He commented on the fact that much of the produce for the menu is locally grown and sourced:

“The platters were attractively presented and the individual items were without exception excellent. The beef and the venison for the main course came from the Home Farm and were universally applauded, both very tender and very tasty.  The sea trout was equally good, a thick fillet fresh fromPoolethat morning, liberally encrusted with herbs and perfectly cooked.

The home-made desserts were first class, particularly the excellent home- churned ice cream. The generous selection of fine West Country cheeses was very well received. The service throughout was informal but efficient and the atmosphere was very friendly and welcoming. This is the third visit of the Wessex Branch and we will be sure to return. This Commendation is made with grateful thanks”.

The committee members then sat down to enjoy another exquisite lunch in The Stables Restaurant, a converted part of the original buildings, full of charm and character. Barbara can be contacted on 01258 830225.

Mike & Janet

Windy, Ivana, Kevin & Kirsty

Mike, Kate and friends

In the light of our continued success in the Taste of the West Awards we are hosting a weekend of menus showcasing the best food that Dorset can offer.

Dorset has a wealth of fabulous food, from our rolling farm land we produce amazing meat and game, incredible fish and sea food from the beautiful Jurassic Coast and have producers of fine cheeses. Dorset can produce all that you need. With Head Chef Sebastian Paulinyi we have selected the best food that our county can offer.

Both Beer and Wine from Dorset will be on sale over the weekend

Dorset producers are among the countries finest so come along and celebrate with us our 10 year association with The Taste of the West Awards On

Friday 19^th, Saturday 20^th and Sunday 21^st November

Taste of the west awards – Gold in 2006, 2007, 2009 and silver in 2010

Speak to a member of staff for further details or to reserve a table

 TASTE OF DORSET

STARTERS

SEA FOOD TRIO ~ £9.95

 Tian of Brockhill crab bound in homemade mayonnaise

Home smoked Dorset trout with horseradish cream

    Pan seared Portland scallop sat on a pea puree

GAME TASTER ~ £8.25

Home smoked loin of venison with creamed beetroot

Pan seared wood pigeon breast on caramelised shallots & a port reduction

Dorset “scotch” bantam egg with wild boar sausage & plum chutney

  VEGETARIAN DELIGHTS ~ £7.95

 Garlic Dorset down mushrooms

Blue Vinny Bavarois

Mini garden vegetable pie

MAIN COURSE

FISH SOURCED FROM POOLE ~ £17.95

Pan fried wild sea bass, wilted spinach, white wine velouté & crushed new potatoes   

GAME FROM THE TARRANT VALLEY ~ £15.95

Pan roasted pheasant breast with confit leg, braised red cabbage, château potatoes & a cider jus  

MANOR FARM ‘TARRANT GUNVILLE’ LAMB ~ £18.95 

Herb crusted rack of lamb with roasted garlic & rosemary new potatoes & a port & redcurrant sauce

CRIB HOUSE FARM ‘STURMINSTER NEWTON’ PORK ~ £15.95

Chef’s special confit belly pork, crackling, champ mash & a grain mustard cream

HOME FARM ‘TARRANT GUNVILLE’ BEEF ~ £17.95

Famous mini Langton arms steak pie with a medallion of fillet and horseradish mash

HOME GROWN VEGETARIAN DISH ~ £12.95

Homemade butternut squash ravioli in a Dorset cheese, thyme & garlic sauce & smoked cherry tomatoes

BLANDFORD FORUM TURKEY ~ £13.95

Citrus crumbed turkey Escalopes, with Hand cut Chips, lemon wedge & dressed salad

 A SELECTION OF HOME & LOCALLY GROWN VEGETABLES WILL BE SERVED TO YOUR TABLE.

PLEASE DO NOT HESITATE TO ASK IF THERE’S ANY DIETARY REQUIREMENT.

We are thrilled to be awarded a Silver Award in the Dining Pub Category from the Taste of the West 2010. Whilst I was disappointed to be down graded from a Gold award, I do take comfort that no Gold Award was issued for our category in Dorset.

We continue to stay local; the majority of our vegetables come from our own garden (update to follow!) We make as much as is possible on the premises, from bread to soup and even ice cream. Our suppliers continue to be local… maybe we are too Dorset based? We await the judge’s comments!

To celebrate our success in the awards we will be running a special menu on the weekend of 19^th – 21^st November highlighting Dorset’s Fabulous seasonal produce. We will be posting a menu soon!

Halloween

Halloween fell at the end of half term and this year we decided to celebrate in style! The children arrived in amazing fancy dress and were rewarded with homemade toffee apples and chocolate coated apples, as well as sweeties and other treats. Kerry, Peter, Mark and Hugh from our front of house team entered into the spirit and worked in fancy dress. The magician wowed everybody as he worked the tables. Our thanks go to him, and everybody who made the effort to turn the day into such fun.

Garden Update

I have to say that I’m very proud of our vegetable garden this year, and with Brian’s hard work we have had a fairly constant supply of vegetables fresh to our kitchen and your plate! Currently we are harvesting, Butternut, Squash, Leeks, Parsnips, Turnips, Sprouts, Curly Kale, Savoy Cabbage, Celeriac and Winter Cabbage. The chefs are featuring all of this produce on our menus.

Game Season

The game season is now fully underway and the kitchen team are busy plucking! Partridge is featuring on our menu currently and Pheasant will follow.

Farming News

The maize has now been harvested for winter cattle feed and we have finished sowing for next years crops. We are still waiting for a clear T.B. test.

Taddlestones Ash Tree 

Sadly we have had to fell the big Ash Tree in the garden of our self catering holiday cottage – Taddlestones. It was getting very dangerous as it was loosing branches. Our tree surgeon has told me that it was hollow in the middle and would have become more and more dangerous as time went on. It has featured in many a wedding photograph and was a big feature of the garden.  We will of course be replacing it with another tree. For more details and how to book Taddlestones, please call us on 01258 830225 or email info@thelangtonarms.co.uk

Christmas Menu

Requests for our Christmas menu have been flooding in and our diary is beginning to fill up, so please do book quickly to avoid disappointment.

We are open as usual for lunch and dinner on New Years Eve.

In my 18 years at the Langton Arms I have always been a staunch supporter of all things local; local produce, local suppliers, local B&B’s and hotels, and even some of the villagers. When you are in business in a small community like the Tarrant Valley it is really important that we support one another, especially in these trying financial times.

Marlene and Rodney Belbin at Home Farm Shop supplies us with the beef for our steak pies, sirloin steaks and roasting joints, and as well the faggots for our Traditional Fair Menu. In the past, James has also sold them beef animals from our own herd, when the cattle at Home Farm is not ready for slaughter.

Sarah Worrell at Launceston Farm too supplies Marlene with some amazing suckler beef, as well as running a lovely Farm House B&B. We often have her guests in for dinner and will always recommend her for overnight stays if we are fully booked. 

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After last year’s success we are again running The Times Fine Dinning Promotion, through October & November. Collect your tokens for the offer: 2 courses for £15.00 or 3 for £20.00.

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Our Christmas menu’s are out and bookings are starting to come in. Don’t forget our skittle alley is in the function room. Skittles are always great fun so what better way to have fun with friends or colleagues after dinner. You could always challenge the boss!

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Our Head Chef Seb is currently working on a tasting menu for November, using lots of local game. Partridge will be featuring on the menu in the next few days as the season has just started.

We are now harvesting butternut squash; kale and cabbage from our vegetable patch, with leeks and turnips to follow. We are also working our way through apples and pears from the garden and wonderful wild blackberries from the farm hedgerows.

 FARMING NEWS…As I mentioned last time, harvest was a struggle at the beginning with all the rain, but all was not lost, the crops were gathered in and the corn prices got better. We are still waiting on a clear T.B. test on the cows so that we can sell and move cattle again.

Some of the villagers have requested a corner of the field to keep chickens and we thought it would be a great idea. The scheme will be starting shortly so watch this space for news of when the eggs will be on the menu! The lambs in the same field are also going to be appearing on the menu very shortly, we’re currently putting together our Mothering Sunday menu and we hope to feature our home grown ‘Tarrant Monkton’ leg of lamb studded with garlic & rosemary!

Tarrant Rawston, Dorset Beef

Whilst we’re on the subject of Sunday lunch, we would like to let you know the beef we are using this month are from our own herd at Tarrant Rawston. It will be featuring on the menu in a few guises namely our famous crispy beef & chilli mayo starter and of course as roast beef with a Yorkshire pudding.

Rest assured, all the local produce coming from the field isn’t affecting the peace and tranquility enjoyed by our guest chalets which do back on to the field.

Take a look at our: Stables Restaurant A La Carte Menu and our Traditional Fayre Light Bites Menu and see what takes your fancy!