Richard Collingwood appointed head chef at Thornton Hall

Richard Collingwood has been appointed head chef of the Lawns restaurant at the four-silver-AA-star Thornton Hall hotel.

Collingwood joins the two-AA-rosette restaurant at the 62-bedroom hotel in the Wirral from the Cottage in the Wood restaurant with rooms after two years as head chef.

He replaces Ben Mounsey at the Cheshire hotel, who until recently was head chef at Grafene in Manchester, and has in turn been replaced by Ben Wilkinson at the three-AA-rosette Cottage in the Wood in Keswick, Cumbria. Andrew Richards is no longer executive chef at Thornton Hall.

Collingwood said: "In a couple of months' time some of my favourite ingredients will be coming available, wild garlic, forced rhubarb, morels, Jersey royals and asparagus and I'm really looking forward to showcasing them on our menu. It's really important to me to create a menu based around seasonality to ensure the best possible flavour in my dishes."

General manager of Thornton Hall Geoff Dale added: "We're delighted to welcome Richard to the team. He brings a wealth of skills and expertise to our already award-winning restaurant and we're certain he can help retain those accolades and indeed improve on them."

Collingwood 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.

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