Nathan Outlaw opened his guest house in Port Isaac, Cornwall, in the summer. The chef, whose exceptional flagship restaurant appears in our Top 20 list, tells Josh Barrie about expanding his business, cooking breakfast, and getting to know his guests.
Nick Nairn was one of the first chefs to turn himself into a ‘celebrity’, and did so via the BBC’s then wildly popular show Ready Steady Cook. But Nairn was a star in the kitchen as well as on the screen. He opened his first restaurant, Braeval Old Mill, near Aberfoyle in 1986, and went on to open the acclaimed Nairn’s in Glasgow in ‘98. Not bad for a chef who lacked formal training... and once described himself as ‘a self-taught cook who couldn’t boil an egg ten years ago’.
Country house hotels have been quietly shaking off their dusty image for years. Then the no-fly period of the pandemic struck and suddenly opinion-shapers were checking into places with glorious gardens, sumptuous interiors and kitchens whose food thrilled. Voluminous floral chintz in dusty dining rooms, prissy formality and palate-deadening food? There’s no space for that in these competitive times. Heritage-respecting style, easy informality laced with luxury, and inspired cooking by talented chefs using kitchen garden ingredients? Yes please.
The largest of the Channel Islands is a self-governing bailiwick off the northwest coast of France. On a clear day, from one of its many fortified eminences, where the old cannon have fallen silent and the defensive towers turned into bijou residences, you can see Normandy. Hydrangeas festoon large in private gardens, while summer sees outbreaks of startling, purple-headed agapanthus line the verges. There is a local language – a reconstructed Norman tongue called Jèrriais – which around three per cent of the inhabitants still use.
Named The Good Food Guide’s newcomer of the year in 1988, Tessa Bramley has featured in every edition since (with a Michelin star awarded in 1998) and is considered a bit of a legend. A country cook rooted in tradition, time has been powerless to dim her diligence or enthusiasm in offering fiercely seasonal cooking that still feels current and fresh.
