Nathan Davies on bringing Michelin-star dining back to Guernsey

By Nathan Davies’s own admission, his decision to move to Guernsey presented him with a unique challenge – to achieve something nobody else was doing on the island.

When Nathan opened Vraic in the summer of 2025, over a decade had passed since the closure of Guernsey’s last Michelin-starred restaurant, Christophe.

And while it is still less than a year old, it is perhaps little surprise that, given Nathan’s pedigree at SY23 and Ynyshir, he ended the island’s drought, bringing a Michelin star to Vraic in February of this year.

Why move to Guernsey?

For those unfamiliar with the specifics of the Channel Islands, Guernsey, situated off the coast of Normandy, is small by UK standards, with a population of around 64,000 and a land area of about 24 square miles.

In population terms, it is comparable to places such as Hereford, Scarborough or Taunton, but compressed onto an island smaller than many British cities, including somewhere like York, for example.

That scale is central to Vraic’s story and explains why it has resonated so much. Growers, seafood, dairy and seaweed are all close enough geographically to shape the menu directly, giving Nathan access to an unusually immediate local larder.

As such, 90% of the ingredients used on his menu are from the island itself.

“I think what makes Vraic a Guernsey restaurant is the produce we use, the locals we rely on and how we incorporate that into the whole experience,” Nathan explained.

“Guernsey felt like the right place because it was an exciting opportunity for us to occupy a space. There wasn’t really anybody else doing it here.

“We were able to come here not only using the best produce and the amazing abundance of suppliers and produce that comes from the island, but also there was nobody trying to go to that Michelin-star level.”

Other key ingredients showcased with Nathan’s signature cooking traditions over fire include turbot and lobster.

Asked about the transition from moving from Wales, Nathan added: “It was quite a big cultural difference for myself and the family, but it’s been successful so far and enjoyable.

“Cooking is cooking, wherever you are.

“The way we’ve changed and developed as chefs and as cooks has been trying to source those ingredients that are on our doorstep and changing dishes to accommodate that.

“What the guests will see on the plate has dramatically changed. We’ve become far more connected to the people that grow our produce and source our produce for us.”

The meaning behind Vraic

Vraic is the Guernésiais word for seaweed, so it is no surprise to see that ingredient feature heavily throughout the menu in various guises, including as a garnish in cocktails.

It can be harvested just metres from the restaurant, while close relationships with other local suppliers have proved transformational for what is possible to put on the menu.

“Seaweed plays a huge part in our menu and in our identity as a restaurant,” said Nathan.

“Guernsey produces around 700 different varieties of seaweed, more than anywhere else, and we have some of the highest tidal ranges in the world.

“The abundance we have was something we couldn’t turn down.

“All restaurants are looking for something that’s new. It was a new challenge. It was a new ingredient for us, really.

“Being an ingredients-led chef, we are only as good as the ingredients we’re able to source, especially in the style of cooking that we do.

“Things like the citrus fruits and the ingredients grown here, which we weren’t expecting to come across, if I’m completely honest.

“The fact they don’t travel means they can be picked in the morning. The island is a maximum 20 minutes from one end to the other in traffic.

“You can have something picked in the morning and by lunchtime it’s on the menu.

“Those are the ingredients that have really shone for us and transformed the flavours we can deliver. That’s opened up a whole new door.”

He added: “We can go in and have face-to-face communication (with suppliers), be in the glasshouse, see ingredients, touch them, feel them and taste them immediately as ideas are flowing through our minds.

“It makes the job a lot more wholesome. You see it a bit more, rather than suppliers just rocking up in a van.”

A true team effort

This project was not just Nathan deciding to up sticks and move to Guernsey - a team of people decided to follow him in the quest too, including key staff members bar manager Filip Pietrzycki and sous chef Kuba Biskup.

“Everybody that knows me knows how emotionally connected I am with the team,” said Nathan.

“We’ve brought such an outstanding group of people together that we know work together.

“Kuba and I have such a unique relationship. We understand each other. Having people you know and can trust, and can just leave to flourish and do their thing, is huge.

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“They’ve moved their whole lives here. They moved girlfriends, they moved houses, they moved everything, as did we.

“We do barbecues together on the weekends, take a few bottles of wine to each other’s houses and go fishing together.

“The whole thing is lovely. I don’t see it everywhere else. I think that’s what makes us a little bit special as well.”

Nathan, who cooked at the banquet of the 2022 Great British Menu, added: “The restaurant doesn’t exist without my wife, Hollie.

“She makes sure everything works as it should work and handles all the other bits that would otherwise pull me away from the kitchen.

“That’s why we’ve been able to go at it so hard for such a short period of time and get back into Michelin.

“We wouldn’t have a Michelin star here without Hollie.”

Pushing for two Michelin stars

Looking to the future, Nathan said: “Receiving the star here in Guernsey was a really weird experience.

“Not weird in a negative sense at all, but I almost expected it to feel the same as it did the first time we got the star.

“It was actually completely different. It was almost a sense of relief. There was a lot of pressure.

“Two stars will be the next goal in terms of accolades. I’m not embarrassed to say it.

“That might take us five years, it might take us 10 years. We might never get there. However, we’ve got to start."