12:00The fire is lit
Flame
Split oak and a little hawthorn, lit at noon. While the flames stand tall we cook fast: scallops in the shell, mackerel skin down, cabbage charred at the edges.
On the menuScallop in the shell, mackerel, hispi cabbage
A fire kitchen on the Northumberland coast
Cooked on what the fire leaves behind
One hearth in an old lime kiln above the sea. Lit at noon, cooked on until it is ash.
The idea
One hearth, lit at noon and never rushed. We cook through its whole life, from the first tall flames to the last warm ash, and tomorrow's bread bakes in whatever heat the night leaves behind.
In the old stories of the north, a hob is the quiet household spirit that does the night's work while the house sleeps. Our kitchen keeps the same hours.
Read our storyThe life of a fire
17:00A red, even heat
Coals
By evening the logs have fallen into a steady bed of coals. This is the grill: hogget, turbot on the bone, everything turned by hand and rested beside the fire.
On the menuHogget chop, turbot for two, wild mushrooms
22:00Banked low
Embers
After the last sitting the fire is banked and left to glow. Pots of beef shin and dark ale go over the embers and cook quietly through the night.
On the menuBeef shin, ember roast beetroot, coast chowder
06:00What is left behind
Ash
At first light the leeks and celeriac go into the warm ash, and the bread bakes on whatever heat the night kept back. Then the hearth is swept, and lit again.
On the menuAsh baked leek, celeriac, the morning loaves
From the hearth this week
Plates to pass round
Hungry yet?
The menu changes with the boats and the weather. This is how it looks this week.
Read the menu
Where it comes from
The coast is the larder
We start with what is within sight of the kiln windows: the boats in the harbour, the rocks at low water, the fields on the headland. The rest waits in jars.
The boats
Crab, lobster and whatever the small boats land in the harbour below us.
The rocks
Dulse, kelp and sea kale, gathered by hand when the tide is out.
The fields
Heritage wheat and rye from the headland, milled for the morning loaves.
- Sea kale
- Brown crab
- Hogget
- Dulse
- Heather honey
- Sea buckthorn
- Turbot
- Heritage rye
- Wild garlic
- Forced rhubarb
Private dining
The Cellar Table
One long oak table under the stone vault, for up to fourteen of you. A menu from the hearth built around your evening, and a door that closes.