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L'Enclume (, French for "the
L'Enclume
{{DEFAULTSORT:Enclume, l' Restaurants in Cumbria Tourist attractions in Cumbria Michelin Guide starred restaurants in the United Kingdom 2002 establishments in the United Kingdom Restaurants established in 2002 2002 establishments in England Cartmel
L'Enclume (, French for "the anvil
An anvil is a metalworking tool consisting of a large block of metal (usually forged or cast steel), with a flattened top surface, upon which another object is struck (or "worked").
Anvils are as massive as practical, because the higher th ...
") is a restaurant opened in 2002 in Cartmel, Cumbria, England, run by chef Simon Rogan and his partner Penny Tapsell. L'Enclume received a rating of 10 out of 10 five times in the '' Good Food Guide'' and named their top restaurant for the fourth consecutive year in the 2017 guide, and placed second in the 2018 guide. It has received three Michelin star
The Michelin Guides ( ) are a series of guide books that have been published by the French tyre company Michelin since 1900. The Guide awards up to three Michelin stars for excellence to a select few establishments. The acquisition or loss of a ...
s and five AA Rosette
AA Limited, trading as The AA (formerly The Automobile Association), is a British motoring association.
Founded in 1905, it provides vehicle insurance, driving lessons, breakdown cover, loans, motoring advice, road maps and other services. The ...
s.
History
Following many years working as a chef, Rogan was keen to open his own restaurant and in 2002 whilst living in Littlehampton, he was told about an 800-year-old former smithy in Cartmel available to rent. Despite having never considered this location for a restaurant and hoping to open a restaurant closer to London betweenBrighton
Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London.
Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...
and the New Forest, Rogan made an offer for the property on the way home after visiting it and opened L'Enclume in 2002 with his partner Penny Tapsell. The name of the restaurant, meaning "anvil", is homage to the former blacksmith's workshop it is located within.
Most of the produce supplied to the restaurant is grown on Rogan's nearby twelve acre farm. The farm grows a variety of vegetables, herbs, edible flowers and rears meat including cows, chickens and pigs. The farm also has a young orchard which will grow a variety of fruit including apples, damsons and pears. Some of the food is also foraged
Foraging is searching for wild food resources. It affects an animal's fitness because it plays an important role in an animal's ability to survive and reproduce. Foraging theory is a branch of behavioral ecology that studies the foraging behavi ...
by the restaurant's full-time forager.
L'Enclume was featured in '' The Trip'', a 2010 BBC comedy starring Steve Coogan
Stephen John Coogan (; born 14 October 1965) is an English actor, comedian, producer and screenwriter. He is most known for creating original characters such as Alan Partridge, a socially inept and politically incorrect media personality, which ...
and Rob Brydon as fictionalised versions of themselves doing a restaurant tour of northern England.
Menu
The restaurant serves a 20-course tasting menu which has developed from the use of wild herbs and flowers, with Rogan inspired by chefs such asMarc Veyrat
Marc Veyrat (born 8 May 1950) is a French chef from the Haute-Savoie region, who specialises in molecular gastronomy and the use of mountain plants and herbs.
Veyrat has obtained a total of nine Michelin Stars and is the first cook to get the pe ...
who uses plants and herbs from the Alps in his cooking. Rogan places importance on how ingredients are grown, saying: "It's a case of growing the perfect carrot rather than cooking it perfectly. My dream menu would serve 20 raw courses, but I know e laughs
E, or e, is the fifth Letter (alphabet), letter and the second vowel#Written vowels, vowel letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the English alphabet, modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worl ...
I'd never get away with that."
Reception
L'Enclume was awarded its firstMichelin star
The Michelin Guides ( ) are a series of guide books that have been published by the French tyre company Michelin since 1900. The Guide awards up to three Michelin stars for excellence to a select few establishments. The acquisition or loss of a ...
in 2005, its second in 2013, and its third in 2022. In September 2010, it was awarded its fifth AA Rosette
AA Limited, trading as The AA (formerly The Automobile Association), is a British motoring association.
Founded in 1905, it provides vehicle insurance, driving lessons, breakdown cover, loans, motoring advice, road maps and other services. The ...
.
In 2013, Matthew Norman of '' The Telegraph'' gave the restaurant 10 out of 10, describing it as "the clearest expression of culinary genius I've experienced since the Fat Duck
The Fat Duck is a fine dining restaurant in Bray, Berkshire, England. It is run by celebrity chef proprietor Heston Blumenthal. Housed in a 16th-century building that had previously been the site of the Bell pub, the Fat Duck opened on 16 Au ...
". In the 2014 edition of the ''Good Food Guide'', L'Enclume was awarded a perfect 10 cooking score and topped the list of the UK's best restaurants. In 2016, Lucy Lovell of the '' Manchester Evening News'' rated L'Enclume 5 out of 5. It was voted the second best restaurant in Squaremeal's UK Top 100 Restaurants 2016. In the 2017 ''Good Food Guide'', L'Enclume was awarded 10 out of 10 for the fifth time and was its top restaurant for the fourth consecutive year and retained its perfect 10 score in the 2018 guide, but pushed into second place by Restaurant Nathan Outlaw.
References
External links
L'Enclume
{{DEFAULTSORT:Enclume, l' Restaurants in Cumbria Tourist attractions in Cumbria Michelin Guide starred restaurants in the United Kingdom 2002 establishments in the United Kingdom Restaurants established in 2002 2002 establishments in England Cartmel