Nature’s Premiere
Follow the Chef @martin0carabott
About the Chef
At the centre of this chapter is Martin Carabott, Executive Chef at Gravetye Manor.
Originally from Malta, Carabott won the Roux Scholarship in 2018 while working as senior sous-chef at Hide in London. After winning the scholarship, he completed a stage at Eleven Madison Park in New York, before continuing a career shaped by some of the country’s most respected kitchens.
His background includes senior roles at Luca, the Royal Automobile Club, Apsley’s under Heinz Beck at The Lanesborough, and Hide, where he was promoted to Head Chef in 2021.
In spring 2025, Carabott was appointed Executive Chef at Gravetye Manor. His role places him in direct dialogue with Head Gardener Tom Coward and the estate’s gardens, where the kitchen’s rhythm follows what is growing, flowering, ripening or briefly appearing outside the dining room windows.
Chef’s Spring Note
This spring menu celebrates the first abundance of the season through clarity, restraint and a deep respect for provenance.
Martin Carabott · Gravetye Manor
About the Restaurant
Some restaurants are built around a kitchen. Others are built around a view.
Gravetye Manor is built around a garden.
Set in West Hoathly, on the edge of the Sussex countryside, Gravetye Manor is one of England’s great country-house hotels: a historic manor surrounded by woodland, orchards, glasshouses, lawns and one of the country’s most remarkable kitchen gardens.
The Dining Room at Gravetye Manor holds one Michelin star, and its menus are driven throughout the year by produce from the walled kitchen garden. The restaurant also emphasises its relationships with local suppliers, animal welfare and top-quality produce — a philosophy that makes the kitchen feel less like a separate operation and more like an extension of the estate itself.
The room has its own kind of quiet theatre. Floor-to-ceiling glass opens the dining experience onto the gardens, giving each course a visible origin. This is luxury without sharp edges: polished, rural, deeply English, and quietly confident.
Spring Inspiration
At Gravetye Manor, spring is not fixed.
It moves through the garden week by week.
For this reason, Martin Carabott’s contribution to Nature’s Premiere is presented as Chef’s Spring Inspiration rather than a static menu. The dishes reflect the direction, character and seasonal vocabulary of Gravetye in spring, while allowing the restaurant’s menu to keep evolving according to local produce, the estate gardens, and ingredient availability.
Rooted in the rhythms of the estate gardens and the wider British countryside, this spring expression celebrates the first abundance of the season through clarity, restraint and a deep respect for provenance.
Delicate herbs, blossoms and newly harvested vegetables meet carefully sourced coastal fish and exceptional local meats, creating dishes that feel elegant, alive and fresh. Subtle contrasts of smoke, acidity, floral notes and preserved elements reveal the kitchen’s balance between refinement, seasonality and the landscape surrounding Gravetye Manor.
Experience Spring at Gravetye Manor
The Dining Room at Gravetye Manor · West Hoathly · West Sussex · United Kingdom
Reserve your Table at Gravetye Manor
The Dining Room at Gravetye Manor, West Sussex
Chef Martin Carabott in the Kitchen Garden- Gravetye Manor
Spring Menu Gallery
A visual journey through Martin Carabott’s Spring Inspiration 2026 at Gravetye Manor.
View Chef’s Spring Inspiration 2026 — Gravetye Manor
Chef’s Spring Inspiration 2026 · Martin Carabott · Gravetye Manor
Citrus Leaf Curd
A bright opening note of citrus, cream and delicacy.
Early Tomato & Garden Verbena Tea
The first tomato expression, lifted by the perfume of garden verbena.
Garden Salad
Cured egg yolk, Gravetye honey and garden herbs.
Gently Poached Cod
A restrained seafood course shaped by clarity and softness.
Marigold Sorbet
Apple, dill and pine.
John Dory Wrapped in Laver
A coastal dish of fish, seaweed and quiet precision.
Line-Caught Red Mullet
A vivid expression of British coastal seasonality.
Spiced Creedy Carver Duck
Apricot and garden turnips.
Sussex Lamb
A spring meat course grounded in locality and pasture.
Sussex Slipcote Cheesecake
Red fruit, sweet cicely and elderflower.
Trenchmore Farm Wagyu Carpaccio
A refined local beef expression with garden freshness.
Variations of Garden Beetroot
A vegetable-led study of earth, colour and season.
For Selective Partners
Nature’s Premiere remains open to a limited number of brands whose products genuinely belong inside Michelin-level spring storytelling — tableware, luxury ingredients, beverage houses, and hospitality suppliers positioned through editorial relevance rather than conventional advertising.