Heston’s Little Chef
A couple of weeks ago, we managed a foray to Little Chef Popham, where uber-chef Heston Blumenthal has reworked the menu. Any foreign readers might need to know that Little Chef is a British institution - a chain of dozens of roadside cafes which have been going since 1958 and hasn’t changed much since. Until now.
It's so RED my camera freaked
The decor has been updated too - red everything - booths, tables, a long central table with barstools. Bizarre recordings playing in the toilets was rather puzzling. As for the food…
Winter Veg Casserole
I went for one of two vegetarian options, a winter vegetable casserole or stew, with “mustard dumplings” and Parmesan. Apart from the dumplings being a bit bland and stodgy, the flavour was good and fresh, and what seemed like a rather small portion (for £7.95 I think), filled me right up and I had to forego the chocolate torte with space dust. Dan had a pork belly salad, which he gave 7/10. Someone next to us having fish and chips was given a squirty bottle of “chip shop spritz” to complete the experience…
quite tasty actually...
My rocket salad was a little dry with an over-vinegary dressing, but I’m not complaining. Fresh young rocket salad at Little Chef - that’s progress. Will it last? The profits at this flagship new Little Chef have doubled since they opened. Word on the street is that Heston found this project “challenging” and is moving on…but let’s hope they can roll out the formula over the chain anyway. Nice one, HB - especially since that’s likely to be as close to eating at The Fat Duck as I am ever likely to get!
Tags: Add new tag, cookery, Heston Blumenthal
April 2nd, 2009 at 11:18 pm
Ha! Great fun.
April 9th, 2009 at 9:57 am
I have fond childhood memories of Little Chef. I remember being excited about visiting a Little Chef and ordering pancakes with ice cream and maple syrup. It was a great treat, but I don’t remember anything else from the menu. I do recall that If I cleared my plate, I was given a lolly. Yep, sugar upon more sugar.
It was definitely a time for a rethink. Let’s hope it does roll out.