Shropshire Magazine

Duo of venison suet pudding and marinated duck, with celeriac-and-smoked-bacon purée and cherry tarragon sauce.

Neil Thomas muses over Shropshire’s Olympic connections and awards gold to The Raven. Pictures: Russell Davies

The Raven Hotel and Restaurant, on Barrow Street, Much Wenlock.

The name Much Wenlock seems to be synonymous with the Olympic Games nowadays. Of course, the town has many fine points, its artistic festival high among them. Yet it is the Olympic connection for which it is probably most widely known. 

As the countdown to London 2012 gathers pace, you can bet that MW will chip in here, hove into view there and, at various points, present a credible case to have founded the whole thing. 

Lord Coe, a double Olympic champion who spearheaded London’s successful bid, visited the town only last year in a tacit acknowledgement of its role as birthplace of the modern games.

Thinking about it, this is a fairly staggering achievement. A globally obscure town of 3,000 in Shropshire links itself with the largest international event on earth boasting more than 10,000 competitors and nearly five billion television viewers. 

You have to stand back and simply applaud the marketing genius behind it. 

It is all, of course, down to Dr William Penny Brookes, who was born in Much Wenlock 200 years ago and is seen – probably by millions of people, thanks to a combination of The Wenlock Olympian Society and the worldwide web – as an inspiration behind the modern games, which started in 1896 in Athens.

The founder of the games Baron Pierre de Coubertin visited Much Wenlock in 1890 and was greatly impressed by the Wenlock Games, which Dr Brookes had launched 40 years earlier to “to promote the moral, physical and intellectual improvement of the inhabitants of the town and neighbourhood of Wenlock”.

More than a century later in 1994 Juan Antonio Samaranch, then president of the International Olympic Committee, visited Much Wenlock and laid a wreath at the grave of Dr Penny Brookes, saying: “I came to pay homage and tribute to Doctor Brookes, who really was the founder of the modern Olympic Games”. 

Frankly, if Much Wenlock is good enough for Samaranch, Coe and de Coubertin, it’s certainly good enough me. If lords and barons can make the effort to pay homage to Penny Brookes in his home town, then why not a humble commoner like yours truly?

Head chef Steve Biggs.

And why not combine that homage with a meal at one of Shropshire’s finest restaurants? After all, you can’t be expected to pay proper homage on an empty stomach. Homage, also, is something I find best paid in couples which is why I insisted my wife Vanessa accompany me. She was only too willing, appreciating the importance of dining out in a town so closely associated with the Olympics with the London Games almost upon us, being a mere three-and-a-half years away.

So our homage to Dr William Penny Brookes took place at The Raven Hotel, which is certainly a champion among restaurants.

An array of culinary awards adorn a wall in the main vestibule and head chef Steve Biggs and his talented team certainly live up to them. The best local produce is used to winning effect with the creation of an innovative menu that excites and delights.

The Raven had already been around for a century when Penny Brookes was a slip of a lad practising the hop, skip and jump in Barrow Street. The hotel combines many pleasing period features with tasteful and imaginative modern touches to provide a cosy atmosphere.

Spiced parsnip and lentil fritters with a tomato compôte and a leek beurre blanc.

After a laborious journey in unanticipated early March snowfall we were glad to get out of the night chill, warmed by welcoming smiles. We perused the menu and wine list while enjoying aperitifs and amuses-bouche on a comfortable sofa in front of a cheery fire in the soft-lit lounge. 

The bright and airy light-walled dining room provided a striking contrast, though no less classy. Vanessa had a view of the dining room, which was virtually full on a Wednesday evening (perhaps Wednesday is the new Friday). My view was of an elegant floodlit courtyard. Mostly we only had eyes for the mouthwatering fare on our plates – and, of course, each other, so romantic was the ambience.

I started with the warm goat’s cheese and tarragon tart which came with a rocket salad and with pickled ginger for added kick. Vanessa chose the sauté of chicken livers and smoked bacon enlivened by red wine and raspberry sauce and accompanied by olive bruschetta.

A grapefruit sorbet refreshed us for our mains. I chose the inventive venison suet pudding and marinated duck, which came with celeriac-and-smoked-bacon purée and a cherry tarragon sauce.

Vanessa went for the slow-cooked Morville beef with horseradish pomme anna and confit of shallot.

These came with a generous dish of fresh vegetables.

For dessert I had the lemon and clotted cream tart, with clotted cream ice-cream and toasted panettone. Vanessa chose the selection of British cheeses with biscuits and fruit, a platter which included Appleby’s Cheshire, Shropshire Blue, Somerset Brie, Long Clawson Dairy Stilton from Melton Mowbray, Wrekin White and Newport, a locally made hard cheese.

Rich chocolate and blueberry tart with star anise ice-cream.

Individual comment on any of these dishes would be a waste of words. They can all be summed up in one – superb. I could waffle on about texture and seasoning but what’s the point? You’re only really interested in the upshot and it is that there were no weak links. This was a seamlessly exquisite meal, cooked with skill and care, plated with panache and served with good-humoured efficiency. In fact there was a general air of bonhomie and an old-fashioned sense of hospitality about The Raven that was rather uplifting.

There was an excellent variety of wines from which we chose a Brown Brothers red that proved an ideal complement to our food. A splendid filter coffee and delicious ice-cream truffles rounded off our meal to perfection.

The bill came to just over £100 for two which I thought money well spent.

And so out into the night. It was dark and cold, though thankfully had stopped snowing. However, relief of the babysitter was our priority and so a tour of Much Wenlock and the birthplace of Dr William Penny Brookes will have to wait another day.

Since I share the good doctor’s birthday perhaps we’ll celebrate by returning to Much Wenlock where we can drink a toast to both of us . . . at The Raven, naturally.

• The Raven Hotel and Restaurant, Barrow Street, Much Wenlock TF13 6EN. Telephone 01952 727251. www.ravenhotel.com

The dining area at The Raven Hotel.