Feeding time at the Farm

I must confess that before I arrived at Daylesford, I had my preconceptions about the place.

I had it down as a glorified farm shop, frequented by city dwellers looking for a sanitised taste of country life, arriving in their immaculate 4x4s with not a speck of dirt on them. An expensive haunt for ladies who lunch and then tell everyone about it on Facebook and Instagram. In short, I was suspicious.

So an invitation from the owners to sample the delights of its new bar and eat at its organic cafe, The Trough, gave me the opportunity to judge the place for myself. Had I been missing a trick all these years because of my irrational prejudices?

In short, yes. We were absolutely blown away by the quality of the food and drink, not to mention the service too, which was friendly, knowledgeable and, well…incredibly good fun.

First stop, after arriving to the sight of a magically fairy light-decorated tree, was the Legbar – named after a variety of chicken (hopefully, some distant relative of my favourite cartoon character Foghorn Leghorn). Stylish and slightly Scandinavian in feel, the Legbar has a tempting selection on cocktails and nibbles which we soon got stuck into. My Daylesford Virgin Mary (£6) was as good as I’ve ever tasted; nice and spicy with real depth of flavour (and it’s always nice to be asked how hot you want it), while my wife’s Bloody Mary (£9.50) was even nicer, thanks to the vodka. And the children loved their Green Garden (elderflower, apple, lemon, cucumber and mint) and Orchard Punch (apple, pomegranate, elderflower, lemon) mocktails (£6) – gulping them while washing down our selection of dips (£12), including a really interesting turmeric houmous and a very tasty smoked salmon pate. Aperitifs downed, it was time to take our table.

My son obviously took the name ‘The Trough’ literally, and almost dived headfirst into our shared charcuterie plate starter (£16). Very rude of him, but it did look delicious, with prosciutto, cured meats and olives, and it tasted as good as it looked.

Before leaving the house, I’d made up my mind to have a steak. I’d heard good things about the quality of the meat, and its organic credentials, and, well, it was a Saturday night…what could be better?

However, I couldn’t resist the sound of wood roast cod with brown crab, tarragon and clam sauce (£19). It was a superb dish, with moist, juicy, flaky cod (with a nice crispy skin) elevated by the rich brown crab meat spiked with clams. If I hadn’t warned the children earlier not to lick out the houmous bowl, that’s exactly what I would have done to my plate.

Luckily, my wife ordered the sirloin of Aberdeen Angus steak with sautéed potatoes and mustard and horseradish sauce (£29). That’s a hefty price, but from the one mouthful of beef I was allowed, it has ruined me for steak from anywhere else. Meltingly marbled, bursting with flavour, and as juicy as you could wish for, this was truly exceptional. Our faces made the sort of shapes and sounds that Gregg and John’s do just before they announce the winner of Masterchef. And the sauce was unctuously moreish too.

The purple sprouting broccoli (£5.50) we ordered to accompany our mains was a big hit as well – even with children who normally have to be blackmailed or bribed to eat their greens.

The children loved their wood-fired pizzas (£13-£16), although my daughter was disappointed her four cheeses variety didn’t have a tomato sauce base.

They were not disappointed with the dessert though, although we made them share the rich dark chocolate Nemesis cake with creme fraiche (£8). Thankfully it was big enough for two little ones, otherwise they would have come to blows.

My wife meanwhile dived into an espresso martini (£9.50), which she has now declared to be her most favourite thing in the whole world. She spent the next 10 minutes Googling recipes for this liquid nectar.

A lovely night, wonderful surroundings, great ingredients and cooking of the highest quality – what more could you ask for?

Get more info from The Daylesford website

Thoroughbred Breakfast at the Black Horse

If a job’s worth doing, it’s worth doing right. So when the Black Horse in Thame invited me to review their new breakfast menu, I knew just the people to help.

Like most families with kids, my children can be a bit picky. But stick a hearty, cooked breakfast in front of them, and the chances are it will be demolished with the minimum of fuss, followed by a request for more.

The Black Horse, owned by Raymond Blanc’s White Brasserie Company, has just launched a new Saturday-only menu for what many regard as the most important meal of the day. And make no mistake, this is strictly ‘breakfast’ – not that new upstart of the culinary world ‘brunch’. If you haven’t ordered by 11.30am, then it’s the lunch menu for you.

People can be fussy about their breakfasts. My dad, for example, won’t have tomatoes and mushrooms on the same plate. Others – myself included – frown on the idea of both beans and tomatoes with a full English (surely it’s a case of either/or?).

Luckily, the Black Horse menu has something to suit everyone’s tastes, from the classics to new favourites, British to continental, healthy or indulgent, vegan or carnivore.

A breakfast menu is only as good as its full English, and the one we had (£11.95) was not bad at all. The Cumberland sausage was nice and meaty with a lovely herby taste; the wild mushrooms had a lot more flavour than their common-or-garden counterparts; the beans were Heinz; there was nicely fried black pudding; there’s two free range eggs, cooked however you want them (we had them fried and poached, and all their yolks were perfectly runny; the sourdough toast was the perfect accompaniment; the rasher of back bacon divided opinion – my wife thought it was overcooked and leathery, while I would always err on the side of crispy over soggy when it comes to bacon; but the star of the show was the tomato.

Never has a humble sliced tomato earned such rave reviews as the one we tucked into. Slow cooked with a hint of garlic and seasoning, it intensified its sweetness and exploded with juiciness. But you’ll have to savour it, as you only get one half each – we all agreed that we could have demolished a plate full of them on a slice or two of that lovely sourdough toast.

Full English

Smashed Avocado

Salmon and Scrambled Egg

Child No.1 couldn’t decide between smoked salmon and scrambled eggs (£6.95) and that millennials’ staple – smashed avocado (£7.95) – so we ordered both.

There was a generous portion of Scottish smoked salmon on a mound of fluffy, free range scrambled eggs, and more sourdough toast. A classic dish, treated with reverence.

The avocado, though, was a revelation to me. It was delicious – mashed on toast, spiked with onion and chilli, topped with yielding poached eggs, and decorated with peppery watercress. Zingy and vibrant, it’s no wonder this dish has caught on.

Child No.2 also couldn’t decide – between the full English and the cinnamon French toast (£8.25) – so we ending up sharing.

Elevating ‘eggy bread’ up a notch, this had sweet brioche, fried in batter, coated in cinnamon sugar, and served with a tangy and tart mixed berry compote. The natural yogurt that was supposed to accompany it never arrived, but wasn’t missed.

We washed it all down with tea, coffee, hot chocolate and a spicy Virgin Mary. Much as I would have loved to have tried the Eggs Benedict (£8.50), there was simply no room left in my stomach. Next time, maybe.

There’s also house granola or a fruit platter to choose from if you’re feeling virtuous, or croissants, pain au chocolat or pain aux raisin from the boulangerie, in a nod to M Blanc.

Service was excellent – friendly and helpful – and there was even free dog biscuits and a bowl of water for our hound (this is very much a dog-friendly pub, as opposed to a dog-tolerant one).

As a first-time visitor to the lovely town of Thame, the Black Horse has left a wonderful impression on me.

I’m sure there must be better ways of spending a relaxing Saturday morning than sitting in this beautiful pub’s idyllic conservatory with the sun streaming through, tucking into a fry-up. But, at the moment, I can’t think of any.

For more info about the Black Horse, Thame, click here!

Gousto Grub and Gaffs

Just a quickie, to say that we’ve now had four weeks of yummy Gousto food.

A mix of Moroccan, Chinese, American, Italian and other international dishes, which the children have welcomed with mixed reactions.

I would highly recommend it, but for one thing: the packaging. I mentioned in my first blog about Gousto, that there seemed to be a lot of packaging, and that is still a concern. But my real frustration has been poor packaging.

Week one – missing ingredient (not a replaceable pack of herbs, but an integral bag of mince beef!)

Week two and week three – leaking sachets of toasted sesame oil. Have you ever tried to open a myriad of packets when they are all covered in greasy oil? (Although the smell was fab!) Bizarrely, the second week, the leaking sachet actually looked as if it had been cut open!

Week four – leaking sachet of ketchup this time and a missing egg. Yes, not really a massive problem, but when you are paying a premium for your ingredients and the USP is convenience, then actually, it is a bit of a pain!

So all in all a brilliant service except for the poor packaging!

Try it for yourself here!

A Partridge and a Pear Treat

I must confess, I was slightly confused when I was asked if I would be interested in reviewing a game night at a Chipping Norton pub.

It took a full 10 seconds for the penny to drop that it would be an evening involving eating meat from wild animals, rather than Cluedo, Monopoly and Scrabble. Once I realised, I had no hesitation in accepting.

Game, much like offal, is one of those things that separate the true foodie from those that just eat to stay alive. Many turn their noses up at the thought of eating something that was living in the wild, even branding it cruel to make a meal of a creature that was shot (while, ironically, tucking into factory farmed produce). Many worry about biting into pieces of shot. Others just don’t like the gamey taste. But isn’t flavour what makes food so great?

So it’s three cheers then for the Blue Boar in Chipping Norton for starting a regular Game and Wine Night, to celebrate the delicious food that so many shy away from. And all washed down with matching wines.

It’s a booking only affair, with a limited three-course menu, but it is all the better for that. Assistant manager and all-round cheeky chappie Christian Grant creates a welcoming and friendly atmosphere for the diners, making it more like a dinner party than a meal out, especially in the Blue Boar’s spectacular dining area created in the former stables.

Well, it did differ from a dinner party in at least one way – it started with a demonstration of how to skin, bone and prepare items of game, including grouse, a pheasant and even a decapitated roe deer. Definitely not one for the squeamish, but if it’s your thing, it was a fascinating and entertaining glimpse into butchery.

We returned to our tables to find a little treat waiting for us – wild boar Scotch eggs and wild boar sausage rolls from the pub’s bar menu. As someone who has munched his way through tonnes of these sort of snacks in his time, I can honestly say they were the best I’ve ever tasted. The sausage meat was sensational, the pastry was perfect and the egg yolk was still runny.

The starters kept up the high standard. My local wood pigeon breast with butternut squash and sage risotto was a marriage made in heaven, with the rich bird – almost livery in flavour – complemented by the sweet, autumnal flavour of the squash.

My wife loved her crispy duck leg croquette with poached pear, but the star of the dish for her was the celeriac remoulade – coleslaw-like shreds of the raw root vegetable in a sweet, tangy mayonnaise dressing – she wouldn’t leave the restaurant without extracting the recipe from chef Dale Ventham.

So now we entered the business end of things with the mains. For me, whole roast partridge with bubble and squeak, roasted parsnip and redcurrant jus. The bird was nice and moist, thanks to it being vacuum-packed and cooked in a water bath before being brown off before serving. The bubble and squeak was crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, and loaded with potato, carrot and cabbage, while the parsnip was a lovely sweet accompaniment. I would have liked a bit more redcurrant in my gravy, but nevertheless it was a lovely dish.

My wife’s venison, wild mushroom and celeriac pithivier was a hearty pie, served with roasted heritage carrots, shallots and a port jus. The aniseed flavour from roasting the veg with fennel seeds got mixed reviews, and the jus could have done with an extra glug of port, but the pastry was crisp, and the filling was rich and moist.

We might not be counting down the 12 days of Christmas yet, but it seemed fitting to follow partridge with a pear. It was poached in port and served with a crunchy walnut crumble and was beautifully light and not over-sweet. A seam of thick, almost cheesy clotted cream filled the inside of the pear, providing the ideal contrast in flavours. Sublime.

My wife’s cheese board was equally impressive, including Oxford Blue and Alex James’s little Wallop. Rock and roll.

All the courses were matched with a specially chosen wine, plus a glass of fizz to start and port to finish. Which makes the price of £35 per person exceptionally good value.

So, I would judge this first event a success. Bring on the next one: game on.

Gousto (Part Two)

Chipotle burger, with stewed onion, in a toasted brioche bun, served with oven-baked fries and a little gem lettuce side salad. Ok, not a mind-blowingly difficult dish to prepare – in fact we always make our own burgers and Marc is frequently lecturing me on how easy it is to make your own chips. But the chipotle mayo was a twist I would never have considered for our picky children and, what do you know? Barney asked for more!

Gousto brags that its beef is 100 per cent British, but this isn’t actually difficult to achieve if you shop in a regular supermarket. It’s one of the few meats which is difficult to farm intensively and our farmers produce it rather well. What does make a difference to the quality of the mince is the fat content: Too much fat and you have a greasy mess; too little fat and there’s no taste to your dish. Interestingly, Gousto don’t reveal the fat content of their well-packaged beef, and anyway, we were one 300g pack short. (They’d already refunded the cost of the dish with an apology for not including it in the delivery.) We used our own 500g of supermarket mince instead.

Barney loved helping with this dish. There’s something satisfying about squeezing beef into patties with your (clean) hands. I’ve just got to un-do all the good work I did when they were toddlers, warning them how hot the hob is, because now they are scared senseless and wouldn’t stir the onions as they stewed!

Although I had looked disparagingly at the ingredients before we started cooking, claiming that it was certainly not enough for all of us, I was wrong. Two burgers each and one brioche was plenty, and there was nothing left at the end (poor Pete the Dog skulked off to his bed).

The children wolfed it down, I left some and Marc didn’t complain, so everyone’s a winner! Next up, Tandoori fish – which could be a miserable fail according to the children…

Gousto with Gusto

So, I fell for it. I subscribed to Gousto – you know, one of those middle class recipe and ingredient schemes. A rather lovely girl knocked on our door and before you know it, I was set up for four of my half-term meals.

The way this system works is thus: You pay for however many dinner times you want (we plumped for the “four for four” option – four portions of four meals) and Gousto sends you the unprepared ingredients and recipe cards. There’s lots to choose from: vegetarian, child-friendly, Chinese, curry… If you’re like me, and find yourself returning to the same old meals like Groundhog Day, then this is a winner from the start.

A few days after signing up (you have to give a minimum of three days’ notice) a rather smiley delivery chap from Yodel handed me a huge cardboard box, packed with all the raw materials needed for my four culinary challenges.

As I unpacked the goodies, two things happened: Firstly, I was struck by how much packaging there was. Rice was neatly weighed out in 75g plastic packets. Sauces came in lovely little plastic pots. Anything likely to leak was wrapped in plastic bags. Perfect amounts for two meals, so for a family of four, double the amounts of everything. Despite Gousto’s boast that 93 per cent is recyclable or biodegradable, surely it’s better not to produce it in the first place?

My second problem was that I was one ingredient short of a chipotle burger (or two). A man at the end of the phone explained he couldn’t send out the extra beef – which was integral to the meal – but he would refund the cost of the meal and add the credit to our next order. I suppose that will have to do, but not a good start to my first order!

Barney (the nine-year-old-boy) was eager to cook, and after a small tantrum about chipotle burgers, he decided to try out the Cowboy Bean Bowl and Crispy Tortillas. With my help, he chopped, grated, stirred, dissolved and strained the range of healthy ingredient. And as he sliced, he bravely nibbled a red pepper for the first time ever, and then we nearly ran out, because he loved them so much.

The recipe was easy to follow and reasonably quick, and I served the spicy beans with the included Greek yogurt, chopped spring onions, grated Cheddar and aforementioned tortillas.

Barney scoffed his bowlful like he’d just spent the afternoon herding cattle on the range. The girl (Grace, 11) moaned. We knew she was unlikely to like this meal, but give her her dues: She tried a spoonful and – after retching dramatically – it was decided that she would only eat the tortilla, cheese and spring onions, which was a first for her, so still a result.

All-in-all, a delicious meal. I’ll blog about the others when we’ve cooked them, but so far, so good on the food front. My only reservation is the packaging, and it’s a big enough problem to prevent me from ordering again, so the other meals need to be more than delightful…

Gastro Gateway to Gluten-Free Gluttony

I RECEIVED a warning from a colleague before setting off to try the gluten-free menu at the Cotswold Gateway in Burford.

“Watch out,” he warned. “My wife’s coeliac and she has these gluten-free pizzas – you’d be better off eating the cardboard they come in!”

And so it’s presumably because of preconceptions like this that the Gateway has been championing its extensive gluten-free menu, which even extends to the beer, with its bottles of Wadworth’s 6X Gold suitable for coeliacs.

I say ‘extensive’ because the gluten-free menu is only a tad shorter than the ‘normal’ one. And it was full of pub classics and hearty fayre, the stuff that makes you really want to tuck in.

I started with the char-grilled asparagus with micro cress and – something I had been hoping to try for quite a while – a crispy duck egg (£7.75). The green spears were a seasonal treat, and the char-grilling gave them an extra dimension. Drizzles of hollandaise were the perfect accompaniment.

The crispy coating for the egg was a bit dense, but the egg yolk still has a softness to it – enough to encourage the dunking of a tip or two.

 

 

My wife opted for the river mussels from the specials board (£7.50), and was rewarded with tasty, plump shellfish in a lovely creamy broth, that just begged to be mopped up with the slices of gluten-free bread.

Fancying a bit of fish, I plumped for sea bass for my mains. It came on a warm salad of chickpeas, sun-blushed tomatoes, potatoes, green beans and olives (£15.95) and was a fine combination of flavours.

The bass was advertised as baked, but the skin arrived beautifully crispy and golden, and the fillets were moist and full of the delicate bass flavour.

It was obvious that the kitchen knows its way around a piece of fish.

The Mediterranean-style accompaniments worked really well with the dish, especially the tomatoes which were like little sweet and sour explosions for the mouth. My only criticism would be the lack of a sauce or dressing to hold it together, although a dollop of mayonnaise did the trick.

Sauce was certainly not lacking from my wife’s thick-cut entrecôte steak with chunky chips, grilled tomato, dressed salad and creamy blue cheese sauce (£22.95).

A fine cut of sirloin, perfectly cooked – charred on the outside, pink inside, as ordered – the tangy blue cheese took it to the next level. The plentiful chips were beautifully cooked too.

If the gluten-free ambitions were likely to fall short, I figured, it would probably be in the desserts. I went for one of my favourites, sticky toffee pudding, served this time with the almost ubiquitous salted caramel ice cream (£6.95).

Taste-wise, it hit all the spots – it was sticky, sweet, and the creamy ice cream perfectly complemented it. The texture was what let it down ever-so slightly – I prefer mine with a bit more substance and this one could have been a touch firmer.

gateway sticky toffee

knife and fork

There were no complaints about the Baileys and espresso brulee however, with it’s very grown-up custard, hidden under a crisp layer of melted sugar. Surprisingly light, it was a lovely dessert.

We washed it all down with the aforementioned 6X Gold (£3.95). I confess to being more of a lager and stout drinker, but this beer was light, and certainly didn’t overpower any of the food we had.

The atmosphere was extremely friendly, and the waiting staff were a delight. It’s a pub, not a restaurant, and that gives it a warm, relaxed feel, without an ounce of stuffiness.

The menu is not going to win any prizes for innovation, but it’s not setting out to. It’s producing rib-sticking, bold food with more than a nod to classic, local combinations – starters also included smoked mackerel, ham hock terrine, plus mozzarella, peas and broad beans, while the mains offered a wonderful sounding honey glazed ham on bubble and squeak with poached eggs. I hesitate to use the phrase ‘home-cooking’, because it’s several notches above that, but I hope you know what I mean. And while the prices are not particularly cheap, it would be hard to argue that they’re not good value when it comes to quality and portion sizes. Well, we were in Burford.

The Cotswold Gateway, 216 The Hill, Burford OX18 4HX 01993 822695

www.cotswold-gateway.co.uk/home

A Spoonful of yummy at Knife & Fork

Knife & Fork pop-up restaurant, Deddington, north Oxfordshire

IT WAS an evening of surprises. Subconsciously, as we rolled up the drive of the huge country pile on a chilly Friday night, I suppose I had some preconceptions about the idea of paying £45 a head for a meal in someone’s home.

Maybe I feared it would be a bit twee – home cooking with ideas above its station. Perhaps I didn’t want to spend an evening making small talk with strangers. I don’t know – I can’t quite put my finger on it.

Those fears were quickly banished as we were greeted at the door like old friends and had glasses of fizz shoved into our hands. The diners – up to 16 on any one evening – can mingle over drinks and canapés while infectiously bubbly chef Tanya Young and her helpers put the finishing touches to your feast.

Tanya is coeliac herself, which is why the menu is gluten-free. Not that you’d notice, or feel you are missing out on anything.

“Most of my diners are not gluten-free and are amazed to hear they’ve just had a gluten-free meal,” says Tanya, an accountant-turned-chef who has returned to her childhood home of Deddington – via France, Singapore, Devon and Bicester – to set up a restaurant in her house, opening a few weekends a month. Overnight stays are also available. Word is spreading, and slots get booked up quickly.

“Having lived in France I had always dreamed of running a home restaurant,” adds Tanya. “Not knowing the menu was always part of the fun of visiting these little restaurants, so I wanted to recreate this dining experience – a sociable environment where guests could enjoy top-quality food in a relaxed atmosphere. I decided to just do it and Knife & Fork was born.”

One bonus, as far as I’m concerned, is that diners bring their own drinks. Water is provided (including a lemongrass-infused concoction on our visit), but the alcohol (except the welcoming glass of fizz) is up to you, depending on how cheap or flash you want to be.

And the menu is fixed – and very seasonal – so fussy eaters should beware. You get what you’re given. But on the evidence of my visit, what you’re given is very, very good indeed. And with five courses, plus some bonus extras, chances are there’ll be something you like.

We started with sirloin steak canapés, thick, tender mouthfuls of succulent, rare beef with a light horseradish cream. A perfect appetiser.

Then we were ushered into the dining room for the starter proper – a little mug of delicate pumpkin soup served with mixed nuts.

The soup was a real winter warmer, sweet but not overpowering, and the lightly spiced nuts were a perfect accompaniment to the squash.

Next up was the fish course – beetroot marinated gravadlax with remoulade. Again, a perfectly executed dish, with the clean taste of the salmon enhanced by the sweetness of the beetroot.

The remoulade was rich and earthy, with a beautifully balanced mayonnaise. And it was as pretty as a picture.

Altogether more substantial was the main course. Three-bird roasts can be a bit hit-or-miss, but this one was excellent, if a tad dry.

Chicken, Guinea fowl and duck, combined with a sausage stuffing, studded with pistachios and wrapped in bacon and served in generous slices.

Good as the meat was, the vegetables were arguably the stars. The onion purée was a sweet, savoury treat which I could have licked straight off the plate if I wasn’t in polite company. The cavolo nero gave the dish an irony hit, and the carrots were lovely.

We helped ourselves from a huge bowl of extremely moreish roasted new potatoes with their skins on, perfect comfort food alongside the gravy (that’s right; gravy, not jus).

Another unexpected treat was the intensely-flavoured apple sorbet to cleanse our palates before the cheese course. This came in the form of a blue cheesecake with caramelised walnuts and a glass of Madeira.

A really innovative take on cheese and biscuits, it came with a grape and celery salad in a tangy dressing that cut through the richness of the cheese.

Dessert was a new take on an old favourite – Black Forest baked Alaska with cherry sauce and toasted almonds. The combination of chocolate cake, cherries and cream is a classic in my eyes, and the addition of ice cream under a light meringue was a fun twist.

The almonds also lifted the dish, adding another dimension of texture and flavour – one of the hallmarks of Tanya’s cooking all night.

Make sure you book the babysitter until midnight (or splash out on bed and breakfast) because we were there almost until the small hours enjoying coffee and the most exquisite petit fours of chestnut and fig truffles. They looked dense and heavy but were light, melted in the mouth and tasted amazing.

We left feeling like we had joined a special club, or been let in on a little secret. A secret I now must share with you all.

For more information about Knife & Fork and to book, visit  www.knifeandforkeatery.co.uk.

When life gives you lemons…freeze them!

Ever had the odd occasion when you want a cheeky gin but ice and a slice means cutting up a lemon which will then go to waste?

One option is to have G&Ts until the whole lemon is vanquished. Alternatively, you could try this clever tip…

Chop your lemon, pop the slices in a container and put it into your freezer – next to the bottle of Hendricks, which obviously tastes better under zero degrees! Next time you want a gin and slim, take a slice from the freezer for instant ice and a slice. And if you sip slowly enough (not possible after witching hour on a Friday) the lemon in your glass will defrost as you drink! Cheers!

Bellissimo Italia!

THEY’VE played around with the menu at Bella Italia since our last visit in the summer.

In have come a few new starters and desserts, plus – what they are most proud of – some additions to its fresh pasta menu.

As a family, we were invited to try the new dishes out. Well, family is what Italian food is all about, isn’t it? And our table resembled something out of a Mafia movie banquet scene when the delightful waiting staff brought out our plates of pasta.

The new ravioli dishes we tried – pollo robiola (£12.95) with sunflower shaped fresh pasta parcels filled with cheese and rocket, combined with roasted chicken in a rich red pepper sauce; and panzerotti funghi (£11.25) with half-moon shaped fresh pasta parcels filled with mushrooms and served in a mushroom and spinach sauce – were lovely, rich bowls of comfort food.

The fillings were full of flavour and the sauces packed a punch. Ideal food for a winter’s night.

The children demolished their creamy tagliatelle carbonara (£9.95), fighting with each other for the crispy rashers of pancetta on top.

We had started with the new chicken wings Italiano (£6.45), in a tangy balsamic barbecue glaze, served with a cooling garlic and lemon mayonnaise, which proved so popular that the children nearly came to blows when arguing who got the last one. Arancini funghi (£6.25) were also a tasty hit – deep-fried balls of mushroom risotto with a lovely tomato dip. Both were great “messy food”, which was a great excuse to use our fingers!

As for desserts, tops for me was the new orange cheesecake (part of the shot glass desserts – three for £5.25 or five for £7.95), a sweet, creamy, citrussy treat. The morello cioccolato (£5.75), a hot chocolate cake with rich cherry sauce, was also delicious, if a bit cloying.

It was all washed down with some great alcohol-free mocktails, and we left feeling as stuffed as the ravioli.

What would we do if Italians didn’t make such yummy food? I have absolutely no idea where we would take children for a fail-safe meal during a day out! It’s true that most ristoranti d’Italia offer a good choice in pizza, pasta and antipasti, but if you want a really great selection of freshly-made dishes, in my opinion, you can’t beat Bella Italia.

Bella Italia,14-16 George Street, Oxford 01865 791032 bellaitalia.co.uk