Caudwell's Mill Café, Rowsley, Derbyshire

What a pleasant surprise to eat a meal, at a place chanced upon with no prior knowledge, where they've actually made an effort.

I'll spare you the lengthy rant about how eating in this country, brilliant though it certainly can be, is still rubbish if you don't plan ahead, about how you could travel the length and breadth of the country dining in wherever was obvious and looked nice, and not eat a single thing worth the money or calories. It's true though.

The particular speciality in this well-touristed part of the world is the 'doing just enough to get away with it café or tea room'. Your choice of mediocre panini served with a small pile of limp leaves? Six quid, thanks. 

So anyway, it's a refreshing change to end up somewhere like the café at Caudwell's Mill (the mill itself is worth a visit if like me, you like old industrial stuff with levers and pulleys and whatnot) where serving food that's worth bothering with is obviously of importance as well as keeping the bottom line ticking over.

They serve vegetarian food, which I only actually noticed after standing in the queue staring at the menu for at least five minutes. For me, it's always an indicator of appetising veggie food when the lack of meat isn't glaringly and instantly obvious.

As well as the usual sandwiches and jackets, there are daily specials served with salads. Homity pie was a cheesy, garlicky, comforting pile of goodness on a nutty wholemeal pastry base. In winter I could eat bowlfuls of this (probably swimming in a whole tin of beans), but it worked well as a summer dish too with all the associated greenery.

The salads were great; simple stuff done well. Amongst them a nice crunchy coleslaw; apple and beetroot; something vinegary with chickpeas; dressed leaves; and sweet carrot and corn given interest with seeds of some sort.

There are home made cakes galore for afters, the chocolate and coffee looked particularly good. We shared a slice of lemon which wasn't the best choice, being a bit overdone around the edges.

Service was quick and friendly, and you can sit by the window with a lovely view of the river that feeds the mill, then the Derbyshire countryside beyond. Meals are eight quid and a far better proposition than your aforementioned six pound panino, cakes £2-3 and a pot of tea a very reasonable £1.50. Worth a visit.

7/10

Caudwell's Mill
Rowsley
Matlock
DE4 2EB

http://www.caudwellsmillcraftcentre.co.uk/Thecafe.htm

The Cavendish Rooms, Chatsworth, Derbyshire

Canny business people, the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire. The Chatsworth empire must have an economy larger than some smaller nations. What with entry fees for the house, gardens, farmyard and car park; the restaurants, cafés, garden centre, farm shop, gift shop and homewares emporium you're not sort of ways to spend a few quid.

All this could seem grasping, but I think they get away with it. The place is just so spectacular. The colossal baroque pile of a house, the extensive and intricate gardens, and the lovely natural setting: grassy valley, meandering river and wooded hills. There aren't many finer settings for a Sunday stroll followed by afternoon tea.

In practice the English summer intervened, a hefty shower putting paid to the stroll and replacing it with a wander round the pricey homewares, Duchess endorsed jams and so forth before we sat down for a not so well earned feast.

Afternoon tea is served in the Cavendish rooms, under a sort of cloister that runs around the stable block. It's not the most scenic part of Chatsworth, but it's hardly shabby with its imposing stone walls and smartly attired waitresses.

If you go for the works, the champagne afternoon tea, you get a starter before the tiered stand of goodies arrives. I had the advertised crayfish cocktail and they were happy to substitute this with a goat's cheese tart for seafood allergic AS. Both were perfectly nice but crayfish are just a poor man's prawn really aren't they? I liked the champagne but it would have been far more enjoyable if they'd remembered to refrigerate it.

On to the main event, the much anticipated arrival of the stand. Places serving afternoon tea on ordinary plates are really missing a trick as the ceremony is all part of the fun. It's just not the same without the high-rise buffet on stilts.

The sandwiches were in the 'could try a bit harder' category. Serviceable but not containing any fillings of particularly great quality. One or two of them should have found the bin rather than the plate too, being curly edged and a bit stale. Having said that they can't have been that bad as we still had a few more when offered. More tea is also offered whenever you need it. We drank Earl Grey and one pot was plenty.

Happily more effort had gone into the sweets. The scones were light and fresh, strawberry cream meringues cracked on biting to reveal soft, chewy innards and the brownies oozed rich, high cocoa chocolate. Although they were good they really ought to ditch the brownies for something a little more English. Surely a refined Victoria sponge would be more fitting with the surrounds than some gooey American upstart?

Best of all was the lemon posset. For some reason I had in mind that a posset was more like a fool or mousse, lightly whipped in texture. This was more like a lemon crème brûlée, dense and smooth, but cut through with bright bursts of zest. Delicious. Why the hell have I never eaten this pudding before?

Like Chatsworth itself, I think they just about got away with it. Lukewarm champagne and average sandwiches were countered by lovely pudding-y things and polite, generous service. It's not cheap (£16.50-£22.50 for afternoon tea) but you'll almost certainly have a good time.

7/10


Chatsworth House
Chatsworth
Bakewell
Derbyshire
DE45 1PP

http://www.chatsworth.org/shop-eat/where-to-eat

The Castle, Castleton, Derbyshire

A visit to the countryside with some mates from down south didn't exactly go to plan due to the untimely interjection of the weather. Lengthy hikes are not really much fun in pouring rain and howling gales. And so it was we rolled up in Castleton, drenched through after legging it up Mam Tor and back from the car park in about 10 minutes flat. At least we got to see the view (just) as the murk parted briefly to reveal the beautiful Hope Valley.

The Castle was the first pub we came across so in we went. Fairly standard pub food on the menu, including a prix fixe at a very reasonable £6/8/10 for one/two/three courses. From this menu I ordered the shepherd's pie with plum and almond frangipane to follow. Other choices included mushroom and soup starters, goats cheese salad, and profiteroles. On ordering we were warned of a half hour wait for the food. Not a problem as we needed drying out time anyway.

When it eventually turned up the shepherd's pie was reasonably good. The meat had a good depth of lamby flavour with plenty of rosemary in the mix and the mash was creamy. The accompanying vegetables were overcooked though and it needed extra gravy. The pudding was fine and creme fraiche on the side rather than cream was a good choice. They didn't work out that the profiteroles had sold out until about an hour and a half after we'd ordered them, but offered a choice of the full dessert menu as an alternative. The apple and blackcurrant crumble chosen was the best dish of the day;- a huge portion with a crisp, buttery crumble and tart, not overly sweetened fruit.

I have no idea whether this is the best pub for food in Castleton, but I doubt it's the worst either. Does exactly what it says on the tin. Countryside done, we headed back to Manchester to hit the town...(see previous post).

6/10

The Castle
Castle Street
Castleton
Derbyshire
S33 8WG
http://www.vintageinn.co.uk/thecastlecastleton/restaurantsfood/