SCOTT DOUGAL

Scott bought the Crab House in Wells in April 2016 reigniting his passion for cooking and loves creating his monthly menus. Completely self-taught, Scott draws on his love of travel for inspiration for his dishes often coming up with some imaginatively styled dishes that are a beautiful fusion of fresh fish and local seasonal flavours. His hard work was rewarded in 2018 winning ‘Restaurant of the Year’ in the Eat Norfolk Food and Drink Awards.

RICHARD KNIGHTS

With over 24 years of experience working in some of Norfolk’s best loved brands, Richard now holds the prestigious General Manager role at Byfords, Holt. Richard and his team look to inject innovation through a bi-monthly product change keeping the menus fresh, seasonal and innovative delivering a first class experience to the Byfords’ customer.

BEN HANDLEY

Ben Handley is a Head Chef with a serious CV on his hands. He learned his trade in a variety of highly regarded restaurants along the Norfolk coast, as well as a stint in Melbourne, Australia, before taking the plunge and opening The Duck Inn, Stanhoe. In August 2017, Ben and his wife Sarah reopened The Hunworth Bell near Holt. Both The Hunworth Bell and Duck Inn made the top 5 UK Pubs in the GQ Food and Drink Awards 2018 and The Duck Inn has made the Estrella Damm Top 50 Gastropubs 2019. Ben strives to deliver the very best of local Norfolk produce, combined with exciting textures and flavours and is the 2018 Norfolk Food Hero for his use of local produce.

FRAN HARTSHORNE

Fran has been thriving in the kitchen at The White Horse, Brancaster Staithe since 2005, stepping up to Head Chef in recent years. Fran is passionate about seasonality and the provenance of her ingredients. She aims to explore, experience and use every available local ingredient in her menus and feels lucky to create them in a kitchen that faces out across stunning tidal marshland. Fran will be cooking with Karl Johnson her Junior Sous Chef and will be demonstrating how to prep lobster and demonstrate accompanying sauces and garnishes.

JEREMY PARKE

Jeremy was born in North Norfolk giving him an instinctive and true passion for the great local produce and independent suppliers which Norfolk offers. He has spent time in Michelin star kitchens across the UK which has given him a unique insight into the importance of organisation, discipline and staff training, together with experiencing different produce from various localities. Although Jeremy appreciates the ever changing and evolving food scene and modern techniques, he believes that these should always be underpinned with honest, real cooking that works alongside our seasons, enjoying the best produce available for that time of the year.

OLIVIER VATI

Olivier Vati is the chef-owner of the funky Soul Café & Restaurant, Kings Lynn. He is originally from the French Caribbean island of Guadeloupe but trained as a chef in a diverse variety of restaurants in London before moving to Norfolk with his family to open Soul Café. The menu at Soul Café is a creative fusion of Caribbean and British delights which changes seasonally and has weekly specials, so always a new Taste Sensation to try! Olivier cooks from the restaurants open Kitchen, so senses are tantalised by the smells and sounds of meals being freshly prepared in front of the customers.

MICHAEL CHAMBERLAIN

Michael has been Head Chef at The Victoria since February 2017. He grew up locally in Thornham, Norfolk with his love of food stemming from spending time helping his grandmother bake cakes (and licking the spoon when she wasn’t looking). He has worked in kitchens up and down the north Norfolk coast, starting as a kitchen porter, becoming Head Chef with Marco Pierre White at The Lifeboat Inn, Thornham and now at The Victoria, Holkham. Michael doesn’t believe in over-complicated food and thinks only five to six ingredients on a plate make for a satisfying dining experience. He tries to source all ingredients from within a 50 mile radius of with most of them actually sourced from the Holkham Estate. In his spare time, Michael spends as much time as he can with his wife and two daughters. He enjoys walking, shooting, fishing, foraging, off-roading and is a Land Rover enthusiast.

BEN DAWES

Ben has been cooking for over half of his life and has gained a wealth of knowledge and experience along the way. Starting at The Pigs as Head Chef, Ben is now General Manager where he and his team strive to produce honest, British food using locally sourced ingredients, skilfully prepared and presented in the unique Pig’s style.

DANIEL FREEAR

Daniel Freear has been working at Strattons since summer 2015 and was promoted to Head Chef in April 2017 for his commitment and skill creating delicious food with local seasonal ingredients. Dan is a regular at the Food Festivals all over Norfolk, demonstrating his take on fresh Norfolk seasonal produce, as well as working with the local colleges to educate and inspire hospitality students. Dan’s passion for food and the locality came from a part time job at a Butchers as a student and his tutor Peter Wilson when he started a professional cookery qualification at the College of West Anglia.

RICHARD GOLDING

Richard and his wife Lucy own the award-winning Market Bistro in King’s Lynn. Richard, who is self taught, cooks everything from scratch in their tiny kitchen, from homemade sourdough and smoked butter to their homemade ice creams. Produce is sourced within 40 miles of the bistro, using only local, free range and organic produce.

ANDREW JONES

Andrew has solid experience of working in high-end London restaurants for Michelin starred chefs such as such Richard Corrigan and Claude Bosi. After moving back to Norfolk with his wife Hannah, the pair launched their first venture, Farmyard Restaurant, Norwich in January 2017. Here they quickly gained a reputation for great cooking, service and wine in a relaxed, contemporary space. The pair took over The Dial House in Reepham in 2018, a restaurant with 8 luxury bedrooms and since then have been awarded two rosettes at each venue and five stars for the rooms. The food Andrew cooks is unfussy, produce lead, local to the point of visiting the farms they source from in person and cooked wherever possible over his charcoal ovens – both called Bertha.

RYAN GALVIN