The team from 1863, the Ullswater-based restaurant with rooms, is nothing if not inventive. In the face of the second lockdown, the award-winning team have launched a nationwide, home delivery service encouraging food-fans to celebrate special occasions at home with Head Chef Phil Corrie’s palate-pleasing menus.
Operating on a strictly first-come, first-served basis, there are two options to choose from: a 3-course meal for two or ‘Something for the weekend’ – two 3-course meals for two. Customers can choose to add on a selection of cheese, Farrar’s coffee and treats or hand-curated wines to accompany the weekly menus.
The ‘meals’ arrive packaged up and ready to heat up, plate up and serve. There’s no complicated ‘cheffy’ techniques required and all deliveries are accompanied by written instructions in plain English. The weekly menus are released at 10am each Saturday morning on www.1863ullswater.co.uk; the deadline for orders is 6pm the following Wednesday with meals delivered or available for collection each Friday, ready to get locked-down weekends off to a great start.
In the first week, the offer sold out within four hours of going live with customers from around the country seizing the opportunity to enjoy a well-deserved treat for the weekend.
Local producers featured this week included brisket from Lakeland Dexter, pork from Johnby Hall and Jean and Alan Farkin’s blackcurrants.
Phil commented: “As a second lockdown loomed, we knew we wanted to do something to stay connected with our loyal customers beyond newsletters and social posts. ‘1863 at Home’ seemed the obvious choice. Understandably the style of menu is slightly different from what you might see on our restaurant menus – you can’t necessarily courier a ‘spuma’ for example! However the same love and attention has gone into creating each dish and making it ready for re-heating at home as would happen here in the restaurant on a nightly basis. We’re just so excited to see what our first week’s feedback is. Hopefully this is something that may last beyond lockdown – who knows!?”
Located in Pooley Bridge, 1863 Restaurant with Rooms has 2AA Rosettes for culinary excellence and are the winners of the 2018 Cumbria Life ‘Readers award’ and the highly-coveted 2019 ‘Taste’ Award in the Cumbria Tourism Awards.
The next ‘1863 at Home’ menus will be available to order online from 10am on Saturday 14 November. For further information and to order, visit www.1863ullswater.co.uk.
