February: Our recommendations on the menu this month

What we’ve been eating: Chicken soup

A comforting classic on our lunch menu, chef James drew inspiration for this dish from his memories of drinking cups of hot soup at the Sunday rugby games during the cold winter months.

He starts the dish with a base of rich confit egg yolk, then adds roasted wild mushrooms and braised chicken thigh.

He finishes the dish with the earthy flavours of chestnut mushrooms while adding some freshness with herbs like chervil and lemon thyme.

This is all accompanied by a rich chicken soup made from roasted chicken wings, winter root vegetables and an array of fresh herbs.

What we’ve been drinking: 2020 Domaine Berthollier, Chignin, Savoie, France

This organic Alpine wine is made by brothers Didier and Denis Berthollier, whose father Alexis Berthollier was one of the founders of the Appellation d'Origine Protégée Vin de Savoie.

Wines made from the Jacquère grape variety have high acidity, characteristic of cool climate vines, and are often described as ‘mountain fresh’ or ‘Alpine clean’. They can also be quite herbaceous and show aromas of freshly cut grass, green apples and pears. A Jacquère is usually best consumed young, while it still displays its clean minerality and lively citrus palate.

This wine comes from Chignin, a subregion (or ‘cru’) of the Vin de Savoie appellation in the south-east of France.