Flavours of Cumbria are given a modern treatment while keeping traditions alive at Kysty
It's unusual to get into a discussion about Cumbrian dialect with a chef born in south London, and yet it's a subject that Kysty's head chef Daniel Hopkins has become an expert in since the spin-off from the Old Stamp House opened in Ambleside.
"How you pronounce the restaurant name depends on who you speak to," Hopkins says. "We worked with a fiercely west Cumbrian chef who is adamant it's ‘Kiss-tee', whereas Cumbrians in the south of the county swear it's ‘Kai-stee'. It means someone of discerning taste – or fussy – in old Cumbrian dialect."
Hopkins grew up in Streatham in London and moved to the Lakes in 1999 to take a chef de partie role with his godfather, Michael Robinson, at the Burn How hotel in Bowness. He won two AA rosettes as head chef at the Leathes Head hotel in Borrowdale and was sous chef at the Old Stamp House when it won its Michelin star in 2019.
Kysty originally launched as a bistro in 2018, but it was when chef-owner Ryan Blackburn reopened the Old Stamp House after lockdown in 2020 with a tasting menu-only offering that Hopkins was really able to evolve an à la carte that has become an attraction in its own right. "Our vision is to broaden the offering of the Stamp House with a fine-dining experience in a relaxed environment," Hopkins explains.
Take the signature starter of ikejime Arctic char with rhubarb, radish, pickled tapioca and dashi (£12). Windermere char is a famous local delicacy, particularly when potted, though the days of commercial fishing are long gone. Instead, Hopkins gets char from Hodgson's in Hartlepool. "Killing the fish instantly with a needle in the head, ikejime-style, gives a very clean flavour and creates a lot of interest with the customers," Hopkins says.
He cures the char in brown sugar, salt and fennel seeds before leaving the fish in a warm oven for two minutes and then blasting it with a blowtorch. The tapioca is cooked in dashi before being pickled and warmed through in another dashi, which Hopkins says gives it a texture similar to bubble tea. Lightly poached and charred rhubarb, steamed and puréed nori, pickled and fresh sea herbs, and pickled and fresh radishes accompany the fish.
"I've never seen anything like this dish before," Hopkins says. "The pickled tapioca pearls and the sweetness of the fish create interesting textures and a beautiful balance."
Hopkins's favourite main course, Cumbrian lamb rump with red cabbage, smoked potatoes and anchovy and mint emulsion (£26), involves a less drawn-out preparation, although not one without advance planning.
"The cabbage is fermented for a month," Hopkins says. "It's a process that interests me very much. There's fermented beetroot in a starter of Thornby Moor goats' cheese with walnut, caraway and apple, which gives a lovely pickled flavour to contrast with the cheese."
To finish, the restaurant's signature dessert of gingerbread cheesecake with poached rhubarb, rhubarb sorbet and gingerbread tuile (£10) not only nods towards another local speciality, the gingerbread made in nearby Grasmere, but also Hopkins' and Blackburn's history.
"Ryan said to me, ‘the only thing I want you to always have on the menu is the cheesecake, because it was on the menu at the Stamp House when we won the star'."
A cheesecake of Philadelphia and mascarpone is set with ginger wine and gelatin and placed on top of a base of stem ginger, ground ginger and butter. The rhubarb is cooked until tender in sugar syrup at 75ºC, which turns the poaching liquor into a pink glaze.
The 36-cover restaurant is open for lunch from Wednesday to Saturday and dinner Tuesday to Saturday and serves 50 customers each day. Hopkins is part of a team of three in the open kitchen where, he says, he gets "cutting-edge feedback" from customers to adapt dishes made, where possible, with local ingredients. "I am so lucky to have Cumbria as a larder – fish, field and farm," he says.
And if there's still any ambiguity about Kysty's Cumbrian name, Hopkins has the definitive answer. "Ryan is from Great Langdale and says ‘Kai-stee', so it's ‘Kai-stee'." But however you pronounce it, there are unlikely to be any diners too fussy to turn their noses up at Hopkins' ambitious, delicious cooking.
From the menu
Starters
Morecambe Bay shrimp with saffron oil and spiced cauliflower velouté £12
Venison tartare with pickled redcurrants, shallot, parsnip and wild garlic £13.50
Mains
Salt-aged duck with chicory, parsnip, kale and sesame tuile £24
Loin of cod with parsley, chorizo, watercress and beurre blanc £22
Roast cauliflower with hazelnut, mushroom, black garlic emulsion and crisp kale £18
Desserts
Chocolate delice with blood orange, bitter orange sorbet, white chocolate and coffee ganache £11
Passion fruit curd with malt crumb, mango, pineapple and fennel meringue £9
3-4 Cheapside, Ambleside, Cumbria LA22 0AB
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