As winner of the Your Northumberland Guide Best Sunday Lunch award in April 2012, it seems fitting that Battlesteads pub, hotel and restaurant in Wark, near Hexham, should be among the first establishments to get behind the inaugural Northumberland Restaurant Week, taking place 18th to 24th March 2013.

Battlesteads has created a special menu for the occasion, which will be available every evening during the week and must be pre-booked. Diners can select from two and three course options and the menu contains lots of seasonal Northumbrian produce, plus interesting and unusual ingredients grown in the Battlesteads polytunnels and gardens to complement the dishes.

Battlesteads owner Richard Slade commented: “We’ve compiled a delicious and varied menu which combines the very best that Northumberland has to offer – locally sourced wild rabbit, lamb, sustainable fish and artisan cheeses, and not forgetting our very own home grown vegetables, herbs and salads.”

The special menu includes a welcome cocktail based on Fentiman’s Victorian Lemonade and wine lovers can enjoy a special wine matching package with their meal for just £15 per person. The wines will be from Battlesteads’ award-winning list of over 25 biodynamic, Fairtrade and eco varieties.

Customers wishing to ‘dine and recline’ during restaurant week can book a room at Battlesteads for the discounted price of £125 per room per night to include the three course menu and breakfast the following morning. This is based on two people sharing and is reduced from £160 per room per night. Subject to availability.

Breakfast is a traditional Northumbrian platter with homemade black pudding and sausages from Wark Village Butchers.

Richard continued: “We’re delighted that Your Northumberland Guide has taken the initiative to create what is going to be a brilliant showcase for the region; an opportunity to promote local suppliers and highlight the talented chefs we have right here on our doorstep.

“Of course, it’s also great for customers! They’ll be spoilt for choice as they’re faced with a wealth of fabulous food offerings at discounted prices in some of the county’s top establishments. What’s not to love?!”

Further information and bookings can be made by contacting Battlesteads on 01434 230 209 or info@battlesteads.com

Weight loss equals money gain for Tynedale Hospice as 75 slimmers raised £1,000 at a charity dinner held at Battlesteads Hotel and Restaurant in Wark on Tyne.

The slimmers are members of the Hexham Slimming World Group and they enjoyed an evening of delicious low calorie food – all made using Slimming World-inspired recipes – great company, a bumper raffle and the odd cheeky glass of wine!

The dinner was masterminded by Battlesteads owner Dee Slade and assistant general manager Katie Meyrick, who between them have lost five and a half stone by following the Slimming World programme. Dee worked closely with Sarah Hollows, who runs the Hexham Slimming World Group, to plan the menus and format for the evening – and Sarah gathered a fantastic set of raffle prizes.

As a result of Dee and Katie’s success and to help other slimmers maintain their weight loss, Battlesteads will soon be introducing starters, mains and desserts to its menus based on popular Slimming World recipes. They will also display the ‘syn’ values of each dish.

Sarah commented: “It was such a treat to be able to go to a lovely restaurant and be among friends whilst knowing that everything we chose to eat that night was allowable on our eating plan.

“Now that Slimming World dishes will be commonplace on the Battlesteads menu, I’m sure we’ll all be back for more!!”

For more details phone 01434 230 209 or visit www.battlesteads.com

Battlesteads pub, hotel and restaurant in Wark, near Hexham in Northumberland, has been declared the UK’s Considerate Hotel of the Year 2010/11 by the Considerate Hoteliers Association (CHA).

The coveted national awards celebrate the best in environmental, sustainable and socially responsible performance and are open to all UK hotels and small accommodation providers.

Beating off competition from nine other UK hotels, including some of the largest and most high end operators and groups, Battlesteads received the CHA’s highest accolade, sponsored by Gilchrist & Soames, for being the best ‘all-rounder’ establishment considered to have succeeded in a wide range of environmental and social initiatives.

The judges commented: “Battlesteads provided an outstanding entry and is a very worthy winner. They have tackled difficult issues such as waste and energy use, and addressed many areas of their business in their mission to improve their sustainability. Their entry described some really innovative approaches – such as channelling waste heat into a polytunnel used to grow crops for the restaurant.
 
“Richard and Dee Slade investigate the sustainability of their suppliers and really promote to their guests what they’re doing by, for example, giving tours of the biomass boiler! They also spread the word to the wider community by, for instance, assisting the local primary school children with their allotment.”
 
Renowned hospitality industry environmental and food safety consultant, CHA Ambassador and leading member of the 2010/11 CHA awards panel of judges, Professor John Forte OBE added: “Of the many worthy contenders for this title, we chose a business that has demonstrated over the past three years a steady progress on sustainable environmental improvements across the board.

“Richard and Dee Slade have recognised that there are many sustainable improvements that still need to be made and have a positive, realistic and achievable programme to work towards achieving their end goals. Personally, I was particularly taken with the element of fun that they have injected into their endeavours and their obvious enthusiasm for what they do and have achieved.”

To mark the achievement, Battlesteads owners Richard and Dee Slade attended a ceremony at The Savoy in London where they received an inscribed Dartington Crystal decanter to add to their impressive collection of prestigious trophies.