The Basque country comes to Jersey via fierce heat from a wood-fired grill, coupled with foraged, local flavours
In the Jérriais language traditionally spoken in Jersey, ‘pêtchi' means ‘to try and catch a fish', explains chef-owner Joe Baker. He used this word to name his wood-fire restaurant, which opened in the island's capital last summer because – "as a keen spearfisher myself, the trying is all the fun," he laughs.
Pêtchi is Baker's second restaurant after running No 10, also in St Helier, for seven years, during which time he appeared on Great British Menu twice and reached the final in 2020. But two years ago he became tired with the space and his tasting menu format and decided he needed a new challenge, which led to a bigger site around the corner, overlooking St Helier's Liberation Square.
He opened the spacious 60-cover restaurant with a very clear vision – live-fire cooking using the best Jersey with nods towards the Basque country. Guests settle in the restaurant with views of the square on one side and the huge open kitchen to the other, where they can watch Baker and his team prepare a menu cooked over sustainable British hardwoods. Holm oak charcoal from Spain is used to grill shellfish, while a local apple grower supplies applewood, which he uses to smoke Jersey cream before churning it into butter.
It was a stint cooking in San Sebastián that cemented his love of the Basque region, where he identifies similarities with Jersey. One of the restaurant's most iconic plates, which relies on this bounty, is the wood-roasted Écréhous scallop, which Baker buys from a local diver.
"We prep them up and roast them for two minutes in the wood oven at 400°C-450°C until just rare in the middle," he says. He then takes his smoked butter and combines it with a scallop dashi made from the trim, along with elderflower vinegar prepared earlier in the summer. "We top it with preserved spruce tip foraged by the team in the spring – it's an essence of a moment in time and much more interesting and luxurious than a spoonful of caviar, giving a lemony, piney deliciousness that hits you hard."
Another favourite is the grilled chancre crab crumpets. He grills the crab whole over charcoal before reducing down the head meat and juices until they form a thick paste. Into that he blends smoked butter and white miso and spreads on small deep-friend crumpets before topping with the white meat spiked with butter and lemon. "And that's it – the shells act like self-contained steamers for the crabs and there's no dilution from boiling."
From the mains, guests can choose chops from retired Spanish dairy cows that are grilled "extremely hard" over holm oak charcoal with plenty of salt. "Ex-dairy isn't about being extremely tender, it's about flavour. We just finish the chops with a lick of good quality grassy olive oil, which we smoke," he says.
That, alongside a portion of duck fat potatoes and a wood-roasted hispi cabbage with burnt garlic and garum, makes the perfect meal. The Jersey lobster rice, another satisfying main for two people, is, he says, "nothing new really, it's our version of a paella".
"We shell beautiful Jersey lobsters and blanche them for 20 seconds before letting the head and shell caramelise over charcoal and turning them into an extremely rich stock. We make the paella with a very specific amount of stock to make sure we get those crunchy bits."
The lobster tail is kept whole, spritzed with seaweed vinegar and grilled over holm oak. When plated, the tail and claws are laid on the rice to make the lobster look whole again. A hollandaise-like sauce is drizzled over and nasturtium leaves are added, when in season, for freshness.
"When I order lobster, I often feel it's so underwhelming when it's boiled. It's the head that you really get the flavour from, and this style of fire cooking is all about subtlety, and I love how the hint of smoke cuts against the sweetness of the shellfish."
Yes, it is subtle, but it shows pure skill to not only cook a service timed to the lifecycle of fire, but to keep dishes focused on this simple and unapologetic Basque style.
From the menu
- Whole hay-aged squab pigeon, malted bread sauce, Yorkshire rhubarb and grilled leaves £40
- Wild sea bass, bergamot, brown butter, Jerusalem artichoke and puntarelle £26
- Coal-roasted Cantabrian octopus, chilli crunch and cep velouté £28
- Wood-roasted wild mushroom rice £34
- Raw Jersey beef and nori tarts (two) £14
- Confit Iberico pork cheek, sage,
- Roscoff onion and burnt apple £15
- Embered beetroot, pear, mothais sur feuille, pistachio and puntarelle £15
Desserts
- Caramelised brioche, vanilla and Sauternes custard £12
- 70% chocolate marquise, vanilla ice-cream and Masala sabayon £12
- Yorkshire rhubarb and hay custard tart £12
- Blood orange posset and sorrel granita £10
- Brown butter cake £3
Unit 13C, Liberty Wharf, La Route de Libération, St Helier, Jersey JE23NY
