Essex pride

Stalwart of the county pub scene, season went to lunch at the Cricketers in Clavering on the North-West Essex/Herts borders with owners Trevor and Sally Oliver.

Essex born and bred, the licensed trade runs in Trevor’s veins, having grown up with his father being a landlord. Two other brothers also have their own pubs, including the old family hostelry, the well known Plough and Sail at Paglesham on the river Roach, celebrating 40 years in the Oliver family.

Ironically the one thing which those less humble would crow about, would be the fame of their son, Jamie, known worldwide as a superstar chef and food champion. Ironically Trevor and Sally are very down-to-earth about the whole issue of ‘celebrity’, definitely an amusing novelty, especially in London and on holiday. Fortunately when the whole family is back home in the quiet backwaters of north-west Essex, he can be himself alongwith his sister Anna-Marie. Both children clearly give Mr and Mrs Oliver Snr. more pride and happiness with their five grandchildren under the age of seven, than any amount of stardom, though the Sainsbury’s adverts starring the whole family do make you feel like you know them even though you’ve never met before.

What interests me most is how successful the Cricketers is. 33 years on from when they first took it over, this wonderfully old crooked, beamed hostelry buzzes most days. Yes there are some of Jamie’s cookbooks by the door and the menu mentions his wonderful produce being used in the cooking, but one is really left with the impression that their undoubted prosperity is due to hard work, looking after their distinctly valued clientele and offering the right product - excellent food, good beer - with the right packaging - welcoming upbeat staff - at the right price - namely affordable value and good portions.

So the ‘Jamie’ effect, (we can all be proud of our two culinary icons in East Anglia, we mustn’t forget our Delia) has not made this excellent inn anything more than it already was, and perhaps that is the reason for his TV success, the perfect place to get a grounding in good food and how to cook it. Certainly having done the same with his children, Trevor recalls his own childhood with distinct nostalgic fondness. He regaled me with fascinating tales about how involved all his family got with their father’s work in the pub, ‘pulling as a team, earning our breakfast before school’, including going to the oyster beds next door (now sadly gone) to bring up Essex’s finest bivalves for the pub’s customers.

Perhaps the epitome of an East Anglian hostelry, the Cricketers has all the quaintness, low ceilings (four bumped heads in four visits over the last year alone, you’d think I’d learn…) and history every where you look. But what has the region’s diners flocking from far and wide is the quality of the cooking. Hard to pin down, it uses some amazing local produce, lots of superb continental ingredients courtesy of Jamie’s contacts (the fattest olives from Amalfi were gorgeous) and of course a great chef, Justin Greig and his team in the kitchen. In fact it is the supportive experienced switched-on team behind the Olivers who make the place run like clockwork to a well practiced format. Between Justin and the two general managers, Phil Waldon and Victoria Foster, they can count 32 years of experience working at the Cricketers, ensuring consistency.

In fact Justin has only recently taken over the stoves in autumn 2007, but his previous 9 years here have made a seamless transition. The flexibility of his menu, which he and Trevor clearly relish, is that it has something for everyone from Tuscan panzanella or Thai fishcakes to start or calves liver and home-made sausages or crispy roast Telmara Farm duck with English rhubarb sauce for main course.

With Jamie having moved the family pad closer to the environs of Clavering, and the wonderful kitchen gardens as seen on ‘Jamie at Home’ on Channel 4, much of that amazing chemical free produce - excellent salad leaves and tender early summer veggies - are heading to the kitchen door at the Cricketers. A Italian style treat, the pea and broad bean bruschetta with buffalo mozzarella and fabulous extra virgin olive oil made excellent use of the famous veg patch there, including the tender leaf tops of the broad bean plant itself, when did you last get served them? On a tour there after lunch, Trevor and Sally introduced me to Head Gardener Peter Wrapson, who after 18 months hard work was pleased as punch to say they had just received organic status from the Soil Association for the gardens. I think his efforts like the Cricketers’ are paying off.

Long may the pub continue to thrive, it’s in Trevor and Sally’s safe hands. Essex pride indeed, but charmingly unpretentious with it too.

The Cricketers, Clavering, near Saffron Walden, Essex
T: 01799 550442  W: thecricketers.co.uk