me and I’d be overseeing three restaurants.
I feel like I left Rockcliffe with unfinished business, we just could not get that star. It wasn’t that guests were unhappy with the food or anything like that but in four years we just couldn’t get it.
You took part in Great British Menu in 2009/2010, was it a good experience?
Great British Menu was brilliant. I was a fan of the show anyway and initially I didn’t get picked but then Andrew Pern dropped out three weeks before filming started and I jumped at the chance to take his place. The first time I was on the show it was all focused on the armed forces who were in Afghanistan at the time, my brother was a soldier so it was something I had an interest in.
I don’t think people realise how intense the show is, how hard it is to cook and talk. I’d not really done that before but it was a great way to get my name out there and introduce myself to people as a chef on national TV. It’s a great concept and that year it was all down to public votes.
We were half a point short from the judges but with the votes from the public it was a whitewash. Knowing that all of those people had voted for me that was a nice feeling. And the fact it was soldiers we were cooking for made it even better. Great British Menu changed my career as it made people more aware of who I was and what I was doing.
Your former head chef Danny Parker has also been on TV as part of MasterChef: The Professionals?
Danny became part of my team as sous chef, I told him doing MasterChef: The Professionals would be good for him and the business. I knew if he cooked like I know he can he would do well. Now guests come to see him not just me and it’s been very positive for him and for bringing more people into the restaurant.
You’re a big fan of seasonal produce and using local ingredients, has this always been the case?
In London we never focused on local produce, as long as it was the best we never questioned it. At St Martin’s we had to be more savy in our approach and we needed to use local fisherman and farmers. At Seaham Hall we had the same ethos and it grew especially when I took part in Great British Menu where there was a lot of emphasis on local produce. That really made me realise how much time and energy goes into making the produce we use all the time such as butter or cream for example. So we have to support them and put money in their pockets so they can continue to develop – we need them and we need to help them keep moving forward.
Why did you choose to open your first solo restaurant in Newcastle?
I was coming off the back of Great British Menu and I wanted to open somewhere and be like Glynn Purnell is to Birmingham or the Hairy Bikers are to Newcastle. I wanted to open a restaurant where I would have that sort of following and people would appreciate the food that I do. There are very few great restaurants in Newcastle and it’s a city which is growing so it was an obvious choice.
I wanted to come home to the town that I grew up in. I was torn between the idea of a high-end bistro and a fine dining restaurant, I wanted something like Pollen Street in London. It had to be very relaxed, not stuffy – it had to tick all the boxes. The site we picked was an old merchant house, it’s really rustic downstairs and nice upstairs. The location allowed me to do the style of food I wanted to do.
You said there are not many top restaurants in Newcastle, did people understand your dishes and the fine dining concept straight away or did you have to work at it?
We definitely had to work at it. When we first opened we didn’t lease the whole building so we only had a small kitchen and we only offered a tasting menu. The feedback we got was people wanted to come back but they were waiting for the menu to change. Once we leased the whole building we had more room and we now have three menus, people have more options and it’s gone down a lot better.
Tell us a bit more about the menu and the dishes you and your team have created?
We try to focus on seasonality, although every chef says that! We just use what’s good and it’s hard to catagorise the style. I like my food to be honest, clean, full of flavour and generous. The dishes are protein heavy and I always try and give value for money.
Do you have a favourite dish?
The mackerel and gooseberries from my second time on Great British Menu. I just love it and everyone seems to recognise me for it – it’s just a nice simple dish and it smacks of flavour. Also we use a whole pigs head, braise it all down and serve it with scallops, I had that on the menu at Rockliffe Hall and the AA raved about it.
Are you hoping to get a Michelin star in your home town?
Everyone jumped on that band wagon when we first opened, we just want to push the food as far as we can and get everything right including the service. Everyone enjoys what we do and if we get a star then fantastic. It will mean a lot more to me as I will be able to share it with the whole team who made it happen and it will be a great achievement as we started from scratch here.
You’re in the Top 100 this year how does that feel?
We’ve been open 15 months so this is really special for us, it’ss the first time in seven years that I’ve been included in the list. Being recognised nationally is very satisfying but we’ve still got a lot of growing to do.
