Garden gate, Ockendon Manor Ockenden Manor is located in Cuckfield, West Sussex, England. The building itself dates from 1520 and is operated as a hotel and restaurant by the Historic Sussex Hotels group.

History

Ockenden Manor has been operated by the Historic Sussex Hotels group since 1987. The building itself is a

Grade II* listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

Elizabethan era The Elizabethan era is the epoch in the Tudor period of the history of England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603). Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history. The symbol of Britannia (a female personifi ...

country manor, dating from 1520. It won a

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 ...

in 2001 under

Martin Hadden Martin Hadden is a British chef, who won a Michelin star at both Ockenden Manor and The Priory House. He was the winner of the Roux Scholarship in 1989, and after leaving the kitchen at the Priory House in 2003 he went on to become Executive Che ...

, who left shortly afterwards to set up his own restaurant called The Priory House. After losing its star the next year, the restaurant regained it in 2004 and kept it until 2016 under chef Stephen Crane. The restaurant was used as a location in the 2009 series of the

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...

show '' Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is'', where chefs

Nick Nairn Nick Nairn (born 12 January 1959) is a Scottish celebrity chef. He became the youngest Scottish chef to win a Michelin star in the early 1990s. Early life Nairn was born in Stirling in January 1959 and grew up in the village of Port of Ment ...

and

Aldo Zilli Aldo Zilli (born 26 Jаnuary 1956) is a celebrity chef specialising in Italian cuisine, based since 1976 in the United Kingdom. One of nine children, he was born in the small seaside town of Alba Adriatica in the central Italian region of Abruzzo ...

competed against each other using local ingredients. Staff from the restaurant have been involved in the annual

Roux Scholarship The Roux Scholarship is a cooking competition for up and coming chefs in the UK. Set up by the brothers Michel and Albert Roux, and now run by their sons Alain Roux and Michel Roux Jr. It was first run in 1984 with Andrew Fairlie being named the ...

. Former head chef Martin Hadden was the winner of the scholarship in 1989, prior to coming to Ockenden Manor. Matthew Tomkinson won the scholarship in 2005 whilst working at the restaurant, and Vincent Fayat in 2006 and Mark Charker in 2012 reached the regional finals of the competition. As of June 2018 The Food Standards Agency rated the hotel and spa a hygiene rating of 4 out of 5 - Good.

Reception

Harden's ''Harden's'' is a UK restaurant guide, publishing print, online and mobile reviews and ratings for both London and UK restaurants. Like New York's Zagat Survey (which no longer has a London edition), the ratings and reviews are based on the result ...

restaurant guide states that there have been "over a hundred visits in a decade, and never disappointed". On a scale of one to five, with one being high, it gives Ockenden Manor a score of two for each of food, service and ambience, describing chef Crane's food as "excellent". The restaurant has been awarded three

AA Rosette AA Limited, trading as The AA (formerly The Automobile Association), is a British motoring association. Founded in 1905, it provides vehicle insurance, driving lessons, breakdown cover, loans, motoring advice, road maps and other services. The ...

s, meaning that "expectations of the kitchen are high: exact technique, flair and imagination must come through in every dish, and balance and depth of flavour are all-important".

References

External links

Historic Sussex Hotels official website
{{coord, 51.006, -0.144, display=title, region:GB_scale:10000 Hotel spas Restaurants in Sussex Michelin Guide starred restaurants in the United Kingdom Country houses in West Sussex Grade II* listed buildings in West Sussex