Dining al Tresco

22 August 2002 by
Dining al Tresco

Allan Earl knew nothing about the island of Tresco in the Scilly Isles until spring last year, when a recruitment agency put him forward for the position of head chef of its only pub-restaurant, the New Inn. But the moment he saw Tresco, when he flew in for his interview, he admits that he was smitten - and snapped up the job offer the instant it was made.

"I simply wanted to work in Cornwall, but knew nothing of Tresco itself," he explains. "When I saw it from the helicopter - an island paradise with palm trees, golden beaches and crystal-clear water - I made up my mind to come."

Not that Earl has much time to sit around sunbathing or building sandcastles. The 15-bedroom New Inn, which boasts a 90-seat bar (with a further 100 seats outside) and a 38-seat fine-dining restaurant, is the only establishment in all the Scillies which serves food and offers accommodation - and is open year-round.

During the summer months 300 covers in the bar is normal at lunch, with a further 150-200 in the evening, and the dinner-only restaurant is also full to capacity every night. What's more, even in winter, Earl says that 40 covers at lunch and dinner in the bar is normal, with 20-30 per evening in the restaurant.

To satisfy these customers, who are largely tourists, with a handful of locals thrown in, Earl offers a very eclectic bar menu. "Visitors to Tresco are a huge mixture of ages and nationalities," he says, "so I need to offer dishes that appeal both to those with conservative tastes and to the more adventurous."

Meanwhile, more elaborate dishes are included on the restaurant menu, which Earl changes daily. He offers a choice of three starters, five mains (two fish, two meat and one vegetarian dish), three desserts and cheese. Three courses from the menu, plus coffee and petits fours, costs £27.

Among recent starters in the restaurant have been Tresco asparagus with soft poached egg and Parmesan, and pan-fried Cornish scallops with a tarragon beurre blanc, while grilled John Dory fillet with a crab and fennel butter, and medallions of beef fillet with yellow tagliatelle, goats' cheese and rocket pesto are typical selections among the mains.

"I always try to use local ingredients as the centrepiece of my dishes," says Earl. "All my fish comes from a local fisherman - cod, crayfish, turbot, monkfish, ray and mackerel - while scallops are hand-dived locally. And I use beef from the island's own herd; about every two weeks I ship two cows to the mainland to be slaughtered."

Typical desserts offered in the restaurant might, meanwhile, include coffee and walnut tart or white chocolate and Cointreau truffle cake, while the cheeseboard is based on West Country cheeses.

Earl works with the permanent help of just two staff in the kitchen - a sous chef and pastry chef - but the brigade swells to eight during the peak summer months.

The New Inn, Tresco, Isles of Scilly, Cornwall TR24 0PU. Tel: 01720 422844. Fax: 01720 423200. Web site:www.tresco.co.uk

A selection from the restaurant menu at the New Inn

Smoked haddock with soft poached egg, hollandaise sauce
Risotto of chorizo sausage, scallions and Parmesan
Local smoked cod, Cheddar rarebit, deep-fried leeks
Fillet of turbot with freshwater prawns, parsley and lemon butter
Pan-fried Cornish sea bass with tapenade, sauce bouillabaisse and crispy leek
Guinea fowl suprÁªme, hawthorn jelly glaze, sweet red wine reduction
Pecan tart, praline sauce
Orange and almond polenta cake, rosemary syrup
House brÁ»lée, langue de chat biscuits
Three courses: £27, including coffee and home-made petits fours

The Caterer Breakfast Briefing Email

Start the working day with The Caterer’s free breakfast briefing email

Sign Up and manage your preferences below

Check mark icon
Thank you

You have successfully signed up for the Caterer Breakfast Briefing Email and will hear from us soon!

Jacobs Media is honoured to be the recipient of the 2020 Queen's Award for Enterprise.

The highest official awards for UK businesses since being established by royal warrant in 1965. Read more.

close

Ad Blocker detected

We have noticed you are using an adblocker and – although we support freedom of choice – we would like to ask you to enable ads on our site. They are an important revenue source which supports free access of our website's content, especially during the COVID-19 crisis.

trade tracker pixel tracking