FORMERLY the Mansion House, Hotel du Vin & Bistro is a beautiful Virginia-creeper-clad Georgian House nestled in the heart of Poole Quay.

With 38 timelessly styled bedrooms and suites, three unique events rooms for business or private dining, a trademark bistro, bar, wine cellar and intriguing Laroche tasting room, it offers something for all desires.

This stunning Dorset hotel lies within the medieval port, but it’s what goes on in the kitchen that intrigues me most.

Head chef Darren Rockett, 44, and senior chef de partie Dean Barker, 26, deliver a plethora of delicious, classic French-styled dishes to the pass, with a real emphasis on quality and taste.

Darren’s career in the kitchen started at the age of thirteen when he was washing up dishes at weekends.

“I vowed then that I’d never work in a kitchen, but here I am.

“I’ve now been at Hotel du Vin for eighteen years,” said Darren.

The hotel’s bistro now boasts an extensive à la carte menu, which is generic throughout the chain, but local man Darren, who trained and earned a hotel chef’s diploma at Bournemouth and Poole College and has worked at Gavroche, The Royal Garden and The Ritz in London, Limewood in Lyndhurst and Bournemouth’s Norfolk Royale among others, thrives from the opportunity to infuse his own ideas.

Darren has been with the hotel since it opened, having started when it was formerly the Mansion House in 1996. While the building was refurbished in 2008, he spent a year working at Hotel du Vins in Brighton, Henley and Winchester, before coming back to Poole to put together the kitchen team.

Darren explained: “We change the food frequently and offer a plats du jour menu, depending on what’s available, fresh and in season. I don’t really have a favourite food. It depends what mood I’m in really, I like everything. I might pick something up from a supplier and be inspired and like that.”

So where does Darren get his inspiration from?

“Executive chef David Nicholls taught me a lot whilst I was in London – I worked with him at The Royal Garden, the Ritz and Britannia Continental. David was fantastic at making the kitchen run like clockwork. Jerry Godon also inspired me. He was the old owner and head chef here before I took over. Working for someone who owned a place and ran the kitchen enabled me to see everything from a different angle.”

Working as a team is vital to a successful kitchen and senior chef de partie Dean Barker plays an essential role, having worked his way up the ranks.

“I trained at Bournemouth and Poole College, completing an Advanced NVQ Level 3 in catering ten years ago. I did a stint at Hotel du Vin Winchester and worked here when it was formerly the Mansion House and have been here ever since.”

A Poole resident, Dean’s career at Hotel du Vin began as a commis chef and he made his journey up the career ladder, working alongside Head Chef Darren for many years.

So, who inspires him?

“I like Anthony Bourdain for his honesty of food, the way it should be. It’s very honest and straight to the point. Our cooking style is simple, I like to keep it simple but experiment at the same time and have fun with food. Game meats like pheasant and venison are my personal favourite dishes.

“We want to keep our food as fresh, tasty and simple as possible.”