Sutton leaves Summer Lodge after first week

Brett Sutton has left his post as head chef at the three-AA-rosette Summer Lodge hotel in Evershot, Dorset, just a week after taking up the position.

Sutton moved to the hotel, which is aiming for a Michelin star, from Holbrook House in Wincanton in neighbouring Somerset.

He is the second head chef to have left Summer Lodge since Red Carnation Hotels bought the property for £4m last autumn.

According to sources close to the hotel, Bea Tollman, owner of Red Carnation, wanted to assume 30% of Sutton's menu. But Jonathan Raggett, managing director of Red Carnation, said that was "absolutely not true".

"We look at all menus our chefs prepare, and there were one or two things on the menu that I did not think were applicable. We said we wanted those taken off. Mrs Tollman had nothing to do with it."

He added: "The response I got was 24 hours later from the general manager, who had told me Brett had gone."

Raggett said the hotel hoped to retain its three rosettes this year and that maintaining a well-balanced menu was one of the criteria to do so.

Sutton could not be contacted for his views before Caterer went to press.

Source: Caterer & Hotelkeeper magazine, 11 - 17 March 2004