The Royal Well Tavern, Cheltenham (Travel Gluttony in the Cotswolds)

You hear a lot about the pub grub at places like The Sportsman and, yep, it's good. But when I look back on some of my all time favourite lunches, my long boozey lunch at The Royal Well Tavern  in Cheltenham would have to be one of the greats. Terrific British produce, both local and sublimely fresh, are combined simply with classic French bistro style and a cosy, friendly atmosphere - a winning combination.

Pleasing little touches add to the warm fuzzies

Andy Martin trained under and has seamlessly taken over from previous head chef Humphrey Fletcher (formerly of The Glasshouse in Kew, Chez Bruce and the River Cafe among others). Not only does everything on his "stonking good food with no frills" menu sound hugely appealing, but it's all good value too - right down to a simply prix fixe daily menu at £10 for 2 courses or £12.50 for 3 (available until 7pm).  You'll find things on the a la carte menu like poached monkfish with samphire and young vegetable nage (£19) or chargrilled hoggett leg with cannellini beans, shallot puree, tomato and thyme (£17). The steaks are apparently great too. Suppliers are proudly listed on the pub's website.

Wooden tables and floors and burgundy banquettes provide a comforting atmosphere to nestle in and wile the afternoon away over a bottle of whatever takes your fancy. Among our plates were a lovely beetroot and walnut salad, sublime fresh, grilled fish with roasted chicory and a gorgeous bit of pink duck with a rich stew of lentils and mushrooms.

 

There were some lovely ice creams for dessert and the cinnamon scroll with warm custard wasn't half bad either....

The Royal Well Tavern is the kind of place you can't help but leave feeling merry and satisfied.


The Royal Well Tavern, 5 Royal Well Place, Cheltenham, Tel: 01242 221212. Expect to pay around £30 per head for 3 courses + drinks (or less of the prix fixe menu).

Hotel du Vin & Bistro, Cheltenham - Gluttonous Travels in the Cotswolds

It's still winter. STILL!! It feels like we've been wearing half a dozen layers of wool, 3 jackets and Uniclo's finest HeatTech for at least 9 months and yet here we are, surrounded by grey skies and drizzle (STILL!), and a second round of head colds is starting to make its way around the office. Will it ever END?? (*clutches forehead*)

Fortunately, I'm off to Australia in a few days (*hearty evil cackle*, see ya later) but sometimes it's easy to blow off the winter blues a little closer to home. I am a summer person (with the freckles to prove it), and so I am, by necessity, a big believer at laughing in the face of winter by treating oneself to a little bit of luxury just when the chill is starting to get you down. That would be right about the time the Tube stops running leaving you standing in the rain with a newspaper on your head for the 2nd week running. I want an escape to the countryside, a long, boozey pub lunch and - if you're lucky - a bath like this in your bedroom...IN YOUR FACE, WINTER!

Aaah, that bath. I actually fell asleep in it.

We were recently invited to stay at the Hotel Du Vin in Cheltenham. A hotel with a reference to wine in the title had me intrigued from the outset, as did the location in a Regency spa town, in the beautiful region that is the Cotswolds.

First, our room. So spacious and stylish, with the bestest, most comfortable bath I've ever been in, hands down. It's like the thing has been bespoke tailored to fit your body then injected with relaxation fluid. It's in the bedroom, rather than the bathroom, so don't be shy.

Only the first half hour of WiFi is free and the TV is quite small. But the bed and the shower head are massive - so it easily balances out favourably. I also loved the huge windows which maximised the sunny spells.

The wine theme is evident throughout the hotel - each room is named after a wine maker, there are black and white wine themed photographs lining the hallways and even a chandelier made of wine glasses (I want).

The bistro is cosy and romantic - eat great quality, rustic fare by candlelight, surrounded by wine bottles. The style is classic French bistro but, aside from a few staples, the chef at each Hotel du Vin has the freedom to put his own stamp on the menu, while following a local and home grown philosophy.

There's a lovely seafood sharing platter, packed with fish, calamari, whitebait and pickled vegetables for £14.95. The tartiflette is a gorgeously creamy mix of reblochon cheese, cream, potato and lardons - perfect for dipping the thick cut slices of fresh, white baguette (£6.50).

The battered fish and chips are fine (£11.95), but nothing special - although I do love the cute little wire rack holding the crispy thick cut chips. However, my wondrously tender and rich coq au vin was superb - up there with the coq au vin I had at Pastis in best ever league. Oomph!

Another highlight is the fabulous platter of desserts - romance on a plate. There's a champagne jelly with strawberries, a tart passionfruit semi freddo, meringue with cream and strawberries and a heavenly chocolate mousse encased in a white chocolate casing, topped with fresh raspberries.

The food is excellent value, but the bistro also offers special deals - like a 2 course meal for 2 with a bottle of wine and coffee for £35.

There's even a sleek looking tasting/wine pairing room for small groups, and a heated cigar shack out the back.

And there's no way I was leaving without checking out the hotel's spa - try the steam room, or book a massage to really get that winter detox happening.

The Hotel du Vin is located in the Montpelier district of Cheltenham. It would be a great base for exploring the countryside, Bath and Stratford Upon Avon. IN YOUR FACE WINTER!


Hotel du Vin & Bistro Cheltenham, Parabola Road, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, GL50 3AQ (Tel: 01242 588 450)

Greedy Diva was a guest of the Hotel Du Vin & Bistro, but our beautiful room would have cost approx £165 per night during February 2011.

Baking & Feasting in the Cotswolds: The Shipton Mill & The Bell pub

I have only tried making bread once before, and it ended in disaster - of the face-and-hair-covered-in-white-dust variety. I'm still cleaning up flour from under the fridge.

But I've been re-inspired after a trip last weekend to the Shipton Mill in Frampton on Severn, Gloucestershire in the Cotswolds. Our friends, Libby and Lawrence from the fantastic The Humble Kitchen supper club, found out about a FREE bread making course being run regularly at the mill. I can't recommend it enough. And I can't BELIEVE it's free.

From 9:30am-3.30pm on Sunday, we learned some of the science of breadmaking, then got our hands dirty in the kitchen making a rustic sourdough with feta and Provencale herbs, a beautiful, dusted white plaited loaf, pitas, a round seeded soda bread, shiny, iced chelsea buns (which were a hit in the office) and short pastry filled with strawberry jam. Not only were we given a box to carry home our wonderful smelling loot, but baker Clive Mellum gave us part of his white and rye "mother" starters to take home to feed and grow with our new found knowledge.

My Chelsea buns before baking...

... and after

It turns out that rolling and kneading is hungry work. The day includes lunch at the mill where you can taste and compare a range of delicious breads - filled pitas, sourdoughs, foccaccia with olive oil and sticky balsamic, and date and walnut bread for example, with cheeses and smoked salmon, and a range of other sides.

Lunch at the mill

Clive regularly gives up his time during the week and on some weekends to put on this fantastic course, which is sponsored by mill owner, John Lister. The course is fun, informal and you get plenty of personal attention since there's only up to about 6 people per day. Clive's passion is infectious - he also visits prisons and helps people in drug rehab to get them baking bread, and travels the world sharing baking tips and techniques with other bakers. You'll never want to buy supermarket bread again.

The quality of the flour is excellent (our Humble Kitchen friends use it regularly) and you can buy it on-line for delivery direct from the mill. The mill - which has been standing on the river bank for over 900 years - uses simple, traditional processes to ground organic and wholemeal grain, creating flours with a wholesome texture and flavour.

One of our fellow bakers with her loot to take home

While in the area, we had a top notch lunch at The Bell pub in Sapperton, which is well worth a visit.

The Bell, Sapperton

The pub is in a traditional old stone building with exposed brickwork and a cosy fireplace. My monkfish with spinach and hollandaise was cooked expertly, and came with some unbelievably good veggies (bright, snappy green snowpeas, carrot, parsnip and new potatoes).

Monkfish

Lib loved her wild sea bass with a vegetable medley and pesto and the boys' burgers were huge, with densely packed, flavoursome English Longhorn meat. The were served with oodles of chips - although they were apparently not as great as the beef dripping chips you get if you order the separate side dish. But happy, happy campers all round.

Boozey Christmas pudding

I finished with a gorgeous, boozey Christmas pud (although I wasn't a fan of the ultra sticky, sweet brandy butter) and TPG loved his banana Eton mess with ginger snaps. Mains are around £12-£15 each.

We stayed just down the road from the mill at The True Heart B&B run by Veronica Metcalfe. For £40 per person, we had a simple but fastidiously clean room - each has its own flat screen TV, tea, coffee and comfy bed. Veronica also puts on a fantastic breakfast - fruit salad, cereals, fresh OJ, tea, coffee, home made toast (Veronica has done the course at the mill too), home made jams and the full English - with terrific local eggs and sausage, bacon, tomato and mushroom. I've had my fair share of B&B horror stories, but for me Veronica was the perfect host, being friendly and there when we needed her, but she's not one to cramp your style if you don't want to discuss your life story over breakfast.

It took us under 2.5 hours to reach the Cotswolds by car from Kings Cross station (although it took an hour longer to return late on Sunday afternoon - but by then we had our baked goods for car snacks). I highly recommend the breadmaking course as a great excuse for a wintry weekend getaway. And try to spend an afternoon having a long lunch at The Bell in Sapperton - not to be confused with the far less gourmet pub by the same name in Frampton on Severn near the mill.

Happy baking!

You can contact the Shipton Mill at enquiries@shipton-mill.com or telephone 01666 505050.