You don’t arrive at Palé Hall by accident. The journey leaves the everyday behind — the noise, the haste, the familiar. Then the house appears, quietly commanding, set in a landscape that feels almost untouched by time. It is here that Luke Selby is shaping something new.
Still in his mid-thirties, Selby finds himself at Palé Hall at a moment of rare alignment. After his tenure as Executive Chef at Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons, he and his brothers Nathaniel and Theodore reached an unexpected crossroads when the hotel closed for refurbishment — a rare opening for three chefs long accustomed to working side by side, shaped by a childhood that was, as Selby puts it, “competitive, but supportive,” and by years in Michelin-starred kitchens where trust and honesty mattered more than ego.
Palé Hall itself is entering a period of quiet transformation. The five-star Relais & Châteaux property, set on the edge of Eryri National Park near Bala, was acquired in April 2024 by entrepreneurs Anthony and Donna Cooper-Barney, who are steadily reshaping the estate with the ambition of creating a house of real significance. Plans extend far beyond a single restaurant: a new fine dining concept, an evolving all-day dining offer, the Hearth chef’s table, and the Bryntirion Inn on the estate — alongside wider investments in wine, art, wellness and the grounds themselves.
There is a sense of the place broadening as well as deepening. The gardens and surrounding parkland already draw guests outdoors, and forthcoming additions — treatment rooms, yoga and a small wellness retreat — will give the house more of the character of a rural sanctuary than a conventional hotel.
Now, as Chef Partner — a role he took up in January 2026 — Selby is responsible not only for the direction of the kitchens, but for the broader experience of how guests dine, stay and move through the house. His role is not confined to a single restaurant; it is about shaping the rhythm of the entire property — how the different spaces relate to one another, and how the experience unfolds over the course of a stay.
For Selby, the opportunity is as much about freedom as it is about ambition. Born in Jeddah and raised in West Sussex, he later won The Roux Scholarship and spent formative time cooking in Japan — an experience that left a lasting mark on how he thinks about ingredients, craft and leadership.
“The respect for ingredients, discipline, repetition and humility really stuck with me,” he says. “It shapes how I cook, but also how I try to behave as a person and a leader.”
That sense of discipline underpins his ambitions for Palé Hall. This is not about spectacle or quick impact; it is about building something that endures and deepens over time.
“I’m ambitious, but in a considered way,” Selby says. “I want Palé Hall to be genuinely great — somewhere people talk about for the right reasons. Not just because it’s beautiful, but because the food, service and atmosphere really resonate.”
The project is unfolding deliberately. The pub, the all-day dining, and The Hearth chef’s table form the first chapter, with the fine dining restaurant to follow in late summer. It is a measured approach, and an intentional one.
That same sense of quiet assurance runs through the wider vision for Palé Hall — a place that values depth over display, and atmosphere over theatre.
Across the estate, the approach to food begins with the landscape itself. Much of what reaches the kitchen comes from nearby farms, growers and producers, an approach already recognised with a Michelin Green Star and one that reflects a serious commitment to sustainability that runs deeper than fashion.
Less than a mile from the main house, The Bryntirion Inn provides a relaxed counterpoint to the fine dining ambitions of the hotel. A historic Welsh pub on the estate, it focuses on seasonal cooking, local produce and a warmth that feels genuine rather than staged — somewhere guests might linger after a walk, take a table by the fire, or return to more than once during a stay.
Dining itself, Selby believes, is changing. Guests are more knowledgeable and less easily impressed by superficiality.
“Guests today are well travelled and switched on — they can spot something inauthentic a mile off,” he says. “They’re looking for meaning and warmth, not just fireworks.”
Having worked in some of the most exacting Michelin-starred kitchens in Britain – including Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons, Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, Dabbous, Hide and Evelyn’s Table – Selby understands that luxury hospitality need not be intimidating to be exceptional.
“I want people to feel looked after, not judged,” he says. “You can offer world-class food and service while still being warm, relaxed and human.”
In an industry that often rewards noise, the most enduring work is sometimes the quietest.
At Palé Hall, that work is already underway – quietly, deliberately, and very much on its own terms.
Planning a visit to Palé Hall?
Luxury Restaurant Guide members and their guests are welcomed with a glass of Veuve Clicquot when dining, adding a note of special occasion and representing a saving of around £21 per guest. See details.
You can explore with a complimentary 14-day preview via here →.
Palé Hall
Palé Estate
Llandderfel
Bala
Gwynedd
LL23 7PS
Interview and article by Tessa Shreeve, Founder of Luxury Restaurant Guide.
