Imagine for a moment. Dining at an Elizabethan manor house. Views looking out across lush green gardens and the rolling hills of Cuckfield Park – while eating award-winning cuisine and sipping on fine wines. The restaurant here at Ockenden Manor Hotel is a truly luscious experience and actually rather modern, housed in the conservatory of the hotel and is looked after by head chef Stephen Crane. Flavours are never spared and the kitchen sends out dish after dish of precision perfect cooking.
Staying overnight at the hotel we of course had to experience the restaurant first hand. Interestingly enough the restaurant had a Michelin star until recently, but why they lost it is beyond me. We sat at our table not knowing this information until the next day but left the dining room asking just that question – why doesn’t it have a Michelin star? Perhaps presentation wise it could do with more finesse, but as far as the food goes it was such an accomplished meal and dining from the seven course tasting menu was a real treat.
The first of our dishes to arrive was the home smoked mackerel which was also refereed to as the ‘chefs signature dish’. The fish was smokey, but still moist & succulent and was accompanied by a smear of beetroot puree, apple, horseradish, crispy skin crackers and sea herbs. Once you taste it you’ll realise why it’s the signature dish here and it really got us excited for what was still to come.
I must also apologise for my photos. The room was incredibly dark, though on the very romantic side of cosy. A huge portion of hand dived scallops arrived, served in a lovely creamy sauce which I assume was a beurre blanc. Accompanied by some Jersey royal potatoes which were bang on season, as well as peas, beans, wild leaf garlic and lots of English leeks. I loved every part of this dish.
Perhaps not main courses as such, but in this tasting menu our next two courses were rather rich and portion wise very generous. A dish of chicken fricassee was a stunning plate of food and one I’d happily eat all over again. The brown of the chicken was served as a small square, topped with crispy skin. The rest of the chicken was made in to a golden coated crispy chicken bite and also a round of smooth and pressed chicken mouse. It was all very polished and the caramelised cep was the icing on the cake.
The Trenchmore farm beef was a fantastic piece of fillet and served with home smoked tomatoes, roquette and a bone marrow tart of dreams. A yet again flawless dish which offered so much satisfaction. Rich, decadent and every mouthful offered flavour to the max.
I wasn’t quite sure about our cheese course on arrival as it looked a little lacklustre, but actually I fell in love with it. Un-pasteurised English brie was served pulled and spread across the plate and covered in fruits, a little biscuit and a Waldorf salad garnish. A spoonful of passion fruit sorbet after with lime granita really prepared our pallet for dessert.
I don’t know whether it’s just luck or a theme, but hotels under the Historic Sussex Hotels brand seems to pump out flawless soufflés. I had the best of my 2017 just a few weeks back at another of their locations and once again they’ve pulled out all the stops. This time around it was a banana flavoured soufflé with caramelised banana, rum & raisin ice cream and a side of chocolate and salted caramel macaroons. It was sheer perfection and yet again top of my 2017 soufflé experiences.
Incredibly full after our meal we retired back to our room in preparation for a swim in the hotel spa the following morning. We had such a lovely meal in the restaurant at Ockenden Manor and I really did fall in love the food. Don’t expect liquid nitrogen clouds or canapés served on barbed wire (yes that’s a thing), but instead classic cooking given modern twists and turns along the way – all packed with flavour.
