Dorset Magazine "Life Matters"

EATING OUT
Gold Standard

The recent Taste of the West awards threw up a little gem in The White House Hotel in Charmouth, the Dorset winner of the Gold Award for food. Following the announcement of the award, we decided to go along to find out why the restaurant had scooped this prestigious prize. Well, for starters, it's a charming place. The interior decor is immaculate, with golden yellow walls and sparkling white paintwork highlighting the building's original architectural features. lf anyone could spot a speck of dirt without a magnifying glass l'd be extremely surprised. Then there's the country house hotel atmosphere - the place is to all intents and purposes an hotel, but they also welcome those who just wish to dine there - and welcome them they do, very warmly.

The Proprietors lan and Elizabeth Simpson are great hosts. Drinks are served in the lounge, along with hand-made canapés, and it's a friendly atmosphere in which to choose the food for your meal. And this is where you really begin to realise why this establishment gained the award, for the menu, although not vast (no bad thing in my book), oozes dishes made using local produce, one of the Taste of the West judges' main criteria. But that's not all - Ian, with his chef's hat on this time, skilfully turns these ingredients into the most delicious dishes. And at just £25 for four courses and coffee and mints, it's exceedingly good value. We started off with a dish of Portland crab with avocado, coriander and lime creme fraiche, which was really appetising and nowhere near as rich as might be expected, and a large plateful of Cornish sardines with garlic, lemon and dill.

Next came a 'refresher' course of strawberries with mint and yoghurt, which did the trick because we were raring to go again when the main courses arrived. The Beard stuck with fish, this time local Lyme Bay sea bass with steamed mussels and samphire grass, while my choice was roast confit of duck leg with green beans and Denhay Farm ham. The duck was so tender it fell off the bone, and was testimony to the ingredients at the White House. It was an unbelievably difficult task to choose a pudding because they all sounded sensational, but while the Beard had the West Country cheeses, I finally decided on white chocolate tart with raspberries and creme fraiche, which was superb. But that's only what l'd come to expect by this stage, as it was now obvious why lan and Elizabeth had gained their award - first-class ingredients developed into first-class dishes. Definitely 'gold standard'.