Gravetye Manor

The concept of dining as a feast for all the senses, as well as the soul, is one that Studio Williams actively promotes. So it is a particular pleasure to introduce a Michelin starred restaurant which turns that concept into a reality and which has chosen to enhance the experience it offers with our own, award-winning range of cutlery.

Gravetye Manor is an Elizabethan jewel set in the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The manor, with its enchanting gardens, sits among woods and meadows and even has its own, winding stretch of lake. The gardens were redesigned in the late 1800s by the influential gardener and botanist William Robinson whose, (then), experimental ‘wild garden’ style is still captivating visitors to this day. The Telegraph called Gravetye, “an almost implausible phantasm of loveliness -  a scene from A Midsummer Night’s Dream, floating in the spicy vapours of roses and azaleas”.

The estate (about a thousand acres) and gardens are bountiful as well as beautiful, supplying much of the fresh food that finds its way into the kitchens. And part of the magic of dining here is the way in which a landscape that is exquisite to the eye is added to, as well as translated into, what is exquisite to the palate.

The award-winning restaurant brings the loveliness of the outdoors indoors with floor to ceiling glass walls on all sides. Guests are able to combine the comfort and ease of a fine interior, (at tables lovingly set with fine glass, china and Studio Williams flatware), with the natural as well as the landscaped beauty of the gardens and grounds.

The food has been variously described as ‘a staggering tribute to the finest English produce’ (The Telegraph), ‘sumptuous’ and an ‘unbelievable taste experience’. And a  Michelin star would seem to agree with these reviewers.

The key to the success of the restaurant is twofold. First, of course, is an exceptional team. Just as important, however, are the ingredients that are used. These are very often of the simplest kind but they are always obtained either from the Manor’s kitchen gardens or from local sources - and always as fresh as it is possible to get. As Executive Chef  George Blogg says, if it isn’t in season, it isn’t on the menu.

Diners gazing out into the gardens and grounds beyond the glass walls of the restaurant are looking out at the same landscape that produced what they are eating.

This is an experience few restaurants can offer and even fewer can boast a landscape as beautiful to look at as it is generous with its produce! Gravetye Manor really is taking the ‘feast for the senses’ to the next level.

Executive chef George Blogg is comparatively young for the degree of recognition he has already received, confirming that both his talent and his passion for his art are exceptional. He received an Acorn Award in 2011, Editor’s Award for the Chef to Watch in 2014 from the Good Food Guide and, of course, a Michelin Star for 4 years in a row!

George’s passion for fresh, seasonal food, has brought the restaurant at The Gravetye national recognition – and the grateful appreciation of diners from far and wide.

Head Chef Charles Coulombeau brings French training and flair to the, otherwise, intensely English cuisine. His interpretation of Blogg’s culinary vision means that the restaurant can continue to explore and develop new avenues of creativity.

If you are hoping for strawberries in December, or fancy a bit of pheasant in May, you will be out of luck at this restaurant. The food served here is always and only what is seasonally available. Often, it has been grown in the kitchen garden, beyond the glass walls of the restaurant. And this means that the menu is very different from month to month.

But ‘home grown’ and seasonal does not mean boring or unadventurous. What you find on the plate, and especially on the tongue, is anything but.

With six dishes to choose from for each course, possibly the best way to sample the range of dishes is by ordering one of the tasting menus – each of which offers a seven-course ‘tour’ of the seasonal delights on offer.

Bon appetit!