OFFBEET

Despite the name, the FatSteak Club is not an exclusively carnivorous collective. If there’s great food to be eaten then you can be sure we’ll be booking a table. As the name suggests, OFFBEET specialises in plant-based delights, but this isn’t just a case of eating your greens, oh no, OFFBEET are masters of their craft.

Hayley and I spent the day prior to our visit exploring OFFBEET’s beautiful surroundings. Nestled in the picturesque New Forest in Hampshire, the location is equally as visually pleasing as the food being served. Having previously occupied a small corner of the The Chesapeake Mill, Wickham, it was fantastic to see them find such a spacious and beautiful location for the next chapter of their journey.

After admiring the space and beautiful central fireplace we found our seats (which I completely forgot to photograph in my hunger and enjoyment!) and tucked hungrily into some incredible homemade Sourdough Foccacia. Light, flavoursome and perfectly warm, I easily could have devoured a loaf or two.

As we both excitedly perused the menu and vowed to return for cocktails when we weren’t driving, our host kindly gave us some pointers. Whilst the selection of small plates was excellent and had great tapas-style potential, we opted for large plates to experience some of OFFBEET’s signature complexity and plating.

The Woodland Gnocci comes as the recommended dish and it’s easy to see why as it arrives as a symphony of earthy tones and flavours, brightened by fresh herb pesto and nitro orange droplets and gel. With it comes the intriguing table mist, a wood-fragranced dry ice potion which engulfs the table as you pour the warm liquid into the dish. As I waft it towards me to catch a whiff and capture a photo, my order of ‘Porq Belly’ arrives and I immediately admire each element with my eyes as I ready my cutlery.

I find that of all the common vegetables, carrots are often the most neglected and not cooked to their potential. Even many great roasts I’ve had have come with all but the subtlest of carrots in with the vegetables. Here, however, they are given absolute affection and whilst the gnocci offers them as a delicately sweet crisp, the Porq Belly comes atop a star anise infused carrot puree which I could have happily taken in a bowl with a side of that delicious foccacia.

Although I usually prefer to let plant be plant and meat be meat, the seitan-based Porq was excellent. Well textured and finished, the flavours held their own and whilst retaining the essence of familiarity, there was no sense that this was still nothing other than a celebration of what can be achieved through a love for fresh, quality ingredients. It was at this point that I realised that I had been cooking fennel completely wrong and that their gentle sous vide and charring was by far the best way I’ve tasted.

Thoroughly marveled, we couldn’t leave without trying ‘A Gift of Chocolate’, a trio of tender brownie cubes plated amongst a chocolate and black olive nitro ice cream and vanilla tapioca fritter. The fritter was particularly intriguing and reminded me of fusion of an arancini and a mochi ball. The liquorice richness of the Kalamata olives worked perfectly with the cocoa in the silky ice cream and sat comfortably along side the sweet indulgence of the brownie. As a bonus, we got to waft and admire yet another table mist, this time chocolate fragranced.

I resisted the temptation to ask if the chocolate mist was available as a cologne as we paid the bill and thanked them for a wonderfully foodie experience. You can find OFFBEET at @offbeet_food on Instagram or at www.offbeetfood.com.