Newmarket chef to cater for Polar rat hunters

A chef from Newmarket is set to swap a four-star hotel for the inhospitable Polar island of South Georgia in the Southern Ocean to feed rat hunting conservationists.

Jerome Viard, a pastry chef at Bedford Lodge hotel and spa, is taking on a sabbatical to cook for a team of 20 from the South Georgia Heritage Trust, who plan to rid the island of the Norway brown rats that are threatening the native bird population.

Rats were brought to the island on the boats of 19th century whalers, and have threatened the existence of the island's burrowing seabirds.

Viard said that he planned to cook hearty dishes for the conservationists while they battle to save the birds from extinction.

"I cannot wait to go and be one of the few to visit that stunning remote place, see elephant seals, penguins and other sea birds in their natural habitat," he said.

"I will be cooking for the crew every day for breakfast, lunch, afternoon break and dinner. Meals will be simple due to the limited resources and equipment but hearty since they will mostly spend the day outside in harsh weather conditions doing physical work."

Supplies will be limited as all dry food comes from the UK, with some meat and dairy products from the Falkland Islands.

Viard said he planned to serve a breakfast on porridge and freshly baked croissants, with one fried breakfast a week. He said he would also make sausage rolls, sandwiches made from home-baked bread, Cornish pasties, soups, and cakes.