A touch of Novelli at The White Horse - Harpenden

Following recent events Jean-Christophe Novelli has been looking at the market and deciding what to do next. Rather ironically he has settled on a clapped out pub in Harpenden, not a hundred miles from Brocket Hall.

With ferocious intensity the pub has regained its original charm, plus an awful lot more injected into it by its new owner, including a superbly designed interior, the work of Janine Nugent, wife of one of JC's co-directors. The result is a 54-cover dining room with two small private dining rooms upstairs seating 8 and 12.

From a menu large enough to excite interest rather than suspicion look for starters of spit-roast Aylesbury duck coarse pate, pistachio and cox apple jelly, or aniseed home-smoked red tuna carpaccio, acacia ginger dressing with bean sprout crunch.

Amongst the main courses the four-hours braised oxtail and liquorice stick, with white almond and cauliflower mash rouses interest, together with the half-day braised pig's trotter stuffed to JC's mood, and roasted celeriac mash. No truth in the rumour apparently that a would-be diner rang to ask after JC's mood in this context, only to be referred to Hell's Kitchen. For fish look no further than the smoked haddock and Faroe trout brandade, with stuffed baby pumpkin, tartilette cheese, poached egg, and mustard cress hollandaise.

The concern with slow cooking comes to the fore again with a pudding of minute glaze Beenleigh blue stuffed Granny Smith, or consider an alternative of grenadine braised rhubarb, with vanilla bourbon pannacotta.

It is to be hoped that the worthy folk of Harpenden and district recognise genius when they see it. My guess is not only that they will but that they will be joined from a far wider spread. If nothing else they could always call by for JC's rotiserie du jour served with steamed market vegetables or a fresh salad and herb croques, at an eminently reasonable £10.95