'Tom Kerridge gave me a big hug after Michelin awards win' says Harrogate hotel's talented chef

After an extraordinary few days, Adam Degg, head chef and host at FIFTY TWO restaurant, said not only was he was full of gratitude to his team and to Rudding Park but to his wife Emily, who, he revealed, is about to give birth.

"It feels incredible to get a culinary Oscar,” said thirtysomething Adam, a former Great British Menu star, who had previously won three AA rosettes.

"To win a Michelin Star less than two years after the restaurant opened is fantastic. It is a huge step for Harrogate, as well as me.

"As a young man it’s what I dreamed about. Getting the AA rosettes was great but a Michelin Star is the one that other chefs notice.

"Rudding Park have been so amazing from the beginning. I have the best team in the world.

"But my biggest thanks go to my wife, Emily, who is heavily pregnant. Speaking personally, it’s a very exciting but slightly scary time!”

Situated in two stylishly repurposed shipping containers near Rudding Park’s sizable kitchen garden, FIFTY TWO has built up a reputation for exceptional food in an unusually playful, relaxed and unpretentious atmosphere since it opened in 2024.

Adam's culinary imagination, technical expertise and surfeit of natural charm may have played a central role in the restaurant’s success.

But the award-winning chef himself gives the credit to his team working in the open plan kitchen and the faith shown in his vision by management at the family-owned luxury hotel on the edge of Harrogate.

"Rudding Park has shown incredible trust in me.

"In my original pitch before we launched FIFTY TWO, I said I wanted to create an experience that was like a small dinner party with friends.

"I didn’t know if that would work; it’s so different to a normal, traditional restaurant. Management said to me “we trust your vision, go for it”.

"Walking out and chatting to the 20 diners isn’t for everyone. If I was one of those angry chefs shouting at their staff the whole thing wouldn’t work.

“But my aim was to create something where the team enjoyed working and wanted to stay because they loved it.

"It’s not everyone who enjoys cooking this way in front of 20 people every time. But my team are fantastic. I couldn’t do this without my sous chef, Adam Jones.”

Rooted in seasonality and sustainability and utilising fresh product sourced from Rudding Park’s kitchen garden with the support of head kitchen gardener Emma Pugh, the 10-course tasting menu is a meticulously detailed delight from start to finish.

As well as being proud to be among so many great Yorkshire chefs at the Michelin awards night in Dublin and meeting for the first time one of his own favourites, Tommy Banks, who retained his Michelin Star, Adam was also delighted to bump into Tom Kerridge who he had learned under at the Hand and Flowers in Buckinghamshire when he was a young man with dreams.

“When I was at the Michelin awards event in Dublin, I bumped into Tom who gave me a big hug and said he was proud of me.

"I wouldn’t even have been in Harrogate or at Rudding Park if it hadn’t have been for Emily, who is from Yorkshire.

"Everything me and the team do is thought out from the perspective of the diners.

“All we want to do is make people smile every time.”