Marco Pierre White at Cadbury House near Bristol
Posted on: 19 Jan 2016Living and working on opposite sides of the Bristol City Centre, I have a tendency to forget just how close we are to the countryside. Just a ten minute drive from my house and we were in beautiful, scenic surroundings. On a gorgeous and sunny January day, we drove out to Cadbury House to attend an event hosted by Marco Pierre White at his restaurant set within the hotel.
As well as being just a short and attractive drive from the city centre, Cadbury House has the advantage of beautiful grounds. Those grounds have recently undergone a £100,000 programme of improvements including introducing animals and re-landscaping the feature pond. The intention is to soften the grounds and make them more rural and natural.
World-famous chef Marco Pierre White said: “I love the countryside. It’s where I live and where I feel most comfortable. Developing the natural environment and wildlife around my Wiltshire property The Rudloe Arms has been a passion for the past few years and it is something I felt strongly about introducing at Cadbury House.
“The views here are spectacular and the surroundings lend themselves to wildlife such as guinea fowl. I think it also creates more of an experience for the visiting customer, especially children, who will be able to feed and interact with the animals.”
Over lunch we had time to chat with Colin, the General Manager of DoubleTree by Hilton, Cadbury House who commented, “Marco has a very strong ethos and a passion for nature and the countryside. The work we have recently conducted on the grounds has all come from Marco’s vision of what he wants the environment to feel like.
“We now have guinea fowl, Indian Runner ducks and tumbling doves onsite with plans to add more wildlife in the near future. We’ve restructured the layout of the extensive land around the hotel and restaurant adding lovely log walls, planters and a vegetable plot as well as a quirky shepherd’s hut, which will eventually be used for something exciting but we’re not quite sure what yet!
“The re-landscaping of the pond was a challenging task but the benefits to the ecological environment are worth it. We’ve cleaned and re-lined the pond to encourage plant and wildlife there.
“In addition we’ve added a new groundsman to our maintenance and grounds team and we’re really looking forward to expanding on our natural project in the next year.
“We are a destination setting; although just outside Bristol, we are in the heart of the countryside with panoramic views of the rolling North Somerset hills and the Bristol Channel. Our surroundings are so important for customers who visit the restaurant for a special occasion and for the wedding parties who choose us for their special day, so it is something that we are happy to invest in.”
.jpg "Beef Wellington at Cadbury House by Marco Pierre White")
The lunch menu for the day was specially chosen by Marco for the event, and we were treated to four delicious, classic courses; Brown Windsor Soup (Braised Oxtail with dumplings), ‘properly garnished’ smoked salmon with brown bread and butter, Beef Wellington or Wheeler’s Classic Fish Pie, and finally Cambridge burnt cream with fresh raspberries.
In addition, we had time to chat to Marco, who had spent the previous day in Bristol so we were able to wax lyrical about our favourite places.
We all received a signed copy of his ‘Great British Feast’ cookbook which I’m looking forward to cooking from. It has a clean, modern aesthetic, and has a great selection of dishes of varying complexity, and a comprehensive ‘back to basics’ section.
Double Tree by Hilton Cadbury House has a huge amount to offer and Colin is exactly right; it’s a destination in its own right. I’m looking forward to returning to try out the ‘a la carte’ menu and the afternoon tea, and to see how the grounds develop as we move into spring and summer.
For further info on DoubleTree by Hilton Cadbury House Hotel please visit www.cadburyhotelbristol.co.uk.
Cadbury House Hotel is located at: Frost Hill, Congresbury, Bristol, BS49 5AD.
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Born and raised in the suburbs of Swansea, Jimmy moved to Bristol back in 2004 to attend university. Passionate about live music, sport, science and nature, he can usually be found walking his cocker spaniel Baxter at any number of green spots around the city. Call James on 078 9999 3534 or email Editor@365Bristol.com.
