Press Release

Restaurant awarded for its design

EMBARGO - Friday 2 September 2005

A NEWLY enlarged and totally refurbished restaurant has received a prestigious award for its architecture, just weeks after re-opening.

The Stables serves the 430 thousand visitors each year to Wakehurst Place, a leading tourist attraction in West Sussex. Following a six month closure to allow for a £1 million refit, the restaurant has been awarded for excellence in conservation by Mid Sussex District Council. The judges were particularly impressed by the inclusion of new additions to a building within the historic setting of the original structure: a Grade II former stables block adjacent to the Elizabethan mansion.

“We are absolutely thrilled at receiving this award”, says Andy Jackson the Head of Wakehurst Place. “I want us to become as well known for our food as for the vitally important, global conservation work we undertake at Kew’s country garden.”

“The new building saw the start of a new era as far as catering at Wakehurst Place is concerned”, adds Andy. “Bricks and mortar are only the beginning… we have appointed new caterers, Company of Cooks, and adopted a new ethos of freshly-prepared meals using locally sourced ingredients, where possible, and supporting organic and Fair Trade producers.”

The award was one of three presented at a ceremony on September 2nd by the local MP, the Hon Nicolas Soames. The other awards included best small housing development, and best large development in the district.

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For more information, or images of the new restaurant, call the press office on 01444 894018.

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