Matt Worswick: 'We have different pressures out here, but maintaining a Michelin star or working towards that goal is not one of them'

In January, Shortly after Leaving Savoy Grill, Matt Worswick was given the opportunity to move to Barbados to oversee the relaunch of the island's iconic restaurant, The Cliff, as the executive chef

We caught up with Matt, who, to the background sound of waves crashing on a beach, told us that his work is very much underway.

The Cliff's informal sister restaurant, QP Bistro, has been open since the beginning of the year, so service is already taking up some of the team's time while they develop menus, recruit and train staff ahead of The Cliff's official launch on August 4th.

The 'Whatever means necessary' approach

As well as funding a massive refurb of the restaurant, the owner has given Matt and his team free reign on everything from ingredients to crockery and cutlery - with the minor requirement that they turn The Cliff into 'the best restaurant in the Caribbean.'

"The setting is world-class," Matt said. "It really is another level. We can just be the best that we can, it's as simple as that."

Once the renovations are complete, "the design is going to be very sleek, very modern," he explained, as apart from the bare bones of the building, everything is being built from scratch. "It's going to be one of the best restaurants I've ever been in, nevermind worked."

The restaurant will seat 140-160 people across two dining areas and two private spaces, and the food offering will be diverse, providing "a relaxed setting, with premium ingredients and service in an incredible location."

Matt has his whole team ready to go, an even mix of locals and European chefs. Given the setting, he said, "it's quite an easy operation to sell."

"Working at The Cliff, you have access to the best ingredients, we import what we need, and then you get to work in a kitchen - and live - on Barbados, but still cook amazing food. It takes a lot of investment to be able to do that, but we are in the very lucky position

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to have the resources to do it."

Bye for now, Michelin

The chef is very grateful for the new role, not least because of how tumultuous the last couple of years have been for him.

In December 2019, he was all set to go to Shanghai to be the executive chef at Jason Atherton's planned restaurant there. When this fell through, he secured a role as the executive chef at Savoy Grill, which he left after a less than a year.

"So to find a position where you can settle down," which he and his fiancé are hoping will be the case at The Cliff, "I just feel extremely fortunate."

But the move to Barbados has also meant making some sacrifices, namely the prospect of winning Michelin stars. Matt said he isn't phased by this, as he very much intends on working to the standards he held himself to back in the UK.

"The guide books have always been something that I've worked towards," he said, at Le Champignon Sauvage, Glenapp Castle, and The Latymer, "and the quality that instills never goes away."

"The accolades change - you still get Forbes and stuff out here - but that's not my primary goal. Excellence is the primary goal."

Plus, if Covid has taught him anything, he continued, it is that "there is a little bit more to life [than accolades]. I have great work life balance here, I still have access to amazing ingredients, and super talented chefs.

"At the end of the year, whenever the guide comes out, we'll watch it from afar," he said, "but I'm happy building a family, seeing my fiancé.

"We have different pressures out here," mainly working through the logistics of importing the highest quality ingredients, "but maintaining a Michelin star or working towards that goal is not one of them."

"I'm very much settled and grounded with what our task is, what needs to be delivered and what standard we need to get - it's just about doing the best food that we can deliver on Barbados."

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Matt Worswick: 'We have different pressures out here, but maintaining a Michelin star or working towards that goal is not one of them'

Tanwen Dawn-Hiscox