Rhubarb and Black Pudding

Not another chef’s book but a book about English food and English cooking and an English chef. Paul Heathcote is one of the UK’s most successful chefs. Since opening his restaurant Heathcote’s at Longridge in Lancashire in 1989 he has gained two Michelin stars and was voted Egon Ronay Chef of the Year in 1994. All this, while serving such dishes as black pudding studded with sweetbreads, wing of skate with mussel and celery tartar, roast Goosnargh duck with potato cooked in cider and dumpling made from the leg; pig’s trotter stuffed with ham hock and sage, and strawberry shortcake. These are dishes which depend on local producers for the quality of their ingredients. They are distinctively English, distinctively Lancastrian even.