Lunch @... No 131, Cheltenham

Provenance and ingredients bursting with flavours: Katie Jarvis tries the fabulous Green Menu, where local produce and sustainability shine through.

I love Cheltenham. Even though I’ve managed to squeeze in many of my most awkward experiences here. So here goes: My Awkward Moments in Cheltenham range from My First Ever Experience of Being Recognised. (And, to be fair, my last.) I was a cub reporter writing for a newspaper delivered free round the town, when an older lady stopped me. ‘Are you Katie Jarvis?’ she asked. On the basis that I’d recently added up important figures incorrectly and based a wholly implausible front-page story on them (only realising in a 3am hyperventilation after the paper had gone to press), I squeaked, ‘Yes’, and fled.

Then (do you want me to carry on? Probably not), there was The Worzel Gummidge Experience. I’d had a wonderful Cheltenham-based head massage using incredible oils, after which - in a miasma of lavender and patchouli - I went shopping… right until I caught sight of myself in a plate-glass mirror.

I’ve even had some of those experiences at No 131 itself. Such as The Over-Hand-Creaming in the Lavatory Experience, so extreme that I couldn’t turn the door handle to get out. (Honestly worth it.) Or when I interviewed Dom Joly and the couple at the next table complained they couldn’t hear themselves eat. Or something. (We were both overstimulated by the thought of his upcoming appearance (at the time) on Celebrity Island with Bear Grylls.)

But it’s never put me off No 131 (or excessive use of their hand cream): I love it. I love the ambience; the food; and the gorgeous view of elegant Imperial Gardens, whose beauty – for me - lies in a combination of incredible the planting, and not being responsible for mowing them.
And, let’s face it, anywhere that has Antony Ely heading it up is going to smash it.
‘You’ve worked in some dead good places,’ I say to him, as he pops over to say hello.

‘Oh, yeah!’ he says, reminiscing. Genuinely: name somewhere decent in the Cotswolds and the chances are it has Antony written all over it. The Tavern in Cheltenham; Chequers in Churchill. Even Bibury Court, in the heady days when it was still a hotel. ‘Private now: the guy who designed the Apple Watch.’ (Marc Newson, if you want to drill down into the detail.)
Antony looks a bit misty eyed.

‘I got engaged there, married there; both children got christened there.’
Can’t get past the gates nowadays, of course. Anyway. He’d been working for Daylesford – executive chef director – but got fed up of the commute: getting up at 5am to grab a train; 8pm train home in the evening. ‘My wife had had enough, and the two girls were like, ‘Where’s daddy?’’
So when Julian (Dunkerton, of course; they’d worked together before) was scouting for somebody, it was a match.

And when Antony in turn needed a new chef, he also turned to a familiar face: ‘Roman Ivanov. He’d worked for me at Bibury. I hold on to good people.’
Goodness; all these words, and I haven’t taken a bite yet.
The thing is, these men are all about provenance. And that’s what they’re busy bringing to the table at 131.

‘Hero products,’ Antony nods. ‘Tomatoes from Evesham, just up the road. We have somebody in Gloucester who grows figs who’s just reached out to us… We’re on a journey to find the best local produce.’

In fact, on 131’s Green Menu, it’s writ large: ‘If you know of a local producer, no matter how big or small, please speak to a member of the team,’ it says.

I mean, how cool is that…
So we eat – and, boy, is it good.
I go for that Evesham tomato salad (olives, vegan feta, balsamic), followed by courgette and broad bean risotto. 

Ian – or The Hanger-on, as I like to term him. The only thing better than being a jobbing food writer is being the partner of one – has pate followed by a roasted Cornish (close enough) hake. Reader, the flavours are fab. We finish with raspberry Pavlova (get this – it’s plant-based) and a chocolate brownie.

‘A Michelin Green Star?’ Antony says. ‘Sure. We’d love it. But you can’t just click your fingers; you’ve got to work towards it.’

The Green Menu isn’t just about showcasing sustainability; it’s also a great value prix fixe with a story to it: I’m buying into a philosophy. I’m buying into local food and sustainability – and it’s delicious.

Don’t just take it from me. Julian will often come along with Jade (Holland Cooper, his super-star designer wife) and kids.

‘I’ll come out and introduce the dishes. The first time [with the Green Menu], he preferred this; she preferred that. Their last two visits have just been: ‘Bang! This is amazing.’

Seconded.
 

131 Promenade, Cheltenham GL50 1NW; no131.com