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10
Feb
Rudding Park restaurant awarded first Michelin star
Rudding Park’s immersive dining restaurant has been awarded its first Michelin star.
Fifty Two, based in five upcycled shipping containers at the Harrogate hotel, was one of 20 restaurants given their first Michelin star at the Michelin Guide Ceremony in Dublin last night (February 9).
The restaurant, which was inspired by the on-site kitchen garden, opened in May 2024 and is led by head chef Adam Degg, who featured on BBC One's Great British Menu shortly before the venue opened.
The Michelin Guide describes the restaurant as a “theatrical platform” for Mr Degg and his cooking. It adds:
Degg makes excellent use of preserved ingredients and each element on the plate shines through with great clarity of flavour.
Fifty Two at Rudding Park
The award makes Fifty Two Harrogate’s only Michelin-starred restaurant – and the second in the Harrogate district, alongside Shaun Rankin at Grantley Hall.
Mr Degg said the award “honestly means the world to us”.
He added:
When we opened FIFTY TWO in 2024, the goal was to create something genuine, fun and rooted in the incredible produce we grow right here at Rudding Park.
So much of what we do starts in the kitchen garden, and I have to give huge credit to Emma, our head kitchen gardener, whose work shapes every dish we serve. I’m incredibly proud of our small but mighty team; this recognition is a reflection of their energy, creativity and belief in what we’re building.
I’m also deeply grateful to the Mackaness family for trusting me with this project and giving me the freedom to create my dream restaurant. To have Michelin recognise our approach is an amazing feeling, and we’re just getting started.
Adam Degg, Head Chef and Host FIFTY TWO and Emma Pugh, Head Kitchen Gardener
Mr Degg was formerly head chef at Rudding Park’s Horto restaurant, but he began his culinary career in Birmingham.
He later moved to London to work at Wild Honey, Chiltern Firehouse and the two Michelin-starred pub The Hand and Flowers.
Fifty Two seats up to 20 people at a time and all guests are seated to face Mr Degg and his five colleagues in the open kitchen.
Rudding Park said the team “cook, chat and curate the soundtrack for the evening – including Dessert Island Discs, where guests are invited to request a track for the Fifty Two playlist”.
As he told the Stray Ferret when Fifty Two opened, Mr Degg today said on social media: “the best parties happen in the kitchen”.
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