Stephen Wheeler talks to Mark Singleton, Head Chef at Richmond Village in Painswick
Mark Singleton would be the envy of many in his profession. He is head chef at Richmond Village retirement village in Painswick, a luxurious community for
retired people with beautifully landscaped gardens, health spas, swimming pools, beauty salons, hairdressers, libraries and of course first class restaurants and private dining rooms.
High quality retirement care in a safe community, with 24-hour care if needed, and plenty of social opportunity is a growing market in Britain, and indeed all over the developed world. Residents of the village buy their own house or apartment and the service charges cover the costs of all their meals, including three-course lunches and dinners.
Mark trained in some of Gloucestershire’s best kitchens including Cowley Manor and The Greenway Hotel. He designs regular themed menus – the most recent being a celebration of the Chelsea Flower Show.
Residents enjoyed cream of cauliflower soup with sunflowers seeds and pea shoots, followed by roasted chicken breast served with stuffed courgette flowers, and a summery sparkling elderflower and grape jelly with Chantilly cream for dessert. Other themed days in the restaurants will include a Midsummer Night’s Dream and a Henley-on-Thames regatta day. Mark and his brigade of four have the challenge not all chefs face, of designing ever changing menus for resident customers.
Mark loosely follows a five-week cycle, which involves cooking three courses of entirely different dishes for 35 days on the trot – and everything is cooked from fresh, including baking their own bread. Hotels and restaurants can use the same menu for weeks or seasons without boring their more transient customer base. I asked Mark what were his customers favorite dishes? “Our desserts are always popular,” he said, “Walnut tart, chocolate mousse, Eton mess and our sponge puddings in particular go down well. We mainly cook traditional English dishes with locally sourced ingredients as much as possible.”
The 80-seat dining room at Richmond Village is of course open to visiting families, and now open to the general public for lunches and dinner, with a three-course Sunday lunch roast starting at a very reasonable £10.95 – but you do have to pre-book to secure a table. Ladies and gentlemen who lunch will be pleased to add Richmond Village to their list of watering holes this summer.
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12th June 2010
Mark Singleton, Head Chef at Richmond Village
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