Information below is ordered: Isle of Man / Channel Islands

Location: Between Great Britain and Ireland / The English Channel
Population: 84,000 / 172,000
Capital: Douglas / Saint Heller and Saint Peter Port
Geography: Islands with rolling hills, lush farmland, and windswept rocky coasts
Language: English, Manx / English, Jèrriais, French
Signature flavours: Seafood, dairy, pork, potato, apple, beans

The Menu

First and foremost, it must be said that the Isle of Man is quite separate from the Channel Islands. In fact, they are located on opposite sides of the not insignificant landmass that is Great Britain. We chose to group these two locations together as they are both dependencies of the United Kingdom, and with their maritime English culture, we expected their culinary repertoires to have some overlap. That said, they each bring something different to the table (ours specifically) and in crafting a menu, Eric sought to represent both places equally.

Grilled Kippers (Isle of Man): Kippers fried in butter and served with a poached egg. This dish would typically be served at breakfast.

Prep and cooking time: 20 min
Difficulty: 2/5

Chips, Cheese, and Gravy (Isle of Man): The Isle’s answer to poutine — thick-cut French fries smothered in gravy and sharp cheddar cheese.

Prep and cooking time: 30 min
Difficulty: 2/5

Queenies with Bacon (Isle of Man): Queen scallops (Eric could only find them canned in our region) fried with bacon in butter.

Prep and cooking time: 15 min
Difficulty: 2/5

Cabbage Loaf (Jersey): A fluffy white bread baked in cabbage leaves to keep the loaf moist.

Prep and cooking time: 90 min
Difficulty: 3/5

Pais au Fou, or Jersey Bean Crock (Jersey): A bean stew (kidney, pinto, Romano, yellow eye) loaded with sausage, onion, and spices.

Prep and cooking time: 3 hours
Difficulty: 2/5

Roasted Rhubarb with Cream (Jersey): Rhubarb roasted with sugar until softened, then served alongside a dollop of double cream.

Prep and cooking time: 30 min
Difficulty: 1/5

Ormers in White Wine Sauce (Guernsey): Abalone, called ormers in Guernsey, fried with onion and garlic, then stewed with white wine and a bouquet garni of parsley, thyme, rosemary, and bay, then thickened with beurre manié.

Prep and cooking time: 90 min
Difficulty: 3/5

Gache Melee (Guernsey): A scrumptious apple cake subtly spiced with ginger and cinnamon.

Prep and cooking time: 2 hours
Difficulty: 2/5

The Shopping List

Being in Canada — Ontario specifically — we find our local stores to be fairly well stocked with English ingredients, and Eric was able to source most of what he needed at our nearby supermarkets. He was surprised to find Manx cheddar, kippers, double cream, ormers, queen scallops, and rich Jersey milk (from actual Jersey cows) in our usual markets.

The Meal

Eric had an ambitious menu, and got started early, around 10 am. He enjoyed the process and spent the day in the kitchen, calling us to the table some ten hours later.

I was astonished at the number of dishes, and was eager to try everything. We dove right in to the chips and cheese, the unofficial national dish of the Isle of Man. For a Canadian, fries, cheese, and gravy is a familiar combo, but in this version, sharp cheddar brought a whole new character to the experience. Naturally, it was a hit (and we’ve made it again in the weeks since, when we were craving comfort food).

The kippers and egg made an excellent breakfast-for-dinner food. Kippers are quite a fishy fish, and the egg balanced out an otherwise very umami flavour profile.

The bean crock, enjoyed with thick slabs of fluffy cabbage bread (which had no cabbage flavour to speak of) was a hearty, earthy dish. The queenies, with their buttery, salty bacon, were a nice contrast alongside it, and the ormers, in their white wine sauce, brought a bright acidity.

Dessert was the dense, sweet apple gache and succulent rhubarb with rich double cream.

The meal was spectacular, although we were as full as eggs by the end of it. It was an ideal meal for seafood lovers, bread enthusiasts, and those of us who have been waiting for poutine to break onto the world stage.

Links
https://www.greatbritishchefs.com/recipes/grilled-kipper-recipe
https://www.facebook.com/PortErinChippyandDiner/videos/done-by-the-experts-/292256222886138/
https://cookpad.com/uk/recipes/13584885-manx-queenies-smoked-bacon-in-a-garlic-butter-sauce
https://guernseydonkey.com/pan-fried-ormers-in-beurre-marie-and-white-wine-sauce/
https://thesarnian.com/essentials/vegetarian-gache-melee-guernsey-cake/
https://www.bbc.co.uk/jersey/about_jersey/food/recipes/bean_crock.shtml
https://www.bbc.co.uk/jersey/about_jersey/food/recipes/cabbage_loaf.shtml
https://kkproduce.ie/recipe/roast-rhubarb-with-jersey-cream/

Disclaimer: I’m not a professional chef. I’m just a passionate cook with a curiosity for flavours I’ve never tried. For great recipes from gifted local cooks, follow the links above.