17 restaurants awarded three AA rosettes

15 January 2009 by Kerstin Kühn

The AA will today (15 January) announce the latest additions to its restaurant awards, with 17 establishments being honoured with three AA rosettes, and one being awarded four.

Caterersearch can reveal that Michael Wignall's the Latymer at Pennyhill Park in Bagshot, Surrey, is the latest addition to the ranks of four-AA-rosette holders.

Best known for his five-year stint as executive chef at the Devonshire Arms hotel in Yorkshire, where he held four rosettes and a Michelin star, Wignall joined Pennyhill Park at the end of 2007. The AA praised the Latymer for its consistency as well as its innovative and skilful modern cooking.

Wignall told Caterer he was thrilled to have won the award. "It's an honour to have gained four rosettes in such a short space of time, and it's great for everyone on the team to have been recognised in this way," he said.

An additional 17 restaurants have been awarded three AA rosettes. The winners, which include both new and existing establishments across the UK, were praised by the AA for their "high standards".

Additions to the three-AA-rosette holders include newcomers such as Hélène Darroze at the Connaught Corrigan's Mayfair and Angela Hartnett's Murano as well as established restaurants including Galvin at Windows and Roussillon, all in London.

Outside the capital, Purnell's in Birmingham the Crown at Celtic Manor in Newport, South Wales and the Abbey in Cornwall have been recognised with the award.

Giovanna Grossi, the AA's hotel services group area manager, said: "Restaurants serving food of a three-rosette standard are worthy of recognition from well beyond their local area, while four-rosette-awarded restaurants exhibit culinary skills that demand national recognition."

Wagamama creator Alan Yau's Hakkasan in London was demoted from three AA-Rosettes to two in the new guide, as was Fredrick's hotel in Maidenhead, Berkshire.

Three-AA-rosette winners