We generally try to cater for all guests but do have limitations as everything is prepared fresh and we are a small team with a relatively small larder. You MUST inform us of allergies in advance especially if you are at risk of anaphylactic shock or extreme reactions to any food. We'll try to accommodate you if we think we can but may not accept any booking at our sole discretion if we feel we can’t deal with the allergy or intolerance to our satisfaction. Our food offering is a set menu or fixed tasting menu (not à la carte) and it is much to late to tell us about allergies on arrival, though we may still check. We don't compute calorie or energy or carbon values in any dishes. We may be able to adapt group menus for allergies if you tell us sufficiently in advance and if the whole group has that menu. We can make vegan & vegetarian dishes avoiding animal products, but MUST have adequate prior notice please and must be pre-paid. If in doubt, please ask us.
It's not economically viable to produce "off menu" dishes for individual preferences: so if for example your group wants gluten free we can do that, but we can't bake a gluten free loaf or cake for just one person without a significant premium charge to cover special ingredients and extra labour etc. With adequate notice we can possibly leave ingredients out for some dishes but don’t have preparation or service capacity to do a different dish or sauce for individual preferences or dislikes, especially without notice. Supplementary charges will apply for special items not on our normal menu.
Fats: this is a fine dining restaurant and fats add flavour and texture. If you are on a low fat diet, then we can accommodate that in a menu as long as it is for a group of at least 6 people pre-paid. However, in general we use butter extensively, rapeseed oil, high quality olive oil (both extra virgin and green first pressing), ground nut oil, cold pressed seed oils, lard and other animal fats, ghee (clarified butter with the fat solids removed), fish oils and some specialist oil based herb and fruit dressings that we make in house. Occasionally we use mustard oil, which is not cold pressed. We do not use walnut oil at all.
Nuts: we use groundnut (peanut) oil for deep frying. We use almond flour and flakes in numerous products, such as baking, tarts and pastries. Cashew and Macadamia nuts are sometimes used, as are pine nuts. We rarely use peanuts except for their oil. We do not usually use walnuts or brazil nuts (chef is allergic) but may do if requested for a bespoke pre-paid group menu. We also use some nut based "milks" in some sauces. These (rarely) may be commercial non-dairy "milks" or may be made in house.
It's impossible to guarantee no trace cross contamination of ingredients and we do not do so. For example, we buy stone ground flour from a well-known superb organic mill, and they also produce gluten free flours by the sack. We can’t be 100% certain that it's zero gluten as we rely on the Mill. We don’t make gluten free bread, pasta, cakes, biscuits or crackers unless it is for the full group and prearranged. Price supplements will apply.
Stocks & sauces are made in house with onions, celery, herbs & spices, flour & alcohol and potentially meat, dairy and nut products. Gluten free sauces may be thickened with potato starch or cornflour. We use eggs extensively in baking, ice cream, custards, pastry, cakes and sauces.
Dairy produce is in butter, custards, ice cream, some sorbets, crème fraîche, yoghurt, cheese etc and contains lactose. Most of our cheeses are made from cow's milk, but we also have cheeses made with sheep and goat milk.
Yeast: fermented, cured & bakery products contain wild or other yeast. We can bake yeast free (except for airborne yeast) soda bread or unleavened bread at a supplementary cost.