Rich Collingwood announced as head chef at the Cottage in the Wood

Rich Collingwood (pictured: centre) has been officially announced as head chef at the Cottage in the Wood restaurant with rooms following the departure of Chris Archer late last year.

Collingwood took up the position as head chef in late 2016 after Archer left in November, however the news has only been officially announced today. The restaurant was awarded its third AA rosette in the 2016 AA Hospitality Awards, which it has retained under Collingwood, and is on the market following owners Kath and Liam Berney's decision to retire.

Collingwood has previously worked at the Bath Priory and Ston Easton Park before roles as junior sous and then senior sous chef at the Royal Crescent hotel. He then went on to work for Alan Murchison's 10 in 8 group as a sous chef at Paris House before taking his first head chef role in 2013 at the Hillbark hotel on the Wirral.

Collingwood said: "There are so many amazing ingredients surrounding the Cottage that I would be daft not to use them. I want to bring the flavour of the iconic Lake District forests and the mountains into the restaurant; whether it be spruce from the woods or douglas fir from Whinlatter Pass."

Owner Liam Berney said: "We're over the moon to have Rich on board to retain Cottage in the Wood's three AA rosettes with his creative and imaginative style. His cooking definitely reflects the ethos of the Cottage and you can see his inspiration from the larder of Cumbria and the rest of the North of England."

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