Adrian’s well known for his years at Margot’s Bistro and is now a private chef and proud ambassador for Hospitality Action.
What’s your earliest food memory?
Cooking biscuits at primary school and being selected to take some to the headmasters office – which for a young lad was very scary!
Tell us about your career – where have you worked/trained?
I spent two years studying at college in Northamptonshire, before moving onto to work in many kitchens locally and in Surrey, Hampshire and Oxfordshire too. Almost thirty years ago I came to Cornwall to do a summer season…and I haven’t got round to leaving yet!
What’s your favourite thing about/ working in Cornwall?
Easily, the people and the sense of community,
Which Cornish restaurants would you recommend?
Kaloura’s Kitchen Wadebridge, The Shore in Penzance and Porthminster Beach Café in St Ives are some of my favourites.
What has been your most interesting/fun experience from your time working as a chef?
There are many to pick from, but probably the Cornish Chefs Club was the most interesting… we used to cook for each other, a group of us with one chef hosting the others each month. We even organised a charity night and raised £28k in one night. There a little plaque on a kitchen wall at a men’s refuge house in Cornwall saying we helped upgrade their kitchen. Which is worth more to me than any Guide Listing, Rosette etc
Which chef do you most admire and why?
I admire any chef that does things properly and honestly.
What one piece of advice would you give to aspiring chefs?
I’d say it is wise to invest time in yourself. And your development, without rushing to be a head chef and absorb as much as you can in various kitchen learning from a variety of people.
Do you have any Christmas food traditions from your family?
On the 27th of December, after the flurry of Christmas and Boxing Day, I make a risotto using up all the leftovers – pigs in blankets, Brussel sprouts, turkey, stuffing all goes in…we love it!
