Coworth Park expands food and beverage department with appointment of Executive Chef Chris Meredith, and Food and Beverage Manager Scot Turner.
Coworth Park, Dorchester Collection’s new country house hotel and spa, has today announced the creation of two new positions as part of a post launch restructure in the food and beverage operation. Chris Meredith joins as Executive Chef effective from 4th July, and Scot Turner joins as Food and Beverage Manager taking up his position today, Monday 23rd May.
Since the successful launch of Coworth Park in September last year, John Campbell has established an extremely strong Food and Beverage offering across the hotel. With this firmly in place Campbell assumed a consultancy role at Coworth Park on 1 April enabling him to step back from the hotel wide Food and Beverage operations to focus on the hotel’s fine-dining restaurant. Head Chef Olly Rouse continues to lead the kitchen team at ‘John Campbell at Coworth Park’.
Executive Chef Chris Meredith will be well matched to Coworth Park, with a cooking style that demonstrates a modern outlook on classical dishes and a commitment to quality ingredients and depth of flavour. Reporting to General Manager Zoe Jenkins, Meredith will oversee cuisine for The Barn, The Bar, The Drawing Room, The Spatisserie, In-Room dining for 70 rooms and suites, and banqueting for four private event rooms and a marquee, in all covering events for 2 to 300 guests. As Food and Beverage Manager, Scot Turner will report to General Manager Zoe Jenkins to oversee all food and beverage operations.
Previously Executive Chef and Company Manager at Punch Bowl Inns, Chris Meredith ran the back and front of house operations at two gastro pubs, the Punch Bowl Inn & Restaurant in Crosthwaite and The Plough Inn at Lupton. Responsible for a 98 strong team and a total of 232 covers across the two pubs, Meredith’s Punch Bowl Inn was awarded two AA Rosettes and beat 563 pubs in great Britain and Ireland to be named ‘Pub of the Year’ in Michelin’s Eating Out in Pubs 2009 Guide. The guide praised the Punch Bowl for its delightfully rural setting, community spirit, excellent local produce and great classical cooking.
Prior to that in 2002 Meredith repurposed The Samling Hotel from an exclusive use property to a hotel and restaurant, and was awarded three AA Rosettes and two stars by the Egon Ronay Guide. Meredith moved on at the end of 2004, just before the Michelin Guide published in January 2005 awarded The Samling Hotel its first Michelin star. By this time Meredith had taken up the position of Head Chef at Gilpin Lodge and twelve months later the restaurant was awarded a Michelin star in 2006. The property was also awarded three AA Rosettes, and in 2007 Meredith was named Relais & Chateaux’s ‘International Up and Coming Chef 2007’. Earlier experience includes positions at a number of other Michelin and AA accredited hotels and restaurants including Aubergine restaurant, Great Eastern Hotel, Pool Court Brasserie, Michael’s Nook, The Dorchester, Chester Grosvenor Hotel and Paul Heathcotes.
Commenting on his new appointment, Meredith said: “Coworth Park has made a formidable impact on the UK market since its opening last year and I am proud to be joining the team. I am very much at home working in a countryside location with a strong local following and looking forward to contributing to the food and beverage offering at Coworth Park.”
With more than a decade of operational and managerial experience in bars, restaurants and hospitality operations, newly appointed Food and Beverage Manager Scot Turner’s most recent positions include Deputy General Manager at Cedar Court Grand Hotel & Spa in York, and Deputy General Manager at De Vere Oulton Hall & Spa in Leeds.
General Manager Zoe Jenkins commented, “I am delighted to announce the appointments of Chris Meredith as Executive Chef and Scot Turner as Food and Beverage Manager at Coworth Park. The launch of the hotel has been a phenomenal success and we look forward to welcoming these talented individuals to support the growth of the business. I am extremely proud of all the team at Coworth Park for their hard work and passion in creating one of the world’s finest country house hotels; and we are all excited about the next chapter.”