Exciting Changes Are Coming To The Terrace

Head Chef Matthew Tomkinson believes in serving food that ‘makes sense’, food that reflects the time of year, the location and the produce of the New Forest. In order to keep developing the award winning cuisine of our flagship New Forest restaurant, The Terrace, we recently embarked on a large refurbishment of the kitchen – something that marks an exciting new chapter in the Montagu Arms Hotel’s story.

 

The renowned restaurant, set in the heart of Beaulieu, has grown from strength to strength over the years; retaining a 3AA Rosette consistently for 8 years and winning numerous awards including ‘Restaurant of the Year: Outside of London’ at the 2015 Food & Travel Awards.

 

Intricately prepared and designed to capture a delicious range of flavours, textures and aromas, Matthew’s cuisine never fails to impress guests from near and far.

 

 

After two years of careful planning and  a £300,000 investment, the kitchen refurbishment is almost complete. The first phase of refurbishment began in February 2016 to completely redesign the kitchen layout. Matthew collaborated with industry experts such as Control Induction to create a space that will allow his team’s creativity and technical ability to flourish which will ultimately be reflected in the food the restaurant serves.

 

“We decided to re-design the kitchen as we struggled with space and as demand for our cuisine continued to grow, we had to do something about it. We’ve designed a space that is now practical, easy to clean and prep. It was important to eradicate the elements that involved wasting time, allowing us to invest more time in creativity and developing new and exciting dishes.” Head Chef, Matthew Tomkinson

 

Providing an unforgettable guest experience is the ultimate objective of The Montagu Arms Hotel and we are constantly searching for ways in which we can enhance that experience. The new design will increase the floor plan of the kitchen, incorporating a larger climate controlled pastry section and raw food preparation room, bringing butchery and fish preparation in-house.

 

“The pastry area is a prime example; the simpler it is to bake the bread, the easier the daily chores will be, which means we will have more time to invest in improving our food. The entire project is extremely exciting and I am particularly excited to have co-designed a bespoke stove – every chef’s dream! The changes we have made to the kitchen will have such a positive impact on everything we do, for a long time to come.” Head Chef, Matthew Tomkinson

 

The main dining room of The Terrace Restaurant is also undergoing an interior re-design. The new concept blends inspiration from a 16th century tapestry with iconography from Matthew’s ‘larder’ – the New Forest.