Clarence House - Dalton, Barrow-in-Furness

Eating in a hotel is always an uneasy business; are there certain tables reserved for guests only, will you trip over baggage in the hallway and will the menu try and encompass every taste for the people stopping there?

Luckily Clarence House Country Hotel and Restaurant, has addressed the problem and feels very much more restaurant than hotel. Yes, the name includes the word hotel and when you enter there’s a bell and the front desk and the ubiquitous tourist information leaflets; but apart from that the whole ground floor is given over to the restaurant, bar and lounge; it helps that when you arrive you're immediately whisked in to the conservatory for drinks and canapes. Very suave.

Clarence House Hotel with thanks to themselves

Canapes seem to be the done thing in restaurants of a certain calibre these days and those that imitate them - sometimes you wonder whether the kitchen should have served up the lukewarm attempts at creativity at all; but at Clarence House I can report a consistently high standard - moreish chilli nuts, salty parmesan twists and pork terrine with apple sauce whetted the appetite and ensured we practically bolted in to the dining room when we were called to table.

Generous canapes

The dining room itself is understatedly sumptuous and takes up over half of the ground floor – white linens, heavy drapes and an attention to detail that is replicated in the gorgeous dishes that arrive from the kitchen and the attentive, professional staff. There's the main area, an orangery overlooking the manicured garden and the terrace for those few days of the year it's warm enough to eat outside.

Pan roast scallops with curry and cauliflower textures was a tastebud revelation. Beautifully seared the soft shellfish contrasted brilliantly with a curried nut crumble, the spiciness tempered by a beautifully silky foam; the nutty edge of the cauliflower highlighted this usually underrated vegetable and the whole dish was given a dash of freshness and colour from beautiful micro leaves (apparently grown by chef himself). 

Soft, salty, spicy, sensational scallops

Local partridge with confit leg was exceptionally well cooked; the small, sweet, crisp little leg was a salty and delectable morsel and I wish there had been more of them; sat atop fondant potatoes and drizzled liberally with a savoury and lip-smacking red wine jus, this dish screamed refinement and continued the high quality and excellent vein of the meal.

Partridge with more of chef's homegrown greens

The menu at Clarence House reads like a what’s what of the region; sitting at the bottom of the Lake District and Cumbria, they are surrounded by a plethora of exceptional produce that this region is so famous for. Thankfully there's a high level of skill present in the kitchen that puts this to exceptional and imaginative use. The menu is short, concentrating on a few exceptional dishes rather than try and cater to every different traveller's taste. Really it should be Clarence House Restaurant and Country Hotel.

Eating at Clarence House is a pleasure. The amazing, almost secret, setting with the orangery, terrace and the gardens ensures the experience is magical. And most surprisingly it’s tucked away on a residential street – you can almost drive past it, if you’re not lucky enough to know that it’s there!

Ps - although Clarence House is located in a little bit of a weird location it's actually very good for accessing the lakes or if you have business in Barrow-in-Furness (let's face it, Barrow isn't known for it's touristy side - although there is an exceptional birding site there called Walney Island, especially good for migrating sea birds and has resident populations of twites and eiders).

Price for two starters and two mains - £64

Food – 9/10

Service – 10/10

Atmosphere – 7/10

Value for money – 7/10

Total – 33/40

Go again? Yes, it would be lovely to stay there and it’s great for a special meal with a loved one or for a family gathering in the orangery.

Clarance House Country Hotel and Restaurant, Skelgate, Dalton-in-Furness, 

Nr Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria LA15 8BQ - 01229 462508

www.clarencehouse-hotel.co.uk

Mr Vikki's Chutneys and Pickles - Penrith, Cumbria

I've long been on the search for chilli jam that doesn't place heat before flavour, only burn the back of your throat and leave a chemical aftertaste, or be so vinegary as to make me pull a face akin to the one I pulled when I was seven and my 'best mate' dared me to eat an entire packet of super sourz gobstoppers. At once.

Stopping off at an unknown village, whilst conducting a whistle stop tour of the lakes with the Legal Eagles, we chanced upon a stall selling Mr Vikki's. After not falling for tasting the King Naga sauce, made with the hottest chilli - the Naga (I learnt my lesson with the gobstoppers); we settled for a jar of the chilli jam and thought nothing much of it.

That was until we came home. Searching around for something to pep up eggs on toast, we can came across this little jar in the cupboard and thought, 'well it's that or dry bread.'

What a revelation! Not only did Mr Vikki's chilli jam make that the best damn eggs on toast I've ever had; it opened my eyes that somewhere in the distant Northern lands known as Cumbria, there was a company making what can only be described as God's preserves. No argument.

Chilli Jam - three chilli rating; King Naga is a massive eight!

The chilli jam is a richly spiced and multi-layered with a full, sweet and very distinctive taste. Large slices of garlic add their warmth to a thick base of peppers and tomatoes - none of this watery supermarket slush here. Mr Vikki's uses a combination of Naga and Habanero chillies; both hot, hot, hot - but this means there's also oodles of flavour. There's a slight citrus upnote from the habanero and then deeper sweetness and almost savoury notes of the naga, then a bit of a bam on the old tongue from the chilli. But that's not it; behind all that, washing over you in waves is all the spices used - I'm not going to guess, but there's some fennel in there, some mustard seed and some nigella too if I'm not mistaken.

This chilli jam has the ability to pep up everything and compliment so many flavours, instead of drowning them out in the usual hot sauces fashion; aforementioned eggs on toast, with cheese, dip apples in it, add it to pizza, makes wonderful sandwiches or just have it on toast (there's also recipes on the Mr Vikki's website). We have been advised to pop some on vanilla ice cream - sadly a jar hasn't lasted long enough for us to try that experiment yet!

Tomato and Nigella - only one chilli, still got a kick to it!

After the revelation that the Chilli Jam was so brilliant, we have been eating our way through the other products on offer from Mr Vikki's; Green Chilli Jam - very fresh version of the original, Aubergine Brinjal - very spicy, soft and smokey; Gooseberry Chutney - sweet and sour with a hint of spice and the wonderful Tomato and Nigella - much milder, but with a lovely fragrant taste capitalising on the wonderful marriage of tomato and nigella seeds; it leads a happy dance across the tongue and makes for happy meal times.

Mr Vikki's is a rare find; a collection of well thought out, original creations, lovingly created and with not one bad product (that we've found so far) in the range. We've started on a wonderfully fragrant and tasty journey sampling all that Mr Vikki's has to offer and are very excited about some of the jams and marmalades that will be available soon - with a hint of naga to really wake you up in the morning! However it doesn't matter what different products Mr Vikki's produces, there will always be a jar of the original Chilli Jam in our cupboards (it won't last for long though!).

Mr Vikki's produces chutneys, jams, pickles and curry pastes - the only places I know that carry stock near me are Harvey Nic's food hall in Manchester or Tebay Services/Westmorland Farm Shop and random farmers' markets throughout the Lakes; though you can order online and I'm sure if you follow @MrVikkis you can ask the man himself where you can sample his delights. Spice up your life!

Mr Vikki's, Welcome Inn, Eamont Bridge, Penrith, Cumbria CA10 2BD - 01768 899023 - Twitter - Facebook

Thanks to Mr Vikki's for the images, blatantly taken off the website/Facebook!

Tebay Services - M6 - Cumbria

Zipping about in their fancy cars, discovering new parts of the country and enjoying themselves along the way was a dream our forefathers held close to their hearts. The architecture of service stations such as Forton on the M6 is testament to this with its tower restaurant and futuristic space ship design.

Forton Services - with thanks to Geograph.co.uk

Service stations were once a place of wonder and joy, where the British family stopped off on their long trek across the UK and were often greeted by hostesses in fancy costumes. Restaurants at service stations were pricey affairs aimed at executive businessmen on expense accounts and were kitted out with furniture by Terrance Conran with viewing platforms to watch the cars flying past. So how come service stations have become the home of overcharging, fast food and toilets that smell like a student's underpants after a two week bender in the middle of summer? And why is visiting one akin to having your soul sucked out?

All is not lost though. If you enjoy travelling and want to put the wow back into your wanderings, then there is the offer of hope in the form of Tebay Westmoreland Services. Located on the north and southbound sides of the M6 in between junctions 38 and 39, Tebay is located at Tebay in Cumbria and is a mecca for any tired traveller.

Owned by a local family all the food in their cafe is actually made by their chefs (wow, I know!), with most of the food being sourced locally with a huge emphasis on free range and organic - indeed, the lamb and beef are sourced from their own farm next to Tebay southbound. There's a proper hot food section with delights such as lamb hotpot and big, rich scones. At the Northbound services the cafe looks out over the duck pond offering cheery respite for the road weary traveller.

Tebay Services and the duck pond (with thanks to motorwayservicesonline.co.uk)

Tebay is not only great for a sit down meal, but also includes a fair trade cafe, food to go such as hand-made sandwiches (which are very generous and look like the door steppers my Dad used to make), the usual papers, sweets, mags, a boutique plus my favourite place along the M6 - the Westmoreland farm shop.

Although an unusual place to have a farm shop Westmoreland is never empty - and no wonder with all the delights they have to offer. The shop houses a fine selection of chutneys, jams, honeys, crackers, chocolates, fresh fruit and veg, charcuterie, dried goods such as pasta, a deli counter and a brilliant butchers. My advise if you're hungry is to grab one of the Cumberland pies from the deli - fandabbydozzy - the pastry crisp and salty and the meat all moist with no hint of gristle.

The shop champions local and artisanal produce and is a brilliant place to pick up delights such as Mr Vikki's chilli pickles, Tweesdale Honey, Richard Woodall's cured meats and cheese from the Swaledale Cheese Company, plus more unusual items such as smoked garlic. Tebay's Westmoreland shop now has over 40 regular local suppliers and the list is ever-growing.

Compared to the usual service station suspects the prices at Tebay are on a par - plus there is no extra charge for the feel good factor that the money you spend at Tebay is supporting the local economy. At Tebay there is no neon lighting, nasty plastic or sticky lino - the design has been thoroughly thought out with exposed wooden beams, natural stone and the cafe in the northbound station has a roof of weaved willow interspaced with little white lights. These services are like a massage for the soul and will help you unwind before the next round of traffic jams, road works and surprise diversions.

Tebay has been awarded a raft of awards including the 2009 Grand Prix of Gastronomy by Egon Ronay, Annual Loo of the Year 2009 and and Best Local Retailer by Radio 4's Food and Farming Awards and boy do they deserve them.

Tebay is so good I often try to find an excuse to travel that far up the M6, however with so much to offer there is really no excuse needed. Remember not to miss Tebay between Junc 38 and 39 (Tebay) signposted Tebay Westmoreland - and miss out the cheap and nasty chains such as Welcome Break and Moto. Happy travelling!

Tebay Services, between Junction 38 and 39 of the M6, Tebay, Cumbria - 01539 624511.
http://www.westmorland.com/tebay

Ps - for those Southerners who wish their travelling experiences could be graced with glamour and good food, Westmoreland Ltd (the company who run Tebay) have just won planning permission to start work on another service station on the M5 just outside Gloucester - should be opening in 2013.