Bucks &amp; Oxon

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1500" height="999" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/02/The-Plough-Shiplake-sign.jpg" alt="The Plough Shiplake sign on outside of pub with blue sky and orange chimney " class="wp-image-156483" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/02/The-Plough-Shiplake-sign.jpg 1500w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/02/The-Plough-Shiplake-sign-800x533.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/02/The-Plough-Shiplake-sign-1000x666.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/02/The-Plough-Shiplake-sign-400x266.jpg 400w" sizes="(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px" /></figure>



Originally I was set to review &#8216;Flight Night&#8217;, at <a href="https://www.theploughshiplake.co.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Plough Shiplake</a> in late November, but was cancelled at short notice because of staff illness. Probably a blessing for the Muddy liver which was limping towards Christmas, begging for its own holiday. 



I had a dry-ish January, but by the last Saturday in the month, I was in a cab heading to Henley ready for my five course tasting menu with wine flight. But what really made it exciting from the off was the fact that between Christmas and New Year the owner of The Plough Shiplake, Jill Sikkens, had employed a new female head chef. Along with Deputy General Manager Chloe Chanton, that makes it one of a tiny handful of pubs with an all female top team.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1500" height="2000" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/02/Flight-Night-The-Plough-Shiplake-Oxforsdhire-crowd.jpeg" alt="man making cocktail behind a bar with people talking " class="wp-image-156472" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/02/Flight-Night-The-Plough-Shiplake-Oxforsdhire-crowd.jpeg 1500w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/02/Flight-Night-The-Plough-Shiplake-Oxforsdhire-crowd-600x800.jpeg 600w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/02/Flight-Night-The-Plough-Shiplake-Oxforsdhire-crowd-750x1000.jpeg 750w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/02/Flight-Night-The-Plough-Shiplake-Oxforsdhire-crowd-300x400.jpeg 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/02/Flight-Night-The-Plough-Shiplake-Oxforsdhire-crowd-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w" sizes="(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px" /></figure>



The chef is <a href="https://www.instagram.com/chef_charlotte_vincent_/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Charlotte Vincent</a>, 2023&#8217;s winner of UK Pub Chef of the Year 2023, an appointment that&#8217;s clearly a coup for The Plough Shiplake, though it must have been daunting for Vincent to pick up the Flight Night reins and pull off a five course tasting menu only days into the job. 



So what of Flight Night? The brainchild of Jill Sikkens, a charming, energetic Canadian with a real determination to live a pub life less ordinary, she introduced her monthly event almost immediately when she took over the pub in Jan 23 &#8211; offering a heady mix of cocktails, set course dinners and accompanying wine flights with an overarching theme plus live entertainment. 



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1500" height="2000" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/02/Flight-Night-The-Plough-Shiplake-Oxforsdhire-singer.jpeg" alt="singer in black dress in front of microphone with bar in the background " class="wp-image-156481" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/02/Flight-Night-The-Plough-Shiplake-Oxforsdhire-singer.jpeg 1500w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/02/Flight-Night-The-Plough-Shiplake-Oxforsdhire-singer-600x800.jpeg 600w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/02/Flight-Night-The-Plough-Shiplake-Oxforsdhire-singer-750x1000.jpeg 750w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/02/Flight-Night-The-Plough-Shiplake-Oxforsdhire-singer-300x400.jpeg 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/02/Flight-Night-The-Plough-Shiplake-Oxforsdhire-singer-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w" sizes="(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Mimi the jazz singer </figcaption></figure>



Over the last year there&#8217;s been everything from a celebration of colour with The Electric Rainbow to Summer&#8217;s Sunshine Afterglow. For my Flight Night the theme was All That Jazz, with lounge singer Mimi set up next to the bar singing effortless vocals while I drank a cocktail on arrival with my hot date (my mother, Brad Pitt inexplicably not being available that night).



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1536" height="2048" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/02/Flight-Night-The-Plough-Shiplake-Oxforsdhire-cocktail.jpeg" alt="cocktail with olive and orange on bar top " class="wp-image-156473" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/02/Flight-Night-The-Plough-Shiplake-Oxforsdhire-cocktail.jpeg 1536w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/02/Flight-Night-The-Plough-Shiplake-Oxforsdhire-cocktail-600x800.jpeg 600w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/02/Flight-Night-The-Plough-Shiplake-Oxforsdhire-cocktail-750x1000.jpeg 750w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/02/Flight-Night-The-Plough-Shiplake-Oxforsdhire-cocktail-300x400.jpeg 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/02/Flight-Night-The-Plough-Shiplake-Oxforsdhire-cocktail-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w" sizes="(max-width: 1536px) 100vw, 1536px" /></figure>



Unlike many supper clubs, there&#8217;s no reconfiguration of seating here so if you can think of nothing worse than be forced into Ottolenghi-style long social tables, relax &#8211; you can choose a table for two, no problem. 



Once you take your seats, out comes the food &#8211; course after delicious course. We started with Cornish scallops with smoked kimchi sauce, moved onto aged Wiltshire beef tartare with horseradish and Exmoor caviar, before trying a poached cod with fire roasted mussel, then roasted duck choucroute with English plum sauce, and then a porchini mushroom icecream (a bit earthy for me as a dessert with my sweet tooth, by my mum raved about it). Meanwhile Head Barman Fernando Teixeira racing up and down &#8211; jeez, he was working hard &#8211; explaining and pouring the pairing wines with disarming enthusiasm.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1500" height="2000" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/02/Flight-Night-The-Plough-Shiplake-Oxforsdhire-scallops.jpeg" alt="scalllops in a dish with wilted greens and creamy sauce " class="wp-image-156476" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/02/Flight-Night-The-Plough-Shiplake-Oxforsdhire-scallops.jpeg 1500w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/02/Flight-Night-The-Plough-Shiplake-Oxforsdhire-scallops-600x800.jpeg 600w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/02/Flight-Night-The-Plough-Shiplake-Oxforsdhire-scallops-750x1000.jpeg 750w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/02/Flight-Night-The-Plough-Shiplake-Oxforsdhire-scallops-300x400.jpeg 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/02/Flight-Night-The-Plough-Shiplake-Oxforsdhire-scallops-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w" sizes="(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px" /></figure>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1500" height="2000" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/02/Flight-Night-The-Plough-Shiplake-Oxforsdhire-tartare.jpeg" alt="beef tartare on a black saucer on a table" class="wp-image-156477" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/02/Flight-Night-The-Plough-Shiplake-Oxforsdhire-tartare.jpeg 1500w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/02/Flight-Night-The-Plough-Shiplake-Oxforsdhire-tartare-600x800.jpeg 600w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/02/Flight-Night-The-Plough-Shiplake-Oxforsdhire-tartare-750x1000.jpeg 750w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/02/Flight-Night-The-Plough-Shiplake-Oxforsdhire-tartare-300x400.jpeg 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/02/Flight-Night-The-Plough-Shiplake-Oxforsdhire-tartare-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w" sizes="(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px" /></figure>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1536" height="2048" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/02/Flight-Night-The-Plough-Shiplake-Oxforsdhire-fish-dish.jpeg" alt="cod in a bowl wit mussels on top and a butter blanc sauce" class="wp-image-156474" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/02/Flight-Night-The-Plough-Shiplake-Oxforsdhire-fish-dish.jpeg 1536w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/02/Flight-Night-The-Plough-Shiplake-Oxforsdhire-fish-dish-600x800.jpeg 600w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/02/Flight-Night-The-Plough-Shiplake-Oxforsdhire-fish-dish-750x1000.jpeg 750w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/02/Flight-Night-The-Plough-Shiplake-Oxforsdhire-fish-dish-300x400.jpeg 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/02/Flight-Night-The-Plough-Shiplake-Oxforsdhire-fish-dish-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w" sizes="(max-width: 1536px) 100vw, 1536px" /></figure>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1200" height="1600" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/02/Flight-Night-The-Plough-Shiplake-Oxforsdhire-meat-dish.jpeg" alt="rare duck on a plate with vegetables " class="wp-image-156475" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/02/Flight-Night-The-Plough-Shiplake-Oxforsdhire-meat-dish.jpeg 1200w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/02/Flight-Night-The-Plough-Shiplake-Oxforsdhire-meat-dish-600x800.jpeg 600w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/02/Flight-Night-The-Plough-Shiplake-Oxforsdhire-meat-dish-750x1000.jpeg 750w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/02/Flight-Night-The-Plough-Shiplake-Oxforsdhire-meat-dish-300x400.jpeg 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/02/Flight-Night-The-Plough-Shiplake-Oxforsdhire-meat-dish-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px" /></figure>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1500" height="2000" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/02/Flight-Night-The-Plough-Shiplake-Oxforsdhire-dessert-with-drink.jpeg" alt="fig dessert with flowers in the background and a drink on a table " class="wp-image-156478" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/02/Flight-Night-The-Plough-Shiplake-Oxforsdhire-dessert-with-drink.jpeg 1500w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/02/Flight-Night-The-Plough-Shiplake-Oxforsdhire-dessert-with-drink-600x800.jpeg 600w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/02/Flight-Night-The-Plough-Shiplake-Oxforsdhire-dessert-with-drink-750x1000.jpeg 750w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/02/Flight-Night-The-Plough-Shiplake-Oxforsdhire-dessert-with-drink-300x400.jpeg 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/02/Flight-Night-The-Plough-Shiplake-Oxforsdhire-dessert-with-drink-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w" sizes="(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px" /></figure>



I&#8217;ve never yet had a tasting menu where I&#8217;m not totally stuffed with two courses yet to go and this night was the same &#8211; the food portions were very generous and of course, I&#8217;d made the classic school girl error of overdoing the early offering of bread and the irresistible yeast butter. However, at £125 per head (tip included &#8211; phew) I defy you not to be as piggy as me.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1500" height="1125" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/02/Flight-Night-The-Plough-Shiplake-Oxforsdhire-bar-1.jpeg" alt="underlight bar with wooden floor and barman pouring wine " class="wp-image-156589" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/02/Flight-Night-The-Plough-Shiplake-Oxforsdhire-bar-1.jpeg 1500w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/02/Flight-Night-The-Plough-Shiplake-Oxforsdhire-bar-1-800x600.jpeg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/02/Flight-Night-The-Plough-Shiplake-Oxforsdhire-bar-1-1000x750.jpeg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/02/Flight-Night-The-Plough-Shiplake-Oxforsdhire-bar-1-400x300.jpeg 400w" sizes="(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px" /></figure>



After dinner, the bar was still open for cocktails, but by this point your Cinderella was approaching midnight and felt like she&#8217;d eaten both her pumpkin coach and her horsemen too but it was a great evening, and I&#8217;ll be back for another Flight Night &#8211; the next one, if you fancy giving it a whirl, is on Sat 24 Feb with a ‘Heart of Glass’ Valentine&#8217;s homage, and a drag performance by Luna Cortez, followed in March by Nothing Compares With You for St Patrick&#8217;s Day with folk singer Vicky Sayer and Spring Time Soul with R&amp;B due Soul Yeah for April. If you&#8217;re coming London (an easy chug on the train from Paddington) or you&#8217;re local but can&#8217;t be bothered with a taxi at the end of night, stay at <a href="https://bucksoxon.muddystilettos.co.uk/little-black-book/directory/the-relais-henley-henley-on-thames/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Relais</a> hotel or <a href="https://bucksoxon.muddystilettos.co.uk/little-black-book/directory/hotel-du-vin-henley-on-thames/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Hotel du Vin in Henley</a>, both gorgeously positioned on the river &#8211; and make an overnighter of it.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-muddy-verdict">THE MUDDY VERDICT </h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1500" height="1125" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/02/Flight-Night-The-Plough-Shiplake-Oxforsdhire-microphone-1.jpeg" alt="close up of old fashioned microphone for singing with fireplace blurred in the background " class="wp-image-156590" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/02/Flight-Night-The-Plough-Shiplake-Oxforsdhire-microphone-1.jpeg 1500w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/02/Flight-Night-The-Plough-Shiplake-Oxforsdhire-microphone-1-800x600.jpeg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/02/Flight-Night-The-Plough-Shiplake-Oxforsdhire-microphone-1-1000x750.jpeg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/02/Flight-Night-The-Plough-Shiplake-Oxforsdhire-microphone-1-400x300.jpeg 400w" sizes="(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px" /></figure>



Good for: This is a foodie&#8217;s delight in elegant surroundings, delivered with passion and smart service. If you&#8217;re looking for an extra experiential element to a great night out , this is it. 



Not for: It&#8217;s an 18+ zone &#8211; leave the kids at home (with a babysitter obvs, I&#8217;m not an animal). At £125pp it&#8217;s a hefty investment in your social life, so it won&#8217;t suit those trying to budget. 



<a href="https://www.theploughshiplake.co.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Plough Shiplake</a>, Corner of Plough Lane and Reading Road, Shiplake RG9 4BX. Tel: 01189 403999. hello@bigbettyfoodco.com.

Muddy reviews: ‘Flight Night’, The Plough, Shiplake, near Henley

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