Le Champignon Sauvage is a restaurant located in

Cheltenham, Gloucestershire Cheltenham (), also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a spa town and borough on the edge of the Cotswolds in the county of Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort, following the discovery of mineral s ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. , the restaurant holds two stars in the

Michelin Guide The Michelin Guides ( ) are a series of guide books that have been published by the French tyre company Michelin since 1900. The Guide awards up to three Michelin star (classification), stars for excellence to a select few establishments. The ac ...

. In 1987 the restaurant was opened by husband and wife, David and Helen Everitt-Mattias, initially for a period of three years, but the couple stayed with the restaurant due to high interest rates. To keep costs down, David, the head chef, incorporated cheaper cuts of meat and foraged ingredients on the menu. As of 1 October 2018, the restaurant has been downgraded to 1 Michelin star for the 2019 guide. It is currently the only Michelin starred restaurant in Gloucestershire.

History

Le Champignon Sauvage has been run by husband and wife, David and Helen Everitt-Matthias, since 1987. They had met at the

Four Seasons Hotel Four Seasons Hotels Limited, trading as Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, is an international luxury hotel and resort company headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Four Seasons currently operates more than 100 hotels and resorts worldwide.D ...

in London and had decided to take on the Cheltenham restaurant as part of a three-year project, but were forced to stay due to high interest rates. Originally just the two of them, with David cooking and Helen running the front of house, the restaurant now has a staff of four. David remains in control, has never missed a service and closes the restaurant when he is unable to be there, for example, to appear on Saturday Kitchen. When the recession hit, David looked for ways to reduce costs and including the use of "humbler" ingredients which includes offal and cheaper cuts of meat as well as food

forage Forage is a plant material (mainly plant leaves and stems) eaten by grazing livestock. Historically, the term ''forage'' has meant only plants eaten by the animals directly as pasture, crop residue, or immature cereal crops, but it is also used m ...

d from the Cotswolds countryside. Eighteen years after opening, the restaurant has expanded into the building next door, holding 40 seats instead of the original 28 and the walls are now clad in wood panelling. The restaurant holds one

Michelin star The Michelin Guides ( ) are a series of guide books that have been published by the French tyre company Michelin since 1900. The Guide awards up to three Michelin stars for excellence to a select few establishments. The acquisition or loss of a ...

, has won the

Observer Food Monthly ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...

award for outstanding contribution, and was rated the 13th best restaurant in the country in the 2017

Good Food Guide ''The Good Food Guide'' has been reviewing the best restaurants, pubs and cafés in Great Britain since 1951. In October 2021, Adam Hyman purchased ''The Good Food Guide'' for an undisclosed sum from Waitrose & Partners. The ''Guide'' is being r ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Champignon Sauvage, le Restaurants in Gloucestershire Michelin Guide starred restaurants in the United Kingdom Buildings and structures in Cheltenham