Mr A and I have been fans of Simon Rogan’s exquisite modern cooking for several years now, so I was delighted when I discovered he was offering make-aways nationwide. Simon’s 2 Michelin starred restaurant in Cumbria, L’Enclume, is where the dishes are prepped, using locally grown produce whenever possible; some from their own farm.  So Simon seems to have more direct control over his make-aways than other chefs, because he’s not using an outside packing and distribution company, and orders are placed through Simon’s own website.

I was impressed by how many individually vacuum-packed elements were delivered, all with numbers on them to link to the ingredients list and finishing instructions pamphlet provided. The pamphlet also had a QR code to link me to a video demonstration of how to reheat and plate each of the 3 courses.

The starter was “Potato Terrine, Smoked Eel, Horseradish Cream and Parsley”.  I had to colour one side of the terrine and then pop it in the oven for only 5 minutes, whilst reheating a mussel sauce in a small pan and then adding a parsley oil to it.  Assembling the dish was the main task and it took me a little while to daintily position the terrine on a plate, top it with cold smoked eel, pipe horseradish cream into blobs, top it all with L’Enclume farm cress and the mussel and parsley sauce.  I ended up with a restaurant worthy first course.

In addition to the terrine and eel there was a “Parker House” bread which needed just 3 minutes to warm in the oven, and some Cumbrian butter.  The bread looked and smelled like brioche, and tasted like a burger bun. It was at its best when mopping up the incredibly good mussel sauce and the gravy with the main course.

This was a delicious starter! 10/10 The aroma from the sauce and the terrine reminded me of a 2-star kitchen, the dish was so refined, balanced and perfectly seasoned. The eel was quite strongly smoked, but it went very well with all the other ingredients.

The main course was “Confit Duck Leg, Kalibos, Quince, with Duck Fat Roast Carroll’s Heritgae Potatoes”.  The potatoes, duck and the red cabbage (Kalibos) required some time in the oven, and a duck jus was ‘boil in the bag’.  Assemblage was easier and faster than with the starter.

Duck was good, but the skin wasn’t crispy. The gravy was “lush” and the quince compote was good at cutting through the rich duck without being too acidic.  Red cabbage always goes well with duck, but because this cabbage had been fermented it’s flavour was maybe too strong for this dish.  Potatoes were good, tender and flavoursome, but nothing like traditionally roasted spuds. 8/10

Dessert was “Apple Marigold Sponge, Pears, Salted Caramel Sauce” served with creme fraiche. The sponge required 5 minutes reheating in the oven, after which I spread some apple jam on top and then positioned some pieces of poached pears. Smothered in caramel sauce and with creme fraiche on the side, this was a very pleasant dessert. I liked the sponge, the pears were al dente and had an aroma of L’Enclume, the sauce wasn’t too sweet or clawing and the cream brought welcome acidity. 8.5/10

The QR code video was very helpful, but it differed very slightly from the written instructions a couple of times.

Overall I score this meal 9/10. There was clear evidence of the skilled cookery and fresh ingredients you would expect to come across at L’Enclume, yet it was easy for a competent home cook to reproduce on the plate.  One tip I would pass on is to make sure your serving plates are warm; the fiddly assemblage of the starter meant my plates weren’t warm enough when they were served at the table.