MENU dorset issue 22 MENU22..dorset pdf issue 22. | Page 3

MENU
D
DORSET
epending when you pick up this copy of
Menu, it could be either a) excitingly close
to Christmas, b) in the indulgent run up to
New Year’s Eve or c) in the dreary depths
of a cold and wet January. Whatever the timing, one
thing is sure – your life will be improved by making
a good cocktail. Or get one of the region’s talented
bartenders to serve you their speciality instead (p27).
While January is the month many choose to
cut back on alcohol we think that cocktails are a
healthy way to drink, if not quite up there with a
kale smoothie as an actual health drink. Watching
an expert bartender carefully craft your choice
3
with a unique mix of local artisan ingredients is
the antithesis of binge drinking. Forget meditation,
sipping to experience the mix of flavours is
mindfulness at its most delicious. Although best
handled by a professional in one of Dorset’s great
bars, we also enjoy having go at home which is why
we have a selection of recipes from mixologist Lloyd
Brown (p22) and others, mostly using world-class
locally produced spirits.
So fill your glass with something interesting and
toast another fantastic year for
Robin Alway
Group Editor
Dorset food and drink!
Contributors
Nick Marshall
Nick spoke to
Christchurch
Harbour Hotel’s new
chef this month. They
bonded over talk of
MasterChef, local
produce and, quite
literally, the price of fish.
Two Thirsty Gardeners Tom East
Nick and Rich
give us two great
handmade booze
options. From Italy
and Ireland via their
top secret Somerset
research shed, you
could even give them as presents.
Tom’s so in love
with diminutive
oranges that he’s
been proudly singing
Clementine, the
1997 solo single from
Take That’s Mark
Owen. Now that’s commitment.
www.menu-dorset.co.uk
Steve James
Personal chef Steve
is tackling that
British institution
the roast dinner
this month. He’ll
cook it for you and
even scrape the fat
from the roasting tin afterwards.