Tag Archives: lifestyle

The Third Monkey, Farnham

Posted on by under Europe, food, restaurant reviews, Restaurants


Farnham isn’t that far from London and with food like this it’s well worth the journey, especially with the warmer days arriving and a terrace on the top floor

Farnham is popular with well heeled commuters who desire a country house with real hedges for when they’re all done with hedging funds. I saw a lot of brand new Defenders and Porsches cruising about the surrounding roads as we drove in.

Such people want finer dining and it doesn’t come much finer than  The Third Monkey, the new project from chef Adam Fisher (Coworth Park, Pennyhill Park), and his new chef-led gastropub.

The Third Monkey, once the Liberal Club, is handily close to the large town car park and presents itself well on the street, with the inside also being extremely attractive. Some serious money has been very well spent here, from the bar at the front, to the smart dining space at the rear, all the way up to the bar and roof terrace now opening for summer.

This lunchtime it soon fills up. The lunch menu being a big draw, a reasonably priced £32 for three courses. The piped music was a little loud at first, but as the tables filled it became less obtrusive. Mind you, we were sitting right under one of the speakers.

We went a la carte. I wanted to see what the ‘big’ menu had in its locker. Big guns, as it turned out. I genuinely did want everything I saw, apart from the steaks, even if ‘cooked over Japanese embers’

A pre-nibble of Sticky Beef & Bone Marrow Gougère, pickled mushrooms, and truffle custard sounded so good we had one each. Absolutely delicious and gone all too soon. I noticed a man dining alone at the next table ordered two for himself, it obviously wasn’t his first visit. The rich meat and marrow was perfectly cut by the pickled mushrooms, the truffle was subtle and the gougere chewy. Two? I could have eaten a plateful.

Starters proper gave us Spider Crab, squid ink hand-rolled pasta with Sauce Americaine, and a Smoked Devonshire Duck Parfait, potato cigar, pistachio, cherry. The crab was served in its shell, which was a good piece of plating. Very ‘crabby’, which was good and the Sauce Americaine, a classic French sauce for lobster, sang out beautifully.  I didn’t see much black in the pasta, but it was well made

The duck parfait was also very well plated, very GBC and more than I usually expect from places out of town, which are often a few years behind the dining curve. It was perfect parfait, rich and flavoursome and almost mousse-like texturally, while the crunch of the potato, plus the bite of the cherry sauce, made for great mouthfuls. This was all very promising for mains.

Iberico Secreto, aka “the butcher’s secret,”is the most prized piece of pork in Spain. It comes from black pigs fed on acorns and is a muscle found between the shoulder blade and the loin. In some ways it has the same mystical properties as beef onglet. Not much of it per beast and it must be eaten rare.


This means it comes to the table pretty pink, which to generations of British diners means ‘run away!’ We have a national habit of overcooking pork out of semi-justifiable paranoia of food poisoning. No worries with secreto. Here it is sliced thinly and beautifully marbled because, just as with Iberican Jamon, the main flavour is in the fat.

A dusting of brown mustard seeds over the secreto gave a popping texture that played well with the soft meat The chorizo and potato croquette was a little leathery on the exterior and the chorizo muted, but the mini porchetta was excellent, most of the fat rendered away but still moist.

Cornish Monkfish, curried mussel velouté, crispy hen’s egg, pomme cocotte, leek was also very good. Curried mussels is a dish I came across in the Charente region of France, they use classic curry powder, not seen in the UK since the 1970s, and it really works well. It made me rather nostalgic for my mum’s curries which, looking back, were otherwise something of a disgrace.

Lovely fish, the crispy egg was like a Scotch Egg without the pork exterior, and the pommes cocotte were beautifully basted in butter. A little bit of foam was visible, which annoys some people but not me. Very fine cooking all round.


Are we sick of Sticky Toffee Pudding in gastropubs? Kind of, but then again it is hard to turn down. Here ​​it’s swimming in salted caramel and wears a‘Baked Alaska’ ice cream like a comedy hat. It is no joke though, the baked Alaska is perfect and so is the pud. The lovely salted caramel was a bit too rich for me, I struggled to finish it, less would have been more.

Lighter was a radically reshaped Lemon and Thyme Cheesecake with honey ice cream, the citrus cleansed the palette and the thyme being slightly lemony itself helped too. The flowers decorated it all very prettily.

We were pretty full by now, sticky toffee pudding always does me in, but we took a breather to check out a very good looking Sunday menu. Specials are also displayed on a board, this week with a bit of an Indian slant, it seemed.

The Third Monkey, in folklore, ‘spoke no evil’, but perhaps the name comes from the third monkey to board Noah’s Ark, he had to fight hard not to be left behind. It seems appropriate, this gastropub is pulling no punches when it comes to excellence.

thirdmonkeyfarnham.com
46 South St,
Farnham GU9 7RP

Happy Hampers At Xmas

Posted on by under Europe, food, food producers

Not sure what gifts to get friends and relations that live nowhere near you? A great British Hamper can send your best wishes as far away as Australia.

‘That’s called ‘sizzle’, a friendly packer tells me as I handle one of the elements that go into packing a British Hamper Company hamper for postage.

I feel like Gregg Wallace, but while he always feigns amazement, ‘Gor! Vat’s incwedible!’, I am genuinely intrigued..

Sizzle is the trade word for the shredded paper ‘straw’ that is used in vast quantities not just to protect all the items in transit, but to add to the visual appeal and the excitement when the lucky recipient delves into their hamper.

‘We do it in layers, as well as around the items, that way the surprises keep coming. It’s all part of the fun’.

It’s a happy place, The British Hamper Company. The regular staff of around eighteen are right now supplemented with another thirty to handle the demands of Christmas. There is no automation, no humming soulless machines, each packer finds all the items required for the hamper that’s been chosen online and adds them to the hamper by hand.

There’s an art to the packing and each item has its own rules to make sure it presents at its best. Even the ribbons are tied in a standardised way. ‘I love working here.’ one young seasonal worker tells me (and no, she was not in earshot of management) ‘best place I have ever worked. It’s good to know what you’re packing will be a lovely gift for someone and doing it well is satisfying’.

It’s a family business, James Tod is the co-founder and MD, his dad Mike is the other founder and Chairman, and his sister Alice is Sales Director. In 2014 they decided to get into e-commerce and from experience in his world travels, James felt there was demand from expats for much loved British food, as well as British gifting.

A website was set up and the best British artisan producers found. At first, working out of a gazebo office and a barn, sales were slow, around sixty hampers a month. Then came the first Xmas period and sales hit a thousand a month. Now sales are around 30 thousand a year, and they have a proper warehouse facility just outside of historic Lincoln.

‘Thirty five percent of our hampers go overseas’ explains James as we eat a ‘picnic lunch’ using a variety of delicious goods from the warehouse, ‘although’ he says, gesturing at the table, ‘of course those going out of the UK can’t contain perishable produce like this smoked salmon’. It’s very good smoked salmon, and I help myself to some more luscious slices. I also eat more than I should of the All Butter Cheddar Biscuits,  which are absolutely delicious and fiendishly addictive.

‘We begin planning for Christmas in March,’ James explains,’then start test-tasting new products and ordering the stock in May. Finally in September we begin to pack 500 – 600 hampers a day with the dry goods. These can be stored ready and then just before dispatch in go any perishables such as cheese and salmon, as well as any personal message. Delivery is guaranteed within a few days in the UK, often the next day.’

Each year artisan producers all over the UK approach the company hoping to be selected, a tasting task that the family relish. Whilst everything in the hampers carries only TBH branding, the volume they can sell makes it well worth it for the producers because that income supports their businesses in a reliable way. ‘They can focus on creating great products and we do all the rest,’ says James.

So what might lucky recipients find in their hampers, which come in all sizes from bijou to whopping?  Well a £55 Xmas hamper has Sweet & Salty Popcorn, Caramel Sea Salt Fudge Gifting Tin, Bean to Bar Milk Chocolate, Jalapeno & Lime Mixed Nuts, Festive Spiced Cookies, Sea Salt & Black Pepper Corn Crunch, All Butter Cheddar Biscuits and Bean to Bar White Chocolate. The options are almost infinite and all very tasty.

At the very top end there is the £1000 Grand Extravagance Hamper with whiskies, cheeses, and superb English sparkling wines, amongst a plethora of other treats, all in of course an eco-friendly traditional wicker basket. Hampers also come in cool cardboard boxes, too.

In between there is a massive choice to suit all tastes, including vegan, gluten-free, halal and other specialty options. About thirty five categories in all, which makes picking the perfect hamper very easy.

Prices include packaging and carriage to your chosen destination. And with a hub in the Netherlands, hampers and gourmet produce can be shipped across Europe with fast and reliable delivery and no additional customs fees.

‘We also do a good trade year round in providing corporate gifts.’ adds James, ’many big companies like to fly the flag with their customers and a luxury hamper of British goods is a great way to do it. We can personalise their hampers, too.’

Down in the warehouse, I have a go at packing. It is actually quite good fun, although my attempt would not pass the quality control. My sizzle action is praised though ‘Nice and tight’.

Maybe I can come back next year.

You’ve still got time to order a gift hamper for someone special for Xmas, although the last dates for abroad are fast approaching.

Make your choice at www.britishhamper.com