Getaway To Goodwood, And Not A Horse In Sight!
If someone says Goodwood to you, you’ll probably think of cars. Loud, fast ones at the Festival of Speed, or pretty vintage ones at Goodwood Revival. You might think of horses. You may even think of organic farming. What you probably won’t think of Goodwood as is an easy escape for a relaxing weekend away. All with the added bonus of a possible day at the races, a cheeky visit to the spa, and a great restaurant right there in the grounds.
I’ve visited Goodwood a few times, checked out its farming operation and the idea behind its restaurant Farmer, Butcher, Chef, seen the races, and had a rather lovely day each time. But this time I was visiting for an overnight stay during the Festival of Food and Racing, taking in all the estate has to offer. Home of the Dukes of Richmond for more than 300 years, it’s a fairly historic place and as well as its racecourse, farm, aerodrome and racing circuit, is also home to an historic art collection.
Home for the night was the Goodwood Hotel, a four-star hotel tucked in the heart of the 12,000-acre estate. Once a former 18th Century coaching inn, it has been added to, forming a sprawling building that houses two restaurants – the Goodwood Bar & Grill and year-old Farmer, Butcher, Chef, plus a spa and conference facilities.
Signature rooms are modern yet still rustic and homely, with plenty to remind you of the hotel and estate’s heritage. Comfy throws on the bed, a few books to leaf through on the window sill and an aeroplane ornament nodding to the aerodrome nearby. There’s everything you’d expect from a decent hotel, including robes, nice toiletries, tea and coffee-making facilities, and flatscreen TV, as well as lovely added touch of a handwritten note and some Montezuma chocolates to snaffle later.
A wander round the hotel revealed the rather tempting spa complete with sauna, steam room, pool and jacuzzi.
Goodwood’s annual three-day Festival of Food and Racing is a race meet that includes a mini food festival complete with farmers’ market, demonstrations, drinks tents and plenty to keep you occupied between the races.
Bets placed, we took in the festival, catching snippets of demonstrations from chefs including Masterchef: The Professionals winner Steven Edwards, The Ritz’s John Williams and Goodwood’s own Darron Bunn, as well as sampling our way around the farmers’ market that offered everything from local biltong to cheese, liqueur and smoked trout. We may have been empty-handed from our bets but thanks to the festival we came away laden with plenty of food purchases as souvenirs of our day.
Back at the Goodwood Hotel we tried out the cosy bar before dinner at Farmer, Butcher, Chef. As its name suggests, the restaurant’s concept is that Home Farm’s farmer gets together with the estate’s butcher (it has its own butchery) and the restaurant’s chef to discuss what meat they’re about to butcher, and they then tailor the menu accordingly. They also hate waste, so they use pretty much all of the animal, bringing the menu everything from steak to tongue. It’s the true meaning of field to fork and gives you the chance to try the product of years of organic farming at Goodwood.
The restaurant is a kind of rustic-chic, with plenty of wood, a bit of an industrial feel, and the addition of a great big cow as you walk in. We began with starters of Red Sussex beef tartare served with dripping toast and smoked egg yolk and crispy oysters with beetroot, tarragon and fennel salami – the former a showcase of Home Farm’s ingredients in stunning simplicity and the latter with a slightly more exotic feel.
For our main course we couldn’t resist one of the Butcher’s Boards and after much deliberation, opted for beef. A feast of food that requires its own additional little table – always a winner. The main event was treacle-cured beef fillet wellington, while alongside came crispy shin (one of those examples of using the whole beast), glazed peppered brisket, beef dripping potato, pickled ox tongue and little gem salad. The wellington, as one might expect, was the highlight from its pink, tender heart of fillet right through to the light, crispy pastry without a hint of sogginess. The little gem salad was another hit for me, bringing plenty of spring colours and freshness to counteract the rich meat. We couldn’t help but order extra beef dripping chips with garlic salt. I’m not sure why as the beef dripping potato was plenty, and delicious, but they also quickly disappeared.
For dessert we opted to share, choosing the pear, chocolate and pistachio tart which itself was another coup. No simple pastry case filled with pear and chocolate here. A pistachio base with what looked like a chocolate-coated pair perched on top, which turned out to be pear mousse, shaped into a pear shape, then coated in chocolate. Imaginative, simple, yet perfectly executed.
Suitably sated we fell in to our bed, ordering breakfast to our room for the morning to ensure as much relaxation as possible, for a night’s peaceful slumber in the Sussex Downs. The next morning, we took full advantage of the spa, taking in a dip in the jacuzzi and a quick steam with a few token lengths to alleviate the guilt of the previous night’s meat-fest. Not for long, we’d ordered a rather sumptuous breakfast for our room. Granola, fruit, toast, pastries, smoked salmon and scrambled eggs for me and a full English for my husband. All rather lovely, and nice to enjoy it in the relaxed surroundings of our room.
Before we knew it, our time was up and it was time to go. We left feeling like there’s far more we could have done at Goodwood – a wander through some of the estate’s stunning scenery, sightseeing at nearby attractions, another day at the festival of food and racing, more spa time, or even just a chill in the cosy bar or our room. The Goodwood Hotel is definitely a place to escape from it all, whether you want action, the great outdoors, luxury or just a good sleep and a nice meal. It really does have it all.
