Swinton Park's restaurant, Samuel's to you, is the much-prized centrepiece to this stately Yorkshire home, home also to the Swinton Park Cookery School where Rosemary Shrager holds sway. In the Castle itself Andy Burton is king among the stoves and nothing is done by halves at any point, three rosettes from the AA are testament to the excellence of his cuisine.

The formality and quality of the dining room is the first impression, with the feeling that the Cunliffe-Lister family have never transformed their home into a luxury hotel. The terrine of Swinton Park game with a Sauternes jelly establishes contact straight away with a name that is invoked throughout the menu, or rillettes of duck with orange and coriander salad might equally appeal.

Main courses follow much the same pattern with roasted halibut, crab and ginger served with a cucumber and lobster broth, or more locally Wensleydale wild boar wrapped in prosciutto, served with butternut squash and bubble and squeak. Each main course comes with a helpful wine recommendation, even if some of the prices are slightly breathtaking.

For puddings the choice is equally breath-depriving. Hot banana pudding with clotted cream ice cream gets high marks, but the Swinton Park Trio refers not to the Three Graces, but rather the three falls from grace. To make matters even more enjoyable an interesting range of pudding wines is also recommended, but the coup de grace is without doubt the selection of cheeses, both local and from further afield, with a range of port and Madeira that leaves absolutely no room for denial.