Happy Birthday Mum

A Special Treat
My mum recently celebrated her 68th birthday - not that you'd guess it to look at her. She has a very youthful apperance and most people think she's a lot younger than she is. Hopefully, I've inherited her genes!

As a birthday treat I took her out to lunch at The Olive Branch in Clipsham, in Rutland, Leicestershire. The Olive Branch is famous for its fabulous food and boasts a Michelin star. People come from miles around to eat there, so booking is an absolute must.

Joe and I celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary at The Olive Branch and had an unforgettable evening.

Mum and I also had a lovely time, one we will remember for a long while. I was especially pleased when she said that the food was probably the best she'd ever eaten.

A Mouthwatering Menu
It was hard to choose what to eat as everything on the menu looked good. In the end we made life simpler by choosing the set menu which was every bit as good as the a la carte.

So what did we have?

Mum started with chilled gazpacho served with squid, followed by confit of duck with meditteranean salad. I went for the chicken liver parfait with toasted brioche followed by pan-fried sea bream with spicy coucous.

Neither of us could resist the summer pudding with clotted cream for dessert. It is undoubtedly the best summer pudding I have ever tasted - the slight sharpness of the fruit perfectly offset by the sweetness and crunchy texture of the cream. Gorgeous.

Mother and Daughter Time
But it wasn't just the good food that made our lunch so special.

It was the chance to spend some special mother/daughter time together, just the two of us, and catch up with each other properly. We talked about so many things, reminiscing about happy times - and some sad ones. We both commented on how quickly time passes - especially when you have children (and in Mum's case, grandchildren).

So it's important to take time to appreciate what you have when you have it. You never know what's round the corner (just as well, really).

It was a beautiful sunny day so we ate outside, taking in the picture-postcard prettiness of this little country pub which somehow seems as if it belongs to a different, gentler era.

It's a very special place for a very special Mum.