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JIM VARNEY
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“It was quite scary to be honest. All of a sudden a load people you don’t know have given you a hundred grand” Gary Usher
here,” he tweeted. “It’s just a bistro,” and “we are not worth 400-mile trip” [sic]. But Usher’s food – dishes such as crumbed crispy lamb’s tongue served with smoky chick- pea puree, soothing goats curd, and green chermoula, which was on the menu that O’Loughlin described as “exactly the sort of thing you’d like to eat any day of the week, any time of the day” – paired with his starkly honest and frankly hilarious Twitter timeline, helped earn the restaurant a loyal following and in September Sticky Walnut was named the AA Restaurant of the Year for England 2014. Last October, Usher announced and launched his plan to finance his second restau- rant via the crowdfunding website Kickstarter (see panel), having had very little support from banks. A month later he had secured more than £100,000 thanks to 891 backers who between them made pledges of £10 to £5,000. “I felt really shocked. And I felt a lot of pressure,” says Usher. “It was quite scary to be honest. All of a sudden a load people you don’t know have given you a hundred grand. And you’re like, fucking hell, Jesus, we’d bet- ter open this restaurant.” The fear wasn’t unreasonable. To follow the success of a hit restaurant like Sticky Walnut
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Burnt Truffle: dishes to expect
Bread Sourdough, truffle and walnut butter £3
Starters Chicken and pigs’ head terrine, apple puree and deep-fried pickles £8
Razor clam, samphire, fennel, coriander dressing and pink grapefruit £9
Poached pear, chicory, beetroot, horseradish, mustard dressing and pain d’epice £7
Mains Ox heart, braised celery, skordalia and blackberries £16
Spinach and ricotta tortelli, sage and pine nut noisette £14
Chargrilled lamb rump, fennel, lettuce and fresh peas £18
Desserts Black forest gâteau and cassis sorbet £7
Banana parfait, chocolate and peanut brittle, caramel ice cream £6
Sticky toffee pudding, toffee sauce and walnut semifreddo £5
Cheese
Blu Basque, Alchester Sloe, Gouda and Valençay, fig chutney and cheese biscuits £8
31 July 2015 | The Caterer | 47
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