Kintsu North Hill Colchester AA Rosette Award winner

Kintsu in 11a North Hill, run by Paul Wendholt, 38, has come away from the AA Rosette Awards with three rosettes.

An anonymous AA inspector described the restaurant as “highly seasonal cooking, hidden away from the hustle and bustle of central Colchester.”

Mr Wendholt has been running the restaurant for nearly three years after a rebrand from the previous Grains restaurant.

Prestigious - inside the Kintsu restaurant in North Hill (Image: Kintsu)

He works alongside 23-year-old pastry chef Ruby White in the kitchen to offer an “ingredient-led” tasting menu.

The restaurant was also handed a bib gourmand award in the Michelin Guide for 2022 and is delighted with its latest recognition.

Mr Wendholt said: “Having been in the industry myself approaching 20 years, as a chef you’d be lying if you said it didn’t mean anything.

Winner - Paul Wendholt with his AA award (Image: Kintsu)

“We’ve been slowly evolving from where we were to get to where we are now.

“It’s always been an ambition of ours to win rosettes. It’s not the be-all and end-all, but when they come along we are very happy with them.

“It’s good, it’s an indication that what we’re doing is good. We offer something you can’t really get in the local area.

“To have an outside body come and confirm it is definitely a big compliment."

Chef - Paul Wendholt in the kitchen (Image: Kintsu)

Mr Wendholt added: “We cook the food to make our customers happy.

“It’s nice to be in Michelin, not many places in the city are in it with us and with the AA rosettes, there’s only one other in Essex.

“Our hope is that it brings some awareness to people who don’t know we’re here and it gives people the confidence to know they will have a fantastic meal with us.”

The restaurant operates with a small team, with the owner giving a special thanks to front-of-house staff Ashley Lampshire, Agapi Mastoropoulou, Georgina Turner and Jamie.

Excited - pastry chef Ruby White with the rosette award (Image: Kintsu)

Mr Wendholt added: “We are a little family. We’re always here. You could come in Wednesday and Saturday and it will be the same people, so we get to know people.

“We pride ourselves not just on food, but on service. We remember preferences and we think it’s important that we give our customers an experience that matches their support for the restaurant and the money they’re spending.

“We appreciate we’re not the cheapest and we want them to feel like they matter. We are thankful and incredibly grateful to all our customers.”

Since 1956, the AA Rosette Awards have been a mark of leading restaurant and hotel venues across the UK.

Simon Numphud, managing director at AA Media said: “We are delighted to celebrate and recognise the latest collection of outstanding restaurants.

“All deliver excellent culinary experiences where provenance, seasonality, flavour and great cooking take centre stage.

“Here’s to the remarkable chefs and front-of-house teams whose dedication has brought these accolades to life.”