The Puck empire expands!  Last night we had dinner at Spago Beverly Hills, (Beet layer cake, chestnut agnolotti – ask them to hold the chicken stock), and the consumate palm-presser, Wolfgang Puck (whom I am convinced has cloned himself because he shows up at every one of his restaurants we eat at) was working the tables.  A few days ago at LAX, I saw him getting off a plane from London so naturally I asked him about his trip.  He replied that he had been in London working out a deal to open a Cut restaurant on Park Lane beside the Dorchester!  He appeared very excited about the prospect.   Great news for London’s carnivores.

We ended up in Bakewell, a pictoresque village in Derbyshire, UK. Well of course we had to have the famous bakewell tart… until we realized that it is a common misapprehension that Bakewell is famous for the bakewell tart. It is in fact famous for the bakewell pudding, an entirely different pastry. Apparently three different bakeries claim the authentic recipe. We chose the Original Bakewell Pudding Shop. According to the menu, the puddings were an accident created by a misunderstanding between the owner of the White Horse Inn (now the Rutland Arms) and her cook. Instead of stirring the egg and jam into the pastry, the cook spread it on top. The recipe however, is a closely guarded secret, although it appears on tea towels all over town, minus one concealed ingredient. We made our way to the small 17th century tea room above the shop and ordered our pudding. It arrived with the ubiquitous custard. The tart was set in a puff pastry. The filling was eggy, sweet, not unlike flan, and to me, tasted slightly of almonds and liquor. I thoroughly enjoyed it but the rest of our table disliked the texture. It is definately worth a trip to this charming town in this beautiful part of England to taste this unique pudding. Cheers!

We met friends for dinner at Rowley’s Restaurant, a charming little place set in an old pub in Baslow, Derbyshire.  The staff were extremely friendly and the whole exprerience couldn’t have been better.  I had an eggplant and grueyere  mille feuille with a flavorful ratatouille and potatoes, but it was the pumpkin ravioli starter that impressed us; surprisingly, it was more of a salad with rocket and a wonderfully comforting sauce.  The flavors were exceptional and Chef Rupert Rowley was certainly accomidating.  A lovely find!

www.rowleysrestaurant.co.uk

After a long and exhausting plane ride to Heathrow, we finally arrive at St. Pancras Train Station for our voyage to Derbyshire and the Peak District.  St. Pancras has been thouroughly redone (for a cool $100 million)  and is magnificent as the new departure point for the Eurostar.  Many delightful and interesting shops line the interior of the station .  I particularly loved the rustic cheese and produce market that reminded me of Oxbow in Napa.  There, the delighted shopkeep was thrilled that I knew what Stichelton Cheese was.  Having only read of it, this attempt to return to Stilton’s roots via unpasteurized milk was an exciting find.  The flavors are far more complex than Stilton…More earthy, sweet, with a complicated finish that left a distinct taste of the pasture on one’s tongue.  I was blown away.  As eventuallly the jetlag overtook us, we settled in for a plate of creamy, welcoming scrambled eggs, English mushrooms, and whole grain toast washed down with bracing latte.  This was going to be a perfect trip…

.