Adam Smith: “Woven will be more in-line with what is relevant today”
Why rip it all up and start again at Coworth Park's flagship restaurant?
It was time for a change. The interiors of Restaurant Coworth Park have not been touched since the hotel launched in 2010. Woven will be more personal, more experiential, and more in-line with what is relevant today. We have a loyal local following but we also want to give people a reason to come back and see what we’re up to. We don’t want to be seen as just another hotel restaurant. We want to be seen as a beautiful destination restaurant that just happens to be in a hotel.
How does it feel to now have your name above the door?
Pretty great. I’m very thankful for the support of The Dorchester Collection and the senior management at Coworth Park. I have felt a strong sense of ownership since I joined as executive chef six years ago but that now feels heightened. The old name blended into the hotel – we didn’t really have our own brand. Traditionally, chefs in top hotels don’t get that involved with the dining room in terms of the service and the way the space looks but I very much am now. I’ve worked in five-star hotels for the last 20 years or so. This feels like the next step in my career.
How will the food change?
It will still be quite classical. I spent nearly 10 years at The Ritz. That style of cooking is ingrained in me. In fact, I’d go as far as saying I’m obsessed with it. People often think classical means old fashioned but that’s not the case. We take those classic combinations and techniques and make them relevant to the modern-day diner. The food at Woven will be a little more eclectic than Coworth Park to reflect our diverse kitchen team. It will also be more confident. I’m 35 now and have been doing this for two decades. I was happy with where the food was previously but Woven will be more refined, elegant and exciting.
Tell us about the menu structure
Prior to the pandemic Restaurant Coworth Park offered tasting menu and a la carte but we have offered a four course a la carte for the last few years. Woven will offer a set menu that is a hybrid of tasting menu and a la carte. Meals will be bookended by a selection of exciting snacks and sweets. The middle bit of the meal will see our guests choose a dish From the Larder (a starter), from the Stove (a main) and From the Pastry (a dessert). The main difference between lunch (£80) and dinner (£130) will be the number of items served at the beginning and end of the meal, largely because people tend to have less time for lunch these days.
What’s on the menu?
Dishes include brown crab with radish, apple, basil and yuzu; Hen of the Woods with Old Winchester, turnip and truffle; and Hereford beef with potato, onion, tendon and tongue. In celebration of Coworth Park’s beehives, desserts will include black fig with estate honey, walnut and bee pollen. The best thing about the new menu structure is that it gives me more flexibility with the dishes. They can be much simpler now. If I want to cook an amazing bit of fish and serve it only with a sauce and one vegetable that matches well, I can.
How will the look of the space change?
It’s much warmer and more welcoming than it was previously. The centrepiece of the main restaurant is a plaster relief set with root vegetables that sits on the back wall, We also have a contemporary light installation that mimics a woodland canopy. We have kept but completely redesigned our conservatory. It has beautiful countryside views and can either be used as an extension of the main restaurant area or as a 12-cover PDR.
What did you do with the striking cooper chandelier that was the previous centrepiece?
It’s been recycled. We did consider keeping it as it was very beautiful but I didn’t want people to walk in and say ‘it’s the same’. That said, some of the concepts behind the design of Woven are the same as Restaurant Coworth Park, they are just executed in a different way. The designer is Martin Hulbert, who was involved in the original space’s design and the wider hotel. We put the project out to lots of other designers but his ideas stood out. He got it and he got us too.
Is the kitchen being overhauled too?
I've been very lucky. The kitchen has been fully-refurbished since I’ve been here, the only things that are the same are the floors and ceiling. We’ve done a few tweaks in order to operate more efficiently. The flow is now much better.
How long was the space closed for?
We closed on 1 July so it's been a little over two months. Ideally we would have done it after Christmas, which is our quietest time, but there were some logistical challenges. It's not easy to source things at the moment. Summer wasn't bad timing though as a lot of guests want to eat outside. I haven’t been twiddling my thumbs as I oversee the whole of F&B at the hotel, which includes The Barn and The Drawing Room.
Will the new restaurant be the same number of covers?
Yes pretty much. Woven seats 44 in the main room and a further dozen in the conservatory. We have changed the table configuration slightly – our maximum table size in the main room is now six. It can't be any more than that in order for us to serve food at the level we want.
