Hulstone leaves Bacchanalian for Cotswold House

Simon Hulstone has left his position as head chef at the Bacchanalian restaurant at Cheltenham's Hotel on the Park to become head chef at Cotswold House in Chipping Campden, Gloucestershire.

The move comes two-and-a-half years after Hulstone took over the kitchen at the Cheltenham restaurant, during which time he increased its AA Restaurant Guide rating from two rosettes to three. "I felt I'd done all I could at Bacchanalian and it was time to move on," he said. "I'm looking forward to using the wealth of local produce in the area such as cheese, asparagus, lamb and Gloucester Old Spot pork."

Hulstone, 27, took up his new post yesterday (1 May) and heads a brigade of nine at Cotswold House. He takes charge of the hotel's two restaurants, a 40-seat brasserie which is open all day and currently serves about 130 covers a day, and a two-AA-rosette 40-seat fine-dining restaurant which opens in the evenings.

While he isn't planning any radical changes to the food, he aims to make a clearer delineation between the two restaurants with simple dishes such as braised oxtails and salads using the best ingredients in the brasserie, and more technically complex dishes in the fine-dining restaurant.

The hotel, owned by Ian and Christa Taylor, has recently undergone a refurbishment which has added five villas to the existing accommodation of 15 bedrooms. "The target market is the trendy jet set," said Hulstone.

The Hotel on the Park is in the process of recruiting a successor to Hulstone.

Source: Caterer & Hotelkeeper magazine, 2-8 May 2002