Piles of rubble and lengths of pipework lie where Terry Laybourne's new kitchen is planned. But he's been at his chef's station for months - in his imagination.
 What's also exciting him is the vaulted, brick-lined cellar next door that will welcome the wines that discerning North-East diners enjoy matching and constrasting with their terrine of ham knuckle, foie gras and pease pudding. Terry is one of the country's most highly-regarded restaurateurs, operating the Michelin Star-awarded Cafe 21 (formerly 21 Queen Street) in Newcastle which has been followed by bistro-style restaurants in Ponteland, Sunderland, Durham, plus Cafe Live in Newcastle. His latest venture, scheduled for a September opening, is a hotel, restaurant and conference centre at Jesmond Dene House, a grade II listed building located in two acres of gardens in the heart of Jesmond Dene, mere minutes from Newcastle city centre. It is a massive project, a £7m refurbishment and conversion of a building originally designed by John Dobson which has at various times been a private house, Civil Defence headquarters, seminary and secretarial college. The project is being led by a partnership of regional businessmen including award-winning developer Peter Candler, managing director of Riverdale Developments, a Durham-based commercial and residential property company which has won awards for its sympathetic refurbishment work and its environmentally-acute approach to projects of this nature. On completion, Jesmond Dene House will feature 41, en-suite bedrooms; a large dining area specialising in fresh, seasonal regional produce, plus facilities for business meetings and seminars. It will also offer wedding and banqueting facilities. Terry Laybourne has built his considerable reputation on this fresh, seasonal, regional approach, though by his own admission, this can be a restrictive practice. "On the other hand," he says, "you gain a far better understanding of ingredients and what works together. Mother Nature is no fool - blackberry and apple, salmon and asparagus, lamb and new potatoes aren't perfect combinations by accident; what grows together, goes together." Terry began his training in some of Europe's finest hotels before returning to the region to spend eight years building that formidable reputation at the Fisherman's Lodge (also in Jesmond Dene). In September 1988, he opened 21 Queen Street then gradually developed his signature bistros. In 1998, he was awarded the catering industry's award as Independent Restaurateur of the Year, followed a year later by a consultancy at Matfen Hall Country House Hotel in Northumberland, then similar roles at Newcastle United, Marks & Spencer, Fenwick, the Ministry of Agriculture and Northumbrian Larder, an initiative bringing together artisan food products from around the region. He was awarded the MBE in 1998 for services to the restaurant and tourism industries. Late last year, he launched Quest For Taste, a sumptuously-photographed and brilliantly observed book on the region's food and its producers. In it, he explains his philosophy. "Everyone assumes that the chef is an artist," he writes. "Let me tell you something. If the guy who supplies my asparagus does his job properly and it arrives in perfect condition, all I do is sling it in a pan of boiling salted water, take it out when it's ready, put it on a nice plate with a dish of melted butter and a wedge of lemon, and people fete me as a magician. "On the other hand, if he doesn't do his job properly and produces second-rate asparagus - which I cook in exactly the same way - put on a nice plate with a dish of melted butter and a wedge of lemon, what does the customer think? "Exactly. He thinks I'm useless. Yet, I didn't do anything differently. Moral: 90pc of good cooking is good shopping; the other 10pc is craft. You can argue the percentages but the facts are the facts. "I'm becoming someone who eschews the dramarama of haute cuisine for more simple pleasures. I don't know if this is in response to a general movement towards a simpler, less cluttered lifestyle, with its renewed appreciation of craftsmanship and authenticity in which the organic vegetable box is almost a prerequisite of any thinking person's weekly shop, or it could just be that I'm maturing as a cook. "But I worry that food is becoming over-sophisticated, too clever, too global. Year-round asparagus is surely a contradiction in terms. And we're overlooking the fact that some of our finest food sources are on our doorstep, full of the flavour, texture and seasonality that make cooking such a joy. "If we can agree that good food needs to be two things, fresh and flavoursome, then it is logical that the freshest produce is not the produce that has travelled from the other side of the world. Almost all commercially-grown produce has had its seasons altered in order to meet year-round demand. This constant accessibility has depleted the deep, natural flavours as well as the textures of many of our more familiar fruits and vegetables." The surroundings, fixtures and fittings at Jesmond Dene House reflect Terry's insistence on indigenous quality. Many of the original features have been retained, such as the oak panelling in the banqueting hall, the friezes and tiles installed in the late 1800s. They will be complemented and contrasted - like those fine wine accompaniments - with modern, comfortable furnishings and a sleek, new entrance and reception area. Terry says: "The hotel and restaurant will be one of the finest in the region. We started work on it last September and we're into the final push now. We wouldn't have done it if it hadn't had this sort of quality about it." Jesmond Dene house has been renovated once before - in 1875 when ballistics expert, Captain Andrew Noble (later knighted), hired architect Norman Shaw to design extensions to it. Noble bought the house in 1871 on the advice of his business partner, Lord Armstrong of Cragside, founder of the Elswick armaments works On another occasion, in 1911, Admiral Togo, a Japanese war hero, visited the region to express his thanks to the city of Newcastle for its role in building and arming the Japanese navy and for training personnel. Apparently, arms deals were being conducted in the banqueting hall while the inscrutable admiral sat upstairs in a secret room, taking detailed note of the negotiations. Terry Laybourne talks about craftsmen, authenticity and "sourcing the best". It's not clear whether he's talking about the Jesmond Dene House refurbishment or what will be served from its kitchens. It doesn't matter, passion is passion and is interchangeable between subjects - but only if you really believe in them. Terry Laybourne is a believer - it's the sort of thing that earns Michelin stars. * For further information, visit www.jesmonddenehouse.co.uk | 
