Shropshire chef caps first year at restaurant with award
A chef has capped his first year at one of Shropshire's most prestigious restaurants by winning a highly-prized national award.
Chris O'Halloran, who is head chef at La Becasse in Ludlow, won the Best European Restaurant in England and Wales at the Creative Oceanic Awards, in Manchester.
He beat some of the UK's biggest restaurants to the title, including The French, in Manchester, which is run by two Michelin-star chef Simon Rogan and which was also the subject of a BBC 2 three-part documentary.
Today Mr O'Halloran said he was delighted to be named number one.
He said: "The award is based on customer votes, which makes it particularly satisfying. Our intention is always to provide the very best for the people who dine here at La Becasse so to have inspired them to vote for us is great news.
"We were the dark horses in our category because we were up against some of the biggest restaurants in the UK. Winning the award shows what we're capable of and it's a real feather in our cap to win an award within 12 months."
Mr O'Halloran added that he was driven to bring standards to a new high at La Becasse.
He said: "In the past year, we've restored our rating in the Michelin Guide and we are pushing hard to win a Michelin star. We've won high praise from a number of very good guide books and things are moving in the right direction.
"We've got a great team of staff here and we're really pushing to improve."
La Becasse has previously showcased the food of two Michelin starred-chefs and Mr O'Halloran said he was pleased to be carving out a reputation in his own right.
