Pub Food at the Red Lion, Litton

Food Ethos

We are passionate about providing traditional pub food but of the very highest quality using good local ingredients for a reasonable price. For example, our chips are home-made, our Steak & Kidney pie is made using finest quality Derbyshire meat from Hancocks Butchers at Castlegate Farm (just down the road) and all our gravies are created from real stock. Our roast dinner is fabulous with local meat, real gravy, fresh vegetables, big light Yorkshire Puddings and crispy goose-fat roasted potatoes. Both of these meals sell at a very reasonable £8.95. We also like to cook with old-fashioned cuts of meat such as liver, kidneys, oxtail, and belly pork.

The dining experience is cosy and friendly rather than formal, but the cooking is of the highest order and our Specials Board gives us the chance to offer a few more up-market and unusual dishes.

I am also infuriated by pubs and restaurants where there are hidden extras (eg if you actually want any vegetables with your meal that will be an extra £2.95!) so all our meals are complete with vegetables, salads and sauces as appropriate.

Who's in the Kitchen?

Head Chef - Tracy Young has been at The Red Lion for just under 2 years. Previous to that she was Head Chef at The Pack Horse at Hayfield (my previous pub!) where she cooked a much more gastro-pub style menu so successfully that we were regional winners in the Gastro Pub of the Year in the Morning Advertiser Pub Awards 2006 and Winners of Best Pub in the Northern Hospitality Awards in 2006.

Tracy and I have worked together since January 2005 when I poached her from The Waltzing Weasel in Birch Vale - during her time there, the pub won the Good Pub Guide's Derbyshire Dining Pub of the Year in 3 consecutive years! She would love to win it again...

A down-to-earth Yorkshire lass, she can't survive without plenty of tea, and she specialises in good old-fashioned meals such as stews and hotpots, but is also crazy about fresh fish!

Second chef - Gavin Griffiths - we are proud that Gav has recently joined our team - he was another member of our successful team at Hayfield, and although he has since made it to head chef in his own right he is happiest working with Tracy! They work together brilliantly and Gav's speciality is in cooking with spices - he makes fantastic tagines, curries and Thai noodle dishes to add some variety to our Specials Board.

Cook - Margaret Cartledge has been a stalwart member of the kitchen team at the Red Lion for many years before I took over. She makes great Cheese & Onion Pie, Stilton Chicken and old-fashioned puddings such as Apple Crumble and Sticky Rice Pudding. Born and bred in the local area, Marg has a heart of gold but woe betide anyone who crosses this fiery redhead!

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