Corrin Harrison on Gwen exit, Great British Menu and new chapter at MOR
After bringing to an end his long-standing working relationship with Gareth Ward, and following a standout run on Great British Menu, Corrin Harrison is starting his next chapter at MOR.
The new Cornwall restaurant by two-Michelin-starred chef Tom Sellers officially opened to the public this week, at Carbis Bay Estate, on the site which formerly housed Adam Handling’s Ugly Butterfly.
Corrin, who recently left his role running eight-cover Gwen in Machynlleth after three years, has taken up the role of head chef at 100-seat MOR, working closely with executive chef Tom Anglesea.
It marks a big shift for Corrin, moving from a carefully crafted tasting menu, to a high volume à la carte operation at a busy seaside venue.
Central to the success will be relationships with local suppliers, from scallop divers to organic farmers, bringing ingredients to the menu such as oysters, plaice, lamb and English wasabi.
The story behind Corrin Harrison joining MOR
"I had never met Tom Sellers before,” Corrin explained, in an exclusive interview with The Staff Canteen.
“I had worked with Tom Anglesea before at The Laughing Heart.
“The conversation came about loosely a while back, then as I decided it was time for me to move on from Gwen, the conversation came back around.
"I went and met him, had a talk about the idea, realised how big a project it was going to be and how much they are putting into it and how passionate everyone was about it.
“The rest is history.”
He added: "I have cooked tasting menus for 10 years, which is amazing, but being able to go back into a kitchen where skill is in making it work within what you are cooking, rather than it should be down to the gram and paint by numbers, sold it for me.
“Going back to an à la carte menu and cooking whole fish over fire and going back to what cooking used to be.
“It is the complete opposite of what I was doing.
“Gwen was amazing for the time it was, but eight covers is only ever going to get you so far. To see the other side of it and work within a team, we are looking at 15 staff members in the kitchen, which is a massive change.
"It is just throwing myself in at the deep end at the other side of it, just to freshen myself up a bit.
"They are not sparing any expense on what they are putting into it. The furniture, the decoration is amazing, the produce, they only want to work with the best.
“When you meet people and they are like-minded with what you think, I think it is important to stay close to those people. That is how I felt when I met Tom Sellers and reconnected with Tom Anglesea.”
Corrin Harrison’s legacy at Gwen
Gwen is the sister restaurant of Gareth Ward’s Ynyshir, where Corrin spent five years, helping it earn its second Michelin star. Peter Sanchez-Iglesias has since taken over as Gwen head chef.
- INTERVIEW: ‘I feel free’: Peter Sanchez-Iglesias on Gwen, Gareth Ward and rediscovering his love for cooking
Reflecting on his time in Wales and discussing his decision to move on, Corrin said: “It is a bit emotional actually.
"Before Gwen, I worked at Ynyshir for a long time and I think I always had a bit of imposter syndrome working there, even being head chef at Ynyshir.
"Then getting the opportunity to open something even before you believe in yourself that much, you are not sure.
"I am very grateful to Gareth and Amelia (Eiriksson, co-owner) for giving me the opportunity to do that.
"It just grew and grew.
"I am so proud that it was three years and I am so proud that it only got better within those three years.
"The reason I decided it was time to move on is because I genuinely thought that I had reached the limit of what I could do there.
"I turned around to myself and was like, I could do this forever, but I am more ambitious than that.
"I think when you feel comfortable is the time you need to shake things up.
"If you can walk away with only good memories and be proud of it and be super motivated to go further, then that is perfect.
"To move on and then see it grow in a different way already with Pete, who is an amazing chef, he is going to take that place further than I ever would have.
"I am super proud, super happy and it was amazing while it lasted."
Corrin’s success on Great British Menu
During his time at Gwen, Corrin twice competed on BBC’s Great British Menu.
The 2026 edition saw him shine, winning the Wales region, before coming out on top for the fish course during finals week and earning a spot at the prestigious banquet.
However, he was not present for the final episode in Liverpool, his absence described as being due to ‘personal reasons’. Instead, Nikita Pathakji cooked the fish course and went on to be crowned ‘champion of champions’.
Why did Corrin Harrison not cook at the Great British Menu banquet?
Corrin explained that the decision not to cook at the Great British Menu banquet came down to the financial and operational reality of running Gwen.
Reflecting on his Great British Menu experience and explaining publicly for the first time the rationale behind not taking his place in the show’s finale, Corrin shared: “I got two really contrasting experiences.
"The first time I went (in 2024), I really was not ready. I was not in the right place mentally. I was opening a restaurant. I was not confident in my food.
"I think my anxiousness and nervousness came across as arrogance and I feel like I did not represent myself well, even though I did quite well with my food.
"What it did do is it gave me confidence within what I could do and my ability. It made my restaurant better and it made me refocus again.
"I walked away from it and had a little bit of reflecting to do.
{contribute-overlay}
"I did reflect and I said that I would never go back, then I decided to do it after a year break in between.
"The brief was amazing for me because I am a big film buff and it was really fitting.
"I got there and my energy was different. I was so focused and the chefs there were all on the same page and I got on with all of them.
"There was no animosity and it was a really good group.
"The difference between the second time and the first time, the standard was so much higher the second time.
"The Welsh region was super competitive. I was super proud to get as far as I did.
"I won the fish course and I did quite well on everything else.
"I worked out that over my two attempts, eight courses, I only came out of the top three once. So it is pretty good going.
"I am just proud to even be in the same conversation as a lot of these chefs. It was an amazing experience.”
He continued: “In the end, I did not do the banquet, but that was all down to my own choice.
"Nikita's dish was amazing. To be able to see someone who deserved more get what she deserved was also amazing.
"I have not actually spoken about why I did not do the banquet to anyone yet.
"I got a lot of people reaching out and making sure I was okay. That was super, super nice because the first time I went on the show, I got people saying, ‘you are an arsehole!’.
"Financially, running a small restaurant is always going to be hard. You have got to be very strategic about what you do.
"The first time I went on the show, we closed the restaurant a couple of times for me to go on and it damaged the restaurant.
"The second time, I decided to take holidays to do it.
"The banquet lands in January. In that part of Wales, that is your dead time, December and January. It is the time that you want to take holidays, basically.
"We took a big bulk of our holidays in December.
"It would have meant that either I take a holiday, close the restaurant, and then I start my new year doing the banquet on my holiday again.
"But it would have also meant that out of something like eight weeks, the restaurant would have been closed for four.
"It would have just struggled to pay wages, if I am honest.
"So I made the choice to stay in my restaurant and make sure that my staff are paid and make sure that the restaurant is running.
"For me, it was the best choice I made, because it was the busiest it has ever been.
"We opened the doors and from February until the restaurant closed, we did not have an empty seat.
"I am super proud of that as well.
"There has never been more of a moment that told me I made the right decision than the fact that I got to decide when I wanted to leave the restaurant, rather than something bad happening and it closing."
He added: "There are so many different factors in something like that and so many different ways to look at that.
"It is a personal achievement, but then there is also the fact that it is publicity and it is going to get eyes on you.
"I was posed the question by someone within Great British Menu, 'for your future, do you want investors to see you not fulfilling this duty, not fulfilling this journey?'.
"I was just like, for me, I have got investors and I am going to stand by them rather than do something that is a personal accolade.
"I sacrifice myself every single time for my restaurant and I cannot do more than that.
"That was the deciding factor for me.
"I had a lot of people supporting me. Andi Oliver and Tom Kerridge were amazing, and they wanted me to do it.
"But ultimately, that is TV and this is the real world. Sorry to say it. I just made the choice to cook in the real world."
What to expect at MOR
Now, Corrin’s focus is firmly on his new chapter at MOR.
"It is pretty extravagant. It is an amazing setting,” he said.
"We have got all the tools and all the equipment to make this something really special.
"Every person that I have seen that has had an input in this thing has been so dedicated and also so talented and so skilled.
"It is new for me to see that. I have worked at some brilliant restaurants and seen a lot of driving factors, but I have never seen so much come together like it has here.
"Once you are getting the best fish in the UK, you have not got to do a lot to it for it to be amazing.
"It is about restraint, but also having fun and working with great people.
"I have got a great team so far. There is zero arrogance in this kitchen.
"It has actually shocked me so far because everyone is just eager to learn and go further.
"I want to give back to those people in the kitchen. Hopefully, we will be able to create something amazing."
{{user.name}}