'Once in a lifetime chance': Charlotte Vincent’s culinary vision on Burgh Island

For Charlotte Vincent, the opportunity to work at the unique Burgh Island hotel was a “once in a lifetime chance”.

Built in 1929, the tidal island Art Deco hotel in Devon is steeped in history and mystery.

Agatha Christie was a frequent guest, writing some of her novels from the island, while King Edward VIII, The Beatles and Winston Churchill also stayed at the hotel.

It still honours time gone past and offers diners a memorable experience, having to travel to and from the island via a 15-minute sea tractor ride.

From Army Life to Private Chef: Charlotte Vincent’s Unique Culinary Path

Chef Charlotte, who has twice appeared on Great British Menu, has an eclectic background, working as a private chef for high profile clients, spending time in the Army and having worked in science previously.

Discussing her new role at Burgh Island, Charlotte told The Staff Canteen: “I'm in my third month now. It's kind of flown by. It feels like I've only been here five minutes and it feels like I’m not getting anything achieved, but we are, as a team, achieving a lot.

“It’s going really, really well.

“My recruiter approached me and offered me the chance to interview here and I was really keen because of where it is.

“I've always loved working near the ocean. Burgh Island came up, which for me was a once in a lifetime chance to be here.”

She continued: “I think we offer a very unique dining experience here, that you just can't get anywhere in the UK and probably Ireland as well. You can come over and have dinner. You can get the tractor, be chauffeur driven across the sea to the restaurant, have an amazing meal at an amazing venue, and then be chauffer driven back, either by truck or sea tractor, depending on the tide.

“The whole time you’re sat here, you might as well be on a cruise ship. It feels like you're at sea, because the water's all around you and you can be sat in the restaurant. So if you sit in The Nettlefold, which is our fish restaurant, you will just see the ocean around you. It's very much set up like a captain’s cabin.

“The ballroom just transports you back to an era that's just long forgotten. They all wear their 1920s costumes, we have a band. It's set up to feel like you've been transported back to the 20s, and it's just such an exceptional experience.”

Foraging, Fishing and Charcuterie: Charlotte’s South Devon Pantry

For Charlotte, the produce she needs can be found right on her doorstep, just how she likes it.

“I was definitely stuck when I first came here because there was so much around,” she said, discussing how she has designed her menu.

“I kind of got overstimulated a little bit and didn't know what to pick first.

“My take was that on the hour of driving from turning off the A30, I would just take in everything I could and make bullet points in my head of things that would be useful.

“When I did that, it kind of cleared up the fog, because we've got a beautiful charcuterie venue just up the road that supplies all around the world, then we've got all the Dartmoor lamb and beef that's just roaming free on the Moors. And as you come down towards Burgh Island, you've got all the coastline and it just starts to slot together like a puzzle that I can make great things out of great ingredients, very, very locally.

“I’m trying to get a fishing boat online with us.

“Basically I've got a canvas out there that's endless. There's never going to be a limit to whatever I can find to cook or forage, or inspiration.

“My team are very much involved in that. I've got a very young team and they are looking for that guide and that inspiration. It's very exciting again.”

Sea Tractors, 1920s Glamour and Fine Food: The Burgh Island Appeal

Burgh Island operates breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea and dinner, to up to 60 guests per day, with the long-term plan to extend the offering out to non-residents of the hotel.

Asked where she gets ideas for her dishes, Charlotte explained: “I’ve got a Larousse Gastronomique from the 1920s that I get my inspiration from a lot.

“That's always been something that I've used. It's very much dated. It's not the modern one. It's got everything in it, from the 20s to the 30s. Even cooking techniques, which I'm bringing in here as one of my big things I'm going to be doing.

“But it’s heritage too. My mum was Nordic, so she taught me to cure fish in that way and to respect fish and to know how to cook it and do it justice and use sweet flavours with it as well. We use a lot of sweet and salty flavours in Norway, which we don't in the UK.

“I bring that into my cooking and definitely heritage and my love of history, which I've discovered in the past 10 years, is really important in food.

“To try and bring back some of the old techniques. Back in the day, our grandparents knew how to be sustainable, because they had to be because they were on a budget. Now I think we've gone full circle again where we're back to trying to think carefully about how we use our food, how much we waste and how much we're spending, so that we can help the environment.”

Food first, accolades later

Charlotte, who hopes to return for another crack at GBM, has plenty of long-term plans for her time on Burgh Island.

“Me and the owners are really keen for it to just be well known for food,” she said.

“If anything comes along with that, amazing. I don’t want to say Michelin stars and anything like that, because all I want to do is cook great food, have a great team and be known for it. That’s all I want right now.

“I don’t really worry about the accolades. They'll come. With experience I’ve learnt that if we're good, they'll come along with how hard we're working and how much we're putting into achieving our goals.

“We just want great food from a great environment and a great venue and that's all I want to do right now.”

(Pics: JP Baudey)