Campbell's kingdom
John Campbell sees the Vineyard as the perfect stage on which to increase his mark on the industry. Amanda Afiya looks at the man, his style and his ambitions.
According to Heston Blumenthal, John Campbell has three of the most important attributes a cook could hope to possess: honesty, integrity and taste.
In the foreword of Campbell's highly acclaimed first book - Formulas for Flavour, published in October - Blumenthal concludes that these three qualities, combined with a tireless energy for improving and wonderful inquisitiveness, place Campbell firmly at the forefront of the new breed of British chef.
These words must surely be music to Campbell's ears, for the 32-year-old chef is determined to make a big impact on the British culinary scene. With his appointment as executive chef at the five-star Vineyard at Stockcross, near Newbury in Berkshire, Campbell believes he has found the place to help him achieve his goal. "I'd been at Lords of the Manor (in Upper Slaughter, Gloucestershire) for nearly five years so I was ready for a move," explains Campbell, who now heads a brigade of 19 chefs compared with the nine he left in his previous role. "There were very few options facing me that I would enjoy moving to - although I did consider the idea of setting up my own business and working overseas - but I feel that the Vineyard is probably the best stage for me. It's the best place to offer true hospitality in this country, if not in Europe. It's relaxed, it's informal and it's a great formula because it's pure decadence."
With the perception in the industry that the conversion of the 19th century hunting lodge by Classic FM founder Sir Peter Michael four years ago was carried out as a bit of a hobby, one wonders whether money is no object for Campbell in his new role. But Campbell refutes this suggestion, asserting that the hotel is still targeted to work within budgets and his aim is to perform well within those.
But why is the Vineyard the place for Campbell to achieve his goal? "I've probably got eight to 10 years left cooking at this level, at this pace, doing in excess of 90 hours a week," replies Campbell. "And I feel that this is the best platform for me to discover my next 10 years, working with a company with a clear focus of direction. We (the hotel and Campbell) share a common goal - to be the best."
No one could question Campbell's drive to succeed. Throughout the course of the interview, Campbell's vocabulary is littered with management-speak. While most chefs talk of produce, seasons and, maybe, external factors such as family or sport, Campbell speaks of passion, articulation, control and empathy. He talks about leadership skills and mentoring. Even the screensaver on his computer in his office lifts a line out of the film Gladiator - "What we do in life echoes in eternity".
As some of the reviews of his book - which won the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards 2001 best recipes book category, and was shortlisted for an Andre Simon award - describe him, Campbell is a cerebral chef. "You have to be a social worker, a negotiator, a businessman, an accountant, an artist, a great leader. You have to be a leader of men and understand people, you have to be a father figure, you have to be a mother figure, you have to manage your team."
Campbell did not walk into an ideal management situation when he took up the reins at the Vineyard. In succeeding Billy Reid, a well-respected chef who had worked at the 31-bedroom property for two years, he confronted a huge amount of loyalty to his predecessor. Few followed Campbell from his kitchen at the Lords to the Vineyard (although his former sous chef, Nathan Outlaw, who has been working with Paul Ripley at his eponymous restaurant in St Merryn, Cornwall, joined the Vineyard earlier this month) so Campbell had to introduce his new team to his food style pretty much single-handedly.
With the interest caused by his book, he knew that all eyes would be on him to settle in quickly and the guidebooks didn't give him much time to get his feet under the table. "I had to make a decision whether to come in quietly and softly, assess the situation and build upon what was already a kitchen standard or come in like Ronnie Kray or Attila the Hun and bring the kitchen on as quickly as possible," he says.
"If the fundamental aspects of the kitchen aren't addressed and built, you can't build your food. So I've been stripping away at the layers, looking at the training policy, looking at the buying policy, cleaning schedules, examining how people are expected to work in the kitchen. The hours I worked in the first three or four weeks of the job were incredible, but I'm starting to get where I want to be."
The property currently holds three AA rosettes, but Campbell hopes this accolade will be increased to four with the coming guide, which publishes in September.
He immediately conducted a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis of the kitchen. He audited the staff, the facilities, the service levels, the market's expectations, his remit, the Vineyard's common goal. "I then measured what gaps needed to be filled to achieve that common goal. From that I wrote a strategy. You know you are on a journey, you know you are going somewhere you've never been before, but you need a map, a route, for how to get there. You know there are going to be diversions, and you need to allow for that."
Accordingly, Campbell revised 60% of the kitchen's suppliers and personnel changes were made. "I needed to put a strategy in place that would encompass the whole team and move them forward progressively. I need to push the team to the edge of safety without the kitchen breaking its back. If any shit hit the fan, it would hit my fan," he says. "My job is 10% food, 90% infrastructure. If you haven't got the infrastructure, you can't produce the food. That's how I will lead the industry and that's how I will train my staff to lead the industry - to think globally about the properties which they work in and not running a kitchen on egos."
Food at the Vineyard
In addition to serving breakfast, lunch and dinner in the 68-seat fine-dining restaurant at the Vineyard, Campbell is responsible for 24-hour room service, afternoon tea, private dining for up to 100, staff feeding for 35 per sitting and a dedicated menu for the health club.
The current tasting menu served in the fine-dining restaurant comprises risotto of crab, avocado sherbet; organic salmon, spiced lentils and foie gras; home-made black pudding with apple panna cotta, onion soubise; slow-cooked Eddington beef fillet, horseradish cream, lemon oil; beignet of Fourme d'Ambert, beetroot sorbet; chocolate fondant, parsnip ice-cream; coffee and petits fours (strawberry and chilli jelly, orange and basil truffle, coconut and saffron tuille, sesame and ginger madeleine), and costs £60.
Igniting the spark
John Campbell credits two chefs as the inspiration behind his cooking style.
A stage with Philip Howard at the Square in London four years ago encouraged Campbell to think more deeply about the composition of dishes, he says.
"Philip Howard really ignited the spark and made me think differently about food.
"He introduced me to a more relaxed approach, the whole dining experience, the wow factor, the surprise, a little chemistry, the realistic working environment and passion.
"It was great. It was an eye-opener. And it was in those four days that my food really turned around."
Heston Blumenthal, meanwhile, taught Campbell about boundaries and to cook from the heart.
"Without these two guys my food would be nowhere near what it is today," Campbell says, adding that his work towards his BSc in International Culinary Arts via Thames Valley University was also a crucial part of his development as a chef.
Campbell has been asked to cook at the prestigious James Beard Awards on 18 June 2003 in New York.
