Deer Park hotel appoints Hadleigh Barrett as head chef
Photo by Liberty Pearl Photography
Devon's four-AA-star, 32-bedroom Deer Park Country House hotel in Honiton has appointed Hadleigh Barrett as head chef.
Barrett has worked at the five-AA-red-star Pennyhill Park hotel in Surrey and most recently was head chef at Combe House in Honiton - recently relaunched as the Pig at Combe. He replaces Andy Storey.
As well as overseeing the Deer Park's two-AA-rosette Loxton's restaurant, Barrett will also be responsible for catering for weddings, corporate and private events. His signature dish is steamed courgette flower and crab mousse, and roasted John Dory with a crab butter sauce.
The hotel has a two-acre walled kitchen garden, headed up by estate manager Olly Forster, who will work closely with Barrett on designing the menus and maximising the production of seasonal ingredients.
Taste of the West recently presented a gold award to the hotel, which will host the Food & Drink Devon Awards in October in its newly designed orangery.
Deer Park managing director Mark Godfrey said: "We're thrilled to welcome Hadleigh to the Deer Park. Our vision at the hotel is to have something from the walled garden on every starter, main course and dessert, served in a beautiful way, which will see our guests booking in again and again."
Barrett added: "The team here is full of passion and enthusiasm. I'm delighted to be working with them to get the hotel on every must visit food destination list. There is a wealth of both produce available and inspiration from the setting to allow us to lead the way, creating the best food using the finest, fresh ingredients."