The Vale Hotel, Golf and Spa Resort

Welsh celebrity Chef, Dudley Newbery - the star of S4C's popular cookery show, Casa Dudley has been called upon to lend his valued expertise to the brand new concept that is, the Vale Bar & Grill, situated within the picturesque setting of the Vale Hotel, Golf & Spa Resort at Hensol, nr Cardiff.

A television favourite and hugely experienced chef, Dudley's input to both the menu and style has been invaluable in achieving exactly what the Vale set out to do – to champion the use of locally-sourced, fresh produce and create a menu that fuses the cosmopolitan edge of the new brasserie with traditional cuisine.

Working closely with the resort chefs and culinary team, Dudley has helped to bring a 'Best of Welsh' flavour to the resort.

Together, they've created an exciting new menu that's designed to combine all the traditional aspects of good home-cooking, with a touch of innovative from a team of highly trained chefs. –

Commenting on his involvement, Dudley said:

“I'm a firm believer in the fact that you don't have to mess with good food – keep it simple but top quality and that's exactly what we're going for at the Vale Bar & Grill.

People go out to enjoy food that they wouldn't necessarily prepare at home and that doesn't have to be complicated. Very few have the time to indulge in making homemade pies or their own bread for example, and that's what they'll get when they visit the Resort.

“I've been involved with the menu from the very start and worked closely with the kitchen team to come up with something that is interesting to the diner but, ultimately, workable.

It's also very much a moving thing as, while we have our staples, being so committed to making use of fresh, locally sourced produce, we work with what's in season and what will give the best flavours at any given time.

“There's so much going on at the Vale Resort at the moment, it's a very exciting time. And I'm delighted to see the Vale Bar & Grill is a part of all these developments. As we move into summer, we're about to sit down and take a look at updating the menu to embrace the seasonal variations and, looking further ahead, what we really want to do is to create a flagship for all that is great about Wales and its cuisine - and with the team we've got, we've got a real chance of achieving it.”

Vale Resort marketing director, Paul Beddoe, added:

“A great deal of planning, research and of course investment went into the Vale Bar & Grill, it was important that we got it exactly right. We're appealing to a very varied audience – from hotel guests to local diners and also our health and leisure club members – and I'm delighted that we've managed to achieve what we set out to do.

“Dudley's input and support has been invaluable in the whole process and we're all looking forward to him maintaining a close involvement and helping us continue to provide a great dining experience across the resort.”