Restaurant Review: Whistlers, Chipping Norton 'Food as art'

ELEGANT without being pretentious, charming without being twee, quiet but not too remote... Chipping Norton has always struck me as a pretty perfect kind of place.

With it’s elegant town hall, pretty market place, interesting shops and harmonious jumble of rather grand golden limestone houses, it’s the match of better known Cotswold honey pots but without any of the gawping crowds. And despite that daft lingering ‘Chipping Norton set’ label, it has always been refreshingly down to earth – the further out towns and villages being where the real money is.

And it is those places – Churchill, Kingham, Paxford, Chipping Campden et al – which also provide the best eating. Or, so I thought... for there’s a new contender snapping at the heels of the Michelin Guide’s Cotswold darlings, and it’s right in the middle of dear old Chippy.

Nestling among the cobbles of the Market Place, Whistlers was previously the haunt of pizza and comfort food fans, but with talented Cotswold chef Nathan Phelps and his sparky Australian partner Kerry Foley at the helm, it is now making waves in gastronomic circles with the kind of intricate and beautifully executed cooking which deserves to see the place embellished with a good mention by the Michelin Man, if not a star.

I visited with the photographer Ed Nix, who, it turns out, is quite the cook and an unforgiving food critic. We were there to try Whistlers’ new seven course tasting menu, and while Ed assured me the place was a bit special, I wasn’t sure I was up for an eight-course endurance event. I’ve had some inspiring tasting menus, but also some hefty long slogs through a procession of red meats and game which have left me praying for the whole thing to be over.

A glance at the menu looked promising though – as did the accompanying flight of wines. Fish, game bird, fruit and vegetable; there was no red meat, just fresh and light sounding creations sprinkled with surprises. It promised genius, but could they pull it off?

The place itself is a delight, submerged at the bottom of the multi-layered town centre, it appears cosy but its intimate nooks and corners are little havens of secrecy – and even full on a Saturday evening it felt surprisingly spacious, the subdued lighting affording a sense of privacy or conspiratorial mischief!

All pictures by Ed Nix

We started in promising, if hearty, fashion with a generous chunk of Nathan’s bread – half a loaf no less – with a little pot of whipped butter. It looked, and smelled, wonderful, but we are no fools, and knew it would be crazy to fill up on that block of deliciously scented carb. Better things were surely to come. And soon – starting with a beetroot agnolotti (a ravioli parcel made from a single piece of pasta) with jalapeno and goat’s cheese. It was served with an impressive sesame and lime crisp and was divine. The sharp beetroot balanced the tang of goat’s cheese and the gentle chilli heat. Likewise the brittle crisp and the yielding folded pasta treat.

The plate was perfection. Small but beautifully executed – which proved to be the motif for the whole evening. It evaporated in a smear of purple beetroot juice, washed down with a suitably sharp and intense Marlborough Riesling – Lawson’s Dark Hills.