One of the more daunting tasks in taking on the hotel has been developing our new menu. Fortunately our fantastic chef Ellie and I have been able to draw on lots of help from regular customers, friends and our very helpful suppliers.

To start with we decided to avoid a fixed menu and offer a selection of different dishes each day, ranging from classics like Lasagne with Ciabatta garlic bread, to 8oz Cumbrian sirloins and Moroccan chicken stew. Some things went well, others less so. Despite being one of my own favorites I was surprised by the popularity of Steak and Ale pie, it quickly became a staple as we put together our day-time menu. We now serve our day menu from 12 to 6pm each day and extend it with 3 or 4 specials in the evening – you can view our day-time menu here

We’re still continuing to experiment with new dishes, both Cumberland Sausage Cassoulet and Solway Potted Shrimps (amazing!) have been triumphs recently and I’m looking forward to bringing some game into the kitchen soon – with the weather turning frosty its definitely the season for hearty stews!