For the first time in its 12-year history, the Coworth Park restaurant has its own distinct brand. Executive chef Adam Smith shares his thought process
Twelve years after Coworth Park opened and six years after Adam Smith arrived as its executive chef, a new restaurant has been launched at the Dorchester Collection's country house hotel near Ascot, Berkshire.
The aim was to create a destination restaurant with his own identity, resulting in the opening in September of Woven by Adam Smith.
"We were having conversations about what would be next for my development as well as evolving the guest offering and we felt we wanted to have a restaurant that would be the reason for bringing people to the hotel as well as being somewhere guests staying with us would dine," explains Smith, who spearheaded the concept of Woven alongside Coworth Park's general manager Zoe Jenkins and food and beverage director Jonathan Ellson. The new outlet is now the headline food and beverage space at the hotel alongside the more casual Barn and all-day dining available in the drawing room and on the terrace.
As well as Woven – comprising a 44-seat restaurant and adjoining 12-seat conservatory – being given a new name, as opposed to just being known as Restaurant Coworth Park, it was also given a new look by Martin Hulbert, the interior designer who had previously worked on the original creation of the hotel in 2010. While luxury is very much at the forefront of the design, sustainability is also a key element of its ethos. Hence the inclusion of tables made from recycled paper, waiters' stations created out of papier maché and natural tree resin.
When it comes to the menu, Smith's classical background stemming from his earlier career at the Ritz London, during which time he won the 2012 Roux Scholarship, shines through, supplemented by an exploration of new flavours stemming from Coworth's diverse brigade of 58 chefs – hence the name Woven which reflects the weaving together of ideas.
"Our senior chef de partie Conghe Liu is originally from China and one day brought in an amazing XO sauce," says Smith. "We went on to make our own version, which we calmed down a bit by removing some of the hotter spices, and now use it to accompany cured seabass, which we serve as a canapé." Smith's XO sauce combines dried scallops, dried shrimps, shallots, garlic, ginger, rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, ground fish powder, vegetable oil and chilli.
The seabass canapé sits in the From the Pantry section of the set price menu (£80 per head at lunch and £130 at dinner). All elements of this section, varying from bite-sized morsels to small bowls, and the selection of treats at the end of the menu are served to diners, alongside a choice of three starters, four main courses and two desserts or cheese. "In effect, we've created a menu that is something of a cross between a tasting and à la carte," explains Smith.
While the seabass with XO sauce reflects the menu's more contemporary approach, a main course dish is well and truly rooted in the classical tradition. "It is a nod to the turbot jubilee dish I cooked in the Roux Scholarship, which I served on a platter for the final, but individually plate here," says Smith. A fillet of turbot is topped with a lobster mousse and served with a trio of sauces: Americaine (based on lobster stock with brandy and tomatoes), truffle and Champagne. "You sometimes take for granted how special a dish is, but this was the one that everyone jumped up and down about when we hosted a dinner here for 48 chefs just after we opened the restaurant."
For dessert, the chef's current favourite choice is a dish of roasted figs served with honey produced on the Coworth estate, a honey and vanilla cream and an ice-cream pimped with shards of walnut praline. "We keep sugar to a minimum in all our desserts as we want the purity of the flavours to stand out," he says.
The opening of Woven for dinner four nights a week (Wednesday to Saturday) and two lunch services (Saturday and Sunday) enables all the kitchen and restaurant staff to work a four-day week and ensure a consistency of quality in both the food and service. "When you talk about creating a sustainable restaurant, you have to be conscious about creating both a sustainable team and product," concludes Smith. "It helps gives us confidence in what we are doing which in turn improves the overall restaurant experience."
Coworth Park, Blacknest Road, Ascot, Berkshire SL5 7SEFrom the menu
From the pantry
- Pickled rose and goats' cheese
- Cured seabass, XO sauce, kalamansi, seaweed
From the larder
- Hen of the Woods, Old Winchester, cauliflower, mushroom turnip
- Cotswold white chicken, artichoke, soup, hazelnuts
From the stove
- Salt-aged Yorkshire duck, black garlic, purple sprouting broccoli, quince
- Dover sole, cucumber, cauliflower, caviar
From the pastry
- Signature chocolate, sea salt, crème fraîche, coco nibs
Dinner, £130; wine pairing, £80
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