Interview
Paul Foster, Salt
Paul Foster is no stranger to Good Food Guide awards, having won Up-and-Coming Chef in 2012. But his first solo venture beat off some stiff competition to take this year’s gong for Best New Entry.
Paul Foster is no stranger to Good Food Guide awards, having won Up-and-Coming Chef in 2012. But his first solo venture beat off some stiff competition to take this year’s gong for Best New Entry.
Higgledy-piggledy Hastings, with one foot in 1066, and its seaside sibling St Leonards, purpose built in the 1800s by James and Decimus Burton as a genteel seaside resort, are two adjacent towns on the south-east coast that share more than just a few miles of seafront. They have a relaxed, easy-going outlook that is attracting newcomers thanks to their rich culture, art and food scene.
Revolution isn’t the first word that springs to mind when considering North Norfolk. Wild, windswept beaches? Yes. Vast skies over wide expanses of salt marshes, populated only by seabirds? That too. But revolution amid the little coastal villages with their pebbled cottages and ancient churches? Hardly.
In the agrestic folds of northwest Wales, Gareth Ward and his partner Amelia Eriksson are carving out something of a culinary paradise, where ingredients are centre stage, the service charming and the vibe lustrous. Following Ynyshir’s place at number two in our Top 20 list, Ward opens up about plans for a pizza shop, and a glass-fronted aging chamber ballasted by Himalayan salt.
With banks increasingly reluctant to lend money to start-up businesses, crowdfunding has become the only viable option for many first-time restaurateurs.