An eye-catching new book celebrates the relationship between a famous Northumberland coaching inn and the county’s people and places. JANE HALL found out more
SOME people would be insulted if you described their carefully thought out, written and executed title as a coffee table book.
But that is to miss the point of the genre. Coffee table books are made to be admired and usually favour glossy images over words.
They are books you can pick up, flick through and drool over the stunning pictures. They look good sitting on the coffee table and the very best can become collectors’ items.
A Taste of Northumbria is every inch a coffee table book, from its striking silvery-grey linen hardback cover to its sumptuous illustrations covering everything from the landscape to food.
If you decide to part with £20, you will have to put it on the coffee table or some such place. It’s too big to fit on your average bookshelf.
A Taste of Northumbria is a vanity publication from The Angel Inn, Corbridge’s famous hotel and restaurant.
The taste of the title doesn’t just refer to food, although there are plenty of examples of it in the book. It also gives a very polished flavour of just how wildly beautiful and culturally rich and diverse England’s border county is.
There are sweeping panoramic views of the coast and country, more intimate portraits of The Angel’s kitchen team and some of the top quality local producers they favour.
The book also includes delicious food and recipe pictures and atmospheric shots of The Angel Inn which has been in business for more than 260 years.
It’s the fabulous photography from Michael Baister and Roger Coulam that persuaded the man behind the book - the Angel’s managing director Kevin Laing - that the coffee table approach was best.
The project, he says, started more than 12 months ago with the Northumberland landscape “which is so big and wide. That’s why we now have a book that is equally capacious.
“You can’t fit that sort of backdrop into a normal sized book that sits neatly on a bookshelf. Such a big and diverse landscape demands an equally big book to show it as its best.”
Kevin, who left his birthplace of Middlesbrough “Dick Whittington-style” in his early 20s and ended up in Buckinghamshire working in the hospitality industry, returned to the North East after 25 years to take up his current role in October 2011.
He was “blown away” by Northumberland’s scenery, the high quality of ingredients coming into the Angel’s kitchen, the commitment, love and skill of many of the local producers and both Corbridge’s and the Angel’s colourful history.
Kevin says there are many reasons why he thought it would be good to create the book.
“Firstly, there is so much history surrounding the Angel and we wanted to understand more about the history and the area,” the 46-year-old says.
“Secondly, the Angel is so much more than food and drink. It’s about our people, our suppliers, our produce, our product and our guests.
“Finally, we all thought that if we got it right then people would simply like looking through it.”
While Kevin maintains the Angel is about more than food, A Taste of Northumbria is heavily weighted in its favour. It offers signature dishes championing local produce, such as Angel Burger and Chips, and more refined showstoppers such as Cambodian Marinated Beef with a lime and black pepper dip.
It also reveals how regional flavours and ingredients feature in the food created by head chef David McKie and his team.
Peppered throughout are profiles on local suppliers including Corbridge butcher JD Hall, fish merchant Frank Rounds, from North Shields, Wylam Brewery and the game shoots at Howden Steading and Doddington Dairy.
They spotlight those artisans and purveyors who are essential to the Angel and who are rightly regarded as local food heroes.
Ingredients don’t come any fresher than the lamb supplied by the inn’s own South Dissington Farm just outside Ponteland, however, and destined for both the Angel and its sister pub, the Bay Horse at Stamfordham, which is also featured in A Taste of Northumbria.
Shepherd Ian Thompson tends the flock and gets a section all to himself. Last year the Angel took at least 150 sheep from him.
As the crow flies the farm is only around 10 miles from Corbridge and Kevin says: “Ian and the chefs work very closely together. Our aim is to offer some exceptional dishes at great value, and it has also meant that all of our chefs are now capable of completely butchering a whole lamb.”
Kevin, who once worked for a company contracted to cater for, among others, Tottenham Hotspur and Pinewood Studios (where he met the likes of Daniel Craig, Johnny Depp and the stars of the Harry Potter movies), believes North East produce is among the finest anywhere.
“I love the stuff up here. It is absolutely great for two reasons. One is that we are so close to the sea and the second is that the farmland is so beautiful and productive. The air is clean and clear and you can taste the difference that makes to the meat.
“I firmly believe that some of the produce is the best in the world.”
Kevin has made a point of getting to know the people on North Shields Fish Quay. “There is some fabulous fish being landed that we can have on the menu within hours.
“When you compare it to the stuff that is a couple of days old or more there is no comparison. To pick up a fish that still smells of the sea is a joy.
“I was watching one of the guys filleting the other day. It was fantastic. He was so quick. He was like a magician. The fish can be off the boats and on the counter within 90 minutes.”
It’s important, Kevin says, that the food at the Angel is the best it can be and that the menu reflects what’s on the doorstep.
“We don’t have any beers that aren’t from Northumberland. There are lots of good beers around but I think people want to drink something that is local.”
Kevin says: “I hope the book opens people’s eyes not just to what the Angel and Corbridge have to offer, but Northumberland as well, with its wonderfully diverse and picturesque scenery, rich history and fantastic produce.”
The Angel of Corbridge: A Taste of Northumbria costs £20 and is available direct from the Angel Inn.
