Feature /// Sportsman's Dinner
The William Cecil, Stamford Will and Matt feast on sumptuous food at this revitalised edge of town hotel Will I got married here five years ago just after the hotel had been renovated by Hillbrooke Hotels. I think ours was the first wedding they did, so this smart hotel on the edge of Burghley Park will always be full of happy memories. Matt My invitation must have got lost in the post then. Never mind, we're here now and the bar is a smart room with fantastic images on the walls of Lord Burghley hurdling in his Olympic heyday. It's a decent pint of Rutland bitter from the Grainstore too. In fact the whole hotel is pretty smart, but it's not too formal. The staff are friendly and conscientious and the atmosphere is laid back, but still efficient. Will Yes, I'd agree with that, it feels a bit special arriving but, as you say, it's not too formal. Anyway, back to our wedding and little known fact – Judy Murray was staying here for the whole weekend too. No, she wasn't one of our guests, although she would have been more than welcome, but now we are in the dining room I can reveal we are sat at the exact same table she occupied for breakfast on the morning after the wedding. Since then Andy has won the US Open, Wimbledon twice and Olympic gold twice so I'm not sure she would get such a quiet
weekend any more. But they have their own hotel now, so perhaps she took some inspiration from the William Cecil.
was as good as my starter, if not better. It would be hard to enjoy a plate of food any more than I just have...
Matt I think I've heard enough about your wedding now, so I'm pleased to report on my venison carpaccio (£8.95). The venison comes from Burghley Park and the hotel has its own footpath into the park so that's a nice touch. The meat was soft, tender and subtle, just as good venison should be and with perfect crispy bacon, white truffle and juicy blackberries the whole thing was superb.
Will If yours was anything like mine then I know why. I wouldn't normally bother with a Gressingham duck dish (£19.95) as they can be disappointing but our waiter was very keen to recommend it. It was served with a duck leg hash brown which tasted even better than it sounds, if that's possible. With a roasted cauliflower puree, roast beetroot and red wine sauce that was a dish to savour.
Will I don't feel so bad about ordering the last portion of king scallops now then (£9.50). They were served with roasted cauliflower, white chocolate puree and tempura courgette flower. And the whole thing was first rate. They have just been awarded a second AA rosette for culinary excellence and it's not hard to see why. And head chef Phil Kent won the Professional Game Chef of the year title in 2015, so autumn should be a cracking time to dine here.
Matt: I'm surprised we found room for pudding but sharing the affogato (vanilla ice cream with espresso poured over the top, £4.50) and the iced caramel parfait with salt crumb, raspberry compote and fresh blueberries (£7.50) was just right. What a meal.
Matt My rolled lamb with roasted vegetable gratin potato, seared sweetbread, aubergine puree and awesome red wine reduction (£24.95)
Will What a meal indeed. Now I have another happy memory of here to add to the collection.
The William Cecil St Martins, Stamford PE9 2LJ. 01780 750070. www.hillbrookehotels.co.uk/the-william-cecil
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