Chris Eden: As you get older, you see food differently

It has been more than 10 years since Chris Eden became the first Cornishman to win a Michelin star in his home county.

Having honed his skills under the likes of Paul Gayler, Chris Galvin and Phil Howard in London, Chris returned to Cornwall to head up Driftwood in 2007.

Five years later, it was awarded a Michelin star and he stayed at the hotel for a total of 12 years.

A move over to Devon and Gidleigh Park followed in 2019, shortly after it had lost its Michelin star. But, in 2023, under Chris’s guidance, the Michelin star returned.

Earlier this year, Chris decided it was time to move on, taking up an executive chef role at Watergate Bay hotel, back home in Cornwall.

As well as a busy breakfast service of up to 200 covers, Watergate Bay features Zacry’s, the flagship restaurant, as well as the Beach Hut and Living Space dining areas.

“I'm very lucky,” Chris tells The Staff Canteen, as he discusses his decision to leave Gidleigh Park.

“Gidleigh Park and Driftwood was a tremendous part of my life, and I'm very proud of it.

“I did go on this journey and as I change, as I get a bit older and what I want from my life and what I want to see and all that kind of stuff, I think you get a bit older, you see food differently maybe.

“There are different arms to me. I'm as excited when we do the new extreme burger or the new côte de boeuf for two people in Zacry's.

“Ultimately, most chefs are foodies, aren't they? They love food. That's what makes them tick and makes them happy. You go to bed dreaming of food and you wake up and make that happen. That’s not going to change here.

“I get excited about trying to introduce the new Alaska or the new toasted sandwiches and stuff like that, or in the Living Space the new fish burger with the charcoal bun and the thermidor sauce and the new dishes going into Zacry's.

“Because you just live and breathe food and you just love what you do, it’s part of who you are and in my DNA. I've been doing it for so long that you kind of wake up and just enjoy it.

“I wanted to be a chef from the age of nine, nothing's changed. I'm just happy being by the sea, being surrounded by food, by great people, with a great vision about trying to be the best hotel. That's what we're trying to do.”

He continues: “St Austell was my hometown, I was born and bred there. When I was a kid, I used to come over and surf in Newquay as a boy. Watergate has always been on my radar. It's had tremendous success with the Ashworth family.

“When I met the directors and I met the people that are involved in what happens at Watergate, it just seemed their vision and their dreams are just exactly the same as my vision and my dreams.

“We want to be the best and want to keep it moving forward. We want this to be the best place in the south west. It's a destination place in its own right.

“There's so much to do here. You can go surfing, come off and go for a burger in the Beach Hut. You can go for long walks. You can have the best sunset dining experience, as far as I'm concerned in the country, because of where Zacry’s on the sea wall is.

“If you were a family, you can come down as a group of people and there is so much to do, there's so much fun to be had. It’s a real happy place to be. The culture is just so much fun and I’m just very lucky to be here, as far as I’m concerned.

“It just feels right. The people in the business just feel right, and it feels really harmonious and just a collaboration of working together to make something awesome.”

Chris now manages around 40 chefs at Watergate Bay, which opened in 1968, having taken the role previously held by long-term incumbent Neil Haydock.

Asked how keen he was put his own stamp on things, Chris explains: “As much as I have a huge amount of respect for Neil and what he's done here for the last 18 years, I've come in and want to kind of see things which influences me, and what I believe in, my ethos and my values and standards, so things are changing, definitely.

“Hopefully, fingers crossed, it's a positive and we’ll keep on moving forward, tweaking and playing and making sure that the guests are having the best experience, the best time and we provide good value for money, people stay in the bay and want to be with us.”

Discussing what he enjoys about life as a hotel chef, Chris says: “Every day is different. It’s the nature of a hotel, different guest requirements, different restaurants to feed people in. You always need to be on your toes and be reactive what guests want.

“You try to develop the menus on different sites to make sure you appeal to everybody and that nobody wants to go off site.

“There's always lots of work going on behind the scenes, developing specials. The team are key to all of this. As much as maybe I'm a guy, but leading a team, inspiring a team and making sure that they come into work at 100%, making sure the food that we do is the best of their abilities, and feeding the guests.

“For me, I really want to have fun. I want to have the best time. I want to give the best guest experience to our customers. Hearing people say ‘I want to go back there’ is amazing. That's what everyone's on their journey to try and do. It's inspiring.”