however, we now feel the time is right to bring in a more permanent team to take the restaurant onto new levels. The Pass has always been about providing excellence and fabulous dining experiences, and we believe Ben is the Chef to deliver this for the longer term. Having held a Michelin Star at The Cottage in the Wood in Keswick, along with being listed at number 24 in the UK Top 100 Restaurants list 2021, Ben demonstrates the quality of menu he can bring to South Lodge. The Lake District has fabulous local produce, but we also know that Sussex has too, so we are very excited by what he can bring to the table for our guests.”
His career before The Cottage
Ben joined the team at The Cottage in the Woods originally in a temporary capacity to fill in for a sous chef who was due to start a fortnight later. However, after that chef never showed up, he took the role permanently and in May of 2018 was made head chef after Rich Collingwood, the former head chef left.
It was only a year later that the restaurant achieved its first Michelin star.
Before that ben's first head chef role was at a four-star country hotel in Derbyshire, which earned 3 AA Rosettes under his tenure. During his career, Ben has worked at Windows at The Hilton Park Lane in London, as well as working in the Netherlands at Savelberg, a boutique hotel restaurant in the Hague.
Along with that, he has worked at Holbeck Ghyll in Windemere for 2 years, followed by a year at Daniel Clifford's Midsummer House before returning to Holbeck for another year.
