Jungmin Seo

1 week ago | thecaterer.com | Jungmin Seo

A family-run restaurant in Nottingham is to close next month after 29 years of trading due to pressures on the hospitality industry. Ashmores in Radcliffe-on-Trent opened in 1996 and became known for its locally-sourced dishes and family-friendly atmosphere. However, in a message on Facebook, owners Mark and Jo Ashmore said the “current challenges facing the hospitality industry” had pushed them both to retire early.

1 week ago | thecaterer.com | Jungmin Seo

Hand Picked Hotels has recruited the former hotel manager at Sofitel London St James and general manager at the Lygon Arms to lead three of its country house hotels. Vidyadhar Patole joins the Wood Hall Hotel & Spa near Wetherby and Crathorne Hall hotel in North Yorkshire as general manager from Constance Halaveli in the Maldives, where he was based for two years.

1 week ago | thecaterer.com | Jungmin Seo

Rocco Forte Hotels is looking to open a country house hotel in the UK in a bid to rival the likes of Belmond and the Dorchester Collection. The group currently has 15 hotels in Europe, including Brown’s hotel in London and the Balmoral in Edinburgh in the UK. Director of development Charles Forte, son of the group’s co-founder Sir Rocco Forte, told The Caterer of his plans to diversify the group’s expansion model as the business eyes 20 hotels. “We would love to have something in the countryside.

1 week ago | thecaterer.com | Jungmin Seo

New images have been released of the four bedrooms at Merlin Labron-Johnson’s relocated Osip near Bruton, Somerset. The rooms have been designed by Johnny Smith, creative director of restaurant group Smith & Willis, and feature exposed beams, oak floors and modern rustic interiors complete with rugs, stone and brass accents. Each bedroom takes its name from a river in Somerset: Avon, Brue, Somer and Pitt.

1 week ago | thecaterer.com | Jungmin Seo

Dear Jackie at the Broadwick Soho and Farm Caff in Castle Cary are among eight new restaurants that have been added to the Michelin Guide Great Britain & Ireland’s listings this month. The Guide praised the maximalist basement restaurant at the flamboyant Broadwick Soho hotel for its “Italian-inspired dishes that are equally attractive… with top ingredients and a skilled hand in the kitchen”.