When Charles II gave the grounds of Leonardslee to his physician, he might not have known that the land was un-farmable. This, it would turn out, was a blessing in disguise. In the absence of crops and livestock, 350 years later, the land has flourished into beautiful gardens and woodland, even sprouting a Michelin-starred restaurant. There, head chef Jean Delport uses foraged ingredients for his 17-course tasting menu. Even the caviar - the restaurant's most distant import - has a journey time shorter than the meal itself.
Local cheddar from across the road kicked things off, arriving as an impossibly delicate quiche, topped with the aforementioned caviar and nettle from the gardens. A showstopping potted lobster kept the standard sky-high, submerged under a heavenly layer of forest green wild garlic oil and with a crisp vetkoek for scooping. Snail fricassée with pickled mushroom might sound like some bizarre ingredient challenge, but would instead turn out to be a favourite of the night.
The slight lack of atmosphere endemic to all hotel restaurants was more than made up for by incredible service. The sommelier, Simba, cheerily guided us through a selection of mind-blowing South African wines. Some dishes in the middle portion were almost too rich, like a disc of poached cod with elderflower and champagne butter, quickly followed by grilled venison with juniper. But, thanks to a truly unforgettable Cabernet Sauvignon vigilantly topped up by Simba, it was hard to complain.
With palates cleansed by sloe gin sorbet, we were led into the woods by the desserts. These dishes ended the meal on a high, celebrating unusual flavours like hogweed, sea buckthorn and birch sap.
South African-inspired, Sussex-foraged is a concept that feels more adventurous than most. And, as with anything adventurous, there were bound to be missteps (a slightly flavourless chicken foot, for example). But missteps and chicken feet aside, Interlude is certainly one-of-a-kind.