Food review: True perfection from Pensons
Andy Richardson is dazzled by a mid-week supper.
The smartest football managers always pick a chairman, rather than a club.
They know they can kiss the badge of a variety of teams, ingratiating themselves with fans by winning matches.
But having a chair who supports them, funds acquisitions, is patient when things go wrong and doesn’t panic or press the eject button is key.
The analogy applies equally to chefs and restaurant owners.
There are owners who are patient, wise, supportive and understanding; who will invest in the right staff and gradually build a destination restaurant around a great chef.
And then there are those who are impatient, who hire and fire, who don’t understand the requirements of their most important employee and who simply don’t get it.
At Pensons, near Tenbury Wells, the harmony between an exceptional owner and a brilliant chef is palpable.
Peta Darnley is the visionary owner of the Netherwood Estate and created Pensons in a characterful, previously disused building.
She initially employed the talented but difficult Lee Westcott, who showed his mettle by winning the venue a Michelin star. Abruptly, he left soon after.
The restaurant might easily have waned, having lost its star talent, but Darnley had other ideas.
She was assiduous in searching not only for a chef with a great pedigree and the ability to cook at the top level; but one who was made of the right stuff, who had a good attitude and who would repay her investment by being a real team player and showing leadership for a young team.
The brilliant Chris Simpson was the man appointed to the stove. Having cooked with Nathan Outlaw for seven years in Cornwall at Restaurant Nathan Outlaw he was used to cooking at two Michelin stars.
His next move was to Gidleigh Park, in Devon, as executive head chef, where he won a Michelin star but found the life of a hotel cook not to be for him.
Darnley was quick to act, bringing to her restaurant a man who is humble and warm, who would respect the riches at his disposal on a remarkable restaurant that boasts the sort of walled garden found at Raymond Blanc’s two star Le Manoir aux Quat Saisons.
Simpson wasn’t Darnley’s only expert signing. She also procured the services of a brilliant restaurant manager, Jim Conway, who had previously spent four years as restaurant manager at the Raby Hunt, in Summerhouse, Darlington, leading the restaurant from one Michelin star to two.
The extent of Darnley’s ambition was clear. She was willing to invest in the very best talent, two crème de la crème performers who had proved their value in other high-end restaurants but who were also willing to knuckle down and provide her with the sort of thoughtful, calm leadership that she required.
With those wise appointments and an exceptionally committed team of young chefs and Grade A front of house staff, Pensons has re-emerged from lockdown in remarkable style.
It is habitually full, serving 30 guests most evenings. It’s capacious dining rooms means people can eat safely in this Covid era, without the need for masks, screens or some of the other paraphernalia required in bijou venues or those that pack ‘em in.
Pensons has so much space that diners are already socially distanced. Simultaneously, it provides a glimpse of a happy recent past, while also reminding us what the Covid-free world will one day look like.
The food is extraordinary. Having eaten at Pensons several times, both under Westcott and now Simpson, there is no hyperbole in describing this as its best incarnation.
Standards have risen since Westcott’s depature.
The food is better, simply, with a lightness of touch from the brilliant Simpson.
He’s made the restaurant his own, having had the time to settle in and having spent lockdown meeting new suppliers, trialling a new menu and switching off by fly fishing with Conway.
What a formidable team those two lead.
Not only is it the only Michelin-starred venue in our region, it also outguns several of Birmingham’s much-vaunted restaurants, offering a level of service and food that only the very best can match.
Pensons has moved, quite sensibly, to a five-course tasting menu, priced reasonably at £65. That avoids waste and allows Simpson to nurture his youthful team as they perfect a small number of courses.
He is produce-led, cooking with the seasons and focusing on peak condition ingredients, many of them being found locally.
If Simpson is the engine room, Conway is a consummate public face, providing a warm welcome and putting guests at ease with rare skill.
My friend and I booked a midweek supper and were dazzled. It was one of the best dinners we’d eaten in recent years.
We began with two small snacks, a liquid cheese tart with caramelised onion melting in the mouth while a small beef croquette was breadcrumbed to crisp perfection.
The first course was as pretty as a picture.
Thumbnail-sized mushrooms were served with a slither of artichoke and a taste of cauliflower with hazelnut providing taste and texture. A beautiful puree was expertly seasoned and the dish was eaten with crisp, toasted shards of wafer-thin sourdough.
A cured mackerel course was stunning. Featuring a tiny, deep fried tempura ball and beautifully cured cubes of sashimi, it was served with kohlrabi, ginger and spring onion; a taste of Asia from deepest Tenbury Wells.
Plaice, apple, crab butter sauce, watercress and cauliflower was stunning.
The fish was tender and flavoursome, gently offset by perfectly acidulated apple, while given ballast by the rich and intoxicating crab butter sauce.
My friend purred her approval. After each course she said: “That’s my favourite. No, that’s now my new favourite.”
Simpson pushed the envelope, stepping it up as the evening went on.
The main was a meltingly sweet lamb dish served with red pepper, smoked aubergine and a green sauce. It was magical.
The lamb pulled apart under the knife, a stunning loin with a cube of belly. Compatible flavours comingled and angels danced on our tongues.
Dessert was a taste of the local countryside, with plump-but-fire cherries served with a chocolate ganache, almond and muscovado.
Brilliant combinations and an array of stunning textures, it showcased Simpson’s technical skills.
It’s heartening to see Pensons not just rediscover its mojo but push standards to a new, higher level.
Under Darnley’s visionary ownership and with two key employees settled in and enjoying their work, it has become the region’s very best restaurant.
If I could award it 11 out of 10, I would.
Tasting menu
£65 per person, wine pairing £60 per person, cheese course £12.50 per person
Mushroom, artichoke, cauliflower, hazelnut
Cured mackerel, kohlrabi, ginger and spring onion
Plaice, apple, crab butter sauce, watercress and cauliflower
Lamb, red pepper, smoked aubergine, green sauce
Cherries, chocolate, almond, muscovado
Contact information
Pensons
The Netherwood Estate
Herefordshire/Shropshire/ Worcester border, WR15 8RT
01885 410321
