Where have you worked before The Samuel Palmer Restaurant ?
I have been fortunate enough to be part of some incredible teams in prestigious restaurants . This has included the Bath Priory where I was part of the team to win 1 Michelin star under head chef Sam Moody and executive head chef Michael Caines . A highlight of my career was working under Phil Howard at the 2 Michelin-starred The Square . This led to my first senior position as sous chef at Fenchurch in the Skygarden . I then moved down to Kent and joined the 1 Michelin-starred Fordwich Arms .
Why Kent and why The Samuel Palmer Restaurant ?
While in London I met my partner , and we moved down to Kent to start a family . I was introduced to The Mount Vineyard through a friend and the owner Simon Greenwood approached me about a new project renovating a 15th century pub , The Samuel Palmer . As soon as I visited the site I could see it would be something special , the history of the building joined seamlessly with the modern dining room . Set in Shoreham , a beautiful , quintessential Kentish village in the Garden of
England , it felt like a fantastic opportunity for me to head up my first kitchen and use my ideas to shape a new establishment .
Tell us about the dishes and menu you have created at The Samuel Palmer ?
At The Samuel Palmer we offer a relaxed style of fine dining in the restaurant . Really focusing on locally grown or sourced produce . My style of cooking is Great British dishes with inspiration from European and other worldly influences . Because we are still at the heart of it a pub , I like to put my own spin on classic dishes . For example , our ‘ ham , egg and chips ’ was served as roast pork belly , wild garlic hassleback potato , fried duck egg , spiced and bbq ’ d pineapple .
What is your signature / favourite dish ?
I may not speak for all chefs when I say this , but I hate this question , I find it really difficult to answer as I cannot place all of my love on to one dish in particular . Unfortunately for my team , I get bored quickly with dishes so the menus are constantly changing . Nothing is on the menu for very long , however at The Samuel Palmer if a certain dish or component is popular it will make a reappearance , but usually with a new take on the dish . For example , our 70 % dark chocolate delice or the velouté with slow poached egg have both made several come backs to compliment seasonal changes .
Forgetting you are a chef … What is your guilty pleasure ?
Tricky question , food wise I ’ d say hot cross buns , they are not just for Easter .
My other guilty pleasure would have to be building Lego with my son , in particular Star Wars Lego . Most people would have lovely ornaments in the lounge , in our house it ’ s X-Wings , Tie Fighters and a Hogwarts castle !
The Samuel Palmer Church Street Shoreham TN14 7RY www . thesamuelpalmer . com
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