TV chef Tom Kerridge went behind the scenes of a Lake District Michelin-star restaurant named as the best in the world.

The BBC documentary The Hidden World of Hospitality put the spotlight on Ambleside's Old Stamp House.

At the beginning of the episode, Tom said: "I'm meeting chefs who like me are obsessive with their pursuit of culinary excellence."

The Mail: Ryan Blackburn outside the Old Stamp House Ryan Blackburn outside the Old Stamp House (Image: Submitted)

He visited The Old Stamp House, in Ambleside, which is run by Ryan Blackburn. In the episode, Ryan is trying to maintain his Michelin star. He has a nerve-wracking wait to see if he will get an invite to the Michelin star awards night, an indicator that he will maintain the accolade. 

In the episode, Ryan said: "Losing it would mean you are no longer a Michelin chef anymore which would be a very difficult thing to manage, I imagine."

READ MORE: Lake District head chef to feature in new BBC Two show

The Old Stamp House is Ryan's first restaurant, and he grew up just ten miles away. 

Tom commented that the restaurant appears 'unassuming' in Ambleside, as it is located in a basement unit. 

Ryan said: "In this restaurant, I pick the placemats, I pick the colour of the furniture, I pick the colour of the walls, I pick the artwork. Someone will say your attention to detail is brilliant and someone else will say you're a control freak. It's the same thing."

The restaurant also has a Tripadvisor award naming it the number one fine dining restaurant in the world. 

Tom praised Ryan's dishes, particularly his Arctic Charr dish, which is a fish associated with the cool sub-polar waters of the Lake District.  

Tom said: "You can see why the restaurant has got that incredible reputation, you can see why it's won the accolade. Beautiful food, wonderful produce, driven by incredibly hard-working and passionate people. 

"The only thing it reminds me of is how difficult the pressures are when you're working at that level."

In the end, The Old Stamp House keeps its Michelin star. Ryan also announces that he is planning to open a tapas-style restaurant inspired by eateries in Barcelona in an old bakery nearby.