Today we want to tell you about one of the most beautiful places the Vanstaurant has ever visited.
Upper House is a stunning wedding and entertainment venue, located in the village of Hayfield in Derbyshire and overlooking the tranquil Kinder Reservoir.
Originally an ancient farmstead dating back to around the 14th Century, in the late 1800s the then Mayor of Manchester, Sir James Watts, sold off the neighbouring land but retained Upper House as his private shooting lodge. His son, also called James, became the brother-in-law of Agatha Christie, who wrote several of her novels while staying at Upper House.
We followed this up with two of our famous artisan pasta dishes – guests had a choice between fresh rocket pesto or chicken cacciatora, and most decided to try both! Many people also came back for seconds!
The bride and groom were over the moon with their pre-wedding buffet, and it turned out we had a lot to thank them for, too.
Given our connection to Jack Badger, our initial tour of Upper House also led to a discussion of all things medieval, so we mentioned that Giordano’s dad, Bruno – a chef who’s been on a few adventures with us this year already – is an expert in medieval Italian cuisine. We put forward the idea of trialling a medieval Italian evening – which was met with lots of enthusiasm! – and we returned to Upper House just a few weeks later with a very special menu.
For our medieval banquet, we served a series of dishes as a buffet in Upper House’s Great Hall. Bruno gave a presentation of each dish in Italian, with Laura providing the translations.
Our menu included trout in aromatic Venetian sauce, wine-braised pork tenderloin and wild boar pie.
Our adventures with Upper House are by no means finished. Thanks to these events, we’ll be returning in mid-September for another pre-wedding celebration. We can’t wait to come back!
We want to take this opportunity to thank Nicola, Paul, Ellie, Georgia and Frank for everything they’ve done for us so far. We’re really looking forward to working with you again!
