Member Article

Rockliffe Hall appoints new manager

England’s best hotel* has appointed a highly-regarded restaurant manager to its team. Olivier Bonte, originally from Lille in northern France, will be responsible for managing all aspects of Rockliffe Hall’s 18thCentury Old Hall, which includes The Orangery fine dining, afternoon teas and breakfasts.

Olivier trained extensively in his native France and moved to the UK nine years ago.

Since then, he has taken on a variety of high level roles at prominent locations including Swinton Park in North Yorkshire, the Black Swan in Helmsley and the two Michelin-starred Midsummer House restaurant in Cambridge.

One of Olivier’s key roles at Rockliffe Hall will be managing The Orangery which has become the most highly-accredited restaurant in the North East, just two years after opening. Olivier will be working alongside Rockliffe Hall’s director of food, Kenny Atkinson, in the fine-dining restaurant which offers a variety of tasting menus showcasing dishes and produce from around the North East.

The Orangery was awarded three AA rosettes just nine months after opening and has fast gained its reputation as the highest quality fine-dining restaurant in the North of England. Kenny works closely with North East and Yorkshire suppliers for produce for his tasting menus in The Orangery which include a variety of regional dishes, including Neasham beef, North East coast mackerel, Yorkshire rabbit and North East scallops.

Speaking about his new role, Olivier Bonte, said: “Rockliffe Hall has an outstanding reputation all over the UK and it is a huge responsibility to take on such a prominent role working alongside Kenny Atkinson and the team. I’ll be using my experience- gained both in the UK and France- to enhance procedures and the customer experience as well as managing the team.”

Kenny Atkinson added: “Olivier has been trained to the highest level in France where they place great importance, like we do at Rockliffe Hall, on exceptional service standards. He’ll be a real asset to our team who cannot only learn from his work, but share their skills too, to offer a truly outstanding dining experience for our customers.”

The Orangery is open Tuesday to Saturday to residents and non-residents. Afternoon tea is served in the Old Hall daily from 2.30pm-5pm.

*VisitEngland Gold Award May 2012

For more information go to [http://www.rockliffehall.com/](https://62.252.219.61/owa/redir.aspx?C=169b4b4fbd1e411188478b1833139d7f&URL=http://www.rockliffehall.com/? target=)

For general enquiries telephone 01325 729 999

ENDS

About Rockliffe Hall

• Opened in November 2009, Rockliffe Hallis an AA-rated 5* leisure resort set within 375 acres on the banks of the River Tees just outside the village of Hurworth, County Durham.
• Rockliffe Hall offers 61 spacious guestrooms and suites; two bars; three restaurants including the flagship triple AA Rosette restaurant ‘Kenny Atkinson at The Orangery’, the ‘Brasserie by Atkinson’ and the Clubhouse; 12 meeting and event rooms; an 18-hole championship golf course; and a 50,000 square foot, award-winning spa and wellness centre offering luxurious treatments and a 20 metre indoor swimming pool.
• Rockliffe Hall is five minutes from Darlington Railway Station and Durham-Tees Valley Airport.
• It is a two and a half hour train journey to London and two hours by train to Edinburgh.
• The historic city of Durham is on the doorstep, as are Newcastle, York, Leeds and the Yorkshire Dales.
• Newcastle International Airport is an hour away.

Awards and Accolades for Rockliffe Hall

May 2012- VisitEngland Large Hotel of the Year, Gold Award

January 2012- placed second in the list of the UK’s most luxurious hotel destinations by popular review website, TripAdvisor. Only the Dorchester Hotel on London’s Park Lane finished higher, with Rockliffe Hall beating the likes of The Ritz and Claridge’s. In addition, TripAdvisor’s ‘Travellers Choice Awards’ placed Rockliffe Hall as the fifth most luxurious venue in Europe and ninth in its round up of the world’s most luxurious hotel destinations.

January 2012- Taste Durham Highest Quality Assured and Local Produce Champion for The Brasserie by Atkinson

2011- Large Hotel of the Year at the North East Tourism Awards.

Liz Holmes, Rockliffe Hall Spa Director- Hotel Cateys’ Spa Professional of the Year 2011

Condé Nast Johansens Excellence Award Finalist 2012

Laterooms.com Best Kept Secret Spa 2011

Gold Business Tourism Award

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Anna Addison .