Stuart Shaw appointed head chef of Thornbury Castle

The three-red-AA-star, 27-bedroom Thornbury Castle near Bristol has appointed Stuart Shaw as head chef.

Shaw replaces Mark Veale, who has been appointed brand manager at kitchen equipment supplier Nisbets.

He joins the property after a brief stint at the Hare & Hounds in Tetbury, Gloucestershire, having previously spent eight years at the Manor House, Castle Combe, Wiltshire, where he rose from junior sous chef to head chef.

Earlier in his career, Shaw worked at Northcote Manor, Langho, Lancashire; Belmond Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons, Great Milton, Oxfordshire; Chapter Two, Lockbottom, Kent; and the Savoy Grill, London.

Shaw's signature dishes include chicken and foie gras terrine with rhubarb and celeriac; duo of beef shin and fillet with truffle mash, spinach purée and red wine jus; chocolate fondant with cherry compote and pistachio ice-cream; and treacle tart with clotted cream ice-cream.

The restaurant at Thornbury Castle currently has two AA rosettes. It is renowned as one of only 23 outlets in England to receive a Michelin star in the first Michelin Guide to Great Britain in 1974, when the restaurant was under the tenure of Kenneth Bell.

Thornbury Castle has been owned by Luxury Family Hotels since 2011 when it was acquired out of the administration of Von Essen Hotels.

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