Pint to Pint: The Royal Oak, Chesterfield Bradfield's Farmers Blonde is not so much full-bloodedly buxom as pale and willowy with a distinctively floral aroma. She, or rather it, comes from a village in the Peak District, not far from where I'm sitting now: in the "best room" of the Royal Oak, off Chesterfield's handsome market place. Luckily, Courage Directors is making a guest appearance today (it alternates with Bass) and, on this showing, you can understand why the brewery directors used to keep it for themselves. If the last one was a blonde, this one's a statuesque, Titian-haired goddess. Give or take a glass of sancerre, I can hardly think of a better accompaniment for my scampi and chips. These are "Whitby" scampi, if you please - plump and breadcrumbed and infinitely preferable to those rubbery shreds that used to come in a basket, encased by batter that deflated with an audible hiss when prodded with a fork. Today in the Royal Oak, scampi is served on a plate with crisp, dry chips of sufficiently ample girth and a bowl rather than sachet of tartar sauce. Yours for £6.50. Most meals are around that price, though rump steaks are a couple of quid more and ciabatta-bread sandwiches are £3. Licensee John Walker came originally from Scarborough, just down the coast from Whitby. And while "Scarborough scampi" has a certain alliterative appeal, he gives the impression of being a man who wouldn't serve anything simply because it trips nicely off the tongue. At one point he screws on a pump clip promising Black Sheep Bitter, and two Yorkshiremen, who have been discussing holidays in the Loire Valley, look up expectantly. But John pulls himself a sample, takes a swig and promptly removes the clip. "Not right yet," he tells us. Me? I'm quite happy with the Directors, even if Farmers Blonde and Black Sheep sound as though they were made for each other. The Royal Oak, The Shambles, Chesterfield, S40 1PX. Open 11.30am to 11pm; food served noon until 7pm.