Delapré Abbey’s fine dining restaurant Hibiscus won Restaurant of the Year at the Weetabix Northamptonshire Food & Drink Awards 2024.
The acclaimed restaurant, which just a few weeks ago was also awarded its second AA Rosette, was commended by judges for its impressive standards of presentation, textual variation and technical excellence.
One judge said:
‘Hibiscus is flowering, and it’s great to see that it is flowering into a top-class restaurant’, another said ‘this is an irregular restaurant – it offers food as theatre. Perhaps even jazz. A multi-sensory exploration of taste, shape, and textures across a number of chapters’.
On both occasions, judges were absolutely thrilled with their experience.
Head chef Bart Polinksi, who scooped Chef of the Year at the Weetabix Northamptonshire Food & Drink Awards last year, celebrated with members of his talented team and was advised by the organisers to expect a surge in bookings.
Bart said:
“Winning Restaurant of the Year typically sees book- ings increase by up to a quarter and within 12 hours of winning we saw bookings start to flood in. We already have a large and loyal customer base and winning this top award will raise our profile yet further, entice more people to dine with us and significantly increase our out-of-town bookings.”
Bart designs every element of every dish on the Hibiscus seven- course tasting menus and changes the menus on a seasonal basis.
He said:
“Wherever possible, everything in our kitchen and all the ingredients we prepare and serve, are locally grown or sourced. Our butter, cheese and yogurt are from a local dairy farm, our herbs are all grown in Northamptonshire, lots of our veg is from our greenhouses or my allotment, and we always source our meat locally. We keep our carbon footprint to a minimum and our customers very happy with fresh, seasonal produce that doesn’t just taste delicious, it also looks like art on a plate.”
Included in this month’s Hibiscus tasting menus are dishes such as sweet potato cappuccino, served with a yogurt and beurre noisette; a beetroot dish with goat’s cheese, apple, walnut and black olives; a chicken and black pudding course served with locally grown wild mushrooms and a monkfish dish, which is served with roasted cauliflower espuma, pickled cauliflower and curry oil. For sweet lovers there is a fig tart tatin, followed by a pumpkin cheesecake.
Restaurant Manager Valeria Sula, an expert in wine pairing, celebrated the award win. She said:
“Our tasting menus take din- ers on a flavour journey – from little treats on arrival and meat and fish creations to dishes in which vegetables are the star and mouth-watering deserts. Our popular wine pairing option means that every dish can also be perfectly paired with a wine. We have wines from all around the world, each one carefully selected to accompany a dish.”
For reservations and more information, visit their website.
