John’s House
Mountsorrel, Leicestershire
Farmer's son yearns to be a chef, leaves home to work for the likes of Claude Bosi and Simon Rogan, then returns in 2014 to open his own restaurant in a 16th-century farmhouse next to his family’s 4,000-acre farm. No, not a storyline from Emmerdale, but the backstory of John Duffin. Given the off-grid surroundings (you can hear cows mooing from inside the farm shop), this is the full contemporary bucolic experience – one that is booked weeks in advance. The first-floor dining room is rustic and homely, mixing exposed brick with wood (beams, floor) and well-spaced white-clad tables. By contrast, Duffin's cooking is refined and he's not afraid to take risks, maxing out his agricultural heritage along the way. In less accomplished hands, an ox sirloin tartare paired with pumpkin-seed emulsion and a smoky/salty charcoal and grilled cream could have been muddled – instead, it's a triumph. Other recent highlights have included a delicate truffle pudding accompanied by a soup of wild garlic and Beauvale Blue cheese, as well as poached halibut topped with asparagus and morels, paired with tapenade and elevated by a salted lemon sauce. We could also taste every component involved in a dish of home-reared Leicester Longwool hogget (shoulder and belly), bursting with flavour and served alongside allium, wild garlic, Jersey Royals and a full-bone reduction split with oil. To start, some homemade charcuterie, plus a freshly baked onion and rosemary roll and soda bread (perfect with salty wild garlic butter as well as a creamy butter made smoother by the addition of a little yoghurt) was so good that we had to stop ourselves from eating more. To conclude, a scoop of yoghurt atop peanuts with yuzu, Szechuan pepper oil and kaffir lime was a subtle segue from savoury into sweet. For the final flourish, a delightful sweet cheese was matched with anise-infused poached rhubarb and a topping of hazelnut crumb. The wine list has interesting bottles every which way, starting from £35 and heading skywards to the highly coveted millennial 'Pingus' at £1,200. Three dozen come by the glass (including Coravin), with the bonus of helpful and incisive notes. The wine pairings for the tasting menus are particularly well considered.
Dining Information:
Separate bar, Parking, Credit card required
Stonehurst Farm, 139-141 Loughborough Road, Mountsorrel, Leicestershire LE12 7AR
01509 415569
