new menu

Sheila, who makes most of the cinnamon scones and breakfasts, had a day off today, so I was in at 7 for scone making, and Jonny at 8 for breakfasts....yes, it took 2 of us to cover for Sheila!
It's the 1st December, so roast turkey was on the menu at lunch time for the first time this year. We serve roast breast of turkey with 2 stuffings, roast potatoes, brussel sprouts, bacon rolls, and cranberry and orange relish. The latter is a delicious thing, made with fresh cranberries whizzed up with a whole orange, a Bramley apple, a whole lemon and some sugar. The meal is reassuringly traditional, and during the month of December I never tire of those flavours. However, I can assert, absolutely, that, after 25th December, I will not eat another brussel sprout until 1st December 2011.  Poor brussel sprouts.
The new evening menu started this evening, causing stress and alarm. New menus are full of pitfalls, whatever the extent of planning and preparation, and they always make chefs a bit nervous. Everyone has perhaps a slightly different notion of how a dish should come together in terms of taste and presentation, and there isn't a right or wrong way. I need to work with a dish, and taste little mini versions of it to make my decisions. I am largely self taught, and chefs that come to work for me are ofcourse influenced by other chefs they have worked with, so we are all coming from different directions. It will all be sorted out in the coming weeks!