*Update* In the 2018, Top 50 Gastropubs, Parkers Arms has been ranked as the 8th best in the UK.
In the 2017 Top 50 Gastropubs Awards, Parkers Arms achieved the special
accolade of being the list’s highest climber, rising an impressive 35 places
from 48th to 13th – validation of something that I’ve long known… Stosie Madi’s food is some of the best
in the country.
Of course, I’m not the
only one to believe this. National critic Jay Ranyer (here) and
celebrated food blogger Chris ‘Cheese and Biscuits’ Pople (here) have both written rave reviews. As well as this, serial food sage @the_a_stevenson‘s twitter
timeline is regularly filled with pictures of Parkers Arm’s food worthy of
drooling over.
The pub’s rural location
adds to its charm, the drive over the fells from nearby Clitheroe offers
stunning panoramas in all seasons. Of course, these are more than just views,
they also make up much of Parkers’s larder. On this most recent visit, it was
wonderful to see the local Belted Galloway grazing on the way in, before being
presented with an impressive 30 day
aged, 16oz prime rib tomahawk steak of one such beast as a main course.
Stosie’s parfaits are
always things of beauty but, on this visit, they were absolutely divine. Especially
the Confit Lancashire brown
cap mushroom & lemon parfait. With its seemingly enhanced
pepperiness, I enquired if this was a new recipe or a more wintery version of
her summer one, but was informed that it was a fresh batch and the flavours
would develop after a couple of day’s rest.
Another of Stosie’s
signatures staples is her hot water crust pastry, made with pork fat that she
renders to become lard. As well as a delicious Layered
creamed potato & Lancashire cheese pie (which would please
vegetarians and carnivores alike), pastry highlights included a robust Black pudding & pork sausage roll,
which came with crispy pigs’ ears, a pig’s head croquette and some of Parker’s
sublime piccalilli.
I could go on waxing
lyrical about more of the dishes we enjoyed but the best way to experience them
is not through my words or pictures, but to go and see for yourself.
Crispy
potato skins
Citrus
& gin cured organic Wester Ross salmon
– soused fennel, horseradish
cream, blood orange & crispy fish skins.
Wild
Newton duck livers & port parfait
– pickled pumpkin,
toasted Parker’s sourdough
Confit
Lancashire brown cap mushroom & lemon parfait
Giant
Argentinian red prawns with garlic & lemon
Black
pudding & pork sausage roll
with crispy pigs’ ears,
a pig’s head croquette and Parker’s piccalilli
30-day
aged 16oz prime rib Bowland Belted Galloway Beef tomahawk steak
with creamed mash and
watercress
Layered
creamed potato & Lancashire cheese pie
with seasonal
vegetables & triple cooked chips
Seville
orange marmalade sponge pudding
with 5 spice burnt
orange ice cream
Portuguese
custard tart
with roasted Yorkshire
rhubarb & Chantilly
This isn’t a
‘disclaimer’ as such, but it is a point worth noting: as usual, we paid for our
meal but also gratefully accepted #TweetTreats, which Parkers generously
provide for anyone who gives them love on social media. They are a family owned
rural pub without a marketing budget and therefore appreciate and acknowledge that
their business relies heavily on ‘word of mouth’ alongside the accolades and
awards they’ve received.
