Hustyns
Everything is much more personal down here," says Steve Pitts, head chef at Hustyns, a £25m resort set in 187 acres of Cornish countryside near Wadebridge. "I can get a lot closer to the people I'm cooking for, as well as build better links with my suppliers than I've ever been able to before," he said on his appointment in April last year, soon after its opening.
Pitt's career includes stints at London's Oxo Tower, the Fifth Floor at Harvey Nichols and the Tate Modern. Now, he and his brigade of seven chefs are responsible for the Cornish resort's 65-seat restaurant, which is open for dinner only, and the all-day 55-seat brasserie, as well as providing room service to the 37-bedroom hotel and 27 three-bedroom cottages dotted around the grounds. Occasionally, one of Pitt's chefs will go to one of the cottages to cook personally for guests.
The restaurant is frequented by a 50:50 mix of residents and local customers. They can choose from a weekly-changing menu offering five starters, six main courses, and three desserts and cheese.
"My aim is to offer good value and fresh, local ingredients," Pitt says. "Obviously, it's more achievable in the summer when 80% of the fruit and vegetables we use come from our own gardens. I also make use of some of the best fish I've ever tasted, which we get from Sea Fayre in St Ives, and fantastic Cornish beef and lamb."
Scallops always sell well, so are permanently on the menu. Recently, they were served pan-fried as a starter with wild rocket, dandelion and mustard leaves, baked vine tomatoes and pancetta (£7).
Another choice of starter may be confit of belly pork with capers and Caesar dressing (£5.25), a dish that Pitt has adapted from the Italian veal dish, vitello tonnato. The belly is cooked slowly for three to four hours in goose fat with garlic and thyme, then served with a dressing made from fresh anchovies and Parmesan.
Pitt is inspired by a wide range of cooking styles. Spanish and Thai influences, for instance, have appeared in recent main-course dishes. Chorizo, capers, home-dried tomatoes and shallots provided a hint of Spain to a whole gilthead bream (£13.95), which is pan-fried and served with cockles. "We add lots of lemon oil and parsley at the last moment to create a very rustic dish," Pitt says.
Meanwhile, Thai flavours, including Thai asparagus, shiitake mushrooms and a soy dressing, partner sea bass (£21.25).
Desserts tend to concentrate on classic combinations such as rhubarb and custard. Pitt's version combines a mascarpone custard with rhubarb poached in grenadine (£5).
Average spend in the restaurant, which serves about 30 covers per night, is £40 per head including wine.
Hustyns, St Brecock Downs, Wadebridge, Cornwall PL27 7LG.
Tel: 01208 893700
www.hustyns.com
What's on the menu
* Pea and mint soup with crumbled feta, £4.95
* Marinated swordfish with crispy ginger, shallots and citrus dressing, £6.50
* Buffalo mozzarella and purple figs with rocket and balsamic dressing, £5.95
* Pan-roasted John Dory with spiced lentils and herb crème fraîche, £17.50
* Roast peppered rump of lamb with creamed flageolet beans, rosemary and roasted garlic, £17
* Butternut squash, pecorino and lemon risotto, £11.95
* Chocolate mocha tart with griotte cherries and a Calvados crème fraîche, £5
* Elderflower jelly, wild berries and clotted cream, £5
* Exmoor Blue, chutney and biscuits, £5
Chef's cheat
"I wouldn't be without my Magimix bar blender. It's meant for cocktails, but I use it for all sorts of things, such as salad dressings and processing soup. It's made from stainless steel and is very robust. It does a much better job than anything else on the market."
By Janet Harmera
