Head Chef Helps Highlight The Plight Of A Lost Lakeland Delicacy
Head Chef Kevin Tickle, features in a short documentary film called ‘Brass 3 Down’, which recently premiered at Kendal Mountain Festival.
This quietly evocative film by Henry Iddon and Richard Berry on Windermere’s lost Lakeland delicacy Charr, illuminates the delicate balance of Windermere’s eco system and the environmental challenges of global warming.
The film celebrates the cultural role that Windermere Charr play in the Lake District from fishing in hand crafted flat-bottomed boats to creating a culinary delicacy.
As the population declines, so have the number of those who fish for them using traditional and unique techniques. Equally the culinary skills to prepare potted Charr are being lost along with the craft of the pots used to preserve them in.
As far back as 1660 Windermere Charr were a culinary delicacy, caught and preserved by potting or made in to pies, they were then dispatched across the UK to be enjoyed at the tables of the upper classes. Windermere Charr is classed as a “Forgotten Food” by the International Slow Food Movement but stocks have recovered as commercial fishing has been banned.
Kevin Tickle, Michelin starred chef cooks with Windermere Charr, treating this fish with great delicacy – flavouring it with foraged ingredients. Talking about his involvement Kevin said:”Charr is part of the region’s rich food heritage, and it offers something unique to Forest Side’s menu. I’d like to see Charr make a sympathetic re-appearance on our menus, respecting seasonality and breeding seasons. My food comes from the Cumbrian landscape, not just in raw produce terms, but also the ethos and experience, defined by the valleys, lakes, and fells that surround us.”