Oat and raisin biscuits

Oat and raisin biscuits

Denis Travels West in Search of the Perfect Pudding

Monday June 1st 2009

Denis Travels West in Search of the Perfect Pudding

In keeping with H&J’s quest to promote delicious traditional British food, Patrick Harbour set myself and Jon, who chefs at JWT in Knightsbridge, the task of creating some renewed passion for our own ‘Native Puddings’.  Patrick suggested that H&J join the famous Pudding Club whose home is in the beautiful Cotswolds and naturally we both jumped at the chance.  So on May 15th we headed west and spent the trip down talking puddings and competing on who had the best recipes.  Battles were fought for less and the humble pud is something special to both of us.  At journeys end we arrived hungry and excited as we saw the home of the Pudding Club in our sights, the Three Ways House Hotel, an imposing building clad in Cotswold stone.

Our evening began at 7.30pm with a roll call and an introduction from our host, a founding member of the Pudding Club.  We were treated to a light meal and warned to steer clear of potatoes and other vegetables - a tough call for any good Irishman.  There was a full house for the club with 70 guests in total.  Our host advised us to plan our attack and to use some strategy as we had to tackle 7 puddings in total tonight!

Rule 1: We could not repeat a pudding.
Rule 2: Our plates had to be completely empty before we got to the next pud.
Rule 3: We were not allowed to skip any pudding...or duck out of the room as staff were watching!
Rule 4: If any of these rules were broken, then our whole table would be disqualified.

Our host was full of pudding joy and passion for the fayre as he announced to the room that the puddings were on their way.  The doors burst open as if on command and a parade of staff entered, each triumphantly holding a pudding aloft.  They meandered through the room as they swirled around and between tables before resting their puddings on the high altar of “The Pudding Table”.

Our table was first and as we queued to choose our first of the night, memories flooded back of school dinners and trips to my Grandmother’s house which was always full of sweet delights.  Our puddings were anointed in sunshine-coloured custard before we tucked in.
In all honesty I was surprised at how light some of the puddings were as I had expected some heavy eating for the night.  The secret, I was told, is in resting them well in their pudding basins and the trick to completing all 7 puddings is to make the custard less sweet. (A secret I promised not to share!)

Pudding after pudding passed onto our plates accompanied by a chorus of ohhs and ahhs, but by pudding 5 this had turned from joy to a challenge to some of those assembled.  Delighted, full and in a pudding haze, great dishes such as syrup sponge, sticky toffee and chocolate and date passed my palate.  Some of our merry band failed in their task to conquer the 7 puds.  By night’s end the score sat at 9 people out of 70 had completed the task.  We were asked to vote for our pudding of the night and by a majority the steamed ginger sponge was victorious.

Everyone agreed that the puddings were the stars of the evening and a rush ensued to purchase books and to try to replicate at home some of the highlights of the evening.  Both Jon and I left full not only of pudding but also of respect for these British legends and eager to get our chefs pudding crazy before the end of the year.

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