FOOD + DRINK
leaf’, the first of autumn’ s fallen apples had been transformed into a slow-cooked apple butter based on an old English recipe, its caramelised depth only broken by the tart pop of sweet-pickled blackcurrants. It tasted of hedgerows and childhood memories of bramble-stained fingertips and freedom – and you can’ t beat a bit of nostalgia, especially on your birthday.
Lastly, the‘ Tower of Sweet Treats’ arrived- decadent fudge, canelés and miniature chocolates stacked like treasures in a nest of boxes- a playful flourish at the end of a meal that had otherwise leaned towards the composed and considered.
Throughout the evening, the pairing of gin with fine dining was unexpected and clever, but what impressed most was the
philosophy that underpinned everything. Read treats herbs as central characters, not decorative afterthoughts. He knows ingredients taste better when placed in conversation with the wild and local. He understands patience, but also when to let flavour speak boldly- and he allows every dish’ s own personality to shine, rather than slotting into a more curated formula.
Read’ s original vision was that of a modern-day restaurant, responsible and sustainable, with seasonal cooking, few food miles and using every part of an ingredient. And this is exactly what he’ s achieved.
By seeking out and nurturing a strong network of small, independent farmers, growers and producers from farm to sea, and taking great care and pride to meet his suppliers and visit their sources across the county, Read has ensured both first-hand knowledge of the produce he uses and close relationships with the people whose hands create, grow or farm them. That is what gives The Counter that elusive edge.
It doesn’ t rely on gimmicks, but instead has an identity that’ s found in understatement- Read is a chef with patience and punch in equal measure, whose food is rooted firmly in Kent but pitched to a contemporary creativity.
Six dishes, six drinks and six neat pours of gin should have been my undoing, but instead I left- admittedly with a slightly more springier step- both satisfied and inspired. That’ s not just good gin, that’ s great cooking. For Tunbridge Wells, The Counter may be a newer addition on the block, but with this kind of character and clarity, it already feels like it belongs- not as a novelty, but as a place you’ ll want to return to to see what they get up to next.
thecountertw. com the _ counter _ tw www. insidekent. co. uk • 125