L'Enclume

L'Enclume is Simon Rogan's restaurant in the Cumbrian village of Cartmel, opened in 2002 in a building that dates back to the early 13th century. The name is French for "the anvil": the site was a family-run blacksmith until the 1950s, and the dining room keeps the blacksmith's furnaces, the exposed ceiling beams and the thick stone walls. It holds three stars in the MICHELIN Guide.

The cooking starts at Our Farm in the Cartmel Valley, a mile or so from the village, where growers and chefs work side by side. The restaurant takes tables of up to six, one booking per service, and does not seat large groups. The house also keeps sixteen bedrooms and suites spread around the village, and a room booked from Tuesday to Saturday comes with a guaranteed table.

The private booking is Aulis Cartmel, the chef's table beside the restaurant. By day it is the development kitchen where new dishes are worked out; at lunch and dinner it seats six, who eat L'Enclume dishes while the chefs cook in front of them. The whole table can be taken exclusively for a party of six.