Mustard with every dish at theme venue (From Durham Times)

Mustard with every dish at theme venue

10:48am Friday 27th July 2012 in News

GUESTS will be offered cocktails made with mustard at the opening night of one of the country’s most unusual restaurants.

Mrs Mustard opens in Durham City tonight in what is thought to be the first mustard- inspired restaurant in the country.

The owners turned to Durham and England cricketer Phil Mustard to open the restaurant last night.

The Saddler Street restaurant is only yards from the former site of a mill that holds a unique place in culinary history, where a Mrs Clements, whose first name is unknown, is credited with inventing modern-day mustard.

Her discovery of how to grind seeds into a powder briefly made 18th Century Durham the mustard capital of the world, her secret recipe eventually being acquired by a rival company, Colmans of Norwich.

Although a weak version of mustard was introduced to England in the 12th Century, which was used to disguise the flavour of rotten meat, it was Mrs Clements’ discovery in 1720 of how to grind seeds in a mill that revolutionised its use. Her condiment became so fashionable that Mrs Clements supplied her mustard to King George I, with the rest of his court quickly following.

For more than 100 years, Durham was synonymous with mustard, but its last factory closed in the early 20th Century.

The restaurant named in her honour specialises in mustard with everything, and put its skills to the test by creating a Mrs Mustard Cocktail to test the dedication of even the most determined mustard lover.

The concoction contains Dijon mustard, lime cordial, lemon juice, creme de cassis and grenadine.

Staff will be available to advise customers which type of mustard best suits their choice of dish. A spokesman said: “Although Mrs Clements is long gone, her legacy remains and a range of specially developed mustards have been created exclusively for the restaurant, made to compliment the food.”