FIVE-STAR FESTIVE DINING WITH PANACHE
Executive chef Phil Yeomans ’ innovative approach is bringing new things to the table at Lainston House , discovers Liz Kavanagh .
FOOD AND DRINK
Meet Phil Yeomans at Lainston House near Sparsholt and you ’ ll come away thinking firstly , ‘ what a nice guy ’ and secondly , ‘ how soon can I book in for dinner ?’
Phil first worked at the five-star hotel under former head chef Andy MacKenzie , who was hailed a Hampshire food hero for championing local before everyone else did .
Sharing Andy ’ s enthusiasm , Phil rose through the ranks and as executive chef opened The Wellhouse , Lainston House ’ s informal wood-fired restaurant , where everything from the bread to the brisket is smoked , grilled or roasted over wood .
“ I ’ m lucky to work with talented , creative staff who really enjoy what they do ,” he says . “ I ’ m pretty sure there ’ s not a kitchen in the country that can boast the wood fire expertise that we have . That ’ s very progressive when it ’ s done to a five-star standard . It also lends itself to brilliant flavours .”
But it ’ s not just in The Wellhouse that Phil is doing interesting things . Working closely with kitchen gardener Stef Bradfield means that interesting fruit and veg are often pulled or picked just a few hours before being served .
Phil ’ s love affair with Lainston House has seen him leave and return twice to develop his career . He ’ s not going anywhere now , he says with a smile , having fine-tuned his skills at the likes of Soho House , The Dorchester , and Coral Beach Club in Bermuda .
“ At Lainston House I have lots of autonomy ,” he says . “ That means I can buy the best . Usually that ’ s local . Sometimes it ’ s not . But we appreciate the food we work with even more because we know the people behind it .”
Christmas starts when the first Christmas afternoon tea goes out , Phil says . “ Long before that , our menus are created , tasted and refined to ensure they ’ re spot-on .”
Phil ’ s Christmas Day starts early . “ It was great when the kids were young that I ’ d be up with them at 5am and then go to the hotel ,” he says . “ Now that they ’ re older , they ’ re less inclined to wake up that early ! I get home to Christmas dinner in the evening , by which time my wife has done most of the hard work .”
Guests come to Lainston House because they know the food , drink and service are consistently good . What they might not know is that it ’ s always being enhanced by something new . There ’ s bottling , infusing and pickling , new varieties of fruit and veg being grown in the garden and new courses in the hotel cookery school , where Phil and Andy teach regularly .
The hotel may be traditional in some ways . But behind the scenes there ’ s a definite buzz .
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