A DROITWICH pub landlord is offering residents a taste of history by launching a new restaurant and menu to celebrate the area’s heritage.
And Simon Berry from The Gardeners Arms is officially launching The King John Kitchen this weekend with a three-day fair on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, November 3, 4 and 5.
He said: “Years ago there used to be two fairs a year held for the Droitwich saltworkers to have a drink and a dance and those are the events we wanted to recreate.
“There was one in the summer and one in the winter – we are going to try this one out this weekend and then put on a bigger and better one, possibly in the spring, with a view to holding them twice-a-year.”
A meat curer will be at the pub from Friday to preserve them in the traditional medieval way.
“The whole concept is to celebrate the Royal Charter given to Droitwich by King John in 1215 which meant the people could extract the salt and sell it.
“Without that charter the town’s history could have been very different so we want to celebrate that aspect of Droitwich’s past and the role King John played in it.”
Vines Lane also has a proud history within Droitwich’s past and the site of the Gardeners’ Arms used to be a cider house frequented by the saltworkers.
The King John restaurant area itself is in one of the buildings in the grounds of the pub which has been ornately decorated in regal red and gold colours and features pictures depicting scenes from the time. The menu is based on medieval recipes and local produce.
Among the dishes are fresh cottage buns with fillings, including cheese, gammon, pork and beef and starters include dishes featuring wild boar, salmon and venison.
Main meals include traditional sausage recipes and English pies, containing a choice of beef, pork, chicken and venison.
And Mr Berry has created the King John Banquet Roast which he hopes will become Droitwich’s signature dish.
It contains three meats- pork, beef and game – served with smoked clay oven rustic root vegetables (carrots, leeks, onions, pearl barley, blended with port and redcurrant brandy gravy), a herb suet dumpling, mashed potatoes, topped off with rustic fries and a white cottage bun and butter.
“Currently the town does not really have a signature dish and we think this would be perfect,” added Mr Berry.
There are also a selection of red, white and rose wines to go with each of the dishes.
And, with a variety of combinations available, the menu also has up to 50 dishes for vegetarians, vegans and those who are gluten intolerant.
“We want as many people to come down over the weekend, help us launch the first fair and celebrate this important part of Droitwich history,” said the landlord.
