One of my favourite things about living in London was escaping for the weekend to visit a county house hotel. To the point that I eventually stopped living in London and permanently moved to a country house. (I couldn’t afford the hotel bit.)
Assuming you’re stuck on the inner-city hamster wheel, I urge you: get thee to Yorkshire. Specifically, to Rudding Park.
I should caveat this review by admitting it is not entirely objective. My wife had her 40th birthday celebrations here; my sister-in-law is a member of the fitness club; and my next-door neighbours even got married here. It is a big part of the North Yorkshire scene. (Yes, there’s a North Yorkshire scene!)
Let me explain the pull.
As with all good country house hotels, there is much land to enjoy – 300 acres of landscaped gardens and woodland, to be exact. It stands on what used to be the Forest of Knaresborough – a private hunting estate for King Henry VIII. Apparently one of the oak trees is so old, even one of Henry’s hounds could have taken a leak on it.
Then there’s the golf – the 18-hole Hawtree Course or the six-hole Repton Short Course – if that’s your thing.
It’s not mine, but fortunately an afternoon of indulgence at a spa is. During the Victorian era, the wealthy and fashionable flocked from London to Harrogate to experience its health-giving natural springs – and Rudding Park Spa recaptures this heritage using natural spring waters from the grounds.
It then takes these and offers every type of treatment and spa experience you can possibly imagine. Sauna, steam room, experience showers are de rigueur; then there are a number of hot and cold therapy pools, an indoor pool, a rooftop hydrotherapy pool, a thermal cabin for larger parties, a sunlight therapy room, even an Oxygen Pod, whatever that is. If your average hotel spa is an undergraduate, Rudding Park’s is doing a PhD.
The spa’s restaurant, Horto, is superb – no cress sandwiches or lentil soup here. It stands on its own as a destination restaurant, just one where it’s also acceptable to dine in a bathrobe.
The hotel also boasts a private cinema room (first come, first served); brasserie and cocktail bar; and bedrooms larger than your average Zone 2 flat.
But everything I’ve mentioned so far pales into insignificance to the main reason you have to come here: Fifty Two at Rudding Park. The hotel’s new 3 AA Rosette signature restaurant is that good.
Head chef Adam Degg has the likes of Chiltern Firehouse, The Coach and The Hand & Flowers on his resumé, so it’s fair to say, he has form. But what he’s created at Rudding Park is on a whole new level.
Adam Degg
The nominal ‘Fifty Two’ relates to the 52 oak beds in the garden, which contain different produce that thrives in each week of the year – more than 500 different organic plants are grown here, giving the restaurant fresh produce all year round.
The building itself is made up of five upcycled shipping containers, with large raw-steel windows and skylights cut in. It’s very Grand Designs – and also very eco-friendly.
There are only 20 covers at the restaurant ensuring an intimate event. The tables are shared – two couples per table – but set out in such a way that you can enjoy privacy or conversation depending on your mood / degree of inebriation.
Each table faces in towards the action: a totally open kitchen with a seven-metre kitchen island, where you can see everything from the Japanese indoor barbecue smoking salt-aged venison over garden herbs, to the chefs placing the finishing touches to each plate with tweezer-pinched delicacy. At times, plating up is like a synchronised ballet, up to four or five chefs moving in the same way at the same time.
Adam and 'Other Adam' at the pass
Facing forward at Fifty Two at Rudding Park
If you’ve been to Kitchen Table in London, you’ll be familiar with the overarching concept – you don’t see the menu beforehand, and the vibe is more of dinner party than dining room.
But where James Knappett wields a somewhat intimidating authoritarianism, Degg is more of a chef whisperer – gently guiding his sous chefs, nudging here, assisting there, and delivering the occasional fist pump when a dish is cooked to perfection.
And there is a lot of perfection to go around. Over 15 snacks and courses, there was not one dud. Which in itself is remarkable. But what impresses even more is the sheer depth and complexity of each of those 15 dishes.
Take the pork collar – brined and confited overnight, lovingly coated with a reduced apple glaze, then served with a scallop-based blanchet sauce enriched with dashi goodness. A shrewd take on surf and turf, it was my dish of the day.
My wife’s, on the other hand, was a ChalkStream trout served with radish, forced rhubarb, ginger and wasabi leaf – a dish so brimful with flavour it has me salivating just listing its ingredients.
ChalkStream trout, buttermilk, dill, radish, and kohlrabi
What also sets the experience apart is the music: the playlist is banging. You’ll often catch the chefs dancing along while they fetch something from the oven, or singing out loud while they plate up the next course.
It’s infectious – so much so, you’re actively encouraged to join in. Ahead of the sweet courses, the restaurant introduces ‘Dessert Island Discs’: you choose one song per booking – and it will put Up Next on the restaurant’s sound system while you tuck into dessert. Any of the team’s favourites make it onto the (semi)permanent playlist.
I went for Jay-Z’s 99 Problems, which was a real hit with the kitchen staff, less so with my wife, who was mortified by the side-eyes from the octogenarian couple in the corner.
There is one dish at Fifty Two which has become a permanent fixture – the brown butter custard tart. Even its portioning up is like a piece of performance art – the huge Damascus steel knife heated on a blowtorch to ensure the serving comes out with razor-sharp edges. Served with subtle shavings of star anise, salted caramel and a garden damson compote, this is one dessert I’d be very happy to take to that metaphorical dessert island.
The meal is wrapped up with warm miniature madeleines and an invitation to try one of the in-house brewed liqueurs. Given our location, I went for the Rhucello – a fittingly local end to a stunning meal.
On departure, Adam was shaking hands, thanking his guests for coming. The dinner was so good that I shocked him – and myself, somewhat – by giving him an impromptu hug. Well, a handshake just didn’t seem quite enough to do the dinner justice.
It’s the kind of meal that prompts a brief but meaningful reassessment of your life choices. Had I not already moved to Yorkshire, this might have been the final push.
Fifty Two at Rudding Park is open for dinner, Wednesday to Sunday. The experience is a single sitting: guests are welcomed with an arrival drink and snack in the kitchen garden, followed by dinner in the dining room. Prices from £85 per person / £65 drinks pairing per person. Booking available via: fiftytworuddingpark.co.uk
