Entente cordiale
- May 1
- 2 min read
Words by Jamie Crocker
Local supply, combined with French training, fuses in the heat of the kitchen.
At The Barley Sheaf in Gorran Churchtown, Dan Hyams runs the kitchen and the day-to-day business in a way that adheres to first principles: buy local and cook it in a way that is rich, sophisticated and technique-driven. It stands to reason. His background is classical French, learned in Britain and sharpened by time working across France, something that has stayed with him and formed the backbone of his culinary career.
Vegetables and herbs arrive from growers within the village, part of an ongoing exchange that sees kitchen waste returned for compost. Meat comes from surrounding fields, fish is landed minutes away and the menu moves in step with what is available, reflecting a wider shift within the industry towards shorter supply chains and a stricter regard for seasonality.
Plates are composed with a conscious degree of constraint, a principle widely associated with modern cooking, where the emphasis is on allowing individual ingredients to register rather than being obscured by excess. Sauces follow classical methods – built, reduced and finished in line with established techniques, while more recent approaches, such as low-temperature cooking, are used where they offer measurable gains in texture or consistency. Anything without a clear function is left aside. The aim is to arrive at a flavour that is delineated yet complete.
A current example is roasted West Country lamb rump with wild garlic purée, lamb shoulder and mint croquettes, whipped crème fraîche and house bread. The elements are familiar, but the emphasis is on getting each part right and letting them sit together in balanced contentment. From the coast, a day boat catch is served with brown butter beurre blanc, torched grape, spring onion, herb purée, morel and shellfish oil, the fish cooked in butter and finished on the turn.
The Barley Sheaf operates as a free house, so the drinks list is put together without ties, meaning wines can be selected to work with the food rather than to follow a set range. Trade shifts with the seasons: locals fill the room outside the holidays, visitors take their place in summer, with much of the business arriving through recommendation. Dan recounts a recent booking made by guests who travelled from Norfolk for a short stay on a neighbour’s advice and returned twice over the weekend, leaving a favourable review. After nearly six years, the aim is to widen that reach without changing how the place works. The team is small, the week is structured to be manageable, and the focus stays on sourcing nearby and cooking in a way that performs well on the plate and palate.
