Page 17 - David Burr Rooftops Magazine Winter 2017/2018

Tavern is a foodie haven
Tucked away down a narrow lane just off Head Street in Colchester, you’ll find a foodie haven just waiting to be discovered. Church Street Tavern – housed in a former savings bank – opened in 2014 with a trendy ground floor bar and stylish first floor restaurant, and has been a hit with locals since day one.
The restaurant, owned by Piers Baker who also owns the popular Sun Inn at Dedham, celebrates the best of Essex produce in a relaxed, informal space. Head chef Ewan Naylon and his team are determined to use ingredients which are of the season and bursting with native freshness, whether it’s vegetables from
a local farm or fish from inshore day boats on the Essex coast.
For warmer days there’s a small alfresco seating area, while the ground floor is the place for a quick bite from the simple bar menu of soup, sandwiches and salads, or cocktails in the evening. Head upstairs and there is a vibrant and eclectic mix of paintings, drawings, photographs, and books.
Church Street Tavern
3 Church Street, Colchester C01 1NF
W: churchstreettavern.co.uk
T: 01206 564325
E: office@churchstreettavern. co.uk Open: Wed-Fri L 12-2.30, Sat- Sun L 12-3; Wed-Thu D 6-9.30, Fri-Sat D 5.30-10
Chef Ewan Naylon at the Church Street Tavern, Colchester
My role in Essex Feast: One County, Twenty Chefs was to tell the story of how the selected chefs met their local suppliers and why they are so passionate about using local produce. Each chapter reflects a different ingredient so researching the book found me interviewing chefs and producers along the Essex coastline and deep into the county’s countryside. My many travels saw me visiting Ardleigh to see a highly productive line in colourful baby vegetables, inadvertently scaring off some hens with my umbrellla in Great Bentley, and foraging for wild nettles and garlic with Sherri the owner of the Mistley Thorn and Lucca Enotecca at Manningtree. Each chapter features a different ingredient and it was a pleasure to be part of the creative team responsible for this the latest cookbook from the Feast Publishing stable. Writer Stephanie Mackentyre
hooked, came back to the UK and took jobs in this country (as well as France and Spain) that would progress his career. “I always chased the best restaurants in town for a job. It was worth it; I had to work really hard, but if you’re in a good
kitchen you learn from the best.”
He’s glad now to be settled in Essex,
where he met Jess, a wedding event manager. “It’s great because being in hospitality too, she understands the hours chefs put into their job!”
Left: Sophisticated ‘surf and turf’ the Ewan Naylon way
Books are available (£24.50) from the Church Street Tavern and all other 19 restaurants, plus Red Lion Books in Colchester
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