Michael Wignall at The Latymer

Pennyhill Park was built to impress by a wealthy Victorian captain of industry who bagged 123 acres of leafy parkland in what is now prime stockbroker belt to display his wealth. Nowadays, the imposing creeper-clad mansion trades as a gilt-edged country hotel that still sees a steady flow of movers, shakers and big spenders beat a path down the long driveway to its door. This being the 21st century, there's now the requisite state-of-the-art spa indulgent enough to make a Roman emperor blush, and a nine-hole golf course to ensure that everyone pitches up suitably de-stressed and keen of appetite to appreciate fully the culinary virtuosity of chef Michael Wignall. In keeping with its status as a Premier League dining destination, The Latymer restaurant has had a facelift that unites the Empire pomp of oak panelling and stained glass windows with a lightened-up modern palette of burnt orange, rust and pale green. For high-rollers, the chef's table offers dramatic dining at a bubble-glass table amid onyx walls, a glass mosaic floor, and an LCD screen for close-ups of the cheffy action. Consummate professionals deliver thoughtful service - thankfully, since you may well need to ask them for further enlightenment on the tersely-written menu. The complex cooking maintains a virtuoso balance of flavours and textures, and is a perfect example of how superb technical ability applied to first-rate raw materials can amount to more than the sum of its parts. The sheer flavour of Michael Wignall's food dazzles: on paper, a starter involving ballottine of foie gras from Langres, autumn truffles, manchego cheese, sourdough crisp and Pedro Ximenez jelly is a balancing act that could easily go horribly wrong, but the elements all work wonderfully well together. A main course of poached free range quail with black pudding, braised veal tongue, choucroute, trompettes de la mort mushrooms, salsify in red wine jus and sherry jus brings produce of striking quality in a remarkable spectrum of flavours. Desserts are handled with equal panache: top-quality Agen prunes and glazed figs are teamed with a moist and sticky tranche of prune cake, vanilla sabayon, dry berry meringue and Earl Grey ice cream. The superb breads are all freshly made in the hotel's newly installed in-house bakery, while the canapés and all intermediate nibbles and pre-desserts are equally fine-tuned. Non-meat and fish eaters get a fair crack of the whip with a vegetarian tasting menu.