Maturing nicely

Simon Hulstone is only 25 but he says he has grown up in culinary terms. The chef and competition veteran who recently took up the post of head chef at Cheltenham's Bacchanalian restaurant (formerly Restaurant on the Park in the town's Hotel on the Park) believes that his cooking has matured to the stage where he no longer fusses over presentation, but rather puts his energy into matching flavours and developing dishes.

This follows experience gained over two years at the Mirabelle restaurant, Grand hotel, Eastbourne, and a brief foray at the Bailiffscourt hotel, Climping, West Sussex.

Hulstone will need all the experience he has gained, for Bacchanalian is the former stamping ground of celebrity chef Pat McDonald, who sited his original one-Michelin-starred Epicurean eaterie here. More recently, Graham Mairs earned the restaurant two AA rosettes.

A third rosette is Hulstone's immediate target, despite the fact that he heads a tiny kitchen brigade comprising only himself and colleague Lucy Hyder. At present he is offering diners a choice of two menus: a six-weekly changing à la carte with four choices at each course level, and a set-price, weekly changing alternative (called Concept) which has three starters, mains and desserts at £22.95.

Both feature recipes adapted from the Mirabelle menu, although they are simpler than the Eastbourne restaurant's lavish creations. Passion fruit crème caramel on a carpaccio of apples with a cider sorbet (£6.50) ably demonstrates Hulstone's culinary evolution. "This dish at the Mirabelle would have had fancy sugar work, but now we concentrate on the flavours," he says, "such as combining the apples with the cider sorbet."

A main-course dish of loin of lamb with butternut purée and roasted salsify (£17.50) offers three main ingredients, a concentration and refinement of flavour and simplicity of presentation. Also following this code is another main course of sea bass on lentils and pancetta with roasted garlic and shallots (£17.25).

Italian influences are evident among the starters. A tortellini of langoustine with fève froth (£9.95) and risotto of truffle and foie gras with confit of orange (£9.50) are currently popular with diners - mainly business people staying at the 12-bedroom hotel, who fill the 26-seat restaurant to capacity at weekends and average 15 on weekdays. They spend as much as £45 per head including wine.

Diners are looked after by two full-time waiting staff and restaurant manager Peter Dann.

Bacchanalian, Hotel on the Park, 38 Evesham Road, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire GL52 2AH. Tel: 01242 227713