I am so happy to share, and to have found @thehundredofashendon. It's a mini St. John that is thirty minutes from my home in a small village called Ashendon. Exciting times! Why I can’t find this in all the go to food guides is beyond me.

Open kitchens are the best, and countertop kitchens are even better. Though, I’ve never seen a kitchen like the one at The Cross where it merely has an opening like this - slightly odd. Go for it and knock it open, let the people see where the magic happens!

The sauce!! A kidneys primary job is to take toxins out the blood and transform the waste into urine. A kidneys secondary job is to bounce my tastebuds and bring pure joy to my stomach. These kidneys were cooked well - slightly pink, which is always important as there’s nothing worse than a hard-dry piss filter. The sauce was just incredible, peppery and beefy to bring out the best from the offal. Great starter and a top start to the meal.

Brandade is a classic dish that features whipped up salted cod with potatoes. It sounds off putting and really can be a bit smelly if you've ever seen salted cod before. However, it tastes amazing! Worth trying when you see it on the menu somewhere.

Lunch was very much inspired by our good old friend Bugs Bunny. I opted for the braised rabbit with peas and bacon. The rabbit leg was huge! I asked if it was farmed and apparently it wasn’t. Anyway it was super tasty and well complemented by thick chunks of bacon, which brought a saltiness to the light stock.

The saddle is the best part of a rabbit. Full of meat and only one big bone to navigate. With the two strips of meat running along the middle bone, it reminds me of a monkfish tail.

Wibble wobble, wibble wobble, damson jelly on a plate...

This one is worth a swipe. Top notch treacle pudding to close off the meal. Overall @thehundredofashendon is a local gem with a chef who knows what he is going. The food is reasonably priced and I’ll definitely be back for more.

Text and photographs by The Undercover Food Critic, 10th October, 2020. More Information: @the_undercover_food_critic