RICK TOOGOOD, PRAWN ON THE LAWN
What’s your earliest food memory?
Growing up in Guernsey, I remember my mum and granny taking me to the fish market and letting me choose a piece of fish or bringing back a crab and picking it. On one occasion, my granny bought a live lobster from the tank and threw it back into the harbour, thinking she was saving a life. Whether that was really the case or not, I don’t know.
Tell us about your career – where have you worked/trained?
I haven’t actually worked in any other kitchen than one of our own — I’m completely self-taught. I started my career in product design, creating energy-saving electronics in China, but I soon realized I didn’t want to work behind a desk. When I came home, I had a bit of a crisis, and my mum encouraged me to write down the top five things I was most passionate about. Food came top of that list.
I began working front of house in a fish restaurant, eventually becoming general manager. I met Katie along the way who shared my passion for food, and we decided it was the right time to open something together – that’s how it all began.
What’s your favourite thing about/ working in Cornwall?
We decided to move from London to Cornwall in 2015, and it was one of the best decisions we’ve ever made. Cornwall is such a fantastic place to live, to bring up our three young children, and to run a restaurant surrounded by incredible produce. From the fishermen bringing in crab and lobster straight from the sea to our front door, to the growers supplying beautiful vegetables and not forgetting the farmers producing the most amazing meat — lamb, beef, pork, you name it — we have it all.
What’s your favourite ingredient to work with and why?
I’ve always had a love and appreciation for herbs and that’s grown even more so since growing a huge variety of them myself in our kitchen garden. They can elevate a dish to a whole other level and the range of flavour profiles is almost endless and add the punch of flavour that POTL and Barnaby’s have become known for. Particular ones I’m really loving right now are ‘olive’ herb, ‘hot n spicy’ oregano and basil mint.
What would your last request dish be?
It would have to be a really great beef tartar – which is a bit off brand 😂 Amazing quality beef, gherkins, shallots, punchy mustard, lovely rich egg yolk, a decent splash of agridulce vinegar and finished off with some POTL hot sauce, obviously. You can’t beat it!
What is the go-to dish you’d recommend for home cooks hosting at Christmas?
Boxing Day curry! This is something we do at home to use up the remainder of the turkey. This year I’m going to cook a joint of beef as the main event alongside a chicken for Katie as she’s not the biggest fan of red meat. I’m thinking I’ll then do a Thai yellow curry with the leftover chicken and maybe a Massaman with the beef. I’ll make the curry sauces in advance so on Boxing Day I just need to chuck the meat in and we’re good to go!
