Three celebrity chefs cooking up a storm in Cornwall (and where to eat their food)
Visitors have long been heading to Cornwall for the allure of its beaches. Drawn by incredible local produce, wanting to plant roots in a community and escape London burnout, big chef names have also settled in the area.
The county is well-known for its celebrity chefs, who have over the years created a real foodie destination. None are as famous as Rick Stein, who put Padstow on the map with his food empire. Here are three other celebrity chefs to know in Cornwall and where to eat their dishes.
Nathan Outlaw
Who is Nathan Outlaw?
Nathan Outlaw isn’t actually from Cornwall, but his family used to holiday there when he was a child. When he qualified as a chef, he worked in London for two years, but got so into cooking fish and seafood that there was really only one place to go: to work for Rick Stein at the Seafood Restaurant in Padstow. He was hooked.
Why he’s worth the hype
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Restaurant Nathan Outlaw started in Fowey and moved to the St Enodoc Hotel in Rock, before Outlaw found a building in Port Isaac with a clifftop location overlooking the bay where local fishermen can be seen.
Now, he has two restaurants in the picturesque holiday destination of Port Isaac on the north Cornish coast: the flagship Outlaw’s New Road and a smaller place, Outlaw’s Fish Kitchen. Each has one Michelin star, but the Fish Kitchen is the ‘naughty little sister’ with a more casual setting and globally inspired dishes.
Outlaw champions sustainability and sourcing local produce, such as Cornish asparagus. He uses fish that is caught in the waters around Cornwall from small day boats employing sustainable techniques. Head to Port Isaac for exciting and stimulating seafood dishes in an unbeatable location.
Outlaw’s New Road and Outlaw’s Fish Kitchen, Port Isaac
Emily Scott
Who is Emily Scott?
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Emily was born in Sussex, but has spent 25 years in Cornwall. During that time, she’s become one of the county’s most respected chefs, and cooked for world leaders Joe Biden and Emmanuel Macron at the G7 summit in Carbis Bay in 2021. She used to own a gastropub, the St Tudy Inn in Bodmin, before opening Emily Scott Food at Watergate Bay near Newquay.
She has published two quietly successful and critically acclaimed cookbooks: her 2021 debut cookbook Sea & Shore: Recipes and Stories from a Kitchen in Cornwall and 2023’s Time & Tide: Recipes and Stories from my Coastal Kitchen.
Why she’s worth the hype
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For Emily, less is more. Her cooking ethos focusses around taking a few seasonal ingredients and letting them shine. At her restaurant, Emily Scott Food at Watergate Bay Hotel, she champions Cornish produce of all descriptions, but fish is always the star of the show.
A simple fish pie, for example, is elevated to the realms of glory while the understated elegance of the beachside restaurant overlooking the expanse of Watergate Bay is a feast for the senses at any time of year.
‘Nothing says coastal life more to me than eating seafood cooked over coals by the sea,’ she has said. ‘Salty air, the sound of the waves rolling in, the breeze lifting my spirits.’
We completely agree.
Emily Scott Food, Watergate Bay Hotel, near Newquay
Paul Ainsworth
Who is Paul Ainsworth?
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Raised in Southampton, Paul was born into hospitality. His parents ran a B&B, where his dad instilled a good work ethic in his son. Paul followed his dream to become a chef to London, learning from mentors Gary Rhodes, Gordon Ramsay and Marcus Wareing. In 2005, he left the London bubble for Padstow and has never looked back.
In Padstow, Paul Ainsworth rivals Rick Stein with his foodie empire. In the fishing village, he runs Paul Ainsworth at No 6; the fine dining Mahé Development Kitchen, which is adjacent to No6 and opened in 2019, the Italian bistro Caffè Rojano in the Square; the Padstow Townhouse, a six-room boutique hotel in the Old Town; and across the water in Rock, the Mariners pub, which was relaunched in 2019.
Why he’s worth the hype
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Ainsworth’s success has been down to shrugging off the shackles of fine dining and focusing on the food and the service. In 2013 No 6 was awarded its first Michelin star, the first in Padstow to receive the accolade. It has since also been awarded four AA rosettes. Quality and making his guests feel special is the name of the game. He aims to provide the best food, with a friendly, unintimidating experience.
In Padstow: Paul Ainsworth at No 6; Caffe Rojano; and Padstow Townhouse.
It’s lovely cooking for yourself in your self-catered Cornish holiday cottage, but we all deserve a break sometimes.
Book a stay near one of these celebrity chef’s restaurants in Padstow, Watergate Bay and Port Isaac.