Chef of the Week: Chris Chatfield, Chef Patron of Restaurant 1685 at Colcombe Castle Hotel, Devon
How long have you worked at your current restaurant?
4 months.
Where did your passion for cooking come from and where did you learn your skills?
My childhood. Cooking with my gran from an early age inspired me to cook!
What do you enjoy most about being a chef?
The creativity that working with the seasons brings, cooking the food that I enjoy eating and letting others be inspired by that.
Name three ingredients you couldn’t cook without.
Butter, salt and lemon juice.
Which piece of kitchen equipment couldn’t you live without?
Probably the Rational.
What food trends are you spotting at the moment?
I think simplicity and clean presentation.
What do you think is a common mistake that lets chefs down?
Following the trends because it’s what they see on Instagram. If you cook what you enjoy to eat, keep it simple and taste, taste, taste then I don’t think you can go wrong.
What is your favourite time of year for food, and why?
Probably spring but every season has its own highlights and special ingredients.
How do you come up with new dishes?
Experimenting with flavours.
Who was your greatest influence?
Probably my first head chef. I never planned to do more than pot wash while I was doing A-levels and he changed my view on that.
Tell us three chefs you admire.
Adam Handling, Jason Atherton, and Tommy Banks.
What is your favourite cookbook?
At the minute I’m enjoying reading ‘Why Waste’ by Adam Handling.
Who do you think are the chefs to watch over the next few months?
I think Gareth Ward will probably get his third star in the new year. He’s definitely one to watch with his unique style.
