A roast for all seasons
By Liz Turner
Remember that delicious roast turkey dinner on Christmas Day? The mouthwatering aroma of the turkey, vegetables and roast potatoes? This needn’t be just a memory as the chef at the Forest Inn in Ferndown is determined that everyone should be able to enjoy the traditional roast meal every week.
Roast Sunday lunches have long been an important part of British life in homes up and down the land.
Anyone wanting to recreate the special meal can now tuck into the delicious roast meats without all the hard work and stress of cooking. Diners are now being welcomed to enjoy a delicious carvery at the Forest Inn in Ferndown.
The former golf shop, above the pub, has been transformed into a function room and Sunday lunchtimes are reserved for a carvery.
I visited the restaurant on a chilly and damp December day when I could easily have been tempted to curl up in front of the fire with beans on toast. But from the second my friend and I walked up the stairs and were hit by the aroma of traditional British cooking, I knew I’d made the right decision.
This was a sumptuous carvery. I’m used to being offered two or occasionally three meats on a carvery but Mayer Yazdi, the director of the Forest Inn, insists on there being four roasts always available for his customers.
Beef, chicken, pork and lamb – all locally sourced, expertly carved and beautifully presented. Fortunately we didn’t have to make a decision on which one to choose as they chef was delighted that we wanted to try them all.
All the meats were delicious, moist and just melted in your mouth. I am one of those people who loves beef well cooked and often ends up asking for my meat to be cooked a bit more. No problem here as there was choice of well-cooked or pinker beef. Perfect.
It’s little touches like this that make such a difference when eating out, especially if you are part of a family group wanting to make sure they can all enjoy their meal at the same time rather than waiting for the meat to reappear from the kitchen (often accompanied by a chef who can’t understand why anyone would want it cooked more).
Of course there is more to a carvery than just the roast. Sausages with bacon, Yorkshire puddings, stuffing, a selection of sauces and gravy all added to the flavours. And there are the vegetables. My daughter, while not being a vegetarian, tends to pile her plate with vegetables adding a small slice of meat to show willing. She would have loved this carvery. Delicious roasted carrots and parsnips, peas and sprouts and the crispiest roast potatoes ever. Plenty of them as well with diners being encouraged to come back for more – what could be better?
I wish I can say we both resisted the temptation to eat too much but if I admit neither of us needed to eat again that day, you can see how little willpower we had.
Regular visitors to the Forest Inn know the chef David Rann well, and he has built up a reputation for excellent food. He welcomes new diners to share his passion for traditional food.
So if you enjoyed your Christmas roast, try the new carvery at the Forest Inn. And unlike Christmas Day, there’s no stress getting everything ready at the same time or washing up to do. Just a relaxing delicious enjoyable meal in lovely surroundings.
