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News at Gilpin Lodge
News at Gilpin Lodge
Head Chef Russell Plowman
Russell comes to Gilpin from the Michelin starred
L'Ortolan Restaurant in Berkshire, and before that, the Relais & Châteaux, 3 Michelin starred Waterside Inn at Bray. We chatted about him to Alain Roux (from the latter) whilst at the Relais & Châteaux Congres in Vienna, and to Alan Murchison (from the former), and could not have been more delighted with their comments!
Russell's appreciation (and later passion) for food was borne at the family table. His mother was a good cook and his family always enjoyed good, home-cooked food, often with a flavour of his mother's native Ireland. He left school at 16 and went to work in a pub washing up. While performing this somewhat scullion task, he watched the two lady cooks and one day his chance came. One of the ladies failed to show up one night and Russell abandoned his sink and grabbed a combi oven! While still working, he studied cookery at college and was immediately inspired by a lecturer who took him under his wing. His first exposure to serious food was at Langshott Manor and then Horsted Place in Uckfield, where he was again adopted by the Head Chef who sensed talent and developed it in Russell.
Next came a placement at the Waterside Inn at Bray; this turned into a permanent position and Russell spent the next three years there. He worked in every section of the kitchen but became particularly absorbed by the butchery and fish preparation, which was always delivered whole. It was, says Russell, the complete and ultimate learning experience. He also met his future wife Elodie there, where they started a courtship which developed as time permitted!
With the Roux's blessing, Russell moved to L'Orlotan to gain experience of a different culinary discipline under Chef Patron Alan Murchison. Elodie later joined Russell at L'Orlotan as Head Waitress and they somehow found time to marry in Elodie's home town in Burgundy. Thus the perfect relationship between front of house and kitchen was born, followed soon after by their son Lucas.
Asked about his interview for the position of Head Chef at Gilpin Lodge, Russell admitted that he was initially terrified. “Interviews for previous jobs” he said “had been conducted through working my socks off in a hot kitchen and showing that I could cook. But on this occasion, I am shown to a suite at Le Manoir aux Quat' Saisons, where incidentally Alan was once sous-chef under Raymond Blanc, to be faced up by the be-suited Cunliffe family asking a multitude of questions over a three hour period. Despite this, Russell says that by the end of the interview he was enjoying himself. And what attracted him particularly to Gilpin Lodge? Its reputation; the family concept; the Lake District as a place to live and bring up Lucas; the availability of specialist local suppliers; and Elodie loves the Lake District. Ah!
This section cannot be complete without expressing our deepest thanks to our two sous-chefs, Euan Davidson and Roman Sturn, who have run the Gilpin kitchen with dedication, enthusiasm and professionalism for the past few months while awaiting Russell's arrival. Thank you boys. Young men? That age thing again!
Baby Cunliffe
Xia arrived on 20 December 2007, after – as many of you know – a long wait! Following three lots of IVF (or ICSI, to be precise), this little 'frostie' (from a frozen cycle) bounded into the world. Zoë and Barney are spending most of their time trying to encourage restraint in the brand new grandparents – John and Christine are ignoring them and showing her off at every opportunity!
Gilpin Lodge Show Garden awarded a Silver Medal at RHS Flower Show at Tatton Park
In 2006 we entered our first ever garden show at Tatton Park, and are extremely proud to have been awarded a Silver Medal for our first attempt. Inspired by the new Garden Suites' gardens, and of course complete with cedarwood hot tub, our show garden seemed very popular with judges and Tatton regulars alike.
Designed by Ben Cunliffe and co-sponsored by Gilpin Gardens, the garden survived both the extreme heat of show week and the thousands of feet that tramped round it during the six days of the show. Those of us that manned the stand, however, despite being nearly overcome with heat exhaustion, returned to Gilpin to find that our tans were so deep that everyone assumed we'd been holidaying and not working. Any support from our dear guests who saw us on the stand would therefore be much appreciated!
Gilpin Gazette 'A Cumbrian Quiz' competition results
In our latest issue of the Gilpin Gazette we had a Cumbrian themed competition, which we hope that everyone who entered found enjoyable. A lot of effort was put in by all entrants, and so we are posting the questions and answers here - see how much you know!
The overall winner is P Davies, and as K&H Johnson, E Harper and D Emmerson were beaten by the winner by just 1/2 a point, we are awarding 'runners-up' prizes of either lunch or afternoon tea for two to these entrants. All winners have been contacted.
Gilpin Lodge joins Relais & Châteaux November 2005
We are proud to announce our admission to Relais & Châteaux. We actually knew as early as June but had to contain the news until the annual Congress in November. Christine and John were honoured to attend this in Geneva and on 13th November we were welcomed into this prestigious consortium.
Relais & Châteaux was established in 1954, when eight hotels between Paris and Nice joined forces to found Relais de Campagne - which would become Relais & Châteaux in 1975. They shared the same values, the same road (national highway 7), and used the slogan “La Route du Bonheur” (“The Road to Happiness”) in their advertising campaign.
Relais & Châteaux is now a consortium of some of the best independent hotels and restaurants in the world. With a philosophy that reflects the expectations of its guests, Relais & Châteaux members (453 hotels and restaurants in fifty countries) proudly uphold the "5 Cs" of its Quality Charter: Courtesy, Charm, Character, Calm, Cuisine.
The selection process is understandably rigorous, with much anonymous scrutiny. Our heartfelt thanks to our wonderful staff who - as always - deserve this wonderful recognition for their hard work, now and over the last 18 years. Also our sincere thanks to all of our guests, we hope that we continue to win smiles and happiness from yourselves as well as industry recognition.