Head Chef, Stuart Phillips and our Master butcher, Keith Alderson have joined forces to come up with an enormously tasty dish using a forgotten, rare cut of Beef – Jacob’s Ladder.

Speaking to our Master Butcher, Keith Alderson of Bridgnorth, Keith says

“Jacob’s Ladder is an extremely flavoursome cut of beef, which has been largely ignored in the past but is now becoming more and more popular as people rediscover these traditional cuts of meat.”

He went on to say,

“This cut is taken from the forequarter, near to the shoulder and we hang it in the time-honoured way for 21-28 days to get the very best flavour”

Head Chef, Stuart Phillips, says

“Jacob’s Ladder is the only meat which expands while cooking which means it absorbs whatever flavours you braise it with. We cook these slabs of beef ribs for 6 hours in Red Wine, Homemade Stock, Olives, Thyme, Bay, Garlic and Citrus Zest which gives the meat a delicious flavour.”

When asked how they served the dish he said

“We pull out the threads of succulent meat and roll them in to a sausage shape, which is sliced and served with Beef Fillet , Goats Cheese Ravioli & Roast Pepper Sauce. This dish is now our fastest seller and so many guests have been amazed by the depth of flavour that comes through.”

We’re all very excited here at The Hundred House as the new menu is simply stunning-this dish being just one of many! The smells coming from the kitchen have been divine as Head Chef & Managing Partner, Stuart Phillips, has been putting all his skills to good use coming up with these fresh and stimulating dishes. The new menu has just been launched so why not come and see for yourself.

To book a table and experience the new menu for yourself please call the hotel on 01952 580240 or to view the menu online and enter our competition to win a romantic Champagne Dinner for two please go to our website www.hundredhouse.co.uk and follow the link off the” Home page”

Christmas is well and truly under way here at The Hundred House Hotel! The decorations are up, the fairy lights are switched on, the real log fires are roaring, Stuart has got the Turkey baster out and the aromas coming from the kitchen are truly captivating.

With our 3 course Christmas Fayre Menu starting from just £24 it won’t break the bank to get in to the festive mood. Take a look at our Christmas menu.

We hope to see you soon.

Guests can now bath in luxury thanks to a grant from the Shropshire Tourism Grant Scheme. The Hundred House Hotel is perhaps more famous for its food than its rooms but that could change following a major refurbishment programme.

We have been fortunate to receive a £10,000 grant from the Shropshire Tourism Grant Scheme towards our investment of over £100,000 to transform 9 bedrooms and bathrooms. The grant scheme was designed to help tourism businesses across Shropshire raise quality and increase popularity.

Tim King from Shropshire Council who has been administering the scheme said,

“We know the quality of bathrooms and bedrooms can make a huge difference to occupancy rates, return rates and referrals. This in turn helps the rest of the local tourism economy. We’re really pleased The Hundred House Hotel and their guests have been able to benefit from the grant scheme”.

With poor exchange rates and the cost of travelling abroad rocketing many people are now looking to the UK for weekend breaks. Henry Phillips explained why investing now while others are cutting back was important for The Hundred House Hotel,

“With review websites like Trip Adviser often being the first place someone goes when looking for hotel accommodation it’s vital we get good reviews to boost our ranking. I’m delighted to say this is already starting to have an impact. Our rooms have always been quirky with each having a swing hanging from the beams. Now the ‘rain showers’ and roll top Victoria and Albert baths add a distinctive air of tradition and luxury”.

The Hundred House Hotel has been run independently by the Phillips family since 1986 and has been awarded 2 rosettes for quality of food. Images of the refurbishment can be seen at Facebook.com/HundredHouse.

"Better tapas than Spain.."

We had a wonderful evening of tapas and Spanish music last week and to top it all one of the Spanish musicians 'Synergy' who provided the entertainment said it was "..better tapas than I had all last month in Spain". What a complement!

As you can imagine it was very busy evening in the kitchen with all hands on deck but even the staff had a great time. I love the challenge of organising this type of event, experimenting in the preceding weeks with new recipe ideas, sourcing as many of the ingredients as possible from Shropshire, then the team pulling everything together on the night to ensure all of our guests enjoy themselves. It's stressful but a lot of fun.

Just in case you didn't manage to join us we've put a little video together to show you what you missed. Take a look at our Events page to see what's coming up soon. We'd love to see you again.

Stuart

A few months ago we wrote about how winter was affecting The Hundred House gardens. Now we’re well into spring and even having a few summery days the gardens are in full bloom so we thought it was time we gave you a little update.

Take a relaxing wander along ‘Lovers Walk’ and you’ll be greeted by a myriad of colours and scents. 

The first things to catch your eye as you enter the gardens are the wild cherry trees in full blossom. Then as the path meanders around the flower beds and ponds you’ll be see the aquilegia coming through, primroses, cowslips, penny royal and euphorbia. 

The hellebores have flowered magnificently but are now going over, as are the early daffodils; however, the Lily of the Valley are about to bloom and the roses are showing signs of vigorous growth.

Fortunately, we’ve now wheeled out the garden seats so feel free to take a break. You could even bring a sketch book or camera to capture the majesty of the pond’s skunk cabbage in full bloom or the herbaceous border that is showing signs of limitless colour for the rest of the season.

In the herb garden we’re now cutting sorrel, marjoram and variegated lemon balm for the kitchen. But it hasn’t all been plane sailing. Sadly, winter devastated the rosemary and seriously curtailed the sage so we’re now replanting. All our bay trees were totally burnt off by frost and have been cut down to ground level in the hope they will re-grow.

On a brighter note the vegetable patch is looking very healthy as vegetables should. Chives are in abundance with last year’s Italian parsley, carrots, leeks and little gem lettuce coming up. 

Next time you’re visiting The Hundred House Hotel for a cream tea, lunch or early summer’s evening meal, allow a little extra time for a stroll around the gardens and Lovers Walk to enjoy the beauty nature has to offer. 

With the winter season well and truly upon us, the elements never seem to deter the staff at the hotel. Whilst autumn saw the harvesting of the fruit and pumpkins, not forgetting the late season carrots, we also tidied up the well used and much loved herb garden for the onslaught of winter. 

November onwards Libby & Des and any spare members of hotel staff were busy planting Narcissus & Crocus in flower beds and tubs around the hotel. The tender potted plants including an abundance of Geraniums & Fuchsias were wheeled back into our poly tunnel, protected for winter.

‘Lovers walk’ where many a bride & groom have ‘walked the plank’ is renowned for its huge white aerum lilies & blue agapanthus which were also safely tucked away.

The winter blew in very hard and everything was iced over and still apart from Libby feeding the garden birds with scraps from the kitchen & Henry mucking out the donkeys (we have to keep him busy!).

On Saturday 18^th December the snow fell thick & we had a real white wedding. The bride looked wonderful & the guests were radiant next to the log burning fires – fortunately the groom was a local farmer. He pushed through the snow on his big red Massey Ferguson tractor, which looked great for the wedding photos in front of our Oak Tithe Barn.

As soon as the snow melted away it was all action again. Leaves were raked, paths cleared, compost & donkey manure applied to the chive beds & herb gardens. Now the first white tips of snowdrops are pushing through already with the daffodils & crocus following close on.

So, things never come to a halt at the Hundred House(Apart from Henry when he leans on the bar and sips his ‘Ironbridge Foundry Gold’ bitter). Next time you are visiting, allow a little time for a romantic tour of the flower & herb gardens. The bars are open all day & we are open every day for lunch and dinner.

September is one of my favorite months. In our gardens crab apples, quince, pears, blackberries & beautiful Shropshire damsons are pulling down and straining the boughs of the trees & bushes. Under the trees giant pumpkins, marrows and various gourds lurk as well as rows of still thriving herbs.

Last year we made a beautiful sugar syrup infused with verbena & lemon balm. This was poured boiling over damsons, which when left to cool, were served with ice cream and meringue – so fruity & tangy.

September also ushers in the game season. We have partridge, venison and, into October, pheasant from the Apley Estate. One thing we love to serve with these is crab apple jelly.

Download our recipe for Crab Apple Jelly (743.14 kb)