Christine Faughlin spends a night at Raymond Blanc’s legendary property where the grounds and gardens delight but the food is the star of the show.

Where is it?

Just half-an-hour drive from Oxford, in the picturesque village of Great Milton, Oxfordshire

What’s the accommodation like?

What did you eat and drink?

Dining at Raymond Blanc’s famous restaurant is an experience all its own. Presided over by Raymond and led by executive chef Luke Selby and chef pâtissier Benoît Blin, it is wholly deserving of its two Michelin stars. Each dish on the eight-course tasting menu makes the homegrown produce sing with cleverly orchestrated flavour and texture, presented flawlessly. It’s impossible to choose a favourite dish, but memories of ‘Le Crabe’, a stunning salad of Cornish crab with tropical hits of coconut and passion fruit, and a grating of zingy frozen grapefruit, linger long after we’ve checked out. Breakfast is as memorable with perfect patisserie, a carefully curated seasonal buffet and made-to-order cooked plates – there’s even a bloody Mary station.

What is there to do?

Take a cookery class at The Raymond Blanc Cookery School, attached to the main kitchen. We signed up for half-day ‘Dinner Party’ class with talented tutor Becca Boasts who walks and talks our group of six through a four-course meal, offering loads of insider tips and a fair amount of fun chat, too. The dishes are rustic but smart enough to serve to guests – velvety butternut squash soup, a Comté cheese soufflé, chicken and leeks served with morels and a sherry wine sauce, and a seasonal fruit crumble. There’s a frisson of hushed excitement when Raymond himself stops by for a chat.

What do I need to pack?

Lasting memory

The pastries at breakfast were so good we didn’t object when Raymond sent for boxes so we could take a few home with us. The croissants were faultless and the kouign-amann a sticky, buttery triumph.

Sainsbury’s magazine insider tip

Take a pouch of wildflower seeds to plant out at home, so you can take a little of Le Manoir home with you. Included in the mix of 18 species of native wildflowers are seeds for cowslips, cornflowers and poppies.