Weddings at Box End Park

Set amidst 100 acres of beautiful Bedfordshire Countryside along the banks of the River Great Ouse this stunning contemporary venue is the perfect setting for any celebration. In fact it is truly one of a kind. The impressive Canadian cedar building will take your breath away with its magnificent glass entrance hall, sweeping gallery and fabulous vistas - a fantastic example of premium modern architecture. Box End Park perfectly balances the stylish with the simple, the inspiring with the invigorating and the laid back with the lively. 

At Box End Park we understand that choosing the venue for your special day is one of the most important decisions you will make whilst planning your wedding. Once you have booked the date with us you can sit back and breathe a sigh of relief that you have chosen the right place. The planning can begin.

For more information about weddings or celebrations at Box End Park call us on 01234 846223.

Celebrate in Style!

Since opening in 2008 countless visitors have walked onto the site at Box End Park and into the clubhouse soaking up the atmosphere and imagining their next anniversary/birthday/Christmas parties in the stunning Canadian cedar building on the banks of the lakes. However, with bar open to the public, seating and kitchen capacity limitations, and a restaurant that, if it is going to flourish as a business, cannot be frequently closed for private functions, we have reluctantly had to turn away some of those proposals from prospective customers. However, this year is different! During the recent months we have bashed a few walls down and made a few minor (actually quite major) adjustments to the first floor rooms. As a result we now have a beautiful new function room which looks out over the Southern lake at Box End Park. Still named The Maple Room, this stunning new space boasts a private bar; fabulous colour-changing lighting to suit any theme; large outdoor balcony overlooking the lake with contemporary outdoor seating; and holds 60 for a seated meal but will accommodate 100+ people for a party or buffet. The Maple Room will also be licensed for civil ceremonies from August 2012 and is fitted with brand new AV equipment and projector, ideal as a conference venue.

The completion of this luxurious room now means that are able to offer a more flexible, intimate and affordable option for customers who have special occasions they would like to celebrate at Box End Park. So not only can we accommodate those of you inspired to host your forthcoming milestone anniversary party at Box End Park but you can now celebrate in style!

Pick up the phone and call us on 01234 846223 if you would like to take a look around our new facilities. As usual, our Chefs can prepare a range of catering options freshly cooked to order. We would love to hear from you if you have an occasion in mind which you would like to discuss in more detail. We can then offer you a bespoke quote based on your requirements and budget. We will be updating our website soon with new pictures and prices, please bear with us in the meantime.

To book a table visit http://www.corner5restaurant.com/corner5-restaurant/book-online.php.

Top marks with Scores on the Doors!

When you eat in any restaurant you never really know what's going on behind those kitchen doors. However, we are pleased to announce that Corner 5 has achieved the maximum food hygiene score in the Food Standard Agency's new national rating scheme. Scored by the local authority food safety officer during an unscheduled inspection establishments are rated on all aspects of food hygiene including food handling, preparation, cooking, storage and food safety records as well as the overall cleanliness and condition of the building. The rating scheme is intended to provide the public with important information about the overall food hygiene standard for any food serving business. There are six rating scores, 0 - 5 inclusive, and we are pleased to say that we have achieved the top rating score of 5.

Much of this achievement is due to our fantastic team of chefs, led by Head Chef Sean Hazlett, however, to achieve and maintain the high standard of cleanliness throughout all our food preparation and storage areas, a great deal of effort is contributed by other individuals including our cleaning staff, restaurant front of house and bar staff as well as the business partners. There is a tremendous amount of work which goes into running the restaurant behind those closed kitchen doors, whether it's food labelling, temperature probing, keeping the dustbins clean, relentlessly monitoring fridge temperatures or devising water-tight food management systems and cleaning schedules - it's not just simply wiping a few work tops. The challenge is greater for establishments such as ours cooking freshly prepared food as we rarely freeze any ingredients. We have to monitor all our foods very carefully ensuring a speedy turnover of all fresh ingredients with minimal wastage.

For online information about our rating score and those of other establishments click on the following link: http://ratings.food.gov.uk/EstablishmentDetails.aspx?q=bedford&pi=33&eid=354717

Fantastic New Spring Menu

Head Chef, Sean Hazlett and his team have now put together a delicious spring menu for you to enjoy. For fish lovers we have some real treats in both the starters and main courses. For a light and tangy starter enjoy HOT SARDINE FILLETS served on warm crostinis topped with a sweet tomato and balsamic concasse with creamy tartare and micro basil. If you like a little spice PAN SEARED SCALLOPS served on a cauliflower and fennel puree accompanied by lightly spiced cauliflower bhajis and a fragrant cardamom curried beurre noisette will suit your tastes perfectly. There is also a choice of irresistable seafood main courses namely SEA BREAM served with fresh crab and spring onion broken lemon thyme potatoes finished with a shrimp and chive beurre blanc sauce or alternatively a HOT SMOKED SALMON STEAK served on a lemon and herb risotto accompanied by scrummy cream cheese filled baby African red peppers.

Both the CHICKEN COBB SALAD and the ENGLISH BREAKFAST have made another appearance on our starter menu due to their popularity amongst our customers.

Other main course highlights include the ASSIETTE OF SPRING LAMB consisting of a succulent lamb rack, lamb and mint confit and a tasty lambs liver served with rosemary fondant potato, buttered greens and a port reduction. The SPINACH & MUSHROOM ROULADE has already been a hit and is served with a warm tangy tomato concasse and pesto saute potatoes.

If you still have room for pudding you can enjoy some sensational desserts this season. An indulgent CLOTTED CREAM RICE PUDDING served with fresh raspberry compote, homemade shortbread and toffee crackling is one of the highlights as well as, Sous Chef, Carl Rynsard's MUSCAT SABAYON with sweet filo crisps and fresh English berries.

Don't forget Wednesday night is STEAK NIGHT which includes a free dessert as well as a glass of wine to match your steak sauce. Click here to book a table online now.

New from Corner 5 Restaurant Bedford: Our Head Chef like you've never seen him before!

New from Corner 5 Restaurant Bedford: Our Head Chef like you've never seen him before!: "Head Chef, Sean Hazlett If you've ever wondered about who actually works behind those kitchen doors busily preparing your delicious dinner..."

Our Head Chef like you've never seen him before!

If you've ever wondered about who actually works behind those kitchen doors busily preparing your delicious dinner take a look at this fantastic caricature of our Head Chef, Sean Hazlett, brilliantly illustrated by one of our recent customers, a local professional caricaturist.

To find out more about Corner 5 Restaurant or to book a table visit our website at www.corner5restaurant.com.

Quaffing at the Dorchester

There aren't many perks to running a restaurant: the anti-social hours, the hot kitchens, the endlesswashing up but our annual trip to the capital for our wine supplier's annual tasting, this year at the Dorchester in Mayfair, is certainly one of the highlights of the year for us.

Since we opened Hallgarten Druitt http://www.hallgarten.co.uk/ in the shape of top wine merchant Kevin O'Rourke http://www.wineman.co.uk/ has supplied us with high quality wines imported from across the world. Every winter they host a fabulous tasting event at a top London hotel where restauranteurs and retailers come face to face with the growers themselves. Over 600 wines are available to taste.

We have the opportunity to taste new wines from our favourite growers, to compare prices and tastes of similar wines and grape varieties and to learn more about the places they are grown and who grows them - all this so we can improve the service and products we offer in the restaurant. We use the day as an opportunity to find alternative wines to those that are delisted, to replace less popular wines and to find better value great tasting wines to balance our list and ensure excellent wine as affordable as possible for our customers.

It's a great fun day out too and the kind of event where you might run into the likes of Oz Clarke and other celebrity faces. Here are some of the new selections we have made:

Sadly for those who enjoy the stunning Spanish Enate 234 Unoaked Chardonnay will be disappointed to find out it has been delisted. In it's place we are considering a Spanish Alborino namely Serra da Estrela. Find out more about it here: http://www.adegasvalminor.com/en/wines/serra-da-estrela/. We'd love to know what you think.

We have decided to shake up the top end of the whites as well. We will be replacing the George Vernay Condrieu and the St Clair Wairau Reserve (despite how much we love them) with the Domaine Jean Goulley Petit Chablis Special Cuvee and the St Clair Block 3 Sauvignon Blanc which came personally recommended by St Clair's Head Wine Maker Matt Thomson. We are acutely aware that in this current economic climate our customers are tightening the purse strings and we feel that these changes will allow them great wines at more affordable prices.

In the red corner we have decided to swap the Chilean Echeverria Carmenere with the same grape variety instead from Vina Edmara in Chile's vast Central Valley. The wine still enjoys the depth of flavour of its predecessor but with a little less spice and pepper which might suit the more finely tuned palate. This will be wonderful with steak or lamb.

Tell us what you think of our wine selections on Twitter.