La Bécasse

Coordinates: 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

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

Will Holland left the restaurant in September 2013.[7] In June 2014 the company which ran the restaurant business went into voluntary liquidation.[8] It was immediately taken over by a new company called Ludlow Restaurants Limited and the restaurant continued to be run as before.[9] It was however un-rated by the AA[6] and no longer had its previously-held Michelin rating.

Closure

In January 2015 the company that ran the restaurant went into liquidation and the restaurant is, as of January 2015, closed.[7]

Elsewhere in Ludlow

Ludlow currently has one Michelin starred establishment — Mr Underhills.[10] (The town had at one point three such establishments.)

References

  1. ↑ "La Bécasse web site". Labecasse.co.uk.
  2. ↑ 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."
  3. ↑ 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 ..."
  4. ↑ The New Encyclopaedia Britannica - Volume 7 - Page 952 1998 "Maupassant, Guy de... Contes de la bécasse (1883; “Tales of the Goose”)"
  5. ↑ "Metrolife food and drink awards". Metro.co.uk. 10 December 2007.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "AA restaurant guide". Theaa.com.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Ludlow Advertiser Ludlow restaurant in liquidation (12 January 2015)
  8. ↑ Ludlow Advertiser Famous Ludlow eatery goes into liquidation (6 June 2014)
  9. ↑ Shropshire Star Future looking bright at Ludlow's La Becasse restaurant (9 June 2014)
  10. ↑ Via Michelin Mr Underhill's At Dinham Weir

External links