Carla’s firmly cemented The Reef Knot Restaurant, at The Idle Rocks Hotel, as the go-to destination for the freshest seafood on The Roseland Peninsula. Prior to joining, Carla’s expertise won a silver medal at the Culinary Olympics and her talent and dedication to her craft were further recognised when she featured on MasterChef: The Professionals in 2018.
What’s your earliest food memory?
Cooking Yorkshire puddings with my grandma, she always used to let me make the mixture then I would sit Infront of the oven watching them rise – it fascinated me.
Did you always want to be a chef?
Cooking has always been something I enjoyed growing up, my great grandma was a cook, my grandma & mum. When leaving school, I worked as a KP in my grandmas’ kitchen, I was always more interested what she was doing than washing the dishes, the kitchen environment exited me so I would say yes.
What’s your favourite thing about/ working in Cornwall?
The respect for the sea & land & the sense of community, Cornwall has an abundance of beautiful produce
What’s your favourite ingredient to work with and why?
Cull Yaw lamb, being Welsh lamb was a staple ingredient growing up, cull yaw lamb is an incredible produce with an amazing story.
What has been your most interesting/fun experience from your time working as a chef?
It has to be my time competing in the IKA Olympics in 2024, with the England culinary team
What is the go-to dish you’d recommend for home cooks hosting at Christmas.
For me it’s always about the cauliflower cheese, I always make my bechamel with brown butter & roast the cauliflower before baking this gives it a deeper nuttier taste
