1 Michelin Star Chefs: Adam Smith, executive chef, Coworth Park

Adam Smith is the executive chef at Dorchester Collection's one Michelin-starred Coworth Park in Ascot.

In his role as executive chef, Adam Smith oversees the food operations across all three Coworth Park restaurants, as well as the room service and events catering.

Biography

Birmingham-born Adam Smith fell in love with the kitchen at the tender age of 13, when he had a part-time job as a pot wash at a local restaurant. It was after that that he decided to go to catering college, where, in his words, he "managed just a year" before the itch to go into the industry was too strong to contain. 

Adam’s professional career began in 2004 at The Ritz London. At just 17 years old, he worked his way up from second commis to executive sous chef over the course of 9 years. To this day, Adam cites executive chef John Williams MBE as his biggest inspiration.

In both 2007 and 2009, Adam represented the UK at the Bocuse d'Or. He was also the winner of the Roux Scholarship in 2012.

In 2013, Adam moved to The Devonshire Arms, Bolton Abbey as the head chef. During his time there, the restaurant was awarded four AA Rosettes and won The Yorkshire Post Hotel Restaurant of the Year award. In July 2016, it was announced that he would take on the executive chef role at Coworth Park.

Adam Smith  John Williams MBE's Words

After he won The Roux Scholarship  John Williams MBE said of Adam that he is “very much a wise, head-on young shoulders gentleman with great skills in his cooking.

"Looking back through history with respect enables him to move forward with his modern approach to cooking skills. He is a leader by example which is what every great chef should be, he has a great desire to learn and develop his style of cookery."

Coworth Park

Coworth Park is a luxury hotel and spa in Ascot, with several buildings spread across 240 acres, including the original late 18^th- century mansion house.

It is owned by the Dorchester Collection and is the only hotel in the UK that has its own polo grounds.

The hotel has three restaurants: Restaurant Coworth Park, The Barn and The Drawing Room. In his role as executive chef, Adam Smith oversees food operations across all three.

Restaurant Coworth Park is in the Mansion House. It has elegant décor, French doors and a rose terrace on which guests can enjoy views of the grounds. There are also three private dining areas available, separate from the main restaurant. It was awarded a star in the Michelin Guide UK 2018, just over a year after Adam joined the team.

 Food Style

Adam’s food style is modern, British and seasonal, heavily influenced by the ingredients grown in-house on the Coworth estate. His mantra is ‘taste is king’, as stated in an interview on the hotel’s website and he cites the Exmoor caviar tart with Cornish crab, yuzu and cucumber as an example of this.

Restaurant Coworth Park offers a variety of daytime and evening menus, including a ‘Best of British’ lunch and dinner menu and a separate menu for children. A four course dinner menu is priced at £110 per person.

Videos with Adam Smith: