A new year is always a time for new beginnings, and that’s certainly the case at the much-loved village pub-restaurant, The Plough in Coton, as they welcome a new head chef to join the team there. New head chef Edward Barker has a great track record, having spent several years overseeing restaurant openings in the UK and Europe for a large restaurant group, and more recently having been in charge of the kitchen when The Bun Shop on Cambridge city centre’s King Street evolved into its new incarnation as The Jolly Scholar.
So far Edward and the rest of the new kitchen team have added a few tweaks to the existing menus at The Plough, which have long proved popular with customers for offering a broad range of pub classics, and innovative dishes with a touch of added flair. His robust style of cooking is seen in new dishes such as an irresistible (for garlic-lovers anyway) garlic and thyme roast chicken, served with confit garlic and aioli sauce, while his concern for sustainable fish sources (Edward’s father was a fisherman) is displayed in the arrival of pan-fried grey mullet on the menu – a fish ever bit as tasty as the more fashionable sea bass. Other innovations on the menu at The Plough include the addition of some new antipasti and Greek meze sharing platters – perfect for lunch or as a starter for whole table. They have also recently introduced a main course to share, in the form of a gorgeous rack of lamb for two or three people, served whole at the table ready for you to carve.
As has long been the case at The Plough, the emphasis is on good, hearty, simple food, created using local ingredients where possible, and offering a broad range of dishes at good value prices – and that looks all set to continue in 2012, with the arrival of a new seasonal menu to look forward to in February.

Two-for-one winter pizza offer!
If you’re feeling a little out of pocket after Christmas, but have no desire to go without all your little treats in the new year, then make sure you take advantage of The Plough’s two-for-one pizza offer. You’ll be able to enjoy two of their superb oven-baked pizzas for the price of one every Monday to Thursday evening from 18:00-20:00 throughout January and February. In addition, look out for a special set menu that will help you make a night of it on Valentine’s Day this year, Tuesday 14 February.

The Plough, 2 High Street, Coton, T: 01954 210489 www.theploughcoton.co.uk