I suppose in a way my food has been influenced by the chefs I have always looked up to; the Roux family, Marco Pierre White, Gordon Ramsay – before they became the superstars they are now, these guys were the SAS of the kitchen.
My travels through competitions around the world have allowed me to experience food that I would not have seen in the UK. At one point in my mid-30s, I had eaten at almost every 3-star Michelin restaurant in Europe, and every starred restaurant in Spain and Scandinavia.
In Torquay, I took what I could from my experiences and balanced them out over the years to match the clientele and the needs of my customer base. We started off very modern and ‘out there’, but had to wind it in until we had the support of regular guests. The awards then started to appear, and we got our Michelin star within a year of arriving in Torquay!