Tell us a little bit about your love of food; were you always interested in cooking from a young age?

My Mum & Dad were massive foodies, so my love of food started at a very young age. I knew I wanted to start a career in cooking as soon as I reached high school, cookery lessons were the highlight of my week!

Which types of produce do you like working with the most? 

It has to be fish! There is such a wide variety of cooking techniques you can use with a piece of fish, you can never stop learning.

What is your favourite regional speciality? What do you think Powys/ Mid Wales does especially well?

The Lamb we get here at the hotel is local and it’s absolutely amazing! You cannot beat a good cut of welsh lamb.

So what’s new on the menu at the moment? Anything exciting guests can look forward to this season/ year?

Sweet and Sour Duck Breast… This is my favourite dish on the menu at the moment and it’s taken me a while to perfect! I would highly recommend our guests to try it and it’s something a little different!

What's your favourite dish to cook at home? (Do you eat well, or do you have one or two guilty pleasures when it comes to home dining?!)

I tend to cook a lot of Asian food when I’m at home!  But my guilty pleasure would have to be a steak and kidney pie.

What is your favourite tipple?

I’m an Ale man, I love a good IPA. The Barry Island IPA we have at the hotel is up there. It goes great with a steak and kidney pie.

Do you have any current favourite ingredients? (Anything right in season now?)

Elderflower, I’m foraging for it this week, it’s come out quite late this season.

Have you ever cooked anything really unusual? What’s the strangest thing you’ve made?

Xo Sauce if probably one of the most unusual things I have cooked. It was delicious too.

What are the best and worst meals you can remember eating?!

Best Meal would have to be Sea Bass with Ox Tongue and a Worcestershire Sauce flavoured Sauce, I still remember it now!

Worst Meal – This is a tough one. I’ve never had a really awful meal, I’ve had some bad ones but I think being a chef makes me fussier than most.

What’s the best piece of advice you were ever given for cooking? (Perhaps a quick cooking tip for those of us who are less-than-expert in the kitchen?)

This may sound stupid but make sure everything tastes like it’s supposed too.  Cauliflower Puree should taste like cauliflower, carrot soup must taste like carrot!

If you could invite any three famous people to a dinner party, who would you choose and why?

Sat Baines and René Redzepi, these are two chefs I would love to meet and have so many questions to ask.  The third would be Kanye West, because why not.

Like the sound of it? Come and join us for a fantastic meal at our award-winning restaurant! View our dinner menu here or call us on 01591 620202 to reserve your table!