Sophie took three outfit options for our overnighter in Hay-on-Wye. It’s her prerogative and I don’t mind; I have two arms to load two bags into the back of the car, plus, generally speaking, if it makes her happy I’m happy. For the many people who follow me on Instagram and tell me the only reason for doing so is her outfits, she ended-up wearing the first one; an off-white waistcoat, blue jeans, and an impractical pair of wedges that required a knowledge of sailing knots to secure tightly. I have no idea what the other two were, but they were there, hiding in plain sight with the wine and both my pairs of pants, somewhere in the mire on the sofa of the fabulous B&B we were staying at. Later that night, whilst sitting in the garden of The Swan having a pre-dinner G&T, I asked her why, of all the trips that we do, had she chosen to pack so much for this trip.
“I want to look back at the pictures when FIR is famous and know that I looked nice”.
She’s right. FIR by Matt Sampson, remember the name. A thrilling three-and-a-half hour ride that blends Wales’ best produce with expensive flourishes from across the world. A meal that showcases how much he’s learned from a nine year career that goes Casamia, L’Enclume, and Ynyshir. Matt is twenty six. Twenty six. I know age shouldn’t be a factor, but c’mon it’s impressive to be knocking food so assured out at this stage. It really does feel like the start of something very special, tucked away in an artsy book town, in the meeting room of an old church, with a maximum fourteen covers a night.
The fifteen or so courses start with a cleansing broth of shitake dashi, spiked with thyme and green onion oil, before two courses of trout; the first a little tartlet of aged belly and roe cut with ponzo, green strawberry, and a little beetroot ketchup, the second the loin with tomato dashi and the fruity, gentle heat of jalapeno that would end up being Sophie’s favourite course of the night. I adored the lightly seared scallop that punches with a bold mixture of aged soy, yuzu, Japanese wasabi root, furikake, and sesame. It might be the dish that travels closest to his previous place of work, but he does it so very well.
There is an elegance and refinement that he’s clearly picked up on his travels. Huge Portuguese prawns are served simply with a pile of kombu aged Exmoor caviar and a bisque lightly scented with galangal and lemongrass. It’s assured and deft. The lad is very talented. We get a palate cleanser of Charentais melon with a raspberry hot sauce that echoes the mango dipped in chilli salt that you find everywhere across South East Asia, and a bread course of Parker house rolls glazed in local honey with a herb butter that Sophie thinks reminds her of the pickles on a Big Mac. Then local Welsh lamb cooked slowly to just about medium with cherry ketchup, compressed lettuce, nasturtium, and onion oil, before a final protein course of slow braised beef shortrib, sweet Hungarian wine glaze, chicken sauce and Welsh truffle. There is an appetite to make the sauces as big as the protein and to pack as much flavour into everything as possible. Crucially, it is all delicious.
I’m going to stick my neck out and say that the pre-dessert is the best pre-dessert I have ever eaten, anywhere. A Vietnamese passion fruit cream with a syrup of the same fruit, a disk of meringue littered with red Kampot pepper and kaffir lime. It is bright and fruity, the acid levels absolutely perfect, with the biggest advantage of everyone eating at the same time being the palpable excitement that booms around the room. Follow that with local raspberries in various forms counteracted by the smokey bitterness of hojaicha and you have two of my favourite desserts in a long time. Only the chocolate mousse with balsamic and sheep yoghurt feels like it’s been done before. The last three courses all come together; a brilliant Amalfi lemon Turkish delight, my first ever Welsh cake, and the most textbook of canelé flavoured with vanilla and finished with lots of Barti rum. We are stuffed.
The price is too cheap. We know it. He knows it. Everybody in the room knows it. £98 for the above tasting menu, but surely in this climate that has to go up soon. I should tell you that on certain Sundays they offer a much cheaper menu, but really you should just go now whilst it is this price. Before Michelin turns up, and the Good Food Guide has dinner, and before word gets out from bozzo’s with blogs like me. Matt Sampson can cook but then you likely worked that out by now. FIR is an accumulation of his work at previous restaurants, rolled out in a style that already feels like his own, and yet those restaurants have taught him that if you are good enough people will travel to eat your food. FIR is more than good enough. It’s time to plan that trip to Hay-on-Wye before everyone else does.
10/10
Sign up to the newsletter here
https://blog.us14.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=08c98db0e9d6eb9e5b54695a1&id=eda85ee6f4
