On a bright, lunchtime drive to Haywards in Epping, I thought how, over recent years, Essex has transformed as a lifestyle concept. Essex folk doing “Essexy” things – winebars, brunch, nail appointments, wearing leather leggings – is the winning formula for multiple award-winning TV shows. Rarely, however, do we see Essex’s fancier fine-dining side, which is a shame as the county excels at fantastic, old-school, multi-course, finesse-in-heaps hospitality, with places such as Dunmow, Dedham, Chatham Green and Bell Common all being destination dining spots for earnest foodie types. Essex hospitality’s bigger problem, of course, is it’s just too darn close to Soho, where the fine-dining scene transmogrifies weekly, overshadowing the likes of chef Jahdre Hayward, his wife Amanda and his small, friendly team. This is a great shame, because since Haywards opened in 2013, people who love a good lunch have pointed me there, talking of a renovated coach house and skittle alley, close to a 17th century pub, serving ornate plates of venison with parsnip and quince or fig with Pedro Ximénez souffle.
During the grimmest days of the pandemic, I wondered if independents like Haywards could remain afloat, so it was pleasing to enter its dining room of a Friday noon and be reminded how many ladies who like a three-course lunch live in the environs of Epping Forest, because it was fizzing with the kind of gossip about errant grandchildren and neighbourhood disputes that makes me want to pull up a chair and say things like: “She didn’t?” and “Not with those ankles”.
