12/04/2024

Set menu at The Flintlock, Cheddleton

The set menu at the 2 AA rosette and Michelin recommended Flintlock at Cheddleton offers affordable modern British fine dining. At £35 a head for three courses with an emphasis on local, seasonal produce, plus fantastic homemade bread, it’s not to be missed.

THE FLINTLOCK AT CHEDDLETON

Opened barely three and a half years ago under chef patron Thom Bateman, The Flintlock at Cheddleton has gone from strength to strength. Within two years it was awarded two coveted AA rosettes. Then came inclusion in the prestigious Michelin guide plus Thom doing our region proud in BBC2’s Great British Menu. Closer to home, local accolades include Enjoy Staffordshire’s Independent Restaurant of the Year 2024 Gold award.

I’m lucky enough to live a short walk from the canal-side restaurant, so have been able to see this impressive progress first-hand.

Right from my first visit, when the place had barely been open a week, it was clear there was a rock-solid basis of sound cooking, great flavours, and a commitment to quality local produce. Any early days’ rough edges soon disappeared, and a string of memorable meals followed, including a series of faultless tasting menus. A few months ago, I had a birthday meal at The Flintlock and enjoyed the best yet: nine stunning courses plus little extras and optional wine pairing.

*Tasting menu at The Flintlock Dec 2023*

But The Flintlock isn’t just for special occasions or when you feel like pushing the boat out. Because as well as signature tasting menus and special events, they’re currently offering a set menu on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. It’s available for lunch and dinner and I was invited, along with a guest, to try it.

SET MENU AT THE FLINTLOCK

At the time of writing, the set menu is £35 per person for starter, main, and dessert plus homemade bread. On my visit, there was a choice of two starters and two mains, with one of each appearing to be suitable for vegetarians. There was one set dessert. An optional cheese course was available at £10.

Although dishes may have changed since my visit, the structure seems the same on the latest Set Menu posted on The Flintlock’s Facebook page.

So I could try everything, myself and guest ID agreed to choose different dishes for our starters and main courses. As the reviewer though, I think it’s only right I got first dibs…

PARKER HOUSE ROLL, MISO ONION BUTTER

The homemade bread at The Flintlock is always good. And this time we were treated to Parker House rolls. As assistant restaurant manager Flo explained, these are named after the Boston hotel where they were invented in the nineteenth century.

Soft, fluffy, and buttery, I’d enjoyed the pull-apart version at the last tasting menu. They’d had a sweet glaze of Cheddleton honey butter, and the individual buns seemed to have had the same treatment. The piped swirl of miso onion butter was also just as good as before: intensely savoury, salty from miso and sweetish from what I thought was roasted onion.

STARTERS

As hake is one of my favourite fish, I chose the starter of Cornish Hake. I’d also loved a previous hake dish of Thom’s with charcoal butter sauce, fermented lettuce and pickled sea vegetables which had drew praise from the Michelin inspectors too. For the Set Menu at The Flintlock the fish came in a more familiar guise, but I couldn’t resist picking it up and having a good inhale of the enticing aromas coming off it.

It had been cooked Katsu-style. That is crumbed, fried until golden, and served with a curry sauce. The fish was perfect. Its crispy coating contrasted nicely with the soft flesh. The sweet, tangy, and mildly spicy sauce was well judged. I really liked the crisp discs of pickled mooli radish and little crescents of charred cucumber on top too. Both had a pleasing balance of sweetness and acidity.

ID’s starter was Cauliflower Cheese Velouté. As you’d hope from a soup whose name means ‘velvety’, this was rich and smooth.

We thought the cauliflower had most likely been roasted as it had that intense flavour. This married so well with the sharp cheese. Contrasting with the richness was a fresh and perky chive oil, bright green against the golden velouté. Add to that crunchy focaccia croutons and it was a rather superior bowl of soup.

MAIN COURSES

From the start, The Flintlock has showcased quality local produce and suppliers. That includes favourites of mine like Staffordshire Cheese and high welfare meat from Dunwood Farm. So it was good to highlight that with a little card about Dunwood alongside the Dunwood Farm Beef Featherblade.

Not that you need to sell Dunwood to me though. I’ve been a fan and customer for many years. In their old guise of The Village Butcher Ipstones, Dunwood was even the subject of one of my earliest blog posts. As for the beef featherblade, it really was a great example of what they do, shown at its best by the Flintlock kitchen.

The beef had a wonderfully deep and rich flavour. Unbelievably soft and tender, it had presumably been slow braised to melt down the intricate, feather-like marbling from which this cut takes its name. Although I was given a steak knife to eat it, a spoon would probably have done, so fall-apart succulent was it.

The accompaniments fitted the high standards of the meat. A soft in the middle, crispy at the edges potato terrine was subtly flavoured with truffle. Its fungi was matched with little dabs of intensely savoury mushroom ketchup hidden beneath the wilted bright green and purple cabbage on top. Happily, there was more of it on the plate too.

To finish the dish there was a red wine-based Bordelaise sauce and seasonal wild garlic oil. As wonderful as all this sounded on the menu, the reality was even better.

ID’s main course of Gnocchi, with more of that springtime wild garlic, was packed with flavour. It was an appetizing-looking plateful too, with the potato dumplings having a golden-brown sear from the pan.

A fresh feel was brought by all the green herbs, herb oil, more of the colourful cabbage plus a tangle of micro greens. Scattered over everything was Old Winchester, a well-regarded English cheese often used as a vegetarian alternative to Parmesan.

DESSERT & AN EXTRA TREAT

Dessert was a very good Salted Caramel Tart. As someone without an overly sweet tooth, I like that desserts at The Flintlock don’t overdo the sugar. The tart was a case in point with the smooth, mousse-like tart filling rich and creamy without being too sweet.

The lightly tangy crème fraiche ice cream was lovely too, drizzled with carrot caramel.

An additional sweet treat was brought with the bill: soft, warm madeleine sponges flavoured with brown butter and Cheddleton honey.

GREAT VALUE FINE DINING

While I’ll always love the indulgence of their tasting menus, the set menu at The Flintlock means you can sample their great, award-winning cooking for much less. At £35 a head for three courses, plus fantastic homemade bread, and a little extra sweet treat, it’s affordable modern British fine dining. And coming from a kitchen headed by one of our up-and-coming chefs, it’s really not to be missed.

Highly recommended.

View the latest sample menu and make a reservation here

PRICES AND MENUS CORRECT AT TIME OF WRITING

DISCLOSURE

The Flintlock invited me to try the set menu free of charge for myself and a guest. All drinks and staff tips were paid for by me. As always, my review is an honest one based on my own experience. Where a product or service has been provided for free, I always include a disclosure such as this in the blog post containing my review.