As a blogger and lover of all things food, I think for me the ultimate reward is seeing the chefs and restaurants you love grow over the years. Elliot Hill is the newest head chef at Oddfellows Chester and comes with a wealth of experience when it comes to food. He’s worked as part of the opening team at Hotel Gotham in Manchester, was head chef at The Park Tavern in London, cooked in Russia’s capital of Moscow and popped up at various restaurant pop-up’s in London such as the one we experienced at The Frog in Shoreditch. For those who don’t know Elliot, booking a table here at Cultivated is the only way you will now.
The menus focus on modern British food, utilising as much local Cheshire produce as possible. Paired with Elliot’s strong ‘no waste’ ethos, you can expect creative and experimental dishes of precision perfect cooking with a nod to fine dining – but in a relaxed setting. There’s also plenty of outdoor seating here for Summer dining and roaring open fireplaces during the Winter months, meaning it’s the perfect place to dine all year round.
Whilst we looked over the menu and decided what to eat from the selection of “odd plates”, we tucked into a perfectly crafted Negroni which came from the bar in the hotel, which if you have time is well worth exploring over a few more drinks.
As for the food, well it’s utterly delicious and whilst I really don’t know the Chester dining scene – I’m guessing this is now one of the city’s best restaurants. Cauliflower, sweetcorn in its own juice (which came in a separate pot for pouring or drinking), capers, popcorn and mustard – our first dish and one of my favourites. I’m really not a fan of popcorn in dishes, but you really need to try this plate of food to discover just how well it worked. The cauliflower was packed with flavour and the star was that sweetcorn juice which brought all of the flavours together when drizzled over.
One dish you must order here is the Rosary goats cheese which is made into a foam and covers a generous amount of smoked leek, pickled onion and sprinkled with a hazelnut crumble. Rich, full of textures and probably my favourite dish of our entire meal.
My dining companion really didn’t share our next dish with me and after I finally got a bite or two, I could see why he didn’t want it to. Excellent cured salmon, apple, kohlrabi, chervil and pine. Price wise it didn’t quite reflect the size of the dish so a little more generosity wouldn’t go a miss, but given just how good that salmon is – we really didn’t care and should have simply ordered more.
I always like to pick a favourite dish from a meal, one I feel could be a signature (which is probably that Rosary goats cheese), but the meat courses here are pure perfection. During our time spent in Cheshire & Manchester, these were two dishes we couldn’t stop talking about and really made us see stars – the shiny red Michelin kind. First was the Welsh lamb tasting, which was made up of lamb three ways and served with malted salsify and black bomber cheese. My favourite part of the dish was the lamb belly which is stuffed with fennel, garlic, anchovy, onion and rosemary – then pressed and cooked for 24 hours. It quite literally left us salivating. As did the secret recipe lamb faggot and lamb loin. A beautiful plate of food.
The second of those meaty dishes was this duck breast with salt baked celeriac, fig and candied walnut. It was the perfect Autumnal dish and again the execution of it was practically perfect. Such a rich, refined dish which when washed down with a good glass of red wine it will have your returning for more. There really is nothing more satisfying when the kitchen gets duck skin perfectly crisp and the meat cooked so perfectly that it cuts through like butter.
Desserts had the real wow factor, so save room. Start with the dark chocolate ganache, orange, bay leaf and whisky. It looks like it might just send you over your eating limit, but it’s surprisingly lighter than it appearance. I would have liked to taste a little more whisky if being extra picky, but as a dessert you can really taste the talent of the kitchen in every single bite.
Better still was the toffee apple with cardamom and ginger. Some of my favourite ingredients and flavours, packed into one incredibly satisfying dessert. Presentation wise the chunks of apple could be lots of smaller cubes or a gel/puree, but that doesn’t detract from the decadent flavours which felt almost nostalgic, reminding me of my toffee apple childhood days at the fun fair.
As you can hopefully tell, we had an excellent meal here at Cultivated and Elliot Hill has not only brought something exciting to Oddfellows Chester, but to the city’s dining scene. Elliot is still a young chef and having followed his career over the last couple of years now, his food was and is still ever evolving. Yet, after eating this meal, it feels like Elliot has now developed his own signature style of cooking which is instantly recognisable and one where each dish leaves you talking about the next. This is exciting, modern cooking and when I’m next in Cheshire – I’ll definitely be returning.
What a fantastic meal! That duck dish sounds divine!