La Bécasse
52°22′13″N 2°43′08″W / 52.3702°N 2.7190°W La Bécasse was a gourmet restaurant located in Ludlow, Shropshire, England.
Establishment[edit]
Chef Patron Alan Murchison opened the restaurant in 2007.[1][2] The French word bécasse means woodcock[3] but in connection with Guy de Maupassant's "Tales of the Woodcock" (1883) has usually been translated "Tales of the Goose."[4]
Within four months of launching, La Bécasse was voted "Best Fine Dining Restaurant" in the West Midlands by the Metro.[5] Will Holland, head chef, featured on BBC1 television's Saturday Kitchen in summer 2009, as well as MasterChef: The Professionals in 2010.
The restaurant had one Michelin star in the Michelin Guide and 3 AA rosettes.[6] It was first given a Michelin star in January 2009.
Recent history[edit]
Will Holland left the restaurant in September 2013[7] just weeks before the business went into voluntary liquidation.[8] It was immediately resurrected by a newly formed company called Ludlow Restaurants Limited and the restaurant ran as before.[9] It was however un-rated by the AA[6] and no longer had its previously-held Michelin rating.
Closure[edit]
In January 2015 the restaurant went into liquidation for a second time and closed for good.[7]
Elsewhere in Ludlow[edit]
Ludlow had one remaining Michelin-starred establishment — Mr Underhills which shut in December 2015.[10] (The town had at one point boasted three Michelin-starred establishments, but all are now gone.)
References[edit]
- ^ "La Bécasse web site". Labecasse.co.uk.
- ^ Lonely Planet Great Britain David Else, David Atkinson, James Bainbridge - 2009 Page 513 "Artfully presented modern French cuisine bursting with inventive flavour fusions – the spectacular tasting menu is enough to make you weak at the knees. The serious business of eating is conducted within the oak-panelled and exposed brick walls of a 17th-century coach house."
- ^ Dictionnaire de l'Académie française - Volume 1 - Page 177 Académie française - 1835 "BÉCASSE, s. f. Oiseau de passage qui a le bec fort long, et qui est bon à manger. Tuer une bécasse. Faire un salmis de bécasses. Bécasses rôties. Pâté de bécasses. Prov. et fig. , Brider la bécasse, Engager adroitement quelqu'un de telle ..."
- ^ The New Encyclopædia Britannica - Volume 7 - Page 952 1998 "Maupassant, Guy de... Contes de la bécasse (1883; "Tales of the Goose")"
- ^ "Metrolife food and drink awards". Metro. UK. 10 December 2007.
- ^ a b "AA restaurant guide". Theaa.com.
- ^ a b Ludlow Advertiser Ludlow restaurant in liquidation (12 January 2015)
- ^ Ludlow Advertiser Famous Ludlow eatery goes into liquidation (6 June 2014)
- ^ Shropshire Star Future looking bright at Ludlow's La Becasse restaurant (9 June 2014)
- ^ Via Michelin Archived 22 October 2014 at the Wayback Machine Mr Underhill's at Dinham Weir