Restaurant Interlude Wins Michelin Star for the Fourth Successive Year

Restaurant Interlude at historic Leonardslee Lakes & Gardens near Horsham in West Sussex has won a Michelin Star for the fourth consecutive year. As one of the first UK restaurants with its own vineyard to win the prestigious award, Interlude offers luxury accommodation, providing guests with an unforgettable dining and overnight stay experience, says owner Penny Streeter OBE. 

The restaurant's tasting menu is inspired by the Grade I Listed woodland gardens, with ingredients either foraged or grown on the 240-acre Leonardslee estate. Other produce is sourced from carefully selected local farms. Restaurant Interlude is open for dinner from Thursday to Sunday weekly, offering ten tables. Reservations can be made online at www.restaurant-interlude.co.uk/reservations. 

Diners can enjoy breathtaking views of the gardens and vineyard, planted in 2018. Leonardslee and neighbouring Mannings Heath Estate cultivate 72,000 vines across 15 hectares as part of the Benguela Collection vineyards and hospitality group in the UK and South Africa. 

Grade II Listed Leonardslee House, built in an Italianate style in 1855, features ten elegant en-suite bedrooms on the first floor, accessible via the grand hallway and galleried landing, which is illuminated by natural light from an original domed atrium. 

Owner Penny Streeter OBE and Executive Chef Jean Delport, from South Africa, opened the restaurant in October 2018. At 33 years old, Delport was only the second South African chef to win a Michelin Star for his restaurant and one of the youngest recipients of the famous accolade. 

Delport leads a team of seven kitchen staff and says:

“We are thrilled to receive this prestigious recognition from Michelin for the fourth consecutive year. Interlude connects lovers of fine dining with the very essence of Leonardslee, one of England's finest woodland gardens, unspoiled and carefully curated for over 200 years. 

“Our seasonal, multi-course tasting menu follows a hunter-gatherer concept, featuring food that is foraged, cultivated, and raised on the estate or nearby. It is designed to provide an intimate dining experience, akin to a small, exclusive dinner party within the estate’s Italianate mansion house.”

The seasonal menu may include dishes such as estate rabbit with winter purslane, hogweed cider, and charcoal; fallow deer with local braai and sour raspberry; or oysters with foraged greens and juniper. 

Guests arriving at Restaurant Interlude are welcomed in the grand hallway with music from a self-playing piano and drinks in the bar. They are then seated together around 7pm in the restaurant, enjoying views across the expansive gardens in the steep valley below, as well as east and south towards the South Downs. 

Delport's expertise in pairing innovative tasting menus with fine wines enables guests to enjoy a selection of vintages from the owner’s Benguela Cove vineyard in Hermanus, South Africa, as well as from other renowned estates. 

Executive Chef Jean Delport previously worked with owner Penny Streeter at her restaurant in Somerset West, Cape Town, for several years. With a strong background in classical French and English cooking and multiple seasons in Ireland, Delport trained and won awards at the prestigious Zevenwacht Chef School in South Africa. Renowned for his innovative approach, Delport continuously refines his menus and choice of ingredients.

Chef Ruan Pretorius, formerly head chef at the acclaimed Terroir restaurant in the Cape Winelands of South Africa, joined Jean Delport in the UK to take on the exciting new challenge at Restaurant Interlude. 

Pretorius brings with him a wealth of experience and an impressive culinary background. Together, Delport and Pretorius continue to push the boundaries of fine dining, crafting innovative dishes that celebrate the unique character of the Leonardslee Lakes & Gardens estate. 

Restaurant Interlude's success is a testament to the passion and dedication of its team. As they celebrate their fourth consecutive Michelin Star, they remain committed to providing guests with an exceptional dining experience, showcasing the best of the estate and the local region. 

For more information, to make a reservation, or to stay up to date with the latest news and events, visit www.restaurant-interlude.co.uk. 

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Editors notes

Leonardslee Lakes and Gardens is a family-owned vineyard estate, near Horsham in West Sussex, which features ‘the finest woodland gardens in England’, Grade I Listed, as well as a Michelin Star restaurant and luxury vineyard accommodation.

The 240-acre estate was established by Sir Edmund Loder, the great Victorian plant collector, and now includes a Sussex Wine vineyard, with the first release of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier sparkling wine in 2024.

The estate features outstanding displays all year round. In the spring this includes rhododendrons, azaleas, camellias, magnolias and bluebells. The collection is exceptional in its diversity and maturity, with several rare ‘champion’ trees, threatened in their natural habitat.

The gardens offer a protected ecosystem for rare wildlife such as Emperor Dragonflies and Damselflies, White Admiral and Purple Hairstreak butterflies and migratory and native birds - Kites, Great Tits, Tree Creepers, Nuthatches, Woodpeckers and Nightingales.

The estate reopened in April 2019, following acquisition and two years’ intensive work by entrepreneur Penny Streeter OBE to restore the woodland gardens after eight years of closure and neglect under previous ownership. It was the largest garden restoration project in the United Kingdom since Heligan 30 years before.

Since further restoration work in 2021, visitors can also stay in the luxury vineyard hotel after dining at Restaurant Interlude in Leonardslee House, the Grade II Listed Italianate mansion house, to experience the Michelin Star multi-course tasting menu created by chef Jean Delport.

Visitors can view a magical world in miniature at the Beyond the Doll's House exhibition, which depicts the Edwardian estate and neighbouring villages at 1:12 scale. They can then enjoy a classic afternoon tea in the mansion house, making for a great family day out. It is one of the top places to visit in Sussex and is open all year round except Christmas Day.

For great days out, there is an extensive programme of entertainment that includes winter garden illuminations and light trails, wine and beer festivals, photo and art exhibitions, live music events, cooking and gardening demonstrations, arts and crafts fairs, modelling and toy shows, and children’s events and adventure trails.

Vineyards –

Leonardslee Estate: Acquired 2018 - 3.1 Acres - 2018 First vines planted - 4,000 Estimated bottles Experimental planting of Pinotage - 2022 First estate Pinotage

Mannings Estate: Acquired 2017 - 34 Acres - 2017 First vines planted - 70,000 Estimated bottles Sparkling wine cultivars 60% Chardonnay, 30% Pinot Noir and 10% Pinot Meunier - 2024 First release of wine