Mark Poynton launches his new Caistor Hall restaurant in Norfolk

Alex South

Alex South

Editor

Award-winning chef Mark Poynton has officially opened his new Caistor Hall restaurant in Norfolk.

Open Wednesday to Saturday, Caistor Hall is a new tasting-menu only restaurant from Mark, offering guests five or nine course menus for lunch and dinner.

The restaurant set to serve 35 covers will serve a wide range of dishes from Mark’s robust and unique offering.

Talking to The Staff Canteen about what dinners can expect from the restaurant, Mark said: "It's my style of food but it's going to be more refined than anything I've ever done. We've got a halibut dish, which is steamed with a roasted shallot puree, we have a barbecued celeriac starter with truffle vinaigrette sauce. It's quite simple classical French food with my twist on it. It's hard to describe it or pigeonhole it, I suppose. It's just beautiful, delicious food."

In the kitchen, Mark confirmed that he aims to have a team of seven chefs, including his head chef Byron Franklin who’s been with Mark for the last year at The Shepherds in Cambridge; and a front of house team made up of seven members of staff.

Mark is currently looking to hire a restaurant manager at Caistor Hall, with the chef encouraging applicants to hit him up on social media or via Caistor Hall’s website.

Before opening Caistor Hall earlier this week, Mark Poynton was the chef patron of Cambridge’s Alimentum until 2018.

Since joining the restaurant in 2009, Mark won a star for the restaurant in 2012, which he retained for five years.

Mark was also the head chef of Daniel Clifford's two-Michelin-starred Midsummer House in Cambridge.

In these challenging times…

The Staff Canteen team are taking a different approach to keeping our website independent and delivering content free from commercial influence. Our Editorial team have a critical role to play in informing and supporting our audience in a balanced way. We would never put up a paywall  – The Staff Canteen is open to all and we want to keep bringing you the content you want; more from younger chefs, more on mental health, more tips and industry knowledge, more recipes and more videos. We need your support right now, more than ever, to keep The Staff Canteen active. Without your financial contributions this would not be possible.

Over the last 16 years, The Staff Canteen has built what has become the go-to platform for chefs and hospitality professionals. As members and visitors, your daily support has made The Staff Canteen what it is today. Our features and videos from the world’s biggest name chefs are something we are proud of. We have over 560,000 followers across Facebook, X, Instagram, YouTube and other social channels, each connecting with chefs across the world. Our editorial and social media team are creating and delivering engaging content every day, to support you and the whole sector - we want to do more for you.

A single coffee is more than £2, a beer is £4.50 and a large glass of wine can be £6 or more.

Support The Staff Canteen from as little as £1 today. Thank you.

Alex South

Alex South

Editor 16th March 2023

Mark Poynton launches his new Caistor Hall restaurant in Norfolk