With one of the UK’s longest-held Michelin stars to its name, Morston Hall country house hotel appeared to have assembled the perfect ingredients of its celebrated chef staying on to manage the kitchen after selling the business to an enthusiastic new owner.
But the combination only cooked up a storm – with proprietor Henry Elworthy revealing the relationship curdled some months ago and executive chef Galton Blackiston has left.
In a stinging appraisal, hotel and real estate investor Mr Elworthy accused his former collaborator of acting like a ‘child in the kitchen’ and allowing the quality of the food to decline following the change of hands last year.
But supporters of Mr Blackiston – who has declined to comment – have pointed out that the restaurant’s run of 26 consecutive years with the coveted Michelin star was extended again just weeks before he went. It also has four AA Rosettes.
Mr Elworthy, who took over the 17th-century listed 13-bedroom hotel in upmarket Blakeney, Norfolk, in April last year said: ‘I agreed with Galton for him to stay on as executive chef after a bought it.
‘But when I bought the business from him, he just lost interest. Our public reviews in the summer were just awful.
‘Galton was driving the kitchen downwards. It was like having a child in the kitchen. We ended up parting ways in November.’
It is claimed there was an increase in three-star reviews or lower online between the sale and Mr Blackiston’s departure.
Michelin-starred chef Galton Blackiston left 17th-century country house hotel Morston Hall in November
A one-star TripAdvisor review in June complained the restaurant was ‘as far away from being a Michelin-starred experience as it is possible to be’.
The food was still ‘exceptional’, according to a three-star review, but ‘the service didn’t match’.
There were five-star ratings, however, with one visitor hailing the food and service as ‘impeccable’ and ‘worthy of a Michelin star’.
Mr Elworthy also claimed the hotel and restaurant were ‘struggling financially’ when he took the helm, with revenue having dropped 20 per cent in the first quarter of last year.
He went on to say Mr Blackiston ‘didn’t want the business to survive without him’, adding: ‘If he couldn’t have it, no one could.’
One alleged unwanted intervention was switching front-of-house staff onto four-day contracts.
‘They were on full-time contracts, working 45 hours a week across five days and they got switched to 45 hours across four days,’ Mr Elworthy fumed.
‘They used to work 4pm until midnight, five days a week, and that was quite an efficient use of time because guests would arrive late afternoon for dinner. You would have your morning team start at 7am and leave at 4pm.
Mr Blackiston had co-owned and run the venue with his now ex-wife, Tracy, since 1992
The hotel and restaurant, set in upmarket Blakeney in Norfolk, is now owned by hotel and real estate investor Henry Elworthy
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‘On a four-day week, my morning team were coming in at 7am and finishing at 6am, which is silly because my evening team would come in at 1pm and finish at midnight to use up their hours.
‘I was paying two teams from 1pm to 6pm when there were no guests in the hotel. By putting everyone on a four-day week, they essentially increased my front of house payroll by 20 per cent because I had to cover an extra day with overtime.’
Contracts reverted to five-day weeks in December, he added.
Mr Elworthy added: ‘I don’t think there are enough pages in the Daily Mail to describe by problems with Galton Blackiston.
‘Following Galton’s departure six months ago, we have assembled a new team of remarkable people who bring skill, imagination, and an infectious love of what they do to a menu that changes constantly – at what remains one of the longest-held Michelin stars in the country and an institution of culinary excellence.
‘That brilliance is reflected in our recent guest feedback, which anecdotally describes the food at Morston as the best it has been in years.
‘Paired with our recently renovated bedrooms, this is a very special moment in Morston Hall’s long history.’
Phil Kearsey was brought in as executive chef in November, following a period at another feted Michelin-starred venue, Pied a Terre in London.
Phil Kearsey was brought in as executive chef in November, following a period at another feted Michelin-starred venue, Pied a Terre in London
The current eight-course taster meal costs £145 and includes truffled Orkney scallop with garden celeriac, celery and sauce vin jaune, as well as Merrifield duck with pastilla, blood orange, dukkah, bitter leaves and pain-d’epices.
A six-glass wine flight to go with it is £95 and the cheese board is £17.50 extra.
Mr Blackiston, who also owns an award-winning fish and chip shop called No. 1 in Cromer, co-owned and ran Morston Hall with his now ex-wife, Tracy, from 1992.
The venue’s glowing entry in the 2024 Michelin guide states: ‘A few bites in and it’s patently obvious that Galton Blackiston is a chef with deep knowledge and appreciation of the great produce found in Norfolk.’
The chef, whose career began selling baked goods at Rye Market in East Sussex before learning his trade in Lake District kitchens, declined to comment when approached by the Daily Mail.
But a source said: ‘The restaurant kept its [Michelin] star for the 27th year running.
‘He was there on the night of the Michelin inspection. That says everything.’
The property, which was built in 1640 for the Townshend viscounts of Raynham Hall, who have lived in the area for nearly 900 years.
The property is not nationally listed by Historic England, meaning planning permission would not normally required for alterations.
But Mr Blackiston fell foul of planning rules in 2023 when he installed a walk-in fridge in a wooden structure outside as he wasn’t aware that North Norfolk District Council had applied ‘locally designated’ status in 2019 due to the hotel’s ‘aesthetic value’.
He applied for retrospective planning permission but this was refused by the local authority, which added the fridge exceeded acceptable noise levels.
Mr Blackiston said at the time: ‘When it bought it, it was under certain regulations which makes it the quietest thing you could hear.
‘Throughout our whole time here, we’ve always tried to do things the best way we can. Why would I want an eyesore outside my hotel?’
