very exciting news for 2008

our three new rooms opened to guests on time on 4th April and were all considered a huge success.  for guests wishing to know more about the rooms they are now on the website and described below.

heckham peckham

a fabulous superking four poster and a loft bathroom with central bath, separate 'sunflower head' shower and underfloor heating.  this room has beautiful views of the monnow river and the old mill.

lough arrow

is a double room with a separate shower in the loft.  the room overlooks the river monnow and the beautiful arched back norman bridge.

royal wulff

is a superking room with ensuite wet room and bath and underfloor heating.  the room overlooks the bell's pretty gardens.

 

aa wine award 2007

janet and i went up to london to collect the aa wine award for wales. we had a great evening, rubbing shoulders with all the great names in the business. i keep adding more wines to the list (not necessarily up to date on the website as I try to re-print every fortnight or so), so feel free to come in and browse the list.

abergavenny food festival

we again hosted the opening dinner on 13 september with susy atkins as our guest, and kind sponsorship from wine australia. See hot news for details.

on sunday 16 september, again in association with the festival, we welcomed the food writer, journalist and critic tom parker bowles to sunday lunch, one of his passions. tom talked about this and discussed his book the year of eating dangerously – a global adventure in search of culinary extremes. this was followed by a carving demonstration from gerry rae, master chef of simpsons in the strand. everyone took home a signed hardback copy of tom’s book after another successful lunch.

for details on next year's festival, visit their website www.abergavennyfoodfestival.com

michelin pub of the year 2007

it was announced in september last year that we had won the michelin pub of the year 2007 in the michelin’s eating out in pubs guide launching on 6 september - the first welsh pub to win the award.

the judges commended the ‘immaculately kept interior’ our food, wines and relaxing atmosphere. they liked the ‘appetising and balanced selection of dishes prepared with care and a refreshingly unfussy approach’. away from the bar and restaurant, they found the bedrooms ‘something to behold’ mentioning the ‘little luxuries are everywhere’ and ‘that guests may have to pause for a moment to remind themselves that they are ‘only’ staying in a pub’!

suffice to say that william and i are enormously proud to have won michelin pub of the year and would like to thank all the staff who fully share with us this prestigious award.

pinot noir evening - well what a riot. we had an informative & fun evening, with william spouting about the different wines and all enjoying the produce from some of our suppliers, as well as the rustic buffet put on by dave and the team in the kitchen. see hot news for further details of the evening.

pinot noir evening - william and janet hosted an informal evening in association with friends of abergavenny food festival of pinot noir from around the world. we compared new & old world, southern & northern hemispheres styles. the wines we tasted were:

2004 bourgogne rouge, parent, burgundy, france
2003 tamar ridge pinot noir, tasmania
2004 amayna, san antonio-leyda valley, chile
2004 nuits st george, les bas de combe, chopin, burgundy, france
2004 hamilton russell, walker bay, south africa
2003 benton lane, williamette valley, oregon, usa
2005 cornish point, bannockburn, central otago, new zealand

the rustic buffet soaked up the wine, and we had a few of our local suppliers to come along and show their wares:

the country kitchen, ross on wye
blaenavon cheese company
bellota, orcop
tracklements company, sherston

gosset champagne dinner - 17 April

we again had a memorable evening! it was a treat to have patrick ligeron from champagne gosset to add his je ne sais quoi and guy nightingale from mckinley vintners the importer. we tasted the following champagnes with a menu devised by our head chef david hill, which everyone agreed was a great match:

gosset brut in magnums (canapes)
gosset grande reserve in magnums (confit red mullet)
gosset 1999 millesime in magnums (zander with parsnip puree)
gosset grande rose in magnums (creamy lemon tart with red berries)
chateau fontpinot grande champagne 1er cru cognac xo (welsh cheeses)

we were also spoilt, as it was the launch week for the new prestige cuvee from gosset, the celebris blancs de blanc, a blend of 4 vintages, which janet & i managed to obtain and share around at the end of the evening!

our awards that we are all proud of:

aa wine award wales 2007
taste of wales gold 2007
michelin pub of the year 2007
5 star restaurant with rooms from aa and wales tourist board
aa 2 rosettes
johanssens ‘inn of the year’ 2006/7
johanssens "taittinger" wine list 2006/7
gosset celebris winner of winners in uk 2006
trophée gosset celébris 2005/6
aa wine award for wales 2005/6
wtb best place to stay finalist 2005/6
taste of wales gold 2005
trophée gosset celébris champagne challenge 2004/5
les routiers inn of the year 2004/5
les routiers welsh inn of the year 2004/5
les routiers national service & hospitality true taste of wales silver 2004
gosset champagne challenge 2003/4
good hotel guide césar ‘welsh inn of the year’ 2004
johanssens ‘inn of the year’ 2003/4
which? good food guide wine award 2003/4
wales tourist board’s best place to stay in wales 2002/3
aa wine award for wales 2002/3
aa best pub in wales 2002/3
"Taste of Wales" 2002/3

we are also featured in:

square meal guide (top 40 outside london)
harden’s

good hotel guide (‘welsh inn of the year’ 2004)
michelin red guide (red tankard)
good food guide (top 10 pubs in the uk)
which? good food guide (wine award 2004)
harpers & queen restaurant guide 2004

what the papers say . . . . . . .

rob penn, condé nast traveller magazine
"this is no ordinary gastro-pub"

fay maschler, sainsbury’s magazine
"we stayed three nights with the idea of spending days taking long, healthy walks, and quite soon the bell became a home from home, so much so that one of the party quickly succumbed to the comfort of a large sofa in the bar beside the log fire and declined to join in the walks"

travel & leisure (usa)
"it’s a pity the horse and buggy is a thing of the past because pulling up to the bell at skenfrith in a gas-guzzler doesn’t have nearly the same effect"

guy marks, the financial times
"my scrambled egg breakfast at the bell at skenfrith was served with smoked salmon. Not the emaciated mush that is so often chopped and cooked into the scramble, but lavish slices, piled unadulterated alongside the egg"

belinda richardson, the daily telegraph
‘i think we have found heaven here at skenfrith’ "the menu at the bell is refreshingly short and uncomplicated. and a "suppliers" blackboard on the wall suggests that nearly all the food it serves comes from the local farmers. so hats off to the owners for making the best effort they can to support and feed the community"

caroline fitton, evening standard (london)
"the clue that attentive detail presides swiftly presented itself as fresh milk was delivered to our room for tea, accompanying home-made shortbread and wickedly good chocolate shortbread – invisibly replaced later in the day by an overnight flask ensuring fresh milk for the morning cuppa"

richard eilers, the observer
"there are no horse brasses at the bell at skenfrith – i checked. they have obviously been sent back to the restaurant props department on the shelves with french onion chains and wine bottles heavy with candle wax. instead fresh paintings and monochrome photographs take their place in the bar and restaurant – a wonderfully calm space with light oak beams and chalky shades on the walls."

and, most importantly, from some of our guests……

raymond blanc
"excellent food, fabulous hospitality - 1st place. merci."

paddy burt "the atmosphere is great"

dominic curran, london
"fantastic. shame only that we couldn’t stay longer. great room, great food, great staff. thank you – we will be back."

hugh fearnley whittingstall
"beautiful location, lovely people, great food, we will return!" (and he has!)

beverley & jeff jones, north yorkshire
"absolute perfection - we will return very soon"

beverley & jeff jones, north yorkshire
"third visit – perfect"

gordon ramsay, london
"thank you for a great dinner"

mr and mrs schwartz, texas
"what a lovely Inn. both the hospitality and the service were exquisite, as are the surroundings. we look forward to spending more time with you. thanks kindly."

jonathan meades
"...a wonderful stay and great hospitality"