Kokova Magazine

The Anderida Restaurant at Ashdown Park Hotel and County Club is locally renowned as one of the best restaurants in Forest Row. Recognised throughout the county and beyond as being an award-winning Sussex restaurant it simply must be sampled, so last week I travelled down with Andy Dalton to this beautifully set estate in the heart of Sussex, for an evening of fine dining.

Ashdown Park has an extensive history dating back as far as the 1600s, having passed through the hands of several land speculators, and during one period in the early 1900s been in use as a training establishment for novice nuns.

The grounds consist of 186 acres, with 95 acres of landscaped woodland and 40 acres set aside for grazing land, where deer roam freely.

With an 18 hole golf course that spreads throughout the gardens, and the fully restored formal Walled Garden located at the front of the hotel, the Ashdown Park Hotel and Country Club grounds are kept breathtakingly beautiful under the watchful eye of Kevin Sweet, who has worked on the Estate for almost forty years.

Our evening started in the Cocktail Lounge where we enjoyed an alcohol-free 'Mocktail' and a glass of fine Ardbeg single malt whiskey. As I am gluten and dairy intolerant I had been able to let the restaurant know in advance of my dietary requirements, and while they do not have a free-from menu, they are more than happy to alter the menu to accommodate such requests.

Whilst we began to relax and appreciate the quality of the building and grounds, we were served some delightful canapés to accompany our apéritif, and I was personally pleased to say they were free-from all my intolerance ingredients. Taking our window seat in the main dining room, we were able to enjoy a glass of Malbec while we waited for our choices from the menu to be prepared.

An amusé-bouche, including artichoke, avocado and sun-dried tomato, set the standard of service and presentation that followed throughout the courses. The plates are nothing short of works of 'food art', with every consideration taken towards presentation, and of how we first eat with our eyes before we even lift our forks.

Mark, our attentive yet unintrusive maître d' for the evening gave us a brief history of the restaurant building, while making sure every course was served in a timely manner. It is important to get this timing right in any setting, so you can appreciate every plate in an unhurried fashion, yet without feeling that you are being left for too long between courses.

I opted for Oriental Salmon, Pickled Baby Vegetables and Pistachio Crumbs, while Andy indulged in a Ham Hock Pressing with Apple Textures. Aesthetically, both plates were exceptionally pleasing and we have to say they tasted as good as they looked. The combination of different textures and flavours combined to create an overall taste experience without losing individual notes and characteristics, yet no one flavour stood out beyond the next, sitting together in a delightful marriage.

At the start of the meal I was offered gluten-free bread and dairy-free spread. Water was available throughout and every need we could imagine was catered to and for. The level of expertise on hand at the Anderida Restaurant shows clearly in their ability to offer a 4* dining menu adapted to dietary requirements, without losing any of the quality and flavour we would expect.

Main course of Pigeon Cooked Three Ways, Poached Roasted Confit, Morel Risotto and Salsify together with Poached and Roasted Fillet of Beef, Cripsy Risotto Cake, Carrot and Truffle Pureé and Wild mushrooms were again presented at the same quality as the starters. Our photographs from the evening only begin to convey the standard on offer.

If you are contemplating the servings and wondering if they satisfy any hunger needs then we can assure you that this is fine dining at its best. Not only are we comfortable at this stage with the amount we have consumed, we are able to sit without any feelings of discomfort and we are able to appreciate each course for the value it offers, in terms of portion size and digestibility.

The Lemon Sorbet, served between our starter and main to cleanse our palate, also offered the illusion of continuous dining and by the time we began to think about dessert we felt we had already been suitably satiated. However, let's not get silly and consider leaving the table without sampling a sweet treat; we haven't quite taken leave of our senses, and even though we were only expecting a fruit salad to be offered as our free-from desert choice, we were surely going to give it a try.

So you can image my delight when we discovered that a regular fruit salad was off the menu, and instead we were being regaled with baked pineapple and banana.

Both plates were given equal consideration in presentation and the flavour combinations were again taken into account, including the addition of a crispy coating on the banana, reminiscent of a crème brûlée. In fact, the lightness of the desserts perfectly complimented the weight of the dark meats we had chosen for the main course.

To complete the meal we were offered a selection of petit fours, and to remain in the theme of free-from the Hotel had catered these in to make sure we did not miss out. Chocolate Brownie Bites and Bakewell Tart Sponge squares ended a perfectly prepared meal and a delightful evening at Ashdown Park Hotel and County Club.

A coffee in the Cocktail Lounge rounded off the night before we headed back to home. We have already made plans to go back and enjoy another evening in the restaurant, at our leisure, when we can leave the camera behind and thoroughly immerse ourselves in the atmosphere of such a remarkable setting and indulge our senses with another seasonal menu.

The hotel offers a wide range of leisure activities and there are numerous local places of interest to visit and keep you entertained should the extensive facilities at the County Club become exhausted.

The Forest itself at Ashdown covers 6,400 acres of the High Weald, with free public access over most of the area. An internationally renowned landscape garden at Sheffield Park boasts a 120 acres garden with four large lakes reflecting the exquisite planting of trees and shrubs.

This outstanding area of South East England was the inspiration and home of Winnie the Pooh stories by A.A. Milne and nearby Pooh Corner, a 300 year old shop, with the largest selection of all things traditionally 'Pooh' is certainly a 'must-visit' destination.

The Bluebell Railway is one of the largest tourist attractions in Sussex and the Ashdown Llama park enjoys stunning views over the Forest, as well as fully organised and guided Llama walks.

Hever Castle, 13th Centuary childhood home of Anne Boleyn is a popular destination for visitors and boasts a Water Maze and Yew Maze that is said to challenge both adults and children alike.

An independent UK based hotel group, Elite Hotels has been investing in some of the UK's most beautiful historic houses since 1986.

The first of which was Tylney Hall, Hampshire, followed by Ashdown Park Hotel in East Sussex, then The Grand Hotel in Eastbourne and finally Luton Hoo in Luton, which opened in October 2007.

For more information on Ashdown Park Holet and Country Club visit www.ashdownpark.com

More images available at YST Flickr