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The Feathers Hotel in Ludlow, Shropshire, has been recognised for its culinary offering and rewarded with a AA Rosette.
Under the leadership of new head chef, Darren Shaw, the hotel’s Plume@Feathers restaurant has been “making great strides to move forwards” from the struggles the hotel faced since re-opening after lockdown and issues hospitality in general faced with recruitment.
It said the AA Rosette the hotel has now been awarded recognises the restaurant is achieving standards that “stand out in the local area”.
Shaw created a seasonal menu that includes dishes such as Chalk Stream Trout with vegetable Biriyani, onion bhaji and sour mango chutney to vegetarian options such as Lasagne Napoletana with garlic toast and dressed leaves.
Since Crest Hotels took over the property it has invested in excess of £2.5m to re-position the 42-bedroom property, which includes being proud to serve Starbucks to the front of the hotel, an aesthetic makeover to public areas, rooms and the function suites, as well as complete new plumbing throughout.
Shaw said: “Since joining the hotel, I have been determined to get back our reputation, to put the hotel and restaurant back on the map for all the right reasons and to attract the best culinary talent back to the fold at The Feathers Hotel. I am delighted to say that we have achieved this. We collectively strive for excellence in the kitchen and to have been acknowledged by the AA in this way is a huge honour and testament to the hard work and dedication of the brigade.
“Our team never fails to impress me with their creativity and passion and to achieve this for the restaurant really is testimony to the commitment we make to preparing classic dishes using the very best local produce.”
Jason Hiley, Crest Hotels MD, said: “What a coup! To have an AA Rosette at the Feathers hotel has been a dream since Darren and his new team joined us and I am extremely proud that they have achieved this. It’s fair to say that the hospitality industry has been on a roller coaster of a journey since lockdown and we have been no exception. We’ve faced each of the challenges head on but throughout, we’ve always wanted to retain our focus on quality and luxury for both guests and diners. This award recognises that we are doing just that.”
