The Swan and Spelt make 2021 Michelin Guide
STAFF at The Swan and Spelt restaurants in Bampton in Devon say they are proud to have been featured in the recently published 2021 Michelin Guide (January 2021).
Michelin insisted on going ahead with the guide this year to help support the hospitality industry after it has faced difficulties during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Chef-patron Paul Berry, who co-owns The Swan and Spelt with his wife and fellow award-winning chef Donna, said: “After what has been an incredibly difficult year for the hospitality industry, we’re staggered and delighted that both of our restaurants have been featured in the guide.
“We are among some great company in the guide. Spelt only opened in September 2019, so is still relatively new, and has been hugely affected by restrictions, so it is heartwarming for us and all the staff, and their hard work, to have been recognised.
“We’d like to say a huge ‘thank you’ to our teams at both restaurants and of course, our loyal customers, who have supported massively us throughout the lockdowns and restrictions.”
The Swan, which is an AA Four Star Inn and the oldest pub in Bampton, has scooped a plethora of awards for its food including being named as one of the top 50 gastropubs in the country for the fourth year running in 2020.
The pub has recently retained its four AA Gold Stars as well as two AA Rosettes for Culinary Excellence for five years running and was named by the AA as the nation’s ‘Inn of the Year’ 2019.
The Swan was named Gold Tourism Pub of the Year 2018 at the South West Tourism Excellence Awards and was voted Best Dining Pub for 2018 in the Trencherman Awards.
Donna was also one of three finalists in the Devon Life and Trencherman Awards in 2018.
After the success of The Swan, Donna and Paul and their team had a vision to create a new concept style restaurant and launched Spelt at an old bakery shop in Bampton in September, 2019.
They started from scratch with a blank canvas and put in all the kitchen equipment, furnishings and fittings to create the restaurant. The bakery began life in the 1700s, so they came up with the name of Spelt, which is an old-fashioned grain.
Designed to appeal to all Bampton’s eclectic residents and the many tourists and visitors that visit, the restaurant has three open-plan areas each decorated slightly differently, one with a fireplace and chandelier in a reds and purples colour palette. Another is funky with retro pictures and then the middle area is clean, bright and modern.
The inspiration for Spelt came from the couple’s love of Barcelona, which they’ve visited for a number of years now.
To find out more about The Swan, please call 01398 332248 or visit www.theswan.co. To find out more about Spelt, please call 01398 331044 or visit www.speltbampton.co.uk.
