You’ll never believe where we dined on Friday…. #Out and About

Victoria Hayes
13th July 2021

I am a 38-year-old mother of two children and Friday nights quite frankly are not what they used to be, however last week, I was invited for dinner at a retirement village.

When I receive the invitation I honestly thought someone was winding me up! (most likely my partner, he would find that hilarious!). Once I’ve been persuaded that it was not in fact a joke the idea started to roll around in my mind.

Why can’t a retirement village be a delightful place to have dinner?

Why is it only the preserve of the elderly?

So I went forth with an open mind to Gifford Lea in Tattenhall.

For those of you who don’t know the area well, Tattenhall is a semi rural, picturesque village in Cheshire, for me I know it best as the home of The Ice Cream Farm, as previously mentioned I am the mother of two, but it’s also home to some lovely dining venues for grown-ups! The Dining Room at Gifford Lea is certainly one of these.

Fair warning as you arrive on site, the Dining Room isn’t actually the easiest place to find. For one thing you find yourself distracted by the beautiful new homes that have been built around a central hub. These are been built in three phases and the third phase is currently still under construction. However following the signs to the sales office we discovered through double doors an absolute surprise.

Walking in to Gifford Lea is more like walking into an upscale London hotel. The furnishings are plush with a large fireplace and a piano. We were greeted by our charming and affable host Genesis, who from the very beginning could not do enough to ensure our comfort.

Genesis offered us a drink in the lounge before we went through for dinner, which we politely declined as we were already fascinated and ready to see what came next. It’s hard post Covid, because of the changes that people have had to make in the way they set up the restaurant, to know what it normally looks like, however the dining room at Gifford Lea is well spaced, airy and beautifully set out for intimate and elegant dining experience.

While giving us the opportunity to peruse the menu I was provided with genuinely the best martini I have ever had and for those of you drink martinis you know how difficult that is to achieve.  I was starting to believe that I could quite happily retired to this place immediately and just drink the martinis know when the most beautiful bread  appeared. All the bread is made freshly on site, and kept in a bread warmer in the open plan kitchen serving area that sits alongside the dining room. We were treated to both brown bread and focaccia. Which were thoroughly enjoyed while we chatted about the menu and the venue itself.

Genesis is full of knowledge and charm, but what makes him stand out in this unique environment is that he seemed to know every customer’s name and preferences. We learned from our conversations with him that most of the diners are regulars who live in the village and some are in their quite literally every day. To have so many people coming back day after day seemed like quite the recommendation.

It didn’t take us long to see why. The menu is currently only 7 starters, 7 mains and 7 desserts, however, Genesis mentioned this is due to Covid and that they had not long reopened, and would gradually extend the menu to it’s former levels, however, I for one was relieved it wasn’t too large as a quick read revealed that I wanted to try everything! Genesis offered advice on selections, but was not offended when one of us ignored his choices, and kindly agreed to select wines for me with each course. Yes, I know, I am quite spoilt.

At this point, sipping my perfect martini, admiring the beautiful surroundings and listening to the fascinating chatter from the neighbouring tables, I felt that I could quite happily retire right now. 

Genesis returned to our table with another delicious morsel, a beautiful amuse bouche, a home made cracker with olives, feta, tomato tapenade and avocado mousse which was light and delicious. The balance of flavours in this mouthful hinted at the culinary delights to come.

And so on to the actual meal. For a starter, I had selected the Monkfish. which arrived in light, crisp tempura batter, laying with an aubergine puree combines with earthy cumin and surprisingly sweet bursts of mango.

The mango in particular helped his dish feel fresh and light despite it looking like a large portion and our host served it along with a classic New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, the mango pairing well with the its incisive, ripe fruit flavours.

Briony selected the  Chicken starter which was served confit pressed, with liver, dandelions , roast onion and artichoke crisp. A light and delicate looking starter which very much impressed her. It was a real mixture of textures she said, which was really nice, the liver was buttery, the chicken well cooked and the roasted onion was incredible, well seasoned and the crisp added texture. Overall a really interesting dish.

On to mains and the beautiful plates arrived promptly and gave us the opportunity to ask Genesis more questions about Gifford Lea itself.

The Head Chef at Gifford Lea is Dominic Ash. Dominic has worked with Gordon Ramsay and Marcus Wareing at Petrus in Knightsbridge, and with Laurence at Le Clos du Chateau. He also worked as master pâtissier at Peckforton Castle before taking on the role as Head Chef at Gifford Lea, in Tattenhall.

Discovering his impressive resume helped us understand why this wonderfully high quality food was available here and it certainly is a place for those who enjoy the finer things in life.

For a main course I selected the duck. The roasted duck dish was served with Szechuan leg pastilla, rhubarb, broad beans, and a garlic roast potato puree which was creamy, and delicious heaven. The sweet/sour of the rhubarb went beautifully with the duck and it was a fabulous dish. Genesis paired it with a Tuscan red, and the lovely fruity blackberry and red currant notes brought everything together delightfully.

Briony opted for the Skate. The grilled skate wing caper with capers, courgettes, new season potatoes and chives. The capers were little pops of flavour. The buttery sauce was incredible but the dish still felt light. The crisp potatoes added texture and the fish was perfectly seasoned.

Once again Briony and I were faced with the dilemma of being really quite full but unable to resist the lure of puddings, I took the recommendation of the chocolate fondant and Briony, who has always been a cheese addict, opted for the cheeseboard. I’ll return to my fondant in a moment, because the cheeseboard really does deserve a special mention.  

Not only did the cheese board pay wonderful homage to our local cheese makers, served with chutney and crackers of course;  it was also a wonderfully generous portion. Briony and I could have shared it, but I was happy to go chocolate on this occasion.

The chocolate fondant is a classic dessert for a reason. Done well it is perfection. This was perfect. The gooey centre poured out as I cut in to it and it came with the classic pairing of vibrant fresh raspberries and vanilla ice cream.

All in all a perfect dinner, a treat, a luxury.. but wait, this is where some of the residents eat every night. What a wonderful life.

The retirement village is in three phases, with the third phase as I mentioned, still under construction. They offer an array of perfectly designed apartments ready for a fabulous style of living through retirement. The houses are focused around a centre building which offers apartment living plus the central hub where the restaurant is located. Also in the building is a cafe bar which opens through the day for all sorts of goodies like cocktails and cake. There’s a library room, arts and crafts room. cinema screen (where Genesis organises special snacks!) not to mention wonderful health and wellbeing suite. The state of the art gym is accessible to the residents and the swimming pool is absolutely beautiful.

There’s a nail bar and hair salon, so you can be pampered before heading to the dining room.

Now, I am sadly not old enough to live in this fabulous place, however those of us who want to can visit this beautiful restaurant by calling to make a booking on

01829 773645.

Please do call in advance as residents do, quite rightly get priority.

We are most grateful to Genesis, Dominic and the team at Gifford Lea for the gift of this truly lovely dining experience. The opinions in this article are all our own and we stand by them. If you don’t believe us, or even if you do, we absolutely recommend you try it for yourself. Whether you are retired, thinking of retiring or wishing you could retire, the Dining Room at Gifford Lea is a delightful place to dine.