THE RECTORY WELCOMES MICHELIN STARRED ROB WESTON & TEAM
MICHELIN STARRED ROB WESTON & TEAM TAKE OVER THE KITCHEN AT THE RECTORY, WILTSHIRE
OCTOBER 2022
The Rectory, a much-loved Cotswolds hotel and restaurant, is embarking on an exciting new culinary chapter with the appointment of award-winning chef Rob Weston to preside over the kitchen stoves. Having spent the last twelve years at the helm of Michelin-starred La Trompette in Chiswick, Rob joins with a fantastic team beside him, together to oversee and elevate the complete food offering at the hotel and their sister pub, The Potting Shed.
Tarryn Bingle, originally from Auckland in New Zealand, will come onboard as Head Chef of The Rectory.
Tarryn trained at culinary school in New Zealand before relocating to Sydney to work at Aria with Mat Moran. She then transferred to EST working under Head Chef, Peter Doyle and after three years made the move to London. Her first job was with Anthony Dimitri at Arbutus, before joining La Trompette to work with Rob where she has been for the past 9 years.
Alex Topp will take the role of Head Chef at The Potting Shed. Originally from Australia, Alex cut his teeth working in his parents’ Italian restaurant. After several stints at a variety of top restaurants in Australia, Alex then won a competition which led him to join The Ledbury in London. After this, he took on a position at La Trompette and climbed the ranks to Head Chef under Rob’s training and guidance.
Pete Sawyer will join as head pastry chef. Pete trained at Leiths and worked at Kopapa in London, as well at Chiltern Firehouse and Angler, before joining Rob at La Trompette. Pete has also spent time living in Copenhagen and working at Marchal in the city’s prestigious Hotel D’Angleterre.
More about Rob Weston:
Rob’s CV makes for an impressive read, running the kitchen at Harvey’s for Marco Pierre White, working at Guy Savoy in Paris and as head chef at Le Gavroche. He spent over 10 years as Phil Howard’s right arm at The Square before joining La Trompette in 2010.
Always a chef’s chef and eschewing the spotlight, the phrase “I’d rather be cooking” sums up Rob’s hands-on and formidable reputation in the kitchen.
The new menu at The Rectory, whose restaurant has 65 covers, will focus on provenance and seasonality. The team’s focus will be on using the best quality ingredients and showcasing them with simplicity and elegance. Sample dishes might include:
Caramelised veal sweetbreads, ewes curd, gnudi, cordyceps
Tortellini of Paignton cock crab, datterini tomatoes, basil bisque
--
Fallow deer, smoked potatoes, runner beans and garden beets, damson
Seabass, coco de paimpol, Fowey mussels, nduja butter
--
Bramley apple crumble soufflé, damson ripple ice cream
Muscovado custard tart, late season plums, crème fraiche
Rob has a long-held passion for growing his own produce, having had his own gardens at Chiswick House for many years. The plan this winter is to prepare and extend the capabilities of the Rectory’s vegetable gardens behind the pub ready for production in Spring 2023. Pete also plans to introduce breads made in house daily, as well as pastries and deserts. The new team will bring with them years of experience and expertise and the menus at both The Rectory and The Potting Shed will see a gradual and thoughtful evolution.
The Rectory is a beautiful Georgian manor house with a stylish but low key feel and a sprawling English garden; the hotel was bought by Alex Payne in 2016 and reopened in summer 2017 after extensive refurbishment. Also owned by Payne, The Potting Shed pub sits across the road from the hotel and serves as a hugely popular haunt for locals, as well as a secondary option for guests who fancy a more relaxed lunch or a refreshing pint after a long drive.
- ENDS -
Editor’s Notes
Images: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/st8thx6ik2slz3z/AAAzUx2nQJMidbO0BMeKpXIUa?dl=0
Address The Rectory Hotel, Crudwell, Wiltshire, SN16 9EP
Telephone +44 (0) 1666 577194
Email info@therectoryhotel.com
Website www.therectoryhotel.com
Instagram @therectoryhotel
The hotel has 18 individually designed bedrooms - 15 in the main house and 3 in a separate cottage.
Doubles from £150 per night bed and breakfast
For further press enquiries please contact Jessy Harrison jessy@lifetsyle-collective.co.uk or Alice Noakes alice@lifestyle-collective.co.uk at The Lifestyle Collective