt that she’d had a lucky escape.

With the starter cleared away it wasn’t long before our main courses arrived. After some deliberation we’d all opted for the very tasty specials board although with a varied winter menu on offer we really were spoilt for choice. Catherine and Caroline both had the Pork Trio while Phoebe and I had the Duck Breast. All four meals looked and smelled delicious; this was rich hearty winter food at its best. The duck was complimented with the flavours of spiced red cabbage, black cherry and red wine and although the pink at the centre was edging closer to raw everything else on the plate was done to perfection. The trio of pork offered a variety of taste and texture which went down very well, Catherine’s only criticism being that the sausage could have been a bit warmer. A silence had descended as we all savoured our food. I took a while to finish mine (I’m always the last to finish) but I wanted to be sure to fully appreciate all the different flavours on my plate. When all the knives and forks were finally laid to rest we were a very satisfied bunch of ladies but it didn’t take long for the question to form on everyone’s lips - “Shall we have dessert?”

As we took a little time to peruse the menu and try to figure out just how full we were, we all contemplated what our specialist subject might be if we were to take part on ‘Mastermind’. Phoebe’s had to be Harry Potter of course as she loves the books and the films and knows them all inside out. She then revealed that she had in fact received her own Harry Potter wand as a Christmas gift which we were all free to borrow if we needed a touch of magic in our lives; Catherine’s subject would be aeroplanes – she has a massive fear of flying; Caroline’s would be ‘A Christmas Carol’ by Charles Dickens which she reads religiously every December and mine would be the artist Tracey Emin.

At this point everyone apart from me felt they had enough room left for a dessert so Catherine opted for hot apple pie with custard, Caroline for blackcurrant tart with liquorice ice-cream, Phoebe for rhubarb and Clementine cranachan from the specials menu accompanied with a late harvest dessert wine and I chose to finish with an Italian liqueur coffee. There were murmurs of approval all round as dishes were cleared, Caroline declaring that her pudding was ‘to die for’ as the blackcurrant and liquorice flavours got her taste buds humming. Phoebe was very pleased with her dessert wine as it went beautifully with her choice of dessert. Catherine felt like a peppermint tea to finish off the evening and although this particular flavour wasn’t available our waitress, Chelsea, was very helpful in finding an alternative.

It was getting late and so, over our coffees and teas, we felt it was time to reveal our lists for our ’12 into 2012’ campaign. This was an idea first put forward by Caroline at our Christmas meal as an alternative to the usual New Year’s resolutions. It was an idea that we all jumped on and decided to launch online so that everyone can take part and decide the 12 things they really want to do in 2012. As it was the 6^th January this evening, it seemed quite poetic that we were revealing our ’12 into 2012’ on Twelfth Night. The lists varied from simple things such as keeping in touch with friends more, to the more extravagant such as trips to Paris and we were all very excited by our different choices wanting to do each others as well. Be sure to follow the link at the top of this page and do your own list.

Last orders had been called some time ago and although it was still quite busy and no one seemed eager for us to leave it was time to go before my car turned into a pumpkin. We’d had a fantastic evening, shared some delicious food all served by helpful and attentive staff - a really great start to the year.

Amanda xxx