FROM 17th place behind the local chippy on Trip Advisor to a Michelin-starred restaurant – that’s the aim of the new team in charge of a hotel near Carlisle.

Farlam Hall, at Hallbankgate, near Brampton, was on the market for five years before finally being taken over last year, and with an extensive refurbishment programme, the new owners and managers are aiming high.

And while the 17th place for the restaurant on TripAdvisor was due it only having one review – the goal for the team is to add to the growing list of Michelin stars in Cumbria.

“It was known as a place where you came to stay that served good food, and it did. On TripAdvisor we were rated right at the top for hotels, but there was only one review as a restaurant, so we were 17th after the chippy!” said general manager Peter Hall.

The restaurant has been given its own identity – The Cedar Tree, after a 150-year-old tree in the grounds – and an A La Carte menu using mostly local produce. The restaurant will even have its own website, as well as being on the hotel website.

“We have a five year plan and the aim is, in a phrase, to be the best hotel in the north of England. That is the ambition, the dream. That means going forward on two fronts, one is the quality of the hotel, and the other is the food,” said Peter.

The Cedar Tree restaurant was launched with a new executive chief, Steven Pott, who had been head chef at Penrith’s Dockray Hall and the George and Dragon at Clifton, Penrith. The restaurant also has head chef Matt Jefferson and patisserie chef Mel Dixon.

“The food is going very well. We are due to be inspected by the AA. At the moment we have three red stars from the AA, which I understand to mean that we qualify for three stars but for our food we are better than that,” said Peter.

“Cumbria is a good area for home grown produce. We buy most of our produce from the surrounding area in about a 10 mile radius. We have got farms all around, so we have regular conversations with them.”

With that in mind, the dinner menu this week included a starter of Cumbrian partridge, haggis, neeps and tatties, douglas fir and whiskey. The main courses included Galloway venison, swede, carrot, mushroom, cabbage, lovage and juniper.

There were also a number of tasty-sounding deserts included blood orange and chocolate ganache, pistachio and coco nib.

And Peter is leaving no stone unturned in the quest to improve the restaurant’s status, with everything from the hotel’s own branded cutlery to background music while diners eat. He is also hoping to have a hotel-branded gin to serve.

The music – currently a jazz selection – is part of a drive shared by a number of restaurants, to provide a more ‘relaxed, informal’ atmosphere than existed in days gone by.

The story behind the takeover of the hotel is a fascinating one. It had been owned by the Quinion family for many years. When it was put up for sale, Peter Hall and wife Bb had looked into buying it. They had been running a hotel in the Midlands for nearly 30 years, but the lease had been sold to another party.

They drew-up a five-year plan for the business, but didn’t end up buying Farlam Hall. Regular visitors from America, Joe Walter and Kathy Mares, who had been coming to stay in the hotel for around 30 years, did buy it though, and asked Peter and Bb to run it as general managers.

“They wanted to buy it but only if they could find the right people to run it. We gave them our five year plan, and on April 18 last year took over. It has been a very long process!” said Peter.

“We started off with the restaurant. It used to be dark, with blue and gold wallpaper, and from there we did the back lounge. We have put in a full central heating system all run off a biomass boiler. The whole hotel is warm now.”

The hotel shut for three weeks while the entrance hall was revamped, and the hotel’s 12 bedrooms are now being refurbished.

“It had a reputation as a place people went to for special occasions, and it has been that way for many years,” said Peter.

“We are a regular stopping off point for people from the south of England who are going up to Skye and other areas because we are about half way, so we have got a regular group of visitors.”

n Go to www.farlamhall.co.uk