THE installation of a brand new state-of-the-art kitchen has prompted the owners of a North Lancashire hotel to introduce a ‘fine-dining experience’.

Work on the Royal Station Hotel in Carnforth began in 2016 and since then more than £1million has been spent on breathing new life into the establishment.

Now the kitchen installation is complete, owners Glen Pearson and Maggie Dainty will be celebrating with a brand new menu launch tomorrow (Dec 6).

“From the moment we set foot through the doors we knew how much potential the Royal Station Hotel had, and with food being at the heart of the business, we knew it was important to have a much bigger kitchen one day," said Mr Pearson. “We pride ourselves on providing affordable home-cooked meals but there’s only so much our chefs could do in the kitchen they had, that’s when we decided to not only rip out the old one and install a new one, but to build a new extension and move the kitchen to a central location within the hotel to give the chefs the space they needed to create a menu that caters for all.

“Carnforth has a lot going for it and we are certainly noticing an increase in the amount of visitors. There are a variety of pubs, locally owned shops, we’re right next door to the Carnforth Station Heritage Centre and five minutes from the canal where people go for scenic walks. The town deserves an establishment that provides a fine dining experience and that’s what we’re planning to do.”

Chefs Chris Linton and Steven Kerr have enjoyed designing the new menu which provides a variety of culinary delights.

Head chef Mr Linton said: “Back in the day, this hotel was known for fine dining and this is something our customers have expressed a longing for again. The original kitchen was great for pub grub, but it was out-dated and we were therefore limited in the type of food we could provide.

“This modern state-of-the-art kitchen has allowed us to be more creative when designing the menu and as well as enabling us to cater for much bigger functions, it will also enable us to bring our ideas to life.”