NOTTINGHAM'S two-starred Michelin Restaurant Sat Bains has been named one of the best restaurants in the UK in the latest edition of the Good Food Guide.
The Lenton Lane restaurant, which offers customers a tasting menu of modern British food with a twist, ranks seventh in the 2015 guide of the top 50 places to eat.
With owner Sat on his way back from a worldwide symposium for chefs hosted in Denmark, head chef John Freeman said: "It's an amazing achievement for the whole team. To be in the top ten is always great. You know you're going in the right direction and hitting all the right buttons.
"Every day we strive to be better than the day before. We always have that mentality. That kind of focus and consistency is what keeps you pushing forward."
Top spot went to Cumbrian restaurant L'Enclume, Heston Blumenthal's The Fat Duck in Berkshire was second and Restaurant Gordon Ramsay in London third.
The Good Food Guide, published by Waitrose and now in its 64th year, is highly regarded by chefs and restaurant-goers alike, with particular attention paid to those who make it into the top ten.
For £79 a head, customers at Restaurant Sat Bains can enjoy a seven-course menu of dishes with exquisite taste, texture and presentation such as goosnargh duck with fermented carrot and salted plum and strawberry with vanilla and anise hyssop – a herb grown in the restaurant's new garden.
Mr Freeman said: "We've started a garden project in an attempt to become self sufficient. We're growing a lot of our herbs including lemon verbena, basil, thyme and alpine strawberries and nasturtium leaves."
An old-fashioned way of storing homegrown root vegetables is being deployed.
"We pick root veg at peak season when it's at its best and then store them in sand, restricting the oxygen, known as clamping," said Mr Freeman.
"It gives a more intense flavour. Beetroot becomes much sweeter."
Another new addition to the kitchen is a wood-fired oven which reaches temperatures of 600-800°C.
"We do a dish with heritage potatoes braised in a Japanese stock and roast them in brown butter in the oven. The skin blisters and you get this incredible caramelisation so it's crispy and golden brown on the outside and fluffy inside.
