Lewtrenchard Manor

The Rosette award for this establishment has been suspended due to a change of chef. Reassessment will take place in due course under the new chef'. It's not much of a drive off the A30 to get to this fine country-house hotel, and yet once you arrive you feel like you're miles from anywhere, such is the peace and quiet in this secluded spot. The house, a Jacobean manor dating back to the early 1600s (an earlier property on the site is mentioned in the Domesday Book), sits in a valley beneath the wild tors of Dartmoor. It's been run as a hotel since 1949 and is now back in the hands of Sue and James Murray who originally bought it in the 1980s (for a brief spell it was owned by the now-collapsed von Essen hotel group). With the Murrays once again at the helm, Lewtrenchard has a warm and welcoming feel and a relaxed atmosphere despite its grand proportions. The building's many period charms are all present and correct - oak panels, stained-glass windows, ornate plasterworks, feature fireplaces - and the gardens are certainly worth a pre (or post) -prandial stroll with their streams, ponds and many exotic plants. The grounds are also home to a walled kitchen garden that supplies head chef John Hooker with much of what he needs of the vegetable and fruit variety - with the rest taken care of by local and regional suppliers. Hooker changes the menu daily, depending on what seasonal produce is available, and his skills lie in delivering bright, imaginative dishes using contemporary techniques and with immaculate presentation. 'Newlyn plaice, coconut, lemongrass, spiced onion' gets things off to a promising start, the fish sea-fresh and accurately cooked, served in a broth of sweet coconut with picked cauliflower, and with mini onion bhajees for extra textural and flavour contrast. Ultra-tender loin of venison comes with flavour-packed pork cheek, a textbook potato terrine, a super-smooth parsnip puree and capers in a deeply satisfying main course, while moist, warm banana bread with a thin cylinder of peanut parfait and banoffee sorbet brings things to a close in style. The Purple Carrot private dining room adjoining the kitchen offers the chance of an eight-course tasting menu and a close-up view of the action.