Why have you left the Marina Villa Hotel?
I’d taken things in Fowey as far as I could. I wanted to buy the hotel or rent the food and beverage part but it was put onto the market, so it became a bit difficult. I already had the Seafood and Grill open in Rock, under my own company, and there is another room there which is the perfect size for a fine-dining restaurant. So instead of spreading myself across two places, which is difficult, the best thing for me was to take the fine-dining to Rock.

Was it hard to leave Fowey?
Yes. I got a few nice letters, but it was just one of those things. To get to the level we would like to get to you need to have control, and if you’ve got an owner or a business partner who doesn’t quite get it you are always fighting a losing battle. The pressure now is that every decision is mine, but I need that pressure to get better. The move will be a good influence on the Seafood and Grill too. It’s a more accessible place where you can go for a steak and glass of wine, whereas the fine dining arm is about Michelin reputation.

Will you be able to take the stars with you?
All I know is that I’ve contacted Michelin and said that I’m transferring the restaurant, that there is no name change and every member of staff in the new Restaurant Nathan Outlaw are from the old one. We have ambitions [to gain two stars], but we are doing it in a different way; if you look at most of the two- or three-starred restaurants in the UK they are French influenced - other than Heston’s, which is completely different. What I do is British, almost South West cooking. I haven’t got French terms on the menu or French ingredients. I’ve got British ingredients, and there has never been a two-Michelin starred British restaurant, ever. So that’s what we’re trying to achieve and we’re not too far from it.

Tell us about the new place.
I’ll be focusing much, much more on seafood – I’ve almost eliminated meat from my menus. The space itself will house 26 covers, with more room than previously. It’s to be a very high standard experience so that everyone who comes will be looked after to the best of our ability. It’ll look very simple with Cornish slate, and black and greens, in keeping with the area we are in. My aim with it is not to make money, it’s to build reputation. It’s not about being posh or poncy.
Nathan will be on Market Kitchen and Saturday Kitchen again soon, and both restaurants open on Friday February 12.


Bite-sized
What’s your earliest food memory?
It’s to do with smells more than anything:
grandad’s allotments, new potatoes with mint, strawberries, and, because my dad is a chef, the smell of a chef. My kids say to me now, “Dad, you smell like food!”

Your secret food vice?
I eat a massive amount, a stupid amount of cheese on toast, which is probably why I’ve got a belly like I have. Sometimes I even put Marmite on it.

What inspires you?
I get inspiration from everywhere – it could be a restaurant or something I’ve seen on the telly. Also a lot of mistakes I’ve made have triggered off new ideas.

What’s your Wednesday evening fail-safe dish?
A quick roast dinner is easy with a pork chop or chicken breast, veggies and roast potatoes. I know that the kids are getting everything that they should have, and I always muck about with the gravy – it’s never the same twice.

What would you happily never eat again?
Cold sea urchin.

This interview first appeared in January 2010.

Restaurant Nathan Outlaw and Nathan Outlaw Seafood and Grill
The St. Enodoc Hotel, Rock, PL27 6LA.

Tel. 01208 863394.
http://www.nathan-outlaw.co.uk