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Dining at Fairways Chevin Golf Club

Dining at Fairways Chevin Golf Club
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It was a very different day when we arrived at Fairways, Chevin Golf Club from over a year ago, the bright sunshine was replaced with a soft grey mizzle, but driving down the lane, the beautiful landscape that opened up still brought a smile to my face. 

We had last visited for a summer lunch here, enjoying the blue skies as we sat in the sunny conservatory. This time, over eighteen months later, it was Autumn and the immaculate curves of the greens, punctuated by trees in their differing stages of changing colours was equally captivating against the gentle wash of a grey sky. 

Our lunch had been memorable, as it was Tom, a young, talented chef who had created and cooked for us previously. Tom, it must be said, is still young and has created an extensive function menu which we were privileged to be one of the first to enjoy.

To set the scene though I need to tell you that Fairways, Chevin Golf Club is open to everyone, that is members and non-members and the welcome as you walk through the door is extremely welcoming and warm. There are plenty of areas where you can choose to sit and have pre-diner drinks and the conservatory dining is light, spacious and as I said, has a beautiful aspect. Hollie, the manager has a contagious warmth, and her staff are polite, efficient and helpful so it was lovely to be greeted by her again.

Drinks in hand, our starters were served, both fish based. Elegant in its presentation and garnished with charred lemon and asparagus spears, my lightly poached fillet of salmon was surrounded in the most delicious lobster bisque, intensely rich and smooth, it was topped with a ravioli parcel filled with white lobster meat. This was perfectly partnered by a langoustine which nicely contributed a change of texture.

I was intrigued by the description on the menu of my husbands ‘Cod quiche Lorraine’, but the soft and sweetly roasted onions which filled the pastry case, salty bacon lardons and deep yellow confit egg yolk formed the quiche on which sat a piece of cod smothered in a light and bubbly white wine sauce, topped with caviar and chive emulsion. Very creative and delicious.

Moving on to our main courses, a butternut squash puree formed the base for my duck breast, slowly roasted with a glazed skin, extremely tender and not overly fatty. A crisp pastry tart was filled with shredded duck leg and topped with finely sliced baby red grapes. The red wine jus stopped the dish becoming dry and tied all the flavours together beautifully. A piece of puffed crackling crisp dusted with five spice added crunch and just a hint of cinnamon to compliment the tartlet flavours.

Lamb was the theme for my husbands main, a herb crusted rack of lamb, pink and succulent, a mini shepherd’s pie topped with smooth, piped, thyme infused mash and a croquet of lamb dusted in breadcrumbs and herbs.  Pea puree and glazed heritage carrots with a rich minty jus complemented each aspect of the dish. This was served with a white bread bun made with rendered lamb fat and topped with a mixed herb crumb, meant for dipping and soaking up all that leftover sauce.

The first mention of apple crumble and my husband is straight there, but as you would expect from this creative chef there was a twist. A soft apple and white chocolate mousse was dipped in a fine green mirror glaze to create the illusion of a perfect green apple, and at its heart was soft pureed apple, the whole picture sat on a bed of crumbed shortcake, wrapped in a white chocolate collar. What an imagination to create such a delicious illusion.

Not to be out done, my coconut mousse, surrounded by flakes of coconut, biscuit crumb and cubes of coconut sponge sat in a dark chocolate shell. Passion fruit was a sharp addition and the malibu granita melted slowly in your mouth. A honeycomb tuile and tempered ‘Fairways’ logos really emphasise the attention to detail in all these dishes.

This had been a dining experience on a whole new level. Each dish well thought through, where no ingredient was included that didn’t bring something special to each dish, nothing too overpowering and nothing without its own characteristics. Tom is an outstanding young chef and although he pushes the boundaries, he also understands ingredients that traditionally complement each other and uses these to their strength.

Tom’s skills also lie in his ability to train and relate to his own team of young chefs in his kitchen, and to mentor, influence and encourage them in these skill sets.

What a delightful dining experience this had been. Fairway’s is at Chevin Golf Club, as you turn off the main A6 through Duffield on to Avenue Road where very quickly you’ll see Golf Lane, this takes you to the Fairways Restaurant.

Our thanks to everyone at Fairway’s and for the lovely welcome we received.

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