Once upon a time, the tiny village of Whitebrook was a cornerstone of both the wire and paper industries; much of the housing in the village was built for paper mill workers as they flocked to the Wye Valley in the eighteenth century in search of work. Whitebrook isn't an industrial centre anymore – the paper mills have long since closed and been converted into houses – but today the village is famous as a fine dining destination, home to one of the finest restaurants in the country.

The Whitebrook itself started life as an inn in the seventeenth century, and it retains some of its old-world charm today, with beautiful wooden beams spanning the length of the dining room ceiling. As a dining destination, The Whitebrook (or 'The Crown at Whitebrook' as it was) first appeared on the scene in 1976, when it was awarded the first Michelin star in Wales, with Sonia Blech as head chef and a young Bryan Webb as apprentice in the kitchen. More recently, James Sommerin won a Michelin star at The Crown at Whitebrook in 2007, but by early 2013 however, the restaurant was forced to close, and it lay empty for a number of months until Chris Harrod and his wife Kirsty took over the lease.

With a number of years spent alongside Raymond Blanc at Le Manoir, the natural surroundings of the Wye Valley were the perfect spot for Chris to hone his cooking style. Chris came in cooking classical French cuisine but quickly adapted to the produce around him, championing local ingredients like Wye Valley asparagus and Welsh pork, as well as the abundance of smaller, foraged ingredients in the hedgerows, forests and estuaries near the restaurant. Few restaurants in the country make such good use of local ingredients as The Whitebrook – every meal here is a journey of discovery, and The Whitebrook earned its Michelin star back just eleven months after Chris’ arrival.

The menu at The Whitebrook does an admirable job of toeing the line between modern and accessible. Chris’ outstanding cookery and his successful appearance on BBC’s Great British Menu (where he reached the final banquet in 2018 with his ‘tea and cake’ dessert) have made The Whitebrook a true destination restaurant for visitors all over the world, but this is also deep rural Wales, and many of The Whitebrook’s clientele are older locals. Dishes at The Whitebrook are highly seasonal and often designed to create a picture of the landscape around the restaurant. With a dish like the Wye Valley asparagus with hogweed, maritime pine, hedgerow clippings and Tintern mead, for example, every single thing on the plate is from a six-mile radius of the village, and Chris marries lots of subtle flavours to create something complex and delicious.

As you’d expect for a small restaurant deep in the heart of the Wye Valley, The Whitebrook also has rooms available for those who wish to dine and stay overnight. With beautiful walks on the doorstep and sights like Tintern Abbey, Clearwell Caves and The Kymin just a few miles away, this is a perfect place for a quiet break, away from the humdrum of modern life.