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wine australia evening at the bell 2009
a slightly different format for our annual australian wine dinner went down a storm. we opened with 7 wines to be tasted before dinner. lisa mcgovern from wine australia and ruth yates from corks out were on hand to help take the guests all across australia. the star of the tasting was majella cabernet sauvignon from the coonawarra district, a big wine, but beautifully balanced, reflecting the attention to making wines that aren’t purely big block busters.
for the dinner, head chef rupert taylor and his team surpassed themselves. pouring jansz fizz with the canapés, an old favourite, the evening was off to a good start. sweetcorn from our organic kitchen garden was whizzed into a chilled soup. the vasse felix semillon sauvignon blanc worked perfectly, with the semillon lending a grassy, citrusy balance. the ferngrove chardonnay chosen for the brixham crab, smoked salmon with a caviar butter was superb. a lovely combination with the tropical fruit giving enough body for the smoked salmon and a rich citrus flavour to cut through the buttery sauce.
then onto the brecon fillet which melted in the mouth – thank you brian george who supplies our meat. we matched a pair of wines for this dish, the superb nine popes from graeme “charles” melton with fabulous raspberry and blueberry flavours. the second red was paxton quandong farm shiraz, with more earthy, truffle elements. probably the favourite wine of the dinner was served with the perl wen cheese course. we matched jim barry cover drive cabernet sauvignon from coonawarra which has the trademark black cherry, blackberry palate of the region and complemented the walnut bread and the bell’s organic kitchen garden chutney. the pudding of blackberries done in various ways was matched to stella bella pink muscat, echoing the lovely aromas from the fruit. all in all a very good evening was had by all, with most people going away wanting to explore australian wine – what a great outcome!
sunday lunch with sir roddy llewellyn
this year's sunday lunch guest was sir roddy llewellyn, ex-monmouthshire resident and a keen and knowledgeable gardener. sir roddy amused everyone with his childhood memories of growing up in wales and spoke about how, inspired by his old nanny, he went on to take up gardening as a career. he spent some time walking around the organic kitchen garden and swapping stories with head gardener michele civil before sitting down to a delicious roast lunch with lamb and beef kindly provided by everyone's favourite butcher brian george of talgarth. it was a fun day and as usual we had a great crowd and bright warm sunshine.
the bell's annual charity sale in aid of the ms society - october 2009
this year's sale raised just over £3,000 for the multiple sclerosis society charity. 28 stalls from all over the uk were open for shopping on the sunday evening and during the day on monday. we were happy to raise money for such a worthwhile charity and would like to thank everyone for coming along. we hope to attract even more people next year, especially on the sunday night which is a good time to bring husbands and for those people who can’t get away during the week! we want to especially thank iestyn evans from the ms society cardiff for all his help with our event and to all the wonderful volunteers who helped to collect entry fees and sell charity cards while sitting outside on what was quite a cold day. next year’s sale will be on sunday 10th and monday 11th october 2010 – please don't forget to put it in your new diaries now!
previous events
annual charity sale in aid of breast cancer haven - october 2008
another fantastically successful year! despite the current economic climate, we managed to raise a staggering £3,371.58 for breast cancer haven at our annual pre-christmas sale on sunday 12 and monday 13 october! this was an increase on last year and we wanted to say thank you to everyone who has helped us make this amount - both shoppers and stallholders alike. we had some great stalls selling everything from gloves to gadgets, shoes to sundials, bags to bunting, scarves to stocking fillers, all followed by the busy sale lunch. we are all looking forward to next year's sale now. . .
10th abergavenny food festival - australian wine dinner, september 2008
once again, we were lucky enough to be sponsored by wine australia. between us we sourced some fabulous boutique wines that epitomise australian wine production at present. the kitchen (with dave, our head chef, at the helm), excelled themselves, devising a 6 course tasting menu that matched the fabulous wines on offer. everyone savoured the food/wine combinations throughout the evening, and enjoyed discussing them with kirsten & elizabeth (from wine australia), and aidan from averys, who circulated dispensing wine wisdom!
for 2009, we are hoping to have tony jordan (of cape mentelle/green point/spear gully fame and god father of the australian wine scene) to help us through the evening. please, please, please book early next year, so we don't disappoint you!
sunday roast with allegra mcevedy, september 2008
we hosted a fabulous lunch, where michele (head gardener), showed guests round the kitchen garden, before they tasted the wares! allegra is now a food festival regular. she is chef and founder of
mont tauch wine dinner with tim bulmer, november 2008
tim bulmer translated his wicked sense of humour from pen to talk!! tim's slightly off colour pictures have adorned the bell's walls since we opened, so were delighted that he came along to talk about a particular wine region that he has fallen in love with in the south west of france. tim talked about mont tauch wines, one of the oldest producers in the caves cooperatives established in 1913 in the languedoc region of southern france. tim brought characters to life:
chardonnay - a lively aromatic white with a strong fruit and floral flavours, inspired by claude the local cycling champion! like claude, this chardonnay is a racy little number with lots of panache.
rose - a deliciously fruity and refreshing wine, inspired vy sophie, the seductive village flower seller. like sophie, this rose is seductive, fresh & exciting - an ideal partner for scallops and other seafoods.
merlot - a soft fruity red wine inspired by roland, the local cafe owner. like roland, this is a multi-faceted merlot with hidden depths. a pleasingly fruity nose leads to a depth of plummy cooked fruits and hints of spice. it has a dark seductive side and an amazingly rich and dark red colour.
to find out more about tim bulmer and his work, please visit his website at www.timbulmer.co.uk
recent magazine article
michelin pub of the year 2007
it was announced in september 2007 that we had won the michelin pub of the year 2007 in the michelin’s eating out in pubs guide launching on 6 september - the first welsh pub to win the award.
the judges commended the ‘immaculately kept interior’ our food, wines and relaxing atmosphere. they liked the ‘appetising and balanced selection of dishes prepared with care and a refreshingly unfussy approach’. away from the bar and restaurant, they found the bedrooms ‘something to behold’ mentioning the ‘little luxuries are everywhere’ and ‘that guests may have to pause for a moment to remind themselves that they are ‘only’ staying in a pub’!
suffice to say that william and i are enormously proud to have won michelin pub of the year and would like to thank all the staff who fully share with us this prestigious award.
our awards that we are all proud of:
condé nast johansens uk wine list award 2009
best pub garden 2008 - herefordshire life and worcestershire life garden award
restaurant with rooms 2008 - 5 star award
aa wine award wales 2007
taste of wales gold 2007
michelin pub of the year 2007
5 star restaurant with rooms from aa and wales tourist board
aa 2 rosettes
johanssens ‘inn of the year’ 2006/7
johanssens "taittinger" wine list 2006/7
gosset celebris winner of winners in uk 2006
trophée gosset celébris 2005/6
aa wine award for wales 2005/6
wtb best place to stay finalist 2005/6
taste of wales gold 2005
trophée gosset celébris champagne challenge 2004/5
les routiers inn of the year 2004/5
les routiers welsh inn of the year 2004/5
les routiers national service & hospitality true taste of wales silver 2004
gosset champagne challenge 2003/4
good hotel guide césar ‘welsh inn of the year’ 2004
johanssens ‘inn of the year’ 2003/4
which? good food guide wine award 2003/4
wales tourist board’s best place to stay in wales 2002/3
aa wine award for wales 2002/3
aa best pub in wales 2002/3
"Taste of Wales" 2002/3
we are also featured in:
square meal guide (top 40 outside london)
harden’s
good hotel guide (‘welsh inn of the year’ 2004)
michelin red guide (red tankard)
good food guide (top 10 pubs in the uk)
which? good food guide (wine award 2004)
harpers & queen restaurant guide 2004
what the papers say . . . . . . .
rob penn, condé nast traveller magazine
"this is no ordinary gastro-pub"
fay maschler, sainsbury’s magazine
"we stayed three nights with the idea of spending days taking long, healthy walks, and quite soon the bell became a home from home, so much so that one of the party quickly succumbed to the comfort of a large sofa in the bar beside the log fire and declined to join in the walks"
travel & leisure (usa)
"it’s a pity the horse and buggy is a thing of the past because pulling up to the bell at skenfrith in a gas-guzzler doesn’t have nearly the same effect"
guy marks, the financial times
"my scrambled egg breakfast at the bell at skenfrith was served with smoked salmon. Not the emaciated mush that is so often chopped and cooked into the scramble, but lavish slices, piled unadulterated alongside the egg"
belinda richardson, the daily telegraph
‘i think we have found heaven here at skenfrith’ "the menu at the bell is refreshingly short and uncomplicated. and a "suppliers" blackboard on the wall suggests that nearly all the food it serves comes from the local farmers. so hats off to the owners for making the best effort they can to support and feed the community"
caroline fitton, evening standard (london)
"the clue that attentive detail presides swiftly presented itself as fresh milk was delivered to our room for tea, accompanying home-made shortbread and wickedly good chocolate shortbread – invisibly replaced later in the day by an overnight flask ensuring fresh milk for the morning cuppa"
richard eilers, the observer
"there are no horse brasses at the bell at skenfrith – i checked. they have obviously been sent back to the restaurant props department on the shelves with french onion chains and wine bottles heavy with candle wax. instead fresh paintings and monochrome photographs take their place in the bar and restaurant – a wonderfully calm space with light oak beams and chalky shades on the walls."
and, most importantly, from some of our guests……
raymond blanc
"excellent food, fabulous hospitality - 1st place. merci."
paddy burt "the atmosphere is great"
dominic curran, london
"fantastic. shame only that we couldn’t stay longer. great room, great food, great staff. thank you – we will be back."
hugh fearnley whittingstall
"beautiful location, lovely people, great food, we will return!" (and he has!)
beverley & jeff jones, north yorkshire
"absolute perfection - we will return very soon"
beverley & jeff jones, north yorkshire
"third visit – perfect"
gordon ramsay, london
"thank you for a great dinner"
mr and mrs schwartz, texas
"what a lovely Inn. both the hospitality and the service were exquisite, as are the surroundings. we look forward to spending more time with you. thanks kindly."
jonathan meades
"...a wonderful stay and great hospitality"