Cornwall


<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="667" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2023/03/Adam-Handling-Credit-Hazel-Thompson-1000x667.jpg" alt="British chef and restaurateur Adam Handling" class="wp-image-30145" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2023/03/Adam-Handling-Credit-Hazel-Thompson-1000x667.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2023/03/Adam-Handling-Credit-Hazel-Thompson-800x533.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2023/03/Adam-Handling-Credit-Hazel-Thompson-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2023/03/Adam-Handling-Credit-Hazel-Thompson-788x525.jpg 788w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2023/03/Adam-Handling-Credit-Hazel-Thompson.jpg 1500w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-your-first-job-in-a-kitchen">Your first job in a kitchen?&nbsp;</h2>



<p>An apprenticeship at Gleneagles when I was 16 years old.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">What is your career highlight?&nbsp;</h2>



<p>Achieving my first Michelin star at my flagship restaurant, Frog, in Covent Garden was the most incredible moment for me and my team. We were all so emotional, I don&#8217;t think I&#8217;ve ever been so proud.&nbsp;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Sum up your food philosophy?</h2>



<p>Each of my restaurants and bars has their own ethos and personality, but they’re all centred on sustainable, British, luxury.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Most memorable moment at work?&nbsp;</h2>



<p>That&#8217;s actually such a hard one because there have been quite a few. Most recent would be cooking for the global leaders at <a href="https://www.uglybutterfly.co.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Ugly Butterfly</a> (below) for the G7 Summit and having our very own Frog restaurant at the Singapore F1 last year.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="714" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2021/11/Ugly_Butterfly-61.jpeg" alt="ugly butterfly carbis bay cornwall UK restaurant with beach view" class="wp-image-25239" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2021/11/Ugly_Butterfly-61.jpeg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2021/11/Ugly_Butterfly-61-300x214.jpeg 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2021/11/Ugly_Butterfly-61-700x500.jpeg 700w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2021/11/Ugly_Butterfly-61-768x548.jpeg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2021/11/Ugly_Butterfly-61-735x525.jpeg 735w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Ever cooked for anyone famous?&nbsp;</h2>



<p>Having my restaurants in such incredible places &#8211; the heart of Theatreland in Covent Garden, the beautiful countryside of Old Windsor and on the stunning coast of Carbis Bay in St. Ives, means we get to cook for some really incredible people. It&#8217;s a real honour to have Elton John and his family as regulars at The Loch &amp; the Tyne. I do have to admit I was quite starstruck by Dame Emma Thompson when she came for lunch at Frog.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">What’s been your biggest mistake at work?&nbsp;</h2>



<p>I&#8217;m a restaurateur &#8211; I make lots of mistakes &#8211; but I always get so much value from learning from them.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">You’re tired, starving and impatient: what do you cook for dinner?&nbsp;</h2>



<p>I&#8217;d probably make a ramen &#8211; something quick but super fresh and tasty.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">What would you cook to impress a date?&nbsp;</h2>



<p>Does taking her to The Frog count?</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1500" height="1875" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2023/03/Adam-Handling-at-Frog-by-AH-1-Credit-Jason-Alfred-Palmer.jpg" alt="Adam Handling at Frog by AH 1 - Credit Jason Alfred Palmer" class="wp-image-30146" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2023/03/Adam-Handling-at-Frog-by-AH-1-Credit-Jason-Alfred-Palmer.jpg 1500w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2023/03/Adam-Handling-at-Frog-by-AH-1-Credit-Jason-Alfred-Palmer-640x800.jpg 640w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2023/03/Adam-Handling-at-Frog-by-AH-1-Credit-Jason-Alfred-Palmer-800x1000.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2023/03/Adam-Handling-at-Frog-by-AH-1-Credit-Jason-Alfred-Palmer-768x960.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2023/03/Adam-Handling-at-Frog-by-AH-1-Credit-Jason-Alfred-Palmer-1229x1536.jpg 1229w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2023/03/Adam-Handling-at-Frog-by-AH-1-Credit-Jason-Alfred-Palmer-420x525.jpg 420w" sizes="(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px" /></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Favourite chef?&nbsp;</h2>



<p>There are so many great chefs at the moment but I definitely think Gareth Ward, Ynyshir, and Brett Graham, The Ledbury, are setting ridiculously high standards and making some incredible food.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Favourite cookbook?&nbsp;</h2>



<p>I don&#8217;t want to sound big-headed at all but can I say my own? These 3 books &#8211; Frog, Why Waste? and Perfect, Three Cherries &#8211; really are what me and my group are all about and are 10 years in the making.&nbsp;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Favourite type of cuisine?&nbsp;</h2>



<p>I&#8217;m determined to put British food on the map, in it&#8217;s own right. Even the word cuisine is French!&nbsp;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Favourite local hotspots?</h2>



<p>So many! Lovetts in Newlyn (below) serves the best coffee for miles and is also a great spot for a glass of wine. For a chilled-out experience, I&#8217;ll go to One Fish Street in St Ives &#8211; it&#8217;s an intimate bar and restaurant just off the harbour serving fun tasting menus.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="720" height="480" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2021/02/LovettsShopfront-720x480.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-21978" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2021/02/LovettsShopfront-720x480.jpg 720w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2021/02/LovettsShopfront-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2021/02/LovettsShopfront-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2021/02/LovettsShopfront-787x525.jpg 787w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2021/02/LovettsShopfront.jpg 1000w" sizes="(max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px" /></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Favourite local markets and suppliers?&nbsp;</h2>



<p>I have such a great relationship with all my suppliers and I&#8217;m so lucky to have access to such amazing local produce.&nbsp;Rachel and Chris at Trink Dairy are some of the nicest people I&#8217;ve ever met and they are just a stone&#8217;s throw away from Ugly Butterfly, which is great.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Favourite things to eat when you’re on holiday?&nbsp;</h2>



<p>One of my favourite places to go is Malaga &#8211; I absolutely love the food, the drink, the people and the environment.&nbsp;I could quite happily live off croquetas and jamon.&nbsp;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">What mistake do inexperienced cooks tend to make?&nbsp;</h2>



<p>Inexperience just means there’s so much room to grow and learn. I personally think it&#8217;s great to work with inexperienced chefs and offer them the opportunity for guidance and development. I&#8217;d say the biggest mistake I&#8217;ve seen them making is not utilising ingredients to their full potential and throwing good food in the bin.&nbsp;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Favourite ingredient and why?&nbsp;</h2>



<p>Cauliflower &#8211; it&#8217;s just so versatile. Probably one of my favourite things to do is to utilise the cauliflower leaves to make a fermented cauliflower kimchi.&nbsp;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Most overrated ingredient?&nbsp;</h2>



<p>I don’t know if I think any ingredients are particularly “overrated” but I do think we buy way too much produce from abroad when we have such incredible alternative ingredients that we can use from right here in the UK. For example, using meadowsweet instead of vanilla or gorse instead of coconut.&nbsp;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">The dish you’re most proud of creating?&nbsp;</h2>



<p>All about the Sturgeon – I&nbsp;first created this dish years ago as a way to break away from the mentality of caviar purely being a luxury ingredient. This dish is all about enjoying life, making a mess and having fun. I’ve put my delicious English caviar onto sourdough waffles and served it with a smoky sturgeon cream (utilising the fish) and loads of Scottish birch syrup, to balance out the salty and the sweet.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Tell us your best ever cooking tip?&nbsp;</h2>



<p>Think twice before throwing something in the bin.&nbsp;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">What was it like returning to the Great British Menu again?</h2>



<p>I thought I was going to throw up, I was that nervous. Regardless of how many times you do these sort of things, the first day is always the hardest!</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Will you be back again next year?</h2>



<p>Let’s wait and see!</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">What was your favourite dish that you cooked?&nbsp;</h2>



<p>It’s got to be ‘Food Fight’. Trifle is my all-time favourite dessert and it was just so much fun to create.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="667" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2023/03/Adam-Handling-plating-his-dessert-BBC-Great-British-Menu-s18-1000x667.jpg" alt="Adam Handling plating his dessert BBC Great British Menu s18" class="wp-image-30147" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2023/03/Adam-Handling-plating-his-dessert-BBC-Great-British-Menu-s18-1000x667.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2023/03/Adam-Handling-plating-his-dessert-BBC-Great-British-Menu-s18-800x534.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2023/03/Adam-Handling-plating-his-dessert-BBC-Great-British-Menu-s18-768x513.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2023/03/Adam-Handling-plating-his-dessert-BBC-Great-British-Menu-s18-787x525.jpg 787w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2023/03/Adam-Handling-plating-his-dessert-BBC-Great-British-Menu-s18.jpg 1500w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /><figcaption>Great British Menu S18, Adam Handling plating his dessert </figcaption></figure>



<p><em>Adam Handling is the Chef Owner of the Michelin-starred Frog by Adam Handling &amp; Eve Bar in Covent Garden, London,  The Loch &amp; The Tyne in Old Windsor, and <a href="https://www.uglybutterfly.co.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Ugly Butterfly</a> restaurant &amp; bar in Carbis Bay, St Ives, Cornwall. He is a finalist in the Great British Menu series 18, where the banquet winners and Champion of Champions will be announced this week.</em></p>


What’s Cooking? Adam Handling, Ugly Butterfly, Carbis Bay, Cornwall

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