The Maids Head Hotel in Norwich unveiled a new menu on Friday, April 4 2014 inspired by traditional English dishes, using Norfolk and Suffolk produce, to mark English Tourism Week (March 29 to April 6 2014).

Created by the hotel’s Polish Head Chef Marcin Pomierny (28), the menu was officially launched at an English Tourism Week lunch on Friday, April 4 attended by Chloe Smith MP, the Lord Mayor of Norwich, Councillor Keith Driver, the Sheriff of Norwich Graham Creelman, Caroline Jarrold, Chair VisitNorwich, Sarah de Chair, Chair Norfolk Food & Drink Festival and David Chaplin, owner the Maids Head.

Head Chef Marcin Pomierny explained: “We change the menu every two months to reflect seasonal produce, and begin testing the next menu on our menu du jour around two weeks before launch. Working with our Norfolk and Suffolk suppliers, I have designed a menu inspired by traditional English dishes using the best local produce.”

“The flavour and the texture of each dish are very important. I often use two cuts of meat in a dish to present different textures. The ingredients must all work together to produce a quality dish which can be well cooked and presented in our busy restaurant and most important be enjoyed by our customers.”

Highlights from the new menu:

Starters: 

Fresh Cromer crab with Basmati rice tian, guacamole, red pepper coulis, sun dried cherry tomato and salad.

Norfolk wood pigeon breast with confit potatoes, spinach veloute, truffle popcorn and pea shots.

Crispy duck egg, with glazed beetroot, marinated white radish and watercress purée.

Main Courses: 

Dingley Dell Suffolk pork fillet saltimbocca & pork belly with Dauphinoise potatoes, buttered greens, poached rhubarb, Aspalls cider sauce & crackling.

Seared fillets of cod with crushed Jersey Royal potatoes, buttered leek and salsify.

Dedham Vale marinated rump of beef with garlic & rosemary mashed potatoes, spring vegetables and wholegrain mustard sauce.

Roasted portobello mushroom, crispy herbs polenta, mozzarella fritters, sun dried tomato pesto and mixed leaf salad.

Desserts: Maids Head Fruit Salad; texture of rhubard; warmed steamed ginger sponge with cardamom ice cream, coffee caramel sauce and candied nuts.

Marcin Pomierny was appointed Head Chef last September. He trained as a chef in Poland and has worked in Norwich since 2005. He arrived in the UK with minimal English, secured a job as a kitchen porter and has learned the language and the British way of running a kitchen on the job, to become a Head Chef in just eight years. He was a finalist in the Craft Guild of Chefs Young Chef of the Year competition in 2008.

English Tourism Week is a weeklong celebration of events co-ordinated by VisitEngland, showcasing the quality and vibrancy of the visitor experiences and the value that tourism brings to the nation.

For more information about the Maids Head Hotel see www.maidsheadhotel.co.uk , t. 01603 209955.

Photo: L to R: Christine Malcolm, General Manager Maids Head Hotel, Chloe Smith MP Norwich North, Marcin Pomierny, Head Chef Maids Head Hotel, Councillor Keith Driver Lord Mayor of Norwich, Graham Creelman Sheriff of Norwich.