ABOUT Executive Chef Colin Bedford

WHAT THEY'RE SAYING

Raleigh News & Observer
Colin's cuisine is "exquisite from start to finish...indeed sublime...at once cleverly original and intelligently conceived with a nod to tradition."

- Food Critic Greg Cox

Metro Magazine
"Bedford’s...tricks of the trade are designed to enchant rather than mystify — and he succeeds." His cuisine is "adventurous artistry: fresh flavors used in unexpected combinations."

- Food Writer Moreton Neal

Varmint Bites Food Blog
"...the flavor combinations were often surprising, combinations that I would never have even thought to put together.  And his presentations surprised me as well, sometimes whimsically composed, but inevitably pleasant to view.

I found myself telling my wife and son, “Wow, that’s a surprising combination, but it really, truly works.”  There were sweet elements in savory dishes and savory components in the desserts. 

The food challenged my traditional concepts of food, but not so much that I felt that Bedford was thinking, “Let’s see how many people get this dish.”

I just think Chef Bedford knows the human palate and knows how to combine traditional foods in untraditional ways...This isn’t wacked out food.  It’s damn good, damn interesting food."

- Food Writer/Blogger Dean McCord
September, 2010

Colin Bedford is Executive Chef of The Fearrington House Restaurant. His exceptional menu has won an avid following and critical acclaim. In addition to helping us become ranked No. 3 Small Hotel in the US (Conde Nast Traveler), and a Gold Medalist restaurant in 2011 (News & Observer), Bedford is one of three chefs from the Southern US, joining masters like Daniel Humm and Thomas Keller, in the acclaimed Relais & Chateau's book: 85 Inspirational Chefs.

All of our culinary offerings at Fearrington - from wedding receptions to room service, to house-cured beef in our beer garden, to salads at the Goat, and gastro-pub fare in the Fearrington Granary - reflect Chef Colin Bedford's vision.

Background
Anyone who has talked with Chef Colin Bedford, might quickly guess he grew up in England. Colin grew up in the southwest of England and his culinary interests started at an early age, he says, watching his mother bake and helping his father water the vegetable garden. He officially started his culinary career at Yeovil College in Somerset, earning a Diploma in Hospitality.

After graduating college, he moved to Taunton (UK), where he apprenticed at The Castle Hotel, whose restaurant has a Michelin Star. Formerly a Norman fortress built in the 12th century, The Castle, is like Fearrington, a family-run luxury property, and famous for fostering up-and-coming chefs.

From The Castle, Colin jumped the Atlantic to the Prince of Wales Hotel in Ontario, Canada. After a stint as Pastry Chef, he became Executive Sous Chef, all the while gaining great experience with Farm to Table cuisine, which he's taken to new levels at Fearrington. 

Arriving at Fearrington in 2005, Bedford became executive chef in 2008 and has since spearheaded so many great things. 

Accomplishments
• Maintaining the restaurant’s AAA Five Diamond award (given continuously since 1996). 

• Collaborating with such chefs as Thomas Keller and Daniel Humm, in a Relais & Chateaux cookbook, 85 Inspirational Chefs: Recipes from North America, Mexico and the Caribbean and Chefs at Home: Favorite Recipes from Chefs of Relais & Chateaux in North America. Colin being the youngest chef included in the top North American chef. 

• Stewarding us toward becoming the only AAA Five Diamond restaurant in the country to be Green Certified by the not-for-profit Green Restaurant Association

• Garnering critical local acclaim:  the Gold Medalist recognition, from the tri-county Raleigh News & Observer in 2011. 

• Being named as a Top 50 Best Overall restaurant in the US, based on over two million reviews by OpenTable diners since 2009.

• Joining in a worldwide, global-seafood conservation effort with other Relais & Chateaux chefs. At Fearrington, we serve only non-endangered seafood species from sustainable sources, practicing ocean-friendly fishing methods.

• Spearheading and volunteering for public school initiatives to improve lunchtime menus in Chatham County.

• Supporting the Southern Foodways Alliance by hosting an oyster roast at Fearrington. 

• Interviewing and sharing recipes on local radio and magazines as well as internationally, for example, "A Dickensian Christmas" for Wine Spectator.

• Creating the exceptional Fearrington House menu.