At your service.

Holy Island and gloriously runny honey from Chainbridge Farm.

Hotel du Vin's bistro features 'simple classics' that change seasonally, with head chef Graeme Cuthell adding his own selections daily, all supporting their philosophy of using the finest and freshest local produce, cooked simply.

Robert, who has a wine cellar at home in Northumberland, has a penchant for fine wines, red burgundies in particular. He's a real carnivore too, and loves tucking into a good steak.

"I enjoy collecting good wine, it's something I got into in my working life and I have access to some of the finest wine cellars in the world. For me, I don't buy to invest, it's good, quaffable wine!" He adds: "When I'm at home, I try to avoid eating out too much."

That''s understandable when you spend your working life in hotels, though Robert does admire Terry Laybourne's Caf 21 group, declaring it 'excellent.' When the Cooks do eat out, they make a beeline for The Ship Inn at Newton in Northumberland and The Tankerville Arms at Eglingham in Northumberland, which friends have taken over.

Of the first anniversary of HDV in Newcastle, Robert says: "It has flown past quite quickly. As a group we have battled through and held our own, but in Newcastle we have had a reasonable year.

"The food and beverage year has been good, it's been good throughout the group. The restaurant has been very popular. The most interesting bedrooms in the group are in Newcastle, with views of the Tyne, and they are probably my favourite."

Robert explains the difference between the two brands, which he has described thus: "Malmaison is a Maserati and Hotel du Vin is the Morgan. The HDV experience is about rustic contemporary and the Malmaison one is cool, slick and chic. Hotel du Vin is more shabby chic, more lived in. " The genial Aberdonian has spent most of his life living and breathing hotels and knows the business inside out.

He spent the first 18 years of his life living in a hotel in Aberdeen. His father was general manager of the Swallow Palace Hotel.

Robert admits to checking out the opposition, staying incognito in hotels. "Every year I go to Italy, France, the US and we check out new places."

Looking ahead and Robert has the city of Durham in his sights for a new Hotel du Vin.

"When the economy returns to some normality, I would love to do a Hotel du Vin in Durham. It's a university town and for a Hotel du Vin, it ticks all the right boxes."

Away from work Robert is an outdoorsy, sporty sort.

As well as doing a bit of game shooting in the winter, he is a keen golfer, with a handicap of six. "I'm a member of Goswick and play Bamburgh most weekends."

He says of home: "It's unspoiled and total escapism, a little haven.

"It's where we are at weekends. We have great friends around us, it's handy for golf and there are good shops now and it's close to the rail station and easy to get to work."

Home is very definitely not decorated like any of his hotels, though. "It's very simple at home, it's very much my wife's taste. I don't want my house to look like a hotel. It's a typical Northumberland cottage."

CAPTION(S):

COOL, SLICK AND CHIC The Malmaison Hotel in Newcastle. RUSTIC CONTEMPORARY The exterior of the Hotel Du Vin on City Road, Newcastle, which is one year old.