Charlotte Vicent named head chef at Hotel Meudon

Great British Menu Chef Charlotte Vicent has taken up the head chef position at Hotel Meudon near Falmouth in Cornwall

Originally from Exeter, Charlotte gained a master's degree in Psychology and Human Biology at the University of Plymouth, before joining the Royal Logistics Corp of the British Army where she first learnt to cook. Since then she's spent 10 years working with Michael Caines at the Royal Clarence Hotel in Exeter and the two Michelin Star Gidleigh Park. 

Continuing her success, Charlotte took over the helm at the award-winning Five Bells in Cullompton, helping the inn feature in the UK's Top 50 Gastropubs. She also took part in Great British Menu in 2022.

Her plan originally had been to work in Surrey and work in a gastro pub where she was offered a job before deciding to stay in the south and look around for places nearby.

Upon her search she saw the hotel Meudon which "fit the bill completely," explained Charlotte.

Discussing what drew her to the hotel, she said it's location "right by the coast" was a real selling point and added that: "I love cooking fish - one of my favourite things to do." 

Another important factor that drew her to the job was the recruiter reporting how good the produce was, she said: "For me having a great larder is so important. So, I chose it for that reason. I've never worked with produce like it anywhere so far in my career."

Despite only being at Meudon for a few weeks, Charlotte described how she has already settled in well.

 "I went through a bit of soul searching that maybe I'd done the wrong thing because I was trying to move to Surrey to work in the whole London environment and I was thinking 'oh my gosh have I failed at that' but then I came here and thought 'I've made the best choice ever it's perfect.' I love my job, I love my role and I really love hotel Meudon, it's amazing," she explained. 

Discussing how easy its been to settle into Meudon, she explained: "I've literally settled right in. They are so so supportive. I had quite a lot of job offers but I wanted to go somewhere where I felt happy over anything else and where I can use really good produce. It was just a no-brainer"

"The whole management team and the owner of the hotel are so supportive," added Charlotte. 

Regarding her new role Charlotte said: "I feel like I've won the lottery for chefs a little bit because it's just going be such an amazing venue and it's just a lovely little restaurant - it's not too many covers -  we can really concentrate on the food. I've got a full team, which is quite rare these days. "

"It's just beautiful and I can't wait to really get into it," she explained.

Discussing the menu that can be expected at Meudon, Charlotte said: "It's predominately fresh fish. I have between three and four fish dishes a day on the menu and the same on starters. I introduced a bit of game last week which went down really well. That was some local Bodmin venison. But mainly it's fresh fish straight from the market on that day. 

"It's just amazing it's so fresh and so plump and delicious. It hasn't had to travel far," she added.

Food miles are very important to Charlotte in her cooking and along with getting fish fresh from the local market that morning she also tries wherever possible "to keep everything within 10 miles," and the furthest away that something comes from is 20 miles at most.

She said: "I'm trying to keep everything in the local area. I'm using local suppliers. If I can, I'll forage. I'm using anything that's on the market that's a bit random."

Hotel Meudon's General Manager, Sam Banks, in a press release said that she is delighted to have charlotte join the core team and is looking forward to helping Charlotte flourish in her new role.