Masterchef semi-finalist joins forces with Yorkshire hotel for new food offering

Raithwaite Sandsend Hotel has just been named 'Sustainable Hotel of the Year' in The Cateys - and has now teamed up with Ollie who runs The Wheatsheaf in Chilton Foliat, Wiltshire, which has won a number of sustainable awards too.

Ollie has been named as the food, drink and sustainability director at the hotel in Sandsend and will work alongside current head chef Ryan Osborne to oversee the new food and drink direction the hotels owners plan to take.

Since getting to the semi-finals of Masterchef in 2013, Ollie has undertaken a number of roles across the food and drink industry, while Ryan has previously worked at respected kitchens in Greens of Whitby and at The Star Inn the Harbour, under esteemed Michelin star chef Andrew Pern.

As well as their culinary experience, the pair are overseeing innovative steps to reduce the hotel's environmental impact and focus on sustainability. The hotel has introduced a 'Three Ps' policy - to ensure all business decisions consider how to best support its people, the planet and deliver pleasure for its guests.

The team have also started sourcing seasonal, organic and local produce from within a 30-mile radius of the hotel - which played a significant part in The Catey’s Award recognition.

They are also about to start a new project to develop the hotel’s 100-acre grounds to introduce a variety of kitchen gardens, patches and polytunnels, to grow organic fruit and vegetables designed to feed the hotel throughout the year.

It is hoped the hotel, which was taken over by Maritime Capital in 2019 and has used lockdowns to reimagine the business, can achieve zero waste status by 2023.