An insight in to Tom Hunter Head Chef at The Scarlet

Saturday, 21 May 2013

 

 

Chef Tom Hunter is at the helm of The Scarlet Hotel, Cornwall's most glamorous romantic retreat. We caught up with Tom after a busy weekend, to find out how he landed a job in this very special spot, and what it's like running a kitchen where sustainability is so high on the agenda.
I understand that your early days as a chef were spent in a very different environment to this Cornish cliff-top retreat. Can you tell us how it all began?

"I was bought up in London and my early experiences in kitchens were in the enormous hotels surrounding Heathrow Airport. We're talking 600 bedrooms, 24 hour schedules and giant corporate functions in a very hectic environment. Quite different to The Scarlet's 30 sea view rooms! But I loved it - it was world apart from what I'm doing now in so many ways, but those big hotels are a great place to learn. They do everything, on a huge scale and at pace! It's a great foundation for being able to hold your own with whatever a kitchen or occasion might throw at you.
With this as a starting point I got a job helping to create food for Concorde flights. That was just incredible, obviously no expense was spared and we were able to use the best of everything. It was during the final days of Concorde though; the crash in France happened whilst I worked for the company and after 9/11 everything changed. In 2003 the planes were retired and an era came to an end for me too."
And so you headed to Cornwall?
"Yes. We had our holidays down here when I was a kid and I thought it would be a great place to be cooking. Of course I didn't come straight to The Scarlet - at that time the hotel was only just a twinkle in the eye of the owners! I worked at The Wellhouse near Liskeard under Glen Gatland, who really helped me develop as a chef. I then spent four years as Head Chef before deciding it was time for a change.
Myself and my partner moved to Pembrokeshire, where an opportunity had come up at Warpole Court in St David's. It's an old fashioned place in the best sense, with a great reputation and surrounded by a close-knit community. My son was born in St David's and, as much as we loved it, it was a long way from both our families. We decided to move back to Cornwall where my partner is from. It was all bizarrely well-timed. I knew the General Manager here at The Scarlet and they were keen to have me on board and the Head Chef position had just come up. It seemed like fate really, we knew we were right for each other!"
How would you describe the food at The Scarlet?
"Produce-driven. It sounds glaringly obvious, but it's all about the produce and hence the suppliers. We have so many great local food producers on our doorstep. Some are tiny and only manage to look after us and a few others, whilst others are larger and send the fruits of their labour up to the top restaurants in London too. Everything we get is truly 'market fresh'. I don't tell them what I want, they tell me what I should have! The menus (and that includes breakfast) change each and every day to reflect this."
 
The Scarlet Hotel has won many awards for its eco-credentials, how does that affect what you create in the kitchen?
"Firstly it means that the kitchen is different to most and is certainly much more pleasant to work in. Everything is induction so there is no waste, and the whole environment is much cleaner and cooler. Secondly we have to think really carefully before we purchase anything. Meeche, our Food and Beverage Manager, has been here since the very beginning so she guides us through any dilemmas in terms of sustainable sourcing. With ingredients there is generally no problems; Cornwall is a mecca for fresh local food and the fact that our menu reflects the seasons means that we are making the most of what's on the doorstep. But sourcing equipment can be a little more difficult and time consuming, however we are finding more and more like-minded companies out there which helps."
Sustainable fishing is high on the agenda at the moment, what's your take on that?
"Obviously I think it's incredibly important and our fantastic location looking out to sea here only serves to emphasise the connection. We source our fish very carefully but it is difficult: the advice is changing all the time - for example Mackerel is becoming contentious at the moment, whereas Cod stocks are on the increase. Also what applies in one fishery isn't necessarily the same in another - that's why the local supply chain - from ship to shore to plate is so important and it's disruption causes such an imbalance. So yes, it's a big challenge and one that I think we can work even harder on here at The Scarlet.

Writen by Lucy Cornes - Ellis Wharton Wines 

 

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Camel Valley Winemaker’s Dinner

Friday, 27 March 2013

If you love great wine and gorgeous food, then indulge yourself and grow your grape knowledge at the same time with our Camel Valley Winemaker’s Dinner.

Hotel guests and day visitors are welcome at the dinner, which takes place on Saturday, April 27th and is the brainchild of Scarlet food and Beverage manager Meeche Hudd.

Meeche loves sharing her passion for great food and drink with guests, so decided to host a winemaker’s evening.

“I wanted to take the stuffiness out of wine,” she said, “and to create a real dinner party feel. I love talking to guests about wine, sharing how interesting wine can be and how accessible. It’s great to shake off that stuffy, formal stigma that so often goes with wine.

“I wanted to create something that was dinner party like, but could also really show case what we do here at the Scarlet.


“Camel Valley is a Cornish brand that complements our ethos so beautifully that the thought of working with them to create an evening was really exciting.

“The winemaker is Sam Lindo. He’s a really interesting character and his background is full of intrigue, so I am hoping that this winemaker’s dinner will really create some great table discussions, which is what it’s all about.”

The idea is that the evening is relaxed and informal, like going to a friend’s house for a dinner party.

“We’re after a real atmospheric dinner party experience,” says Meeche, “where people don’t want to leave at the end. We want guests to enjoy everything so much and make new friends that the night, which makes for a great food memory.”


 

Read more about our winemaker's dinner here.

Book your place quickly. Call 01637 861 800.

 

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A Winemaker’s Dinner with a Difference

Friday, 27 March 2013

Our Camel Valley Winemaker’s Dinner was always destined to be a winemaker’s dinner with a difference. This is the Scarlet, after all, and daring to be different is one of our mottos.

So, instead of doing the done thing and starting with a menu and matching the wines to the food, Meeche Hudd, our food and beverage manager, decided to turn our winemaker’s dinner on its head.

She presented Scarlet head chef Tom Hunter with the wines - Camel Valley Brut, Annie’s Anniversary Brut, Camel Valley Brut Rose and Camel Valley Bacchus White - and challenged him to conjure up a menu to match.

 

Tom has worked backwards to create four courses that pair beautifully with each Camel Valley wine.
 


Tom said: “It’s a very different process, usually you are matching the wine to the food but this is the exact opposite. I take a lot of advice from Meeche, our food and beverage manager. I taste the wines myself…there’s a lot of tasting involved.

“Once I’ve got an understanding of the wine and what will work with it, it’s a matter of trialing out those ideas and quite often they don’t work and you have to go back to the drawing board.

“We also have to work with what’s fresh, local and available, which adds to the challenge and makes it really interesting.

“It’s great having Camel Valley right here on our doorstep. They are a great local brand, but we’d be using them wherever they were based because the quality of the product is so good.”

Hotel guests and day visitors are welcome at the dinner, which takes place on Saturday, April 27th.

Read more about our winemaker's dinner here.

 Book your place quickly. Call 01637 861 800.

 

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