THE Falcon Hotel will launch its refurbished Lord Tennyson Restaurant on January 28, with an already sold out demonstration and dinner created by Peter Gorton, Master Chef of GB, in association with the hotel’s head chef, Michael Moore.

Peter, well known from his TV appearances, will be creating seasonal menus for the restaurant, while updating favourite dishes for the Coachman’s bar and grill.

The hotel has been closed for two weeks to renovate the décor of this historic property, established in 1798.

Improvements include new carpets and hard flooring, new curtains and lighting, and a new entry into the function rooms, with cloakroom storage.

The hotel’s reception area has been reconstructed to provide easier access to the function rooms, which are renamed the Gallery and the Ballroom, while maintaining the Acland Suite name when both rooms are combined.

The Lord Tennyson Restaurant was named after the poet who stayed at the Falcon Hotel in 1848, keen to see ‘the largest waves anywhere in Britain’.

Recently, the Falcon ran a contest for the best image of the largest waves at Bude.

The winning photo has been spectacularly enlarged and reproduced on one wall of the restaurant.

Rupert Brendon has created a digital slide history of the Falcon, which runs continuously in the lobby. It contains 64 fascinating images, with captions researched and written by his brother, the historian Dr Piers Brendon.

Piers was born in Bude in 1940, and has authored many books that are on display, including a biography of Hawker of Morwenstow.

Also on show are other Brendon family memorabilia, celebrating almost two centuries of the family’s connection with the first hotel in Bude.

The Falcon has installed other new technology, including a digital events noticeboard which is updated electronically every day; a display wine cabinet for the restaurant, which has been ordered from Italy to complement the expanded list of premium wines, with extensive tasting notes now available on a digital tablet.

Behind the scenes, the kitchen contains state-of-the-art equipment, and fresh seafood, sourced locally in season, features prominently on the menu. The Falcon will now offer new taste sensations thanks to Peter Gorton’s gastronomic magic.