A slice of class at your table by Cringletie’s head chef

Cringletie head chef Iain Gourlay carves, as maitre dâ Leonardo Sandri looks on.

On Sunday, July 21, the couple launched the hotel’s new Sunday roast lunches ... a great opportunity to enjoy a traditional meal, with some delightful twists, in superb rural surroundings – just a few miles north of Peebles on the A703.

And, if you choose the traditional roast, head chef Iain Gourlay adds a touch of class by carving your choice of meat at your table.

A three-course lunch costs around £35, and the starters and deserts are all top notch – we’d recommend the salmon cooked three ways or the duck for starters, and the chef’s own smoother-than-smooth take on cranachan for afters. A luxury cheeseboard is a good alternative, but there is an extra charge.

Cringletie House, viewed through its walled garden, where the hotel owners hope to grow all its own fruit and veg.

While all the meat for the roasts are sourced within the Tweed valley, the owners are keen to put in place as soon as possible plans to ensure they are self-sufficient as far as vegetables and herbs goes, by utilising the hotel’s splendid walled garden – a move which also seriously cuts their carbon footprint.

Bill, who hails from New Zealand, also has other plans for the near future.

He told us: “The previous owners got planning permission to build four new guest cottages and a spa installation around the walled garden, so we are also looking at these projects and they’ll be scheduled for next year.”

The 12-bedroom hotel is also a prized venue for weddings. Set in 28 acres of grounds, the wheelchair-friendly hotel has been named in the top 10 accessible hotels in the UK, and was AA hotel of the year for Scotland in 2013.