Carrying the flame: Alex Payne at Sorrel

As Roux Scholar and Sorrel founder Steve Drake steps away from the day-to-day running of the kitchen, chef patron Alex Payne is leading the Dorking restaurant into its next evolution.

Together, they’re writing a new chapter for one of Surrey’s most admired fine-dining destinations - one that balances legacy and innovation in equal measure.

A restaurant with roots

When Steve opened Sorrel in 2017, it was the realisation of years of work and creativity, with around three decades of experience under his belt, working at the likes of The Ritz before going on to run his own establishments.

Now, eight years later, boasting four AA rosettes and a Michelin star, the restaurant has entered a new phase. Steve has passed the kitchen reins over to ex-Tudor Pass chef Alex, to focus more time on other projects.

“Growing up in this area, Sorrel was an amazing restaurant,” said Alex.

“Steve brought it to incredible heights in the UK, not just in Surrey. It’s a place I always wanted to work, and to come over as chef patron is fantastic.”

For Steve, this move represents evolution, not an ending.

Creative, fun and rooted in flavour

Alex is the new face of Sorrel’s kitchen, and his approach is clear: technique, creativity, and a sense of fun.

“My food style is creative and fun - traditional flavours with modern techniques - making it a fun experience not just for the chefs but for guests as well,” he explained.

“The standards here are really high, so we have to keep them up. It’s about bringing our own style and flair into that.”

Under Alex, the restaurant runs two distinct menus. The signature tasting menu offers a sequence of refined dishes - six courses plus snacks, bread, cheese and petits fours - while the exploratory menu reintroduces the simplicity of choice.

Alex said: “The signature menu is our tasting menu - our best dishes. We also have an exploratory menu, a take on à la carte: three courses with two choices on each. It’s perfect for a great quick lunch.

“People like making choices, and three courses with options is exactly what many guests want right now,” he adds.

The food at the heart

The heart of Sorrel’s story - then and now - has always been the food. Alex’s menus feature both new ideas and evolving classics, including a pigeon dish with grapes from Sorrel’s own garden, and a signature beetroot course built on layers of texture and technique.

It is the turbot dish which has become a symbol of Alex’s arrival - a link between his past and future.

“It’s a dish we brought with us from our previous restaurant,” said Alex.

“It looks simple on the plate, but it’s far from simple - very intricate and difficult to pull off perfectly.

“It’s all about flavour: turbot with black pudding, a hint of sherry vinegar, a sauce using wine from the local Surrey vineyard Albury, and finished with a bit of caviar.”

When Alex first cooked the dish for Steve, it immediately struck a chord.

Alex said: “When I came to cook a few dishes for him, the turbot stood out as his favourite.

“He said it was going to be our headline dish here at Sorrel.”

Steve added: “The turbot dish really signifies Alex’s style.

“It shows incredible technique and incredible produce - meticulously done, but never overcomplicated.”

Stepping aside, not back

For Steve, this handover is both professional and personal - the culmination of decades in the kitchen and a conscious decision to reshape his role.

“I feel like I’m stepping aside to allow somebody to take over the running of the kitchen,” he says. “It’s felt really weird, but it was definitely the right thing to do.”

After 35 years in kitchens, Steve admits that running the business day-to-day had begun to pull focus away from what he loved most: cooking and creativity.

“Being very hands-on was sapping the enjoyment out of cooking for me,” he explained.

“I didn’t want the cooking to suffer because of that. I wanted to isolate Alex from some of it, so he can focus on being brilliant without the burden of daily business issues.”

His decision wasn’t sudden.

“I’d been thinking about stepping out of the kitchen for a while,” he said.

“The biggest hurdle was how I would feel - my ego, not cooking anymore, not taking the credit for it. I needed time to process that, but I knew it was the right thing to do.”

After meeting Alex at the Michelin awards ceremony, Steve decided to approach him more formally to discuss the idea of taking over the kitchen at Sorrel.

Steve remains owner of the restaurant, focusing on the wider picture - including Sorrel Social, a new venture aimed at bringing people together through food and creativity.

“Legacy means we want to keep growing - not in size, but in reputation, quality and individual style,” said Steve.

“We just keep going to stamp our mark on the food scene.”

A partnership built on trust

At the heart of Sorrel’s new chapter is trust.

“The last thing he wants from me is to tell him how to cook or write menus for him,” said Steve.

Alex added: “Steve built this kitchen for nearly 10 years.

“I’m not here to reinvent it - I’m here to protect it while adding my own flair and techniques.”

Sorrel today

For guests, the Sorrel experience remains as refined and personal as ever. The restaurant operates eight services a week - lunch and dinner, Wednesday to Saturday -with around 30 covers per service.

A compact team of five chefs and four front-of-house staff keep standards precise and personable.

“We have fantastic locals and loyal guests who keep coming back,” said Alex.

“We also get people travelling from London and more overseas guests too, which is fantastic to see.

“I want customers to leave and say, ‘that was Alex’s food and it was fantastic.’

“I want them to come back to see what’s on the next menu - what else we can achieve.”

Defining success

For Steve, success has always meant something deeper than accolades or profits.

“Success means you’re really content with what you’re doing,” he said.

“We want to be very individual. Sorrel has to be individual; Alex has to be individual.”

It’s a sentiment that defines this new phase - a restaurant not chasing reinvention, but evolution; a chef patron stepping forward with creative energy; and a founder stepping aside with quiet pride.

“We’re not trying too hard to be the next flashy thing or the next new trend,” said Steve. “It’s just really solid cooking.”