Bucks &amp; Oxon


<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tuck-in-to-an-anniversary-feast">TUCK IN TO AN ANNIVERSARY FEAST</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="1000" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/06/Foodagain.jpg" alt="Le Manoir" class="wp-image-163330" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/06/Foodagain.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/06/Foodagain-800x800.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/06/Foodagain-400x400.jpg 400w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/06/Foodagain-500x500.jpg 500w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">@belmondlemanoir</figcaption></figure>



<p>Le Manoir was awarded two Michelin stars the year it opened, 1984, and it’s held them ever since – no mean feat. To show why it’s still got it at 40, Le Manoir’s&nbsp;Executive Chef, Luke Selby, has created an Anniversary Legends menu that serves up a contemporary twist on Raymond Blanc’s iconic dishes. Want a taster? How about&nbsp;Coquille St-Jacques “Oudile”: a hand-dived Orkney scallop baked in its shell with kaffir lime and lemongrass braisage. Oooh, go on then.&nbsp;After all that feasting, Muddy reckons you’ll probably want to stay put for the night – there’s a special room rate going during Le Manoir’s big birthday year. Push the boat out even more by booking a VIP signature suite, which includes your own on-call host. Breakfast in bed and free laundry too – bliss.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-go-to-masterchef-school">GO TO MASTERCHEF SCHOOL</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="1000" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/06/Vegetables.jpg" alt="Le Manoir" class="wp-image-163331" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/06/Vegetables.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/06/Vegetables-800x800.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/06/Vegetables-400x400.jpg 400w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/06/Vegetables-500x500.jpg 500w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">@belmondlemanoir</figcaption></figure>



<p>The lavender borders leading up to the honey-stone manor house are the most Insta-snapped spot at Le Manoir. But look beyond its eye-catching front, and you’ll spot acres of bountiful&nbsp;vegetable and herb gardens that provide the kitchen – and the Raymond Blanc Cookery School – with its ultra-fresh, organic produce. If you know your way around a Bain Marie (or are a keen beginner), you can learn from the pros at the Cookery School’s classes. Everything from fish, bread, and patisserie to souffles and chocolate-making is on the menu at the half-day or residential courses. So, no sweat when you want to impress your friends, famous French chef-style. Dinner party invitation incoming!</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-gardeners-world">GARDENERS&#8217; WORLD</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="1000" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/06/Gardening-school.jpg" alt="Raymond Blanc gardening school" class="wp-image-163333" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/06/Gardening-school.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/06/Gardening-school-800x800.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/06/Gardening-school-400x400.jpg 400w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/06/Gardening-school-500x500.jpg 500w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">@belmondlemanoir</figcaption></figure>



<p>Feel more at home pottering around the garden than the kitchen? Your botanical skills can blossom at the Raymond Blanc Gardening School. The vegetable garden was the first plot to be introduced back in 1984, and it’s now been joined by ten more gardens (including a Japanese tea garden and a Mushroom Valley), plus an orchard with 2,500 fruit trees. Whether you want to grow your own vegetables and herbs, delve into organic ‘no dig’ gardening, or even master the art of botanical mixology (that’s cocktail-making to you and me), a day at the gardening school will sow the seed of inspiration for your own grand garden designs. Working lunch in the glasshouse included, obvs. Move over Monty Don.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-arts-and-sculpture">ARTS AND SCULPTURE</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="1000" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/06/sculpture.jpg" alt="Raymond Blanc sculpture" class="wp-image-163337" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/06/sculpture.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/06/sculpture-800x800.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/06/sculpture-400x400.jpg 400w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/06/sculpture-500x500.jpg 500w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">@belmondlemanoir</figcaption></figure>



<p>Le Manoir’s gardens are something of an outdoor art gallery, with sculptures by the likes of Lloyd le Blanc and Juginder Lamba dotted among the immaculately planted borders. Each of the artworks were chosen by Raymond Blanc, and he’s conducting a personal tour on 6 August to explain their significance in the heady landscape he’s created. Naturally, lunch is included with his cultural talk and tour. As you’d expect, it’s a five-course affair that opens with chilled champagne and canapes and stretches out with a glass or three of fine wine. Expect to linger over the petit fours: this leisurely lunch runs from 11.30am to 4pm.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-roll-out-the-barrels">ROLL OUT THE BARRELS</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="1000" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/06/Wine.jpg" alt="Le Manoir " class="wp-image-163346" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/06/Wine.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/06/Wine-800x800.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/06/Wine-400x400.jpg 400w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/06/Wine-500x500.jpg 500w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">@belmondlemanoir</figcaption></figure>



<p>Good food and fine wine go hand in hand – so venture out of Le Manoir into the Oxfordshire countryside, where the Hundred Hills Vineyard and Private Estate awaits. On 5 September there’s a tour through the award-winning vineyards, cradled by ancient woodlands and the picturesque Stonor Valley, then into the heart of the winery to learn how the vineyard makes its delicious English sparkling wines. Naturally, there’s a chance to sample them too. Back at Le Manoir, the tour finale is a five-course dinner curated by Raymond Blanc paired with wines from the Hundred Hills vineyard. Bottoms up to the next 40 years of this Oxfordshire gem.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="850" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/06/Snapinsta.app_448076188_2213554035649339_52220593118833059_n_1080.jpg" alt="Le Manoir" class="wp-image-163256" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/06/Snapinsta.app_448076188_2213554035649339_52220593118833059_n_1080.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/06/Snapinsta.app_448076188_2213554035649339_52220593118833059_n_1080-800x680.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/06/Snapinsta.app_448076188_2213554035649339_52220593118833059_n_1080-400x340.jpg 400w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">@belmondlemanoir</figcaption></figure>


5 summer events to taste life at Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons

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