We have seen an impressive number of chefs running their own eateries, but lately it seems that some of these food maestros have been getting restless in the kitchen.
Over the last few years, demanding, egotistical and perfectionist celebrity chefs have been turning their creative vision from food to bedrooms, potentially charting a new course in celebrity chef empires.
Here we examine several of the establishments that have gained considerable recognition over the years. After all, what’s not to like about a place where you can both nosh and sleep in style?
Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons
Dreamlike Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons (Four Seasons Manor) is the culmination of Raymond Blanc’s vision of success. The house-hotel is located in the English countryside of Oxford, Great Milton. The 30-acre Great Milton Manor property was transformed in 1984, when Blanc opened Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons.
Blanc aimed to create a place where guests could relax and savor their surroundings. Created by some of the best interior designers in the UK, Le Manoir’s living spaces truly live up to their palatial name. One of these is the signature VIP suite Blanc de Blanc, which is a pure luxury space with layers of white and natural textures such as ceramics and porcelain. The magnificent eco-friendly suite is 70 square meters and is annexed to a private terrace overlooking the serene gardens. The elegant bathroom is designed in Carrara marble with a double shower.
The restaurant at Le Manoir earned two Michelin stars almost immediately after launch, which it has held for a staggering 29 years now. Complemented with a wine cellar that is home to around 1,000 different fine wines from around the world, dining at Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons is an experience that will stay with you forever.
Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons
Church Road, Great Milton
Oxford, OX44 7PD
England
+44 (0)1844-278-881
L’Andana
In spring 2004, Monégasque chef Alain Ducasse indulged his passion for Italy by setting up a new resort in the heart of the Tuscan Maremma, inspired by the charms of the Mediterranean. That is how L’Andana, a 500-hectare La Badiola Estate – the culmination of a joint effort by the Moretti family and Alain Ducasse – came to be.
An enchanting resort with a gourmand SPA, Tuscan Trattoria, golf driving range and romantic private chapel, L’Andana takes its name from its long driveway, which is flanked by cypresses and maritime pines and enveloped in a magical fairytale atmosphere within a delightful nature park.
Once a Medici villa where Grand Duke Leopold II and his court resided in the summer, L’Andana now has 33 rooms and suites and is a member of ‘The Leading Hotels of the World’, an international brand of luxury hotels.
La Villa, the restaurant at L’Andana has the cozy, homely atmosphere of a family kitchen and leads to an intimate dining room with a pretty stone fireplace and a superb veranda overlooking the park, the chapel and the crystal-clear water of a tranquil swimming pool nestling among cypresses and maritime pines. From June to September, the restaurant, Trattoria Toscano offers dinner in an intimate indoor setting or au dehors among the vineyards.
L’Andana
Tenuta La Badiola, Località Badiola
58043 Castiglione della Pescaia, Grosseto
Italy
+39 0564-944800
Lake House
At a misty lakeside retreat, on six acres of gardens and fruit orchards roughly 70 miles from Melbourne, chef and restaurateur Alla Wolf-Tasker serves such locally-sourced goodies as vegetable tangine and truffle pecorino tarts.
With 33 sleek rooms and suites set in about 2.5 hectares of verdant grounds extending down to the waters of Lake Daylesford, which includes a spa nestled among the treetops, the entire resort is enveloped in a tranquil, welcoming ambience that has enchanted visitors from around the world.
Upon exploring the grounds, guests will come upon the Kitchen Garden, surrounded by potted herbs and edible flowers. The orchard is flush with fruit trees on which grow olives, crabapple, stone fruits, apple, quince and medlar.
Daylesford’s Lake House restaurant is run by a team that is passionate about hospitality and strives to deliver cutting-edge, seasonal food matched with an internationally acclaimed wine list. Under the direction of executive chef Alla Wolf-Tasker and head chef David Green, virtually everything in the kitchen is made from scratch on the premises, from home-baked breads to an extensive charcuterie range.
Lake House
King Street Daylesford 3460
Victoria
Australia
+61 (03) 5348-3329
