Cumbria is home to the Queen of Puddings - The Guardian
From cockles to custard tarts...
Lincolnshire has the cosiest restaurant with rooms. Cumbria is home to the Queen of Puddings. Richard Benson and friends explore the hidden corners of foodie Britain...
The best dessert:
Lucy's on a Plate, Cumbria
The dessert-only restaurant may be a growing international trend much discussed by foodies since the
arrival of New York's trendy ChikaLicious, but in Ambleside this is all old news. For years, sweet-toothed
Cumbrians have headed down to town on the first Wednesday of every month to indulge themselves at Lucy's
"Up the Duff" pudding club, where starters, main courses and anything savoury are dispensed with in favour
of a vast range of sweet courses - accompanied, naturally, by a dessert wine. Janet "Queen of Puddings and
Sweet Stuff" keeps the cafe fully stocked with a choice of at least 30 homemade confections that are chalked
up on the blackboard. Dishes might include nutty raspberry pavlova, deep-dish egg custard tart, cappuccino
crème brûlée and Westmorland toffee apple crumble tart. Lucy is a much-loved Cumbrian institution in her
own right, a charismatic and glamorous figure who not only tends to remember her customers by name, but
also types individual greetings on the menus for those with reservations All quite life-affirming, frankly.
This is an extract from the BMW 1 Series Good Food Ride, edited by Richard Benson, which has recommendations from more than 100 experts, including Heston Blumenthal, Richard Corrigan and Henrietta Green. It is free and can be ordered at 1seriesgfr.co.uk, where you can also download regional Taste Drive podcasts, tours and maps.
28/10/06
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