He may be leaving the Midland but Simon Rogan has big plans for his Lake District venue L’Enclume
With Cartmel already heralded as a culinary destination, AA’s Chef of the Year Simon Rogan will champion the medieval Cumbrian village through a series of interesting new developments over the coming months. Rogan’s latest projects in the area include the chef’s table and development kitchen experience Aulis, ‘The Shop’ opening, as well as an in-house bakery. Existing enterprises include two Michelin star restaurant L’Enclume, recently awarded the top spot in The Good Food Guide for the fourth consecutive year and the more casual sister restaurant, Rogan & Co, along with Rogan’s farm.
After being extensively remodelled and refurbished, Simon is re-launching the chef’s table and development kitchen, Aulis, which will be adjacent to L’Enclume and is set to be the most high tech cooking facility in the country. An intimate and interactive dining experience going ‘behind the scenes’ of L’Enclume’s highly esteemed kitchen, Aulis offers guests the unique opportunity to preview the chef’s creative work and enjoy dishes before they are officially introduced to the Michelin menu. Aulis will be the experimental hub for Simon and his accomplished team of chefs.
The six-seater table offers the opportunity to book individual spaces or the table in its entirety for an exclusive ‘up close and personal’ with the chefs as they prepare and serve the bespoke dinner menus. The space is named Aulis as a tribute to Aulis Lehtimaki, a Finnish chef and artist who was a key collaborator in the early days of L’Enclume, and the concept also exists in Simon’s London restaurant, Fera at Claridge’s.
‘The Shop’ is Rogan’s first foray into retail and promises to become an essential part of the Simon Rogan experience in Cartmel. Blending into the charming architecture of the village, ‘The Shop’ will be home to an array of products of local origin, continuing Rogan’s commitment to supporting the area and referencing his passion for both provenance and craftsmanship.
The Shop will sell L’Enclume keepsakes such as aprons for keen cooks, branded cookware, small kitchen appliances, and of course some edible produce too – guests who stay in L’Enclume’s rooms will recognise many of the products on sale. For visitors to Cartmel, the shop will showcase the talents of the region and will offer a chance to take a piece of Cumbria home.
Simon said: “Cartmel is incredibly important to me – it has been home for a long time and I hope that the opening of the shop will answer something we hear from guests – that they want to have a part of their experience in the village to take home with them. I’m looking forward to creating another asset to our magical village, welcoming our first visitors through the door later this year.”
Simon will also be introducing a small bakery, again set in close proximity to L’Enclume and with a huge wood burning oven at its heart. Whilst predominantly there to create fresh baked goods to be served at the restaurants, the bakery is yet another dimension that reinforces Rogan’s ethos of using fresh and locally sourced ingredients with traditional methods wherever possible, a uniting thread between all his endeavours.
