FEATHERS HOTEL SECURES COVETED AA ROSETTE

The Feathers Hotel in Ludlow, Shropshire, has been recognised for its culinary expertise and rewarded with a coveted AA Rosette.
Under the leadership of new Head Chef, Darren Shaw, the hotel’s Plume@Feathers restaurant has been making great strides to move forwards from the struggles the hotel faced since re-opening after lockdown and issues hospitality in general faced with recruitment.

Now, thanks to Darren’s passion and commitment; and with the new team he has built around him, the restaurant is once again a destination restaurant of choice for the local community and visitors to the town. Since his appointment, Darren has bolstered his kitchen brigade with some of the best chefs in the area and ensured they are serving some of the finest food in Shropshire all perfectly curated using the freshest, seasonal and locally sourced ingredients. The AA Rosette the hotel has now been awarded recognises the restaurant is achieving standards that stand out in the local area, with food prepared with care, understanding and skill, using good quality ingredients.
Head Chef, Darren Shaw said: “Since joining the hotel, I have been determined to get back our reputation, to put the hotel and restaurant back on the map for all the right reasons and to attract the best culinary talent back to the fold at The Feathers Hotel. I am delighted to say that we have achieved this. We collectively strive for excellence in the kitchen and to have been acknowledged by the AA in this way is a huge honour and testament to the hard work and dedication of the brigade.
“Our team never fail to impress me with their creativity and passion and to achieve this for the restaurant really is testimony to the commitment we make to preparing classic dishes using the very best local produce.”
Jason Hiley, Managing Director for Crest Hotels said: “What a coup! To have an AA Rosette at the Feathers hotel has been a dream since Darren and his new team joined us and I am extremely proud that they have achieved this. It’s fair to say that the hospitality industry has been on a roller coaster of a journey since lockdown and we have been no exception. We’ve faced each of the challenges head on but throughout, we’ve always wanted to retain our focus on quality and luxury for both guests and diners. This award recognises that we are doing just that.”
With menu’s created seasonally, dishes such as Chalk Stream Trout with vegetable Biriyani, onion bhaji and sour mango chutney to vegetarian options such as Lasagne Napoletana with garlic toast and dressed leaves are just some of the dishes which have adorned the menu and impressed the AA judges.
Jason added: “The customer experience is paramount to us and so to have this culinary stamp of approval is testament to the hard work, dedication and passion that our team bring every day. It has been a labour of love for our kitchen team and it is wonderful to see the hotel restaurant bustling. With the addition of an AA Rosette, we hope to now further boost tourism to Ludlow to showcase this fantastic part of the country, steeped in history.”
Since Crest Hotels took over they have invested in excess of £2.5m to re-position the 42-bedroom property, which includes being proud to serve Starbucks to the front of the hotel, an aesthetic makeover to public areas, rooms and the function suites, as well as complete new plumbing throughout..