The County Kitchen, an important element of The County Hotel in Chelmsford, offers a cuisine that is essentially British but does not hesitate to cull ideas from other shores and continents. It also has the inestimable advantage of being located in a part of England where some of the finest produce to be found is readily available, be it from land, sea or air. They take full advantage of that by changing their menus seasonally and also by sourcing 70% of their ingredients from within a sixty mile radius.

The hotel is privately owned and part of British Classic Hotels. All 50 bedrooms offer a diversity of accommodation ranging from a very smart suite to sixteen superior and premium rooms at the sort of standards you would expect from a 3 star quality hotel. All rooms have a flat screen TV, wifi internet and a direct dial telephone as well as complimentary tea, coffee, and biscuits.

A fine line is drawn between the hearty eaters and those who for one reason or another prefer something rather daintier, and I understand there are one or two of those around in this East Anglian paradise where Essex meets Norfolk through Suffolk. There are those, of whom I am not one, who believe you can judge a restaurant by the quality of its starters. For me it's the main courses and the amount of culinary ground they cover convincingly rather than statistically.

Catch of the day displays a willingness to be guided by nature and is a promising start. Pan fried breast of pheasant is served with confit leg, puy lentil and vegetable ragout, thus making the best of this fine game bird that at its best i.e. wild rather than bred, and properly cooked is superb, bettered only by partridge, preferably grey.

Wilted chard and chick peas provide suitable escorts for baked haddock with creamed potatoes, and the spatchcocked chicken is lemon roasted, served with Savoy cabbage and dauphinoise potatoes. Lamb cutlets are without doubt a 'night before the gallows' feast needing so little other than a watchful eye to catch them exactly at the right moment before giving them a flagelot bean, celeriac puree and sautéed potatoes guard of honour.

A well chosen selection of salads and pastas includes a Bingham Blue, apple, fig and endive salad with a walnut dressing, or a wild mushroom and tarragon linguine, both served as a starter or main course. Other starters offered could be mussels with chilli, Aspall cyder and coriander, or acorn fed Jamon Iberico with grilled sourdough bread.

A quick lunch could field smoked duck and artichoke terrine with celeriac remoulade and sourdough toast, followed by roasted sea trout with brown shrimp and pan fried salsify, covelo nero, finishing with spiced rhubarb tart tatin and caramelised almonds. Do note that they offer a carvery on Sunday, which is exceedingly popular.

A wedding at the County Kitchen can also include all the excitement and enjoyment of the great day, well ordered by experts accustomed to making these occasions extremely special. For these, and all occasions when wine is an item, a wine list of no mean skill offers a wide range of options, many available by the glass. The County is a popular location for conferences of anywhere between 2 - 150 delegates, and with a pro-active environmental policy will commend itself to many.

For further details do check out their excellent user-friendly Website.