Kemps is part of the fabric of life for people in this part of South Dorset. Like Mrs Freddie and me, they go there for celebratory meals, use it as an overspill for visitors when there own house is full, are guests at weddings there and even attend inquiries into local planning issues in its function room. So it was a surprise to realise that this was our first visit since Kemps was taken over by Graham and Mary Craddock eighteen months ago. It turned out to be a pleasant surprise, as the high standards of their predecessors have been maintained and even surpassed.
It has always held our prize for having the most comfortable lounge of any restaurant in Dorset - some places may be chintzier or flashier but here, deep armchairs immediately welcome you and put you in the right relaxed mood for the evening. It is not difficult to imagine this as the family sitting roomwhen the house was the rectory to the now-redundant East Stoke church, a few hundred yards along the road. It was here that we chatted to Graham, while having our pre-dinner drinks, about his previous existence as a senior manager with the Forte organisation. It was a brave decision fopr him and Mary to leave the sheltering umbrella of a big company and strike out on their own, but it is clearly one that they are pleased to have made.
Their next crucial decision was to pick the right chef, and in Robert Becker they have found a gem. The menu shows some traces of the influence of his native Germany, but there is a broad choice and the quality is first rate. It will be no surprise if Kemps retains or even improves on its AA rosette for its food.
To sample the full range, I opted for the four-course table d’hote menu, which changes daily, while letting Mrs Freddie loose on the a la carte choice. From the four starters, I went for pan-seared sea bass with an almond and vanilla pod dressing. I might have expected the rather strong flavour of the fish to dominate the subtle dressing, but in fact they complemented each other well, while the dressing enhanced the crisp salad on which the whole thing was served.
Mrs Freddie’s a la carte starter was a crottin pate of goat’s cheese with a vanilla syrup and accompanied by a rosette of parma ham and - much to her delight - a sugared toasted fresh fig. ‘I could make a meal out of this’ was her appreciative comment as she enjoyed the light and fluffy concoction.
Between the starters and the main courses, I freshened my palate with a raspberry and champagne sorbet while Mrs Freddie had a bowl of mushroom and tarragon soup. She found the soup a little under-seasoned for her taste and we were surprised that in such a good restaurant there was no brown bread among the wide variety of breads on offer.
When it came to the main course, we did something of a role reversal. I am normally a red meat man, but vegetarians are well catered for on the Kemps menu, so I decided to try a filo parcel of wild mushrooms and asparagus with a tomato coulis. It reminded me how good vegetarian cooking can be and what we might be missing if we instinctively go for the meat option every time.
Not surprisingly, then, the baby corns and mange-touts which accompanied Mrs Freddie’s main course and which she shared with me were also excellent. She had chosen a breaded veal escalope with a caraway seed sauce. It was also served with caramelised apple rings, which Mrs Freddie said she would never have thought of but set of the richness of the rest of the dish. I have expounded before my theory of the three Vs - veal, vegetables, venison - being a good test of the quality of a restaurant, and Kemps certainly scored well on the two that we tried.
The wine list is particularly interesting. It is not all that extensive, but it is well chosen and gets top marks for generally avoiding the obvious. Possibly a New Zealand white or two would make it more complete, but I was intrigued to see one wine from Uruguay. Resisting that temptation, we drank a Gevrey Chambertin 1999, which reminded us how subtle and delicate good Burgundy can be: a world away from the heaviness of the standard Australian labels which now dominate so much of the red wine market.
Mrs Freddie’s choice of crepe suzette with ice cream for pudding was beautifully presented, as was my selection of four West Country cheeses, accompanied by celery, grapes, redcurrants and a Cape gooseberry: a very satisfying conclusion to the meal.
In past years, the service at Kemps has sometimes not matched the cuisine, but the Craddocks seem to have cracked this problem and we could not fault the charm or efficiency with which we were looked after.
Four courses and coffee from the table d’hote cost £24.95, while the same from the a la carte might cost on average around £30. These prices compare well with other establishments with less to offer, particularly when such good food is married to such congenial surroundings.