Ethos

As much as I believe food is just food and fundamentally quite a humble thing, I care a lot about where it has come from, how it has been handled, and I take a lot of joy in all the levels that it can be taken to. Food to me must be honest, taste- and flavour-focused, fresh and prepared daily. No unnecessary processes; it should be treated with love, care and skill (don’t cheat with unpronounceable emulsifiers/stabilisers and don’t cook or store food suffocated in plastic or unnecessarily blowtorch use).

Championing the South West’s produce, dictated by the seasons. To show off ingredients for what they are, to do them justice. (Produce that has been grown/produced with love and care naturally tastes so much better than something grown on a mass scale to fill warehouses and supermarket shelves.) Sourcing produce from like-minded local suppliers who practise sustainability, organic methods and low waste, as well as finding new ones to support, is one of the genuine joys of the job.

Sustainability and low-waste cooking have rightly become prominent in hospitality, but unfortunately, there is a lot of greenwashing for marketing, which dilutes and detracts from what it is supposed to mean. Sustainability is a goal—something to constantly work on and evolve in every aspect of the business. For example, I have learnt that there is no real need for single-use plastic in kitchens by working with suppliers and being smarter with how you store food and cook. Although I am still working on a solution for occasional clumsiness and the need for a blue plaster. With recycling, smart composting and a small amount of planning, there is little need for general waste. There is still a lot to learn, and many of these approaches shape the menus and the way I cook, forcing me to experiment and be more creative, which I love.