food philosophy

What I want to do is put a big fat juicy smile on our guest’s faces and a warm feeling in their bellies.

For me cooking has been a way of making people happy which is something that I love to do. I am no Accolade chaser easy to say as someone who has held and maintained a Michelin star for a few years. I cook to my own standards using the best produce I can get my hands on, sourced from people whose passion for the produce they catch, rear or grow is a strong as mine is for giving it the respect it deserves and in turn creating something that I hope will live on in the memories of my guests. For me food is about flavour first and foremost, simplicity second and aesthetics last.

I have always maintained that if one spends time sourcing great produce, then more time preparing and cooking with love, as a by product you will serve something that is aesthetically pleasing, without the need for following the latest fashions. I am keen to stick to what I know and therefore, unless I have a Sushi master in the kitchen, Sushi will not appear on the menu, because if I am serving food to my guests it needs to be something I have complete confidence in doing to the best of my ability. Food at The Scarlet will be honest and always seasonal; wherever possible it will be local.

Having run The Abbey restaurant in Penzance since 2001, I had built up a relationship with producers, and I feel that the produce they supplied played a large part in the reputation we earned at the Abbey. I am in a new area some 40 miles from these trusted suppliers and due to their small scale, in most cases, logistically they will not be able to supply me here, however I am working with some of them on ways to keep the relationship alive. So I need to start again and it will be an ongoing process, but for me this is half the pleasure in what I do, engaging with people who have passion. I learnt very early in my career the importance of great produce, and so I see it as an important part of every day, for if you have the best produce you are already half way there.