The Eagle has landed

The Eastern European influence on the catering world is obvious in the front-of-house staffing in our restaurants and pubs — where would we be without these eager, happy workers? — but much less often in the kitchens.

How good it is, then, to find Marcel Nerpas in charge at the Eagle in Little Coxwell, with some of the tastes of his homeland of Slovakia evident in the dishes.

But not exclusively. In his four years there, Marcel has been steadily applying the techniques learned from his mother in food which makes good use of locally sourced meat and other produce. His aim is to go for 90 per cent of the dishes before long.

Talking to him after a superb dinner he cooked for us a couple of weekends ago, Rosemarie and I became aware of his passion for the subject. As he says in the preface to his menu: “We combine flavours, textures, smells and sights to create original dishes for you to wholeheartedly enjoy.”

And enjoy them we did, not least because we could savour them with wine in more lavish quantity than usual, having accommodation for the night. A stay in the stylishly refurbished bedrooms adds to the feeling of well-being engendered by fine dinner and entertaining chat.

The latter was supplied in good measure by villager Hugh Phillips, an early recruit to BBC Radio Oxford, with whom I have a number of pals in common.

Mention of the BBC reminds me that the owner of the Eagle when I knew it best, 24 years ago, was Mark Lawrenson, now a football pundit with the corporation.

Fame was already his, since he had been a star between 1981 and 1988 for Liverpool and had 38 Irish caps. He later managed both Oxford United and my other home team, Peterborough United.

If pub-running proved not to his taste, this is not the case with Marcel. He came to Little Coxwell after a longish stint at the Swan in Streatley and the Horse and Groom at Mortimer, now run by his business partner, Craig Lawson. Marcel is set for the long term, happily settled with his wife and two children in a village house.

Rosemarie started our evening where it ended, in the bar, with a pint of Old Number Eight from the Box Clever Brewery in Trowbridge. I had a Chilean chardonnay. Our time was divided between chat with affable bar staff, including Marcel’s fellow countryman Peter, solving of The Times crossword (but for two clues) and study of the menu. Choices made, we were called through to our table.

I should mention a couple of the dishes we didn’t have, to give a picture of what’s on offer. There were starters of duck breast cured with aromatic spices and butter-poached lobster agnolotti (square pasta packages) with borscht minestrone, plus mains of slow-roasted shoulder of local hogget with roasted root vegetables and anchovy dressing, and fishcakes in a mild curry sauce.

From the puds, Marcel was anxious for us to try (we didn’t) his childhood favourite of krupika, a semolina porridge with cherry and pistachio, and a white chocolate egg filled with passion fruit curd and coconut sponge with grenadine sorbet.

My fancy was the potted rabbit, French rather than local (“It’s a bit tough,” said Marcel), with baby leaves, pickled carrots, mustard seeds and prune chutney; a lovely combination of flavours with fresh parsley and thyme to the fore.

Food swap: Rosemarie loved the cod she ate by default 

Rosemarie went for one of the specials, mussels in cider and cream, and was impressed with their size, tenderness and freshness. She remained with the sea when she took over my main course of pan-roasted cod.

Marcel’s menu fell down by not revealing the cod had been salted for a couple of hours, putting it off limits for me. Rosemarie loved it; perfectly cooked, shiny and prettily presented with butter-poached leeks, saffron potato, crispy potato shavings and creamy shellfish bisque.

I was happy with her grilled fillet of Mount Grace Farm rose veal (from a calf eight months to a year, so more steak-like in appearance.) The richly flavoured meat was deliciously teamed with caramelised sauerkraut, potato cake, wilted greens and grain mustard sauce.

After that, there was room for cheese, including my favourite Oxford Blue, an apple-smoked cheddar and another local offering in brie style.

Rosemarie tried one of the Slovakian puds, pirozky, a freshly fried crispy bun, a little like a doughnut, filled with strawberry preserve and served with strawberry ice soufflé.

I eyed its consumption with deep envy.

The Eagle 
Little Coxwell, near Faringdon, SN7 7LW 
01367 241879 eagletavern.co.uk

Opening times: Tuesday to Saturday, noon to 2.30pm and 6-9pm; Sunday, noon-2.30pm
Parking: Plenty, in the village streets
Key personnel: Chef/manager Marcel Nerpas, pictured below 
Make sure you try the... potted rabbit with baby leaves, pickled carrots and prune chutney (£7), mussels in cider and cream (£7), grilled fillet of Mount Grace Farm veal, with sauerkraut, potato gratin and grain mustard sauce (£24), pan-roasted cod with butter-poached leeks, saffron potato and shellfish bisque (£16.50), pirozky (a freshly-fried crispy bun filled with strawberry preserve served with strawberry iced soufflé, £7), three local cheeses with apple, chutney and biscuits (£8)
In ten words: Great-tasting food served with charm in welcoming village pub