Anita heads down to the West Country to meet the owners and restorers of a manor house into a boutique hotel.
Owners Nick and Sioned Parry-Rudlin upped sticks in 2013 from London – although they’re originally Welsh – having been leading lights in the hotel business. They took on the 100-year-old house, which had been owned by local merchant George Newby Carne, to convert it into the boutique 4 AA-star hotel it is now.
“This was all pink walls and red carpets,†says Sioned, gesturing to the sedate library which hosted one of our dinners, “it was like an old people’s homeâ€Â. Now it’s sober slate-hued walls and bespoke furniture. While some of the bedrooms still have relics of the manor’s prior life – chintzy curtains, grand Victorian – the owners are doing a good job of sweeping through installing local artwork, Celtic wool blankets and Parisian antique mirrors. There’s also a Turbo gym and swimming pool that I carefully avoided in favour of Cornish cream tea and scones.
Rastella restaurant
Award-winning Hylton arrived straight from Capetown, South Africa, and rather than get a mouthful of pea soup in the capital, he’s opted to cook it in surfing heaven because, “I grew up by the sea in South Africaâ€Â. He’s brought his wife and five-year-old son too. Daniel has worked in the Gordon Ramsey stable in London alongside chefs like Jason Atherton at restaurants including Pétrus, Claridges and Maze.
“With Hylton and Daniel we have two of the best young chefs in the UK, says Nick. “This is a major development for us and for Falmouth.â€Â
It’s a smallish menu but the food was very impressive. A brown crab custard starter with samphire and grapefruit ate like mousse, light not sticky with good use of citrus complement. The main of pasture-raised lamb rump from local butcher Phillip Warren was well finished, just pink enough and the overall dish was a pleasure combo of little islands comprising herby gnocchi roundels, morels and truffle shavings. Truffle fries were a disappointment, sadly, as I couldn’t discern truffle and they were a little soggy but then desert of poached plum and vanilla Pavlova was excellent.
The food, says, Nick is “More than just organic – it’s also about sustainability with wild and natural elements. The teams ethos is what grows together goes togetherâ€Â. He cites how, for instance, the fish is “plucked†from the sea while the seaweed is foraged by the chefs. “Neither has any organic certification but both are 100% natural and as nature intended.â€Â
Our last supper was specially prepared for us and off menu but it gave us a flavour of how the pair of chefs spark off each other, hinting at future experiments, all of which will find their way onto the menu. It’s hard to believe these guys have only worked together for just over a month – their contrasting styles, Kerr more classical and Espey into his pickling and foraging – creates a really edgy menu.
Hylton and Dan will sea forage for these ingredients in the rock pools at Falmouth beach happening upon sea spaghetti – which flares bright green when boiled – culp, which is like papadelle, and the more elusive red dulse.
Cornish suppliers – tea and lizard leaves
The vast private estate has been owned by the Boscawen family since 1334 and is open by appointment only, except two days a year. Much love is poured into maintaining its gardens with such delightful specimens as a “burnt sugar tree†from Japan whose leaves waft caramel fragrances down the valleys. The tea is pretty expensive stuff though, working out at £1,800 per kilo so those hotel room samples are like gold-dust.
His tomato varieties include heritage beefsteak “Black Prince†from Siberia and tiger-striped plum tomatoes. But it’s his famous Lizard leaves that are most popular, guarded by two startlingly realistic scarecrow mannequins called Ken. These include Russian kale, Tat Soi and Red dragon. They fill him with joy: “I was like a kid in a sweetshop when the baby lettuce market came in,†he says, “and chefs love itâ€Â.
Later
The spa uses organic ingredients across 13 different therapies with names such as Nomad’s Walk – feet on your back. Sarah, my skilful therapist, succeeded in loosening my ironing board back with a tailored aromatherapy treatment called Smell the Roses. One successful technique included a French “percussionâ€Â, so called because of the rapid sidehand chops that drum the skin.