The Walnut Tree Restaurant bids farewell to Gordon ‘Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares’

When my brother telephoned me to say we were going to The Walnut Tree in Wales for dinner on The Royal Wedding bank holiday, there was only one thing that could resonate through my head – ‘Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares’.

In actual fact The Walnut Tree at one time attracted people from all over the UK to sample Franco Taruschio’s impeccable Italian food. But when this highly esteemed chef hung up his apron to retire in 2001, it seemed from then onwards the Walnut Tree’s zenith had ultimately come to a halt. Despite guidance from celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay on his Kitchen Nightmares television programme, the new owners still proved to be ineffectual in running a successful dining business, and the banks shut down the place in 2007. Yet a year later and the restaurant confidently stepped out of its dark days of ignominy and reasserted its legendary status when renowned chef Shaun Hill took over.

If the experience of customers since Hill’s ownership were anything like mine, then one would have hardly guessed it had been through a period of hardship. The staff were obliging and the atmosphere was surprisingly unpretentious for a place that had been recently rated as best restaurant in Britain by the UK’s biggest online restaurant guide Gourmet Britain. I cannot say I was particularly impressed that a medium bottle of sparkling water was £4, but still it is the food that matters most. I started with a cheese soufflé accompanied by a leek and potato salad, and found myself infatuated by the dominant but consummate flavour of cheddar. Following on from this and I was wowed by how tender my steak for main course was – there was no need for a steak knife. Gorgonzola and potato croquettes accompanied it; both straightforward and unoriginal, but both functioned well with the core component. Finally I was then impressed, moderately, by the milk chocolate raspberry torte. Surprisingly it was very cocoa intense despite the fact milk chocolate does not possess a high cocoa content compared to its dark spouse, while the raspberries provided a tart contrast. Interestingly its texture was almost a mousse/parfait consistency. Somehow though, to my mind, its richness made it not quite 5*.

Overall, The Walnut Tree is certainly not Italian anymore. It is more or less classical French cuisine; therefore serving very simple, but made to the highest quality, food. The menu is without question very expensive, but one can barely find fault when it comes to the actual food. It seems the days of Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares are well and truly over.