CHEFS are sharing the prestige of earning high praise from food industry experts.

The team at Magnolia Brasserie at Faringdon's Sudbury House Hotel have been awarded two rosettes from the AA, marking a pivotal moment in head chef Ben Bullen's career.

His instatement when the restaurant opened in 2014 was his first venture to the top of the kitchen hierarchy, and he is creeping up on the success of the hotel's more formal eaterie Restaurant 56 which has three rosettes.

He said: "This means a lot to us all - there has been a considerable amount of hard work done to develop and evolve the menu. I have enjoyed the challenge of taking the Magnolia Brasserie from a new restaurant and creating a range of interesting dishes using our wood burner stove that gives food a unique and very different flavour.

"We have a mix of Mediterranean style and classic British dishes on the menu. I like to create twists on classic flavour combinations using fresh, quality ingredients to give our diners a memorable experience at Sudbury House.

"We have an open plan kitchen in the brasserie which gives me and my team the opportunity to interact with our guests."

Mr Bullen originally trained at the North Oxfordshire College in Banbury and worked part-time in Whately Hall Hotel in the town, where he first met and worked with Sudbury House Hotel's executive head chef Andrew Scott.

He then went on to work in Gee's Restaurant in Oxford and flit between various exciting kitchens thereafter in the surrounding counties, heading back to Gee's team as sous chef before rejoining Mr Scott at Sudbury House.

Mr Bullen added: "Working in such a happy and professional environment really makes a difference in all aspects of work."

The AA rosette system recognises outstanding restaurants, with ratings ranging from one rosette to five.

For information about Magnolia Brasserie visit SudburyHouse.co.uk.