On Monday 7th July, top Devon chefs attended a fascinating forage led by wild food expert David Harrison. Glistening with summer rain, Lewtrenchard’s impressive grounds were slightly moist, but that didn’t’ dampen chefs’ spirits as they embarked on a flora and fauna adventure. Harrison is Michelin-starred chef Simon Hulstone’s personal forager and sources wild ingredients exclusively for Simon and his small team of talented chefs at The Elephant, Torquay.
The garden lent itself as the perfect venue for a cheffy wild food hunt! Head Chef Matthew Peryer showcased his menu in preparing stunning canapés for around forty of his peers from across the county. The chefs really enjoyed the chance to get a snapshot of fellow cusiniers menus.
The culinary experts went on a tour of the impressive grounds, learning to find and identify the abundance of edible plants, seeds, nuts flowers and fungi that grow wild in the beautiful Devon countryside.
They learnt that provided you are furnished with a permission from the land owner (in this case the Murray family), the only real cost of foraging is time, a valuable resource for chefs. Most foraged produce is perishable and requires picking for service daily or every other day.

During February we refurbished Lyndhurst, one of our Classic bedrooms, which is now looking fantastic. The hotel company we sold to in 2003 did not refurbish it in our 9 year absence so by our reconing it had not been refurbished since 1996. Lets just say it was about time!!

Continue reading →

We have had a great review from the Canary Wharf Magazine this month. Please click the link to see it.
http://issuu.com/runwildmedia/docs/cw_apr_14_issuu/98

Lewtrenchard Manor is being offered as part of a major prize in a cooking competition launched this month which will judged by foodies that include cookbook authors, magazine editors and Masterchef Pro winner Anton Piotrowski.

The Home Cook of the Year Competition 2014 has been launched by Devon Life Magazine who have teamed up with Exeter-based Bradburys Kitchens to enthuse amateur cooks to come up with a menu for a 3-course meal inspired by their kitchen ranges.

Entrants with the 12 best menus will be given training on specialist techniques offered by the Bradburys kitchen range such as steam ovens and teppanyaki hot plates. They’ll then cook one element of their 3-course menu in their own home for a panel of judges and will be featured along with their menus, in the Food & Drink summer special issue of Devon Life in July. The 6 finalists will attend a weekend cook-off in September and the winner will be announced at The Devon Life Food and Drink Awards in November.

Lewtrenchard Manor is part of the first prize offering. The winner will spend a unique day cooking with Matthew Peryer, the hotel’s head chef. They will then stay at the hotel, learn more about the hotel’s amazing Purple Carrot private-dining-meets-interactive-dining experience, have dinner and stay the night with their partner in one of the historic hotel’s luxury rooms.

Andy Cooper, Editor of Devon Life said; “I am delighted that Lewtrenchard Manor has partnered with us on this competition. The hotel is renowned for the quality of its food and drink, as I know myself having recently visited, so it’s fantastic that the person crowned our Devon Life Home Cook of the Year 2014 will be able to experience the hotel in such a special way.”

Matthew Peryer, the Head Chef at Lewtrenchard said; “My team and I are really looking forward to welcoming the winner of this brilliant competition. I aim to teach them interesting techniques from professional kitchens which will help them as a home cook. I hope they’ll take away new skills and fond memories of a great dinner.”

For more information on the competition see Devon Life’s website at http://www.devonlife.co.uk/competitions-offers

Lewtrenchard’s Head Chef, Matt Peryer, joined other top chefs in the region give a class in butchery to students at a Plymouth college.

Matthew Peryer, and his Sous Chef Mark Styring, worked alongside top chef Peter Gorton to assist students at City College Plymouth to prepare and serve an impressive range of canapés for the Chefs’ Forum guests. They were joined by Jack Cook and Paul Underwood of Taste of the West gold award-winning Walter Rose Butchers.

Matt Peryer said he was extremely impressed with his brigade of student chefs. He confirmed he would be happy to work with them in his kitchen and would be sourcing an apprentice from City College Plymouth; ‘Plymouth College should be very proud of their students as they were very professional and made the day a great success. I look forward to work alongside the staff and students again in the very near future.’

Helen Marshall, head of curriculum catering and hospitality at City College Plymouth said: “It was great for our staff and students to be involved in such a worthwhile event. The Chefs’ Forum events are a great opportunity for us to showcase the excellent calibre of young chefs and hospitality professionals-to-be at our College.”

The Chefs’ Forum works with catering colleges on a South UK-wide basis to forge links between hospitality students, employers and suppliers. Catherine Farinha, founder of The Chefs’ Forum added: “It is of the utmost importance that students are introduced to inspiring chefs in industry, the best produce, latest equipment and corresponding cooking techniques whilst training to ensure learning at college truly represents the professional kitchen and vice versa.

For more information and photographs about these top chef read more here: http://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/Devon-chefs-class-butchery-Plymouth-students/story-20842641-detail/story.html

Lewtrenchard is entering the Food Magazine Food Awards ‘Best Foodie Hotel’ and we would love for all of you to vote for us.

We are happy to offer bespoke gift vouchers that make the perfect gift.
Gift Certificates can be booked for a variety of experiences, including gourmet meals,
luxury stays and afternoon teas.

Vouchers can be booked via our website here, or if you would like personalize your
voucher or tailor make a voucher then we are happy to make up the vouchers at the hotel.
The vouchers can be posted out or available to pick up from the hotel.

For more information then please contact the reception department.

As of the middle of October we are pleased to announce that we have become members of Pride of Britain. Pride of Britain is a marketing consortium of forty four privately owned luxury hotels. Why not visit the Pride of Britain website at www.prideofbritainhotels.co.uk

The Murrays

We can hardly believe it ourselves, but the Murrays are back at Lewtrenchard! Nine years after selling Lewtrenchard Manor we are here again. With the help of Duncan & Joan (our son and daughter-in-law), James & Sue Murray have bought Lewtrenchard Manor back from the company we sold it to. Please do have a look around our new website, and we hope to welcome you or welcome you back in the near future while we put Lewtrenchard back on track.

The Murrays