Simon Allott, 37 is Holdsworth House's Head Chef. He runs a kitchen brigade of 6 and is supported by a restaurant team managed by hotel GM Shane Williams.
Simon was interested in cooking from an early age and his first kitchen job was at 16 starting, as all the great chefs do, at the bottom working and learning on the job every step of the way.
After a period of training in France at the Bistrot du Viaduc, Simon opened his own restaurant in Ireland and has since worked in restaurants around the country, including a 3 AA Rosette restaurant in the Lake District.
He has a family including two small sons, Dante 3, Blake 6 months so certainly can bow well to pressure and multi-tasking!
Simon and his team offer a contemporary British/French style of food in the a la carte and lounge menus. Whilst you can eat from either menu in the restaurant or bar, one thing is certain - the team has a 2AA Rosette reputation to maintain and so offers food that not only looks great but, more importantly, taste amazing without scrimping on portion control.
Simon says, "I enjoy working with very good quality raw products such as our meat, which we have sourced especially for the restaurant and air dry in house. It's a practice not many establishments adopt because they don't have the facilities or they're owned by chains and so have just have their supplies shipped to them without a say in it. But we think it makes all the difference and reflects in the quality and taste."
Holdsworth House is well known for weddings and corporate functions because it excels in these areas. "We prepare all meals fresh," Simon continues. "Whether that's for a wedding of 120 or a restaurant table of four. Everything is made up to the customer's liking, using fresh ingredients and served piping hot. We don't agree with plating up beforehand and reheating - it's not the way we do things."
"We try to use interesting produce too and always look to what's in season. At the moment I'm loving nasturtium parsley and chervil root, as well as using cuts of meat such as ox cheek and feather blade."
