Foodie Hotel of the Year
The Cartford Inn, a hotel near Preston has been named as the UK’s ‘Foodie Hotel of the Year’ in The Sunday Times Best Places to Stay 2021 guide
The Cartford Inn, in Little Eccleston, was revealed as having come top in the foodie category as the newspaper revealed its definitive list of the 100 best places to stay spread throughout the country.
The 17th century coaching inn is run by Patrick and Julie Beaumé, a Franco-Lancastrian couple.
It boasts 15 bedrooms – some of which are in the original inn, and the rest in a new riverside extension and two handmade cabins.
A restaurant and a Taste of The Inn deli (TOTI), run by the couple’s daughter, Jean is part of the set up. There is also a gallery, which Julie fills with work from local art schools, and a jewellers run by niece and talented silversmith Tanicia Hayton.
A courtyard dotted with fairy lights is perfect for visitors to while away their evenings.
Journalist Mia Ogden, who reviewed the hotel, wrote: “The Cartford Inn is full of surprises. The first is its location: on a bend in the River Wyre, midway between the Forest of Bowland and the Fylde coast, deep in Lancashire’s agricultural heartland, where the cows stare curiously as you cross the old toll bridge leading up to the gates.”
She added: “The restaurant is Patrick’s domain, with the head chef Chris Bury at the helm, and a roster of locally sourced, seasonal dishes that might include moules-frites, lobster thermidor, snails with ’nduja mayo, and Lancashire venison loin with shallot tarte tatin, plus passion fruit verrine for pud.
“The wine list is splendidly French, but local beers rule at the bar, with Giddy Kipper and Pride of Pendle the stars. Dinner is served in a series of firelit, flagstoned and reclaimed oak dining rooms decorated with posters, paintings and John Ditchfield’s whimsical blown-glass mushrooms. Utterly beguiling.”
In response to the accolade, the team at The Cartford Inn posted on Instagram: “The chefs are buzzing! Team Cartford are amazing! We are absolutely thrilled!”
Head-Chef Chris is originally from Thornton-Cleveleys, Chris describes himself as “Lancastrian through and through”, and became the head chef at the Cartford Inn in 2016.
Commenting on the award, Chris, 34, said: “We are always very proud and honoured when we pick up awards, it gives the team a boost and a sense of achievement. It gives us the energy to keep improving, be more creative and it cultivates a feeling of enjoyment which is so important in a successful kitchen.”
Before working at the Cartford Inn, Chris was a chef at the famous Claridge’s in London, and Heston Blumenthal’s three Michelin starred The Fat Duck, amongst other prestigious kitchens.
