Shropshire Star

New lease of life for former flagship Ludlow restaurant

One of Ludlow's former Michelin-starred restaurant will rise from the ashes under a new name.

Published

La Becasse, one of the jewels in the town's foodie crown, will re-open as Mortimers. The restaurant in Corve Street has been shut since Christmas but could welcome customers within weeks.

It will be led by local chef Wayne Smith, who worked alongside Claude Bosi at Overton Grange Hotel on the outskirts of the town.

Mr Bosi was the man who first opened Hibiscus, which was La Becasse's predecessor and earned two Michelin stars.

La Becasse shut in January, but there were hopes it would re-open as former owner Alan Murchison announced he would take on the lease.

But when Mr Murchison pulled out again in June the fate of the landmark business – one of Shropshire's most popular restaurants hosting a starry client list including the Hairy Bikers and movie star Keira Knightley – hung in the balance.

Mr Smith, who has also worked as head chef at Ludlow's Dinham Hall as well as a raft of other high-end venues around the country, is hoping for similar success to his friend and former colleague Mr Bosi.

He will be serving as head chef at Mortimers while the restaurant is managed by business partner Andrew Brooks who has worked at Ludlow's Charlton Arms, owned by Mr Bosi's brother Cedric.

Mr Smith said the Bosi brothers had been very supportive of the new venture. He said it was an exciting time, with a Facebook page and Twitter account launched in recent days.

Mr Smith added: "It's still very much a work in progress at the moment, depending on licensing applications being approved and so on, but we're looking at opening early October, hopefully.

"It has been recently refurbished – the only thing that has really changed is that we have had the bar reinstated as it was when it was Hibiscus.

"I've been working on this since January, but then Alan (Murchison) got there first," he said.

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