Chef Thomas
Runner Bean Salad with Shallot Vinaigrette
Runner beans from the garden or the market, blanched until bright and tender, dressed warm with a sharp shallot vinaigrette that softens as it sits. August on a plate.
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Chef Thomas
Smoked Mackerel, Beetroot and Horseradish Salad
Flaked smoky mackerel scattered over earthy beetroot with watercress and a sharp horseradish cream, the sort of plate that takes fifteen minutes and tastes like you meant every one of them.
Chef Thomas
A Simple Garden Salad with English Mustard Vinaigrette
Butter lettuce, cool cucumber, peppery radishes, and the sharp bite of English mustard dressing. A July salad that belongs on the table next to whatever else you're having tonight.
Chef Thomas
Chicory, Apple and Stilton Salad
Bitter chicory leaves carrying sharp apple, crumbled Stilton, and toasted walnuts, dressed with cider vinegar and honey. A winter salad that earns its place at the table when the garden has shut up shop.
Chef Thomas
Winter Leaves with Kale, Watercress and Brussels Sprouts
A salad of shaved Brussels sprouts, young kale, and peppery watercress, dressed sharply with lemon and scattered with toasted almonds. Green and bright and alive when everything outside has stopped.
Chef Thomas
Ham Hock and Pea Salad with Mustard Dressing
Slow-braised ham hock pulled into rough shreds, tossed with sweet peas, peppery watercress, and a mustard dressing that means business. A salad that earns the wait.
Chef Thomas
Dressed Crab with Samphire and Fennel
Sweet crab meat, white and brown, scattered over blanched samphire and paper-thin fennel on soft lettuce. A plate that tastes of the coast and asks for nothing but good ingredients and a lemon.
Chef Thomas
Proper Homemade Coleslaw
Crisp cabbage, sweet carrot, and sharp red onion in a mustardy dressing that reminds you why you should never buy coleslaw from a supermarket shelf again.
Chef Thomas
Jersey Royal Potato Salad with Chives
Jersey Royals tossed warm in a bright lemon and chive dressing, the sort of potato salad that tastes like May feels, and asks for nothing more than good potatoes and a little attention.
Chef Thomas
Warm Puy Lentil Salad with Roasted Beetroot and Mustard
Earthy lentils and sweet roasted beetroot brought together by a sharp mustard dressing, piled over peppery watercress. The kind of bowl that makes October feel like a good place to be.
Chef Thomas
Egg Mayonnaise and Cress
Eggs mashed with good mayonnaise and a streak of English mustard, buried under a tangle of peppery cress. The kind of lunch that needs no explanation and no apology.
Chef Thomas
Little Gem, Peas and Summer Herbs
Crisp little gem wedges scattered with raw peas and torn herbs, dressed in something sharp and mustardy. The kind of salad that tastes like the garden smells in June.
Chef Thomas
Coronation Chicken
Cold poached chicken folded through a gently curried sauce with apricot and cream, the kind of thing you'd bring to a summer table and quietly watch disappear.
Chef Thomas
Celeriac Remoulade
Celeriac cut into pale matchsticks and dressed in sharp mustard and crème fraîche, the sort of thing you make on a Sunday and find yourself eating from the bowl with a fork on Tuesday.
Chef Thomas
Broad Bean and Pea Salad with Mint and Lemon
Double-podded broad beans and sweet peas, dressed simply with torn mint, lemon, and good olive oil. The kind of bowl that tastes the way a June garden smells.
Chef Thomas
Warm Potato Salad with Bacon and Mustard
Waxy potatoes, still warm from the pan, tossed with crisp smoked bacon and a sharp, grainy mustard dressing that soaks into every crumbled edge. The kind of salad that earns its place at the centre of the table.
Chef Thomas
The Retro British Salad with Homemade Salad Cream
A composed summer salad of butterhead lettuce, ripe tomatoes, cool cucumber, peppery radishes, and quartered eggs, with a proper homemade salad cream that makes the bottled sort seem like a distant memory.
Chef Thomas
Cold Poached Salmon with Watercress and New Potatoes
Salmon poached to a blush pink and served cold over peppery watercress and warm, waxy new potatoes with a dill and crème fraîche dressing. The kind of plate that says summer without raising its voice.
Chef Thomas
Heritage Tomato Salad with Basil and Sea Salt
A plate of heritage tomatoes at their August peak, sliced thick and dressed with nothing but olive oil, shallot, torn basil, and flaky salt. The less you do, the more it gives.
Chef Thomas
New Potato Salad with Mint and Wholegrain Mustard
Small waxy potatoes dressed while still warm in wholegrain mustard and good olive oil, scattered with torn mint and served at the temperature of a June afternoon. The salad that belongs on every summer table.
Chef Thomas
English Asparagus with a Poached Egg and Mustard Dressing
Warm English asparagus with a soft poached egg broken over the top and a sharp mustard dressing that pools into the yolk. A short season, properly celebrated, on a plate in ten minutes.
Chef Thomas
Red Cabbage and Apple Slaw with Walnuts
Shredded red cabbage, sharp with cider vinegar and mustard, tossed with crisp autumn apple and toasted walnuts. The kind of bowl that makes itself useful all week.
Chef Thomas
Watercress, Orange and Red Onion Salad
Peppery watercress, blood orange segments, and slivers of red onion dressed in nothing more than the orange's own juice and good olive oil. A winter salad that earns its place at the table.
Chef Thomas
A Ploughman's Salad
The old pub ploughman's, shaken loose from its board and laid across butter lettuce with a sharp mustard dressing, for the kind of lunch that feels like you've given yourself the afternoon off.
Chef Thomas
Pear, Stilton and Walnut Salad with Bitter Leaves
Ripe pear, crumbled Stilton, and toasted walnuts scattered over bitter chicory and peppery rocket, dressed with a sharp mustard vinaigrette. The cheese course that became a salad.
Chef Thomas
Classic Potato Salad with Salad Cream
Floury potatoes dressed in sharp, mustardy homemade salad cream with spring onion and white pepper. The potato salad of village fetes, garden tables, and Saturday evenings that stretch on until the light goes.
Chef Thomas
Winter Root Slaw with Parsnip and Beetroot
A raw winter slaw of grated parsnip, celeriac, and beetroot in a mustardy dressing, built for the months when the garden is bare and the root vegetables are the best thing going.
Chef Thomas
Roasted Beetroot with Horseradish Cream and Walnuts
Beetroot roasted until sweet and yielding, set against the sharp bite of horseradish cream and the bitter crunch of toasted walnuts, with watercress scattered over the top like it grew there.
Chef Thomas
Spring Leaves with Wild Garlic and Pea Shoots
A tangle of pea shoots and tender spring leaves dressed with wild garlic pesto made from what the woodland floor offered this morning, gone in a few bites, gone in a few weeks.
Chef Thomas
Pearl Barley Salad with Roasted Roots and Goat's Cheese
Warm pearl barley tossed with sticky roasted carrots and parsnips, crumbled goat's cheese, and a sharp mustard dressing, the kind of bowl that makes an October evening feel like it's doing exactly what it should.
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