Staff at a Dorset hotel are celebrating after receiving a prestigious culinary title.
Summer Lodge Country House Hotel, in Evershot, took home three rosettes at an AA Hotel and Hospitality Services awards ceremony.
Since 1956, the AA Rosette Awards have been a mark of leading restaurant and hotel venues across the UK. The allocation of multi-rosettes is determined by one or more visits by an AA inspector to a hotel or restaurant.
The team at Summer Lodge received the rosettes after an anonymous AA inspector praised the ‘local seafood and seductive sea views.’
The inspector went on to describe the hotel as ‘an ideal retreat in the heart of Dorset,’ as well as ‘a peaceful setting’ with ‘smart modern food.’
It's another boost for the venue which has previously won a clutch of different awards. Recently it picked up the Gold Award in the 'Small Hotel of the Year' category at the Dorset Tourism Awards.
Jack Mackenzie, General Manager of Summer Lodge Country House Hotel said: “We are all delighted, it’s excellent. To be recognised by an organisation like the AA is really gratifying news.
“The team are driven to produce food at that level. They live and sleep great food. There’s a lot of effort and determination put in to produce food at this level and we have been performing at a different level for quite some time.”
Restaurants can be rated from one to five rosettes, and it's said only about 10 per cent of the restaurants and hotels within the AA Restaurant Guide have three rosettes and above.
Head chef James Mearing only joined the team last year and the team are thrilled to have him on board.
Mr Mackenzie is proud that the restaurant provides locally sourced food, stating: "We are putting the best of the best of what Dorset has to offer onto people’s plates."
He added: “I was very confident that what we were putting onto the plates was up to the standard required.”
The restaurant also holds an AA ‘Notable Wine List’ award.
Simon Numphud, Managing Director at AA Media said: “We are delighted to celebrate and recognise the latest collection of outstanding restaurants.
“All deliver excellent culinary experiences where provenance, seasonality, flavour and great cooking take centre stage. Here’s to the remarkable chefs and front-of-house teams whose dedication has brought these accolades to life.”
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