THE owners of an award-winning Cumbrian Inn and Restaurant are celebrating this week after receiving two prestigious awards from the AA, recognising the quality of their accommodation and their food.

The Black Bull, Sedbergh, in Cumbria's Western Dales, has just been awarded four AA Gold Stars for the fourth consecutive year and has also been presented with its second AA Red Rosette for Culinary Excellence.

Co-owner of the gastropub with rooms, James Ratcliffe said: “We’re absolutely delighted that we’ve maintained our AA gold stars and that the AA have also chosen to recognise our culinary with our second red rosette for culinary excellence.

"Both Nina and I are very proud of what the whole team has achieved. We’d like to thank them all for the commitment they’ve shown as we all worked together to secure our second rosette and retain our four gold stars. When time allows, we might all just have to take a little time out to celebrate achieving both of these accolades, in the meantime it's back to what we as a team do best as the season really gets into gear.’’ 

The AA Hotel Services’ Hotel & Restaurant Inspector commented: ‘’Food output continues to remain of high quality. Menus offer an excellent choice for guests. Dishes sampled at dinner continue to impress. Due to the quality of the ingredients used, and the accuracy and skill in the cookery a Two AA Rosette Award can now be recommended; Congratulations to the team.’’

The AA introduced a star rating system to classify hotels in 1912, and in 2006 they developed Common Quality Standards for inspecting and rating accommodation. These standards and rating categories are now applied throughout the British Isles.

These well-established and nationally recognised ratings provide businesses with an independent national quality marque, which in turn enables potential guests to make informed decisions about where to stay based on information collated by one of the UK’s most trusted brands.

In turn an AA Red Rosette award is only presented to restaurants that are achieving standards that stand out in their local area. These are restaurants that are serving food prepared with care, understanding and skill, using good quality ingredients, enabling diners to make informed decisions about where to eat.