Forest Side awarded four AA rosettes for culinary excellence
Cumbria’s Forest Side has been awarded four AA Rosettes for culinary excellence. Achieving four rosettes is no mean feat, ranking the Michelin starred Forest Side among the top restaurants in the UK. Only ten restaurants were found deserving of the accolade at this year’s awards, which took place at London’s Grosvenor Hotel on Monday 25th September.
During the build up to the awards, a panel of judges spent twelve months travelling the country, putting the UK’s top establishments through their paces, subject to rigorous criteria. The AA has been awarding Rosettes to restaurants since 1956, with the top award of five rosettes being introduced in 1991.
According to the AA, these restaurants demand national recognition, exhibiting intense ambition, a passion for excellence, superb technical skills, and remarkable consistency, combining appreciation of culinary traditions with a passionate desire for further exploration and improvement.
Forest Side has become renowned for its commitment to Cumbrian terroir, under head chef Kevin Tickle, former chief forager at L’Enclume. Kevin recently spearheaded a campaign to revive little known delicacy, the Windermere Charr, a fish which has been found in the lake since the Ice Age and is enjoying a resurgence due to sustainable fishing practice.
Speaking about the rosettes win, Kevin Tickle said: ‘This is a total team effort, everyone has played a significant part in this achievement. We are over the moon and celebrated in fine style last night. This year has been amazing, but there is still loads more for us to achieve, which means we’ll get our heads down and push even harder in the coming months