Beaminster - the Wild Garlic
Winter 2009
Frank's view 
Master Chef without an X-Factor
Master Chef is a BBC reality TV show where aspiring gourmet gurus battle to become the next gastro god.
For enthralling hours of tense television entertainment, cooks from all round the UK draw from their creative juices to conjour up dishes of mesmerising magic. In February 2009 Matt Follas from Dorset, via New Zealand, was hailed a culinary genius after a gruelling battle with his competing contemporaries.
His winning banquet consisted of a Trio of Wild Rabbit, followed by Spider Crab Thermidor with hand-cut chips & sea vegetables and a grand finale of Lavender mousse with hokey-pokey honeycomb with a blackberry sauce.
In the interviews following his coronation Matt announced that the UK recession had scuppered aspirations of opening a restaurant in his adopted home of Dorset.
Fast-forward a mere four months and Matt was celebrating the launch of ‘the Wild Garlic’, his very own restaurant in the Dorset outpost of Beaminster. In fairness, Beaminster is around 10 minutes drive from Notting Hill by Sea, otherwise known as Bridport, but unless you’ve jumped onto the latest country retreat bandwagon or live in the Dorset sticks, you’re unlikely to be a drop in diner.
Dropping in isn’t actually an option as the Wild Garlic is doing very nicely thank you so booking is essential for one of its 35 dining places.
The Wild Garlic is a strange place – Is it a gourmet pub? Is it a bistro? It’s certainly not a swanky restaurant. The menu is scrawled on a blackboard above the decorative fireplace. a choice of four starters, four main courses and four desserts. Simple…and the food is surprisingly so.
I chose goats cheese with roasted butternut squash. It arrived served on a mini chopping board with mixed leaves. Very good but very basic.
To follow, on a plate, were two small grilled whole John Dory (cooked to perfection), boiled new potatoes and more mixed leaves.
The prices are low when compared with local pubs. £6 for the starter and £17 for the John Dory. A couple of main courses were £11.
The wine list is also small and apparently very good value (my host denied me access) but how quirky to serve wine in large tumblers.
Matt’s squadron leader moustached manager is seemingly an old friend who keeps him on track but the accompanying waitresses were not quite so on the ball, and why no salt & pepper on the table?
The Wild Garlic serves very well cooked food. The quality of the produce is excellent and clearly sourced with care.
But was this a special dining experience?
Sadly No.
As a Master Chef winner Matt Follas is clearly operating well within his comfort zone. On the evidence of lunch at the Wild Garlic he will never become one of the world’s great chefs and Michelin inspectors should certainly steer clear unless they fancy a bit of gastro pub grub.
He may have won Master Chef but there’s no X-Factor.
The Wild Garlic
Beaminster
Dorset
01308 861446
http://www.thewildgarlic.co.uk/
For enthralling hours of tense television entertainment, cooks from all round the UK draw from their creative juices to conjour up dishes of mesmerising magic. In February 2009 Matt Follas from Dorset, via New Zealand, was hailed a culinary genius after a gruelling battle with his competing contemporaries.
His winning banquet consisted of a Trio of Wild Rabbit, followed by Spider Crab Thermidor with hand-cut chips & sea vegetables and a grand finale of Lavender mousse with hokey-pokey honeycomb with a blackberry sauce.
In the interviews following his coronation Matt announced that the UK recession had scuppered aspirations of opening a restaurant in his adopted home of Dorset.
Fast-forward a mere four months and Matt was celebrating the launch of ‘the Wild Garlic’, his very own restaurant in the Dorset outpost of Beaminster. In fairness, Beaminster is around 10 minutes drive from Notting Hill by Sea, otherwise known as Bridport, but unless you’ve jumped onto the latest country retreat bandwagon or live in the Dorset sticks, you’re unlikely to be a drop in diner.
Dropping in isn’t actually an option as the Wild Garlic is doing very nicely thank you so booking is essential for one of its 35 dining places.
The Wild Garlic is a strange place – Is it a gourmet pub? Is it a bistro? It’s certainly not a swanky restaurant. The menu is scrawled on a blackboard above the decorative fireplace. a choice of four starters, four main courses and four desserts. Simple…and the food is surprisingly so.
I chose goats cheese with roasted butternut squash. It arrived served on a mini chopping board with mixed leaves. Very good but very basic.
To follow, on a plate, were two small grilled whole John Dory (cooked to perfection), boiled new potatoes and more mixed leaves.
The prices are low when compared with local pubs. £6 for the starter and £17 for the John Dory. A couple of main courses were £11.
The wine list is also small and apparently very good value (my host denied me access) but how quirky to serve wine in large tumblers.
Matt’s squadron leader moustached manager is seemingly an old friend who keeps him on track but the accompanying waitresses were not quite so on the ball, and why no salt & pepper on the table?
The Wild Garlic serves very well cooked food. The quality of the produce is excellent and clearly sourced with care.
But was this a special dining experience?
Sadly No.
As a Master Chef winner Matt Follas is clearly operating well within his comfort zone. On the evidence of lunch at the Wild Garlic he will never become one of the world’s great chefs and Michelin inspectors should certainly steer clear unless they fancy a bit of gastro pub grub.
He may have won Master Chef but there’s no X-Factor.
The Wild Garlic
Beaminster
Dorset
01308 861446
http://www.thewildgarlic.co.uk/
Be Frank: agree or disagree? What do you think?
