When Karen Baybutt talks about Farlam Hall she fizzes with energy.

As she enthuses about how they achieved their first Michelin star (“emotional”), had 70 per cent of their guests over Christmas and New Year immediately rebook for the following year saying they didn’t want to leave (“so touching”), her passion for hospitality is infectious. 
It’s a story oft told about how she and award-winning Michelin starred chef Hirishikesh Desai moved to the luxury Farlam Hall from the Gilpin Hotel and Lake House last year.

Not as well known is that her time at Gilpin, first as finance director then as MD from 2021, was the first time she had worked in hospitality.  
“My background has always been accounting and finance and as I’ve progressed I’ve come to love business in its entirety,” she said. 
She started in her role as finance director at Farlam Hall near Brampton in April 2023.

She says the first year there was “transformational”.

They achieved a Michelin star, three AA rosettes and developed the Enkel bistro alongside the Michelin cuisine at Cedar Tree.

The changes have seen their bookings increase by 92 per cent year on year. 
“It feels like we’ve climbed Everest!” she said. “The first year was about building the foundations of something that’s going to have some longevity. My whole career has been about building businesses but in a really good, solid way.
“There was almost more pressure on Hirishikesh because he’d had a Michelin star and he knew he had to deliver on this. When you look at what Hirishikesh has achieved no wonder people don’t really know who I am. I prefer to be in the engine room making sure all runs smoothly." 
After Hirishikesh was approached by Farlam’s American owners Joseph Walter and Kathy Mares they then contacted Karen.

“We were both looking for a new role but this came out of the blue,” she said.  
“Coming to Farlam Hall has been transformational in every sense. Everybody in the team is excited to be on the journey with us. Hirishikesh does the creative side of it and I reach out to commercial partners to work with. We’ve done Taittinger events, Porsche sponsorship, BMW and Laurent Perrier are knocking on our door now. For us it’s like ‘wow’. It’s been epic and I wake up in the morning excited about what we are doing. I couldn’t be happier. It doesn’t feel like work."