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May 2024

Last Updated: 29/05/2024

Lifestyle

Meet the chef behind Harrogate’s new fine dining restaurant ahead of today's launch

by John Plummer

| 16 May, 2024

The plaque outside 3 Victoria Avenue

According to chef Adam Degg, ‘the best parties happen in the kitchen’.

Perhaps that feels like a relatively light-hearted concept to use as a foundation for a restaurant in one of Yorkshire’s most prestigious hotels – but tell that to the team behind Rudding Park’s Fifty Two.

The brand-new restaurant will open today, Thursday, May 16, and ahead of the first service, the Stray Ferret spoke to head chef Adam Degg, to find out more about the immersive dining experience.

From happy accident to successful career

Telford-born Adam’s first experience in a commercial kitchen was less of a planned occasion and more of a chance encounter; a missed bus meant that at age 16 he found himself washing dishes in a friend’s family restaurant until they could give him a lift home.

He said:

"I guess you could say it all started there. I got to witness first-hand the way a kitchen operates behind the scenes, and I loved the whole experience and the buzz."

The hustle and bustle of restaurant life stayed with Adam, and he went onto pursue a career in food, first studying at University College Birmingham before taking up a job at a hotel. He then made the move to London where he worked at Anthony Demetre’s Wild Honey.

After a stint at Chiltern Firehouse, he joined Tom Kerridge's kitchen at The Hand and Flowers, the only pub in the UK with two Michelin stars. He was then part of the hospitality team that was awarded a Michelin star at The Coach in Marlow.

When he moved to Yorkshire with his then-fiancé, now wife, and young son, he joined Rudding Park, as head chef of its restaurant Horto, which with Adam at the helm, was recognised with 3 AA Rosette awards and a Michelin Green star for sustainability.

This year saw him reunited with his former boss, albeit in a different setting – Adam was a contestant on the BBC One show Great British Menu, on which Tom Kerridge is part of the judging panel.

Speaking about his time on the show, Adam said:

"Great British Menu is the chef’s programme – I know a lot of us watch to see what’s new, what innovations the chefs can bring, and how they can push concepts to make them different.

"I might not have done as well as I’d have liked but it was amazing and intense. Without doubt, it’s the single most exciting and terrifying experience of my career to date."

A new concept

Rudding Park boasts an impressive kitchen garden from which Horto already takes inspiration, but Adam wanted to take this one step further and incorporate the garden as an interactive part of the whole dining experience.

So named after the 52 raised oak beds growing herbs, vegetables and other produce in Rudding Park’s grounds, the name is a good indication of the restaurant’s commitment to the 'farm to fork' concept that has become increasingly popular in the culinary world.

Adam explained:

"From concept to launch, it’s been about a year-and-a-half in the making and has been a massive team effort. There’s been lots of discussions about how to bring the vision to life.

"Guests will enter the kitchen garden first, get to mingle with drinks and food and be amongst the produce that could have inspired their meal, before heading through to the restaurant.”

The theme of an interconnecting inside-outside space is carried through the venue which comprises of five shipping containers, with a large, open-plan dining area and a seven-foot kitchen island that diners can be seated at.

The 10-course menu will change depending on the ingredients available, with an emphasis on locally sourced produce and unique dishes, led by seasonal trends. Aside from dietary requirement requests, guests won’t know what they’re being served ahead of time.

Adam explained:

"For example, I’ve got a contact for fresh fish who will tell me every morning what’s been caught, and we’ll create a dish from that. It’s exciting and keeps our offering dynamic and interesting.”

Adam and the team are keen for Fifty Two to retain the same sense of flexibility and imagination in their service and ambience of the restaurant. Instead of a place of 'reverence for the food', they’re instead striving for a buzzing atmosphere, akin to 'a dinner party with friends'.

He explained:

"We always say, the best parties happen in the kitchen. We don’t want it to be a temple of gastronomy that’s silent – it should be a celebration of food. We want a raucous, lively atmosphere."

'Putting their trust in us to deliver a dining experience'

Given Adam’s track record, it’s natural to assume that he’ll be aiming high with Fifty Two and pushing for the prestigious awards that he’s achieved in the past. And while he doesn’t deny that professional recognition wouldn’t go amiss, he’s determined that he and team don’t become too single-minded about garnering only industry accolades.

"Any chef who says they don’t even think about the possibility of awards are lying to themselves. And of course, it’s amazing to achieve industry recognition - but we’re still doing it for the customers.

"They’re putting their trust in us to deliver a dining experience, and that’s exactly what we want to do."

More immediately however, Adam is focused on the imminent opening night of Fifty Two.

He added:

"We’ve got a fantastic and talented team here. My sous chef Adam Jones is great and I’m grateful to have him – I always joke that good sous chefs are hard to keep because they’re so good that they move on to become head chef somewhere else – as they should. So, you’re lucky to have them for as long as you can.

"We’re all excited to get started and to see where we can go with Fifty Two."

Fifty Two at Rudding Park Hotel will open on Thursday, May 16.

Our food columnist Yemi will be reviewing Fifty Two soon. Keep an eye out for her feature, which is published every Saturday.

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