insideKENT Magazine Issue 89 - August 2019 | Page 141

mainstay of THE PIG’s very simple premise that it
only uses produce that they can grow themselves in
the kitchen garden or can source from within 25
miles with the unapologetic exception of their Irish
beef as it is the best they can find and won’t
compromise their standards. Fair enough.
The whole dining concept here is three-pronged;
yes, there is the unwavering commitment of group
chef director, James Golding and his passionate chef
teams, but menus here are also governed directly by
the gardeners and forager.
This elevates the concept of daily seasonal menus
to new heights with dishes changing by the minute
based on what produce is deemed the freshest and
most ready in the gardens, and also what the forager
brings to the kitchen – you can’t get more food-
conscious or fresher than that!
Fishy Bits such as brown crab sourdough soldiers
and potted salmon, or our fave the crispy cod cheeks
with Marie Rose sauce, and Garden Bits including
crispy courgettes, devilled hens eggs and our top
pick, the pea and mint vol-au-vents.
These ‘bits’ proved to be the perfect appetisers while
perusing the rest of the menu which is broken into
starters (or bigger) including homegrown cured
meats, pork belly, trout tartare and our choice, James
Golding’s oak smoked salmon with pickled cucumber
and Willy’s cider dressing; ‘Garden, Greenhouse
and Polytunnel’ offering a tastebud-tempting selection
of plant-based dishes such as new season courgettes,
heritage carrots and berry hill beetroot, and ‘Forest
and Solent’ mains which included Brixham hake,
Salisbury veal and our pick, the tomahawk pork
chop with garden baby leeks and mustard sauce,
and a salt-aged sirloin steak to which we added
garden sides of mixed greens and triple-cooked chips.
And you can’t get more welcoming that the
conservatory-situated restaurant. Wooden chairs
surround an eclectic mix of tables flooded with
natural light and laden with fresh garden herbs, and
there is a reassuring hubbub of chatter from
neighbouring tables working their way through the
farmhouse-style menu. Our younger diners happily worked their way
through pasta Bolognese and oven-roasted chicken
with vegetables, as well as devouring most of
the fresh sourdough bread and salted homemade
butter all the while busily colouring numerous
pictures of animals.
The menu itself begins with ‘bits’ - Piggy Bits such
as moreish thyme sausage rolls with black garlic, as
well as brock eggs and crackling with apple sauce; We finished with sweet smooth trinity burnt cream
and some fab ‘Piggy Fours’ of gingerbread pig biscuit,
pig chocolate truffle, jelly and fudge before one last
amble around the grounds, a play on the tree swing
and a race down the gravel drive (mainly to catch
the escaping toddler) back to our Pig House home-
from-home.
Waking fully rested and ready to explore more of
the wonders of the local area, we went for (yet
another) walk around the gardens and grounds before
indulging in a fab breakfast of fresh breads and
pastries with butter and freshly made jam, local
bacon, sausage and eggs, and enough coffee to sustain
an army (and the exhausted parents of three about
to embark on a day at Peppa Pig World!) before we
reluctantly bid a fond farewell to our first (and
certainly not our last) PIG experience.
THE PIG
Bealieu Road,
Brockenhurst,
Hampshire
SO42 7QL
www.thepighotel.com/brockenhurst
The_Pig_Hotel
ThePigRooms
thepig_hotel
141