insideKENT Magazine Issue 63 - June 2017 | Page 68

FOOD+DRINK
THE SMOKEHOUSE AT The
Bull , WROTHAM
WHEN YOU THINK OF A TRADITIONAL KENTISH VILLAGE PUB, YOU MIGHT
THINK OF AN OLD BUILDING FULL OF CHARACTER. YOU MIGHT THINK OF
CRAFT BEERS AND ALE. YOU MIGHT EVEN THINK OF GREAT FOOD. BUT ALL
THESE THINGS TOGETHER? THEN YOU’RE THINKING OF THE BULL AT
WROTHAM. by Lisamarie Lamb
A festival of high-quality meat cooked to perfection by two AA Rosette
and Michelin-listed chef, The Smokehouse menu is The Bull’s main
attraction and owners, Martin and Lygia Deadman are rightly proud of
it. The exciting thing about this particular menu (apart from the
wonderful flavours) is that the meat is either cooked on the state-of-
the-art Big Green Egg barbecue, or in the smoker. Either way, the result
far exceeds expectations and blows standard barbecue fare right out
of the water.
When my guest and I arrived we were greeted warmly – the staff here
are fantastic – and shown to our table where we were told that a tasting
menu had been prepared for us. Perfect; no need to choose between
the delicious sounding dishes on the menu. We’d have a bit of
everything. And a bit of everything is certainly what we got...
But first, refreshment, in the form of craft beers. The beers at The Bull
are selected personally by Martin, and they need to be exceptional to
make the cut. The ones we were offered were different from any other
beer we’d ever tasted – one had a blackcurrant flavour; another had a
kick of chilli; the third had coconut in it somehow. Not usually a beer
drinker, I really enjoyed these – particularly the chilli version: Siren
Brewery’s 5 Alarm for anyone wishing to try it.
Our starter platter came next. It consisted of generous amounts of
green olives, caper berries, padron peppers, fruity chilli chicken wings,
fresh chargrilled chorizo sausage and the famous Bull sausage (the
secret recipe for which only Martin knows). There was not a dud item
on the plate. My particular favourite was the chicken wings; the meat
was moist and the skin was just the right side of crispy.
Mains were up next and they looked extremely appetising. We had
Welsh wagyu Denver cut with the house rub, which was a revelation.
For me, steak is steak; I’ve never raved about them, but this steak was
so tender, so juicy and so packed full of flavour that I would have eaten
my guest’s portion (and then some) if he hadn’t gotten to it first. There
was also an amazing 12-hour cooked smoked pork belly rib, which
was actually melt in the mouth. All of the above was served with small
portions of mac and cheese, mac and brie, carrot kimchi, red slaw and
a wonderful smoked beef brisket with sauerkraut on top. Ooh, and
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fabulous chips with a choice of
sauces. Magnificent. And all
homemade.
Although fairly well stuffed, we
couldn’t leave without at least
attempting some dessert to share.
We ordered the sticky toffee
pudding with vanilla ice cream
and the creamy rice pudding with
plum compote. Both were sweet
in just the right proportions, so
that they were moreish rather
than sickly, which is a clever
pudding skill to pull off.
The Bull is a thirteenth century
coaching inn which, history tells
us, was first licensed in 1495 by
Henry VII. Since then, it has seen
many thousands of travellers
come through its doors looking
for a good meal and a place to
rest their heads. Not much has
changed in that respect – the
hotel is lovely; a truly relaxing
place to spend some time, and
the food is far more than just
‘good’.
The Bull Hotel
Bull Lane
Wrotham
Kent
TN15 7RF
01732 789800
www.thebullhotel.com
thebullwrotham
thebullwrotham