Joe Bartlett is the new Head Chef at the Hart Street Tavern. He may be new in town (three weeks) but he’s been around these parts before. His journey has taken him from where he grew up in Devon, to Oxfordshire at Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons where he spent two years, onto Lake Country House Hotel in Powys for a couple of years and now back to Oxfordshire and firmly planted in Henley-on-Thames.

Joe absolutely oozes passion and enthusiasm for his dishes and produce, and he excitedly tells us about what he has been creating in first few weeks on the stoves at Hart Street and what his plans are going forward.

He says that he’s enjoying sourcing top local produce and creating a new, fresh and interesting menu. Joe is an advid forager, so expect to see much of this on dishes. At the moment he is busy using wild garlic which is in abundance.

He has been having fun cooking and playing around with the Gozney oven and tells us that hopefully soon he will be cooking over coals in the kitchen, bringing a whole new dimension to the menu and plates.

More and more people are familiar with and wanting to dine more tapas style with small plates and Joe says that their snacks and starters have been hugely popular for diners wanting to mix, share and graze on. Two which are very popular are the Veggie Glamorgan sausages with spiced chutney, and a cheese crumb (£4.50) and the Welsh Rarebit crumpet using a Rebellion IPA reduction with crispy shallots (£4.50).

With a chill in the air Glazed Ox Cheek with orange, braised fennel and a watercress gremolata (£18.50) was created to fend of the cold, oh and it seems like we need to try the ‘whopper’ of a pork chop which Joe says is exceptional produce.

Glazed Ox Cheek, orange, braised fennel, watercress gremolata

Crumpet Rarebit with Rebellion IPA and crispy shallots

Ice cream sandwich – Coconut parfait, roasted peanuts, confit lime served in a choux bun with a salted coconut rum caramel sauce 

To get an insight into Joe’s top tips, foraging and recipes you can follow him on Instagram @chefjoebarlett or check out his Food, Foraging & Travel blog.

Hart Street Tavern along with all our other wonderful pubs and restaurants will be opening up for indoor dining from Monday and here at EH Towers we can’t wait.

For the full menu and to book a table at The Tavern visit hartstreettavern.com