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Belmond Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons

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Le Manoir aux Quat' Saisons
Le Manoir aux Quat' Saisons in September 2006
Le Manoir in September 2006
Map
Restaurant information
Established1984; 40 years ago (1984)
Owner(s)Belmond
Head chefRaymond Blanc and Luke Selby
Food typeFrench cuisine
Dress codeSmart casual
Rating2 Michelin stars (Michelin Guide)
AA Rosettes
Good Food Guide
Street addressGreat Milton
CityOxford
CountyOxfordshire
Postal/ZIP CodeOX44 7PD
CountryUnited Kingdom
Coordinates51°42′59″N 1°05′31″W / 51.7163°N 1.0919°W / 51.7163; -1.0919
ReservationsYes
Other informationNearest train station: Haddenham & Thame Parkway
Websitewww.belmond.com/

Belmond Le Manoir aux Quat' Saisons ("Four Seasons Manor", a.k.a. Le Manoir) is a luxury hotel-restaurant in the village of Great Milton near Oxford, in Oxfordshire, England.[1] It is situated in a 15th-century manor house, near a church that was visited by Oliver Cromwell,[2] In March 2014 the company owning the restaurant introduced a new brand name, Belmond and the hotel changed its name to "Belmond Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons". In December 2018 Belmond was acquired by LVMH.

Description

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The restaurant has two Michelin stars, as well as scoring 9/10 in the Good Food Guide. It is capable of serving 260 guests per day.[3] It is owned by LVMH (since acquiring Belmond Ltd in December 2018) and run by the leading French chef Raymond Blanc.[4] The executive chef is Luke Selby, having replaced Gary Jones who left the role in November 2022, after over 20 years. The head pastry chef is Benoit Blin. The gardens are used to grow fresh food for the restaurant. A helipad is available for clients.

The restaurant was used as a filming location in the BBC 2 television programme The Restaurant, where it has been used for challenges as well as Raymond Blanc's "room of truth".[5]

The restaurant kitchen has trained 34 Michelin starred chefs. Its basic training programs for its chefs lasts approximately 2.5 years, with each chef spending 6 months on each "section" in the kitchen. Chefs who stay longer than the initial 2.5 years of training go on to learn the management side of the business.[6]

Chefs trained at Le Manoir

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Many notable chefs and restaurateurs were mentored by or worked for Raymond Blanc at Le Manoir, including:

Reception

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Restaurant critic Jay Rayner visited Le Manoir for the first time in 2013. Whilst he described it as possibly the most expensive restaurant in Britain, he praised the set up including the kitchen garden. Regarding the food, he praised a "pitch-perfect" beetroot terrine, which was served with a horseradish sorbet quenelle.[19] He wondered at the skill involved in creating a dessert of poached meringue and fried apricots inside a globe of nougatine. He said that while he couldn't justify or excuse the expense, the meal was fabulous.[19]

Public transport

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Since June 2022, Le Manoir has subsidised a bus service between Great Milton and central Oxford. Oxford Bus Company route 46 links the village with central Oxford via Wheatley, Horspath and Cowley. Buses run hourly, seven days a week, from early morning until after midnight.[20][21]

References

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  1. ^ Fiona Duncan Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons, Oxfordshire: hotel review, The Daily Telegraph, 26 September 2010.
  2. ^ "Orient-Express Hotels LTD. To launch Belmond brand". Archived from the original on 28 March 2014. Retrieved 5 October 2014.
  3. ^ Interview with Raymond Blanc OBE Archived 13 June 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ Raymond Blanc, Recipes From Le Manoir Aux Quat' Saisons. Little, Brown & Company, 1990. ISBN 978-0-316-90817-7.
  5. ^ The Restaurant – on BBC Two from Wednesday 29 August 2007: Interview with Raymond Blanc, BBC, 13 August 2007.
  6. ^ Interview with Raymond Blanc on The Staff Canteen
  7. ^ "John Burton Race recipes - BBC Food". www.bbc.co.uk.
  8. ^ Dixon, Rachel (15 August 2008). "Interview: Heston Blumenthal of the Fat Duck on the Good Food Guide 2009". The Guardian.
  9. ^ "Losing power: Michael Caines". 29 September 2005 – via news.bbc.co.uk.
  10. ^ "BBC - Food - Chef biogs - A to C". Archived from the original on 17 March 2008. Retrieved 7 February 2014.
  11. ^ "Brasserie Chavot Restaurant - Mayfair London". Archived from the original on 23 February 2014. Retrieved 7 February 2014.
  12. ^ "Home - William Curley". William Curley. Archived from the original on 21 February 2014. Retrieved 7 February 2014.
  13. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 7 August 2018. Retrieved 13 September 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  14. ^ "Good Food Channel". Archived from the original on 16 July 2018. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
  15. ^ "Chef Paul Liebrandt of Gilt-New York Rising Star on StarChefs.com". www.starchefs.com.
  16. ^ "BBC - The Restaurant - The Inspectors".
  17. ^ "Heston Blumenthal Rejects the Claim He Trained Under Marco Pierre White". December 2012.
  18. ^ "BBC - Press Office - Network TV Programme Information BBC Week 15 Feature interview with James Knight Pacheco".
  19. ^ a b Rayner, Jay (15 September 2013). "Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons: restaurant review". The Observer. Retrieved 16 September 2013.
  20. ^ "City46" (PDF). Oxford Bus Company. 20 June 2022. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
  21. ^ Ffrench, Andy (12 May 2022). "Enjoy fine dining at Raymond Blanc's Le Manoir restaurant after arriving by bus". Oxford Mail. Newsquest Oxfordshire. Retrieved 22 June 2022.
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