A LAKE District restaurant is sure to bring top-class cooking to the public when it reopens next month after reclaiming Michelin-star status.

The Forest Side on the outskirts of Grasmere serves ‘modern British’ cuisine with the majority of ingredients grown in its 44-acre grounds.

General manager Alasdair Elwick said the team at the hotel and restaurant was ‘delighted’ by news of the Michelin star.

“We don’t come to work for a Michelin star, we come for the guests, and just to get some sort of recognition for what you’re doing is fantastic,” he said.

“It’s an amalgamation of everything. You’re looking at the setting, the food, the delivery.”

Mr Elwick, 35, said the restaurant placed an emphasis on local produce - which includes 40 different varieties of apple being grown on-site.

“We’ve got 160 raised beds where we grow our own vegetables,” said Mr Elwick.

“We try to be really sustainable. We’re completely honest to ourselves and honest to the product.”

The Forest Side held a Michelin star under former head chef Kevin Tickle.

Current head chef Paul Leonard joined around one-and-a-half years ago. Mr Leonard was previously at The Devonshire Arms on the Bolton Abbey estate in North Yorkshire.

“When a chef leaves, you have to start the process again, because obviously it’s new food, a new team,” said Mr Elwick.

“Paul’s absolutely superb in terms of his skill set, his ethos, he’s a really nice bloke.

“His ethos is very much showcasing the ingredients for themselves, letting the best produce speak for itself without over-complicating it.”

Mr Leonard said: “Being awarded a Michelin star in this current time is fantastic and I’d like to thank the whole team.

“My team and I have worked tirelessly in the kitchen, creating imaginative dishes using food from the garden and landscape around Forest Side and it is an honour to be recognised by the most prestigious food awards in the world.”

The Forest Side will reopen on May 17 when national lockdown restrictions are further eased.

Mr Elwick said the summer was set to be ‘insanely busy’ with bookings.