| Ockenden Manor | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Restaurant information | |
| City | Cuckfield, West Sussex |
| Country | England |
| Website | Official website |
Ockenden Manor is located inCuckfield, West Sussex, England. The building itself dates from 1520 and is operated as a hotel and restaurant by the Historic Sussex Hotels group.
Ockenden Manor has been operated by the Historic Sussex Hotels group since 1987.[1][2] The building itself is aGrade II* listedElizabethan era country manor, dating from 1520.[citation needed] It won aMichelin star in 2001 underMartin Hadden, who left shortly afterwards to set up his own restaurant called The Priory House.[3][4] After losing its star the next year, the restaurant regained it in 2004 and kept it until 2016[5] under chef Stephen Crane.[1][6][7]
The restaurant was used as a location in the 2009 series of theBBC Two showPut Your Money Where Your Mouth Is, where chefsNick Nairn andAldo Zilli competed against each other using local ingredients.[8]
Staff from the restaurant have been involved in the annualRoux Scholarship. Former head chef Martin Hadden was the winner of the scholarship in 1989, prior to coming to Ockenden Manor.[9] Matthew Tomkinson won the scholarship in 2005 whilst working at the restaurant,[10][11] and Vincent Fayat in 2006 and Mark Charker in 2012 reached the regional finals of the competition.[12][13]
As of June 2018 The Food Standards Agency rated the hotel and spa a hygiene rating of 4 out of 5 - Good.[14]
Harden's restaurant guide states that there have been "over a hundred visits in a decade, and never disappointed".[15] On a scale of one to five, with one being high, it gives Ockenden Manor a score of two for each of food, service and ambience, describing chef Crane's food as "excellent".[15] The restaurant has been awarded threeAA Rosettes, meaning that "expectations of the kitchen are high: exact technique, flair and imagination must come through in every dish, and balance and depth of flavour are all-important".[16]