The first rosette for 2017 will be going to a restaurant based in Devon. Gidleigh Park will be the first restaurant to receive the AA multi rosettes which are awarded twice in every year i.e. in January and September. 12 months ago, Chef Michael Wignall came to the restaurant and this has played a key role in the stellar performance.
The commercial manager at AA Hotel Services, Alistair Sandall stated that although traditionally awarding of the five rosettes is a part of the hospitality awards that they hold in September, the decided not to delay until then. He singled out Michael Wignall for praise and said that he brought to Gidleigh Park his style and excellent skills which are what made the restaurant worth of the award.
For a restaurant to be awarded three AA Rosettes, it has to be an outstanding restaurant that performs to a standard that is far beyond the local and worthy of national recognition.
The Rosette Scheme was created to celebrate excellent cooking at various levels in the UK. To achieve a Rosette, one has to pass a number of tests during a visit by an AA inspector. Various aspects of the hotel/restaurant are assessed during the visit including the meal itself and ancillary items. Only 10% of restaurants in the UK have achieved one or more rosettes.
A restaurant that has one rosette is outstanding in the local area. In the AA restaurant guide, roughly 50% of the entries have one Rosette. 2 Rosettes are awarded to restaurants that have achieved a higher standard and have shown more consistency. Restaurants with 2 Rosettes make up 50% of the entries in the guide. 3 Rosettes are reserved for the very best restaurants that deserve to be recognised at a national level. These are restaurants that have focussed not just on the food but the finer elements such as a good wine list and intuitive service.
For a restaurant to achieve four rosettes, it will not only be one demanding national recognition but one with a lot of ambition and desire to do better. It must have a remarkably high consistency. Very few restaurants in the country have four AA Rosettes. A restaurant with 5 rosettes is one that compares with the very best in the world. These are restaurants that have stood out and have achieved standards that others are yet to reach.