Nare Hotel
Carne Beach, Veryan-in-Roseland.
Tel. 01872 501111. www.narehotel.co.uk

Location, location, location - this place has it in spades. Pleasingly there's much more to the Nare Hotel than its astonishing position perched on the edge of Carne Beach - this traditional hotel also has a reputation for good quality cuisine and owner Toby Ashworth has created a cellar of interesting wines to accompany.
Chef Malcolm Sparks is a long-term fixture in the kitchen here, presiding over both the fine dining restaurant and the more informal Quarterdeck with its pleasant terrace. Specialities include Portloe lobster and crab.

Hotel Tresanton
St Mawes.
Tel. 01326 270055. www.tresanton.com
For my money, there are few better places to spend a summer holiday than Hotel Tresanton, Olga Polizzi's near legendary boutique hotel in St Mawes. Even if you’re not staying over, visit for a sensational buffet breakfast one day, a sterling cappuccino and home-made ice cream the next and then lunch on the terrace overlooking the bay the day after that. It's a place where non-residents are welcome to enjoy a taste of old school luxury with distinctly contemporary service and surroundings.

Idle Rocks
Harbourside, St Mawes.
Tel. 01326 270771. www.idlerocks.co.uk
Idle Rocks has a fabulous location too. Set right in the heart of the village, perched on the edge of the harbour wall with a stunning terrace that commands a view of the quay and the bay, this is one of the jewels in the crown of the Richardson Hotel Group. Food is clearly a high priority with Head Chef Damien Broom’s ambitious menu offering dishes that combine contemporary flair with classically-based style - risotto of cockles and parsley to start, for example, or roast skate wing with red wine and caper sauce.

The Rosevine Hotel
Rosevine, Portscatho, Roseland.
Tel. 01872 580206. www.rosevine.co.uk
There is no shortage of hotels with fantastic views on the Roseland Peninsula and The Rosevine Hotel, which looks directly out over Porthcurnick beach and across to the fishing village of Portscatho, is no exception. Sister hotel to Soar Mill Cove in Devon, The Rosevine adds to the view with sub-tropical gardens, an atmosphere of deep tranquility and French-inspired cooking in Didiers Restaurant with top quality local ingredients - fresh crab and local beef especially. The daily changing menu might feature shellfish stew with saffron jus followed by noisette of local lamb with Muscadet jus.

Roseland Inn
Philleigh-in-Roseland, Roseland.
Tel. 01872 580254. www.roselandinn.co.uk
To those in the know the Roseland Inn is where it's at for cracking, unpretentious food in friendly, relaxed surroundings. Run by father and son team William and Doug Richards, this traditional 16th century Cornish pub is famous for its accessible, crowd-pleasing menu that shouts loudly about the excellent produce featured - grilled St Mawes scallop with local white crab meat, for example, or slow-roasted shoulder of lamb (described as "very local".) There's a good range of local ales and fine wine too.

The Lugger
Portloe. Tel. 01872 501322. www.luggerhotel.com
Recently transformed by a major renovation this tastefully appointed hostelry is another of the Roseland's boutique hotels that is garnering an international reputation. The building is a converted 17th century coaching inn, situated at the water's edge in the charming fishing village of Portloe. The menu is classically inspired, served in the delightful surroundings of the elegant dining room - try velouté of fennel soup with caraway to start and then canon of monkfish with three pepper sauces, perhaps.

Driftwood Hotel
Tel. 01872 580644. www.driftwoodhotel.co.uk
You may be forgiven for thinking that Roseland is all pretty fishing villages and boutique hotels - every beach seems to have one. This stylish, privately run Cornish beach house by Gerran's Bay has its own beach, seven acres of private gardens and a thoroughly sophisticated dining room (pictured above). Check out the tasting menu - it requires 24 hours notice but it's a great way to sample the cooking skills of the chef. You might start with pea cream, lobster jelly and smoked bacon foam then sea bass carpaccio, crisp pork belly and another three courses besides. Closed until February.

Lambourne Vineyard
Tel. 01872 501212. www.lambournevineyard.co.uk
Now eight years old, Lambourne Vineyard is just starting full production of its wines with 2006 the first year they have sold in earnest. You can buy bottles at Kingsley Village and Lobb's Farm Shop but the best way to purchase is to visit the vineyard itself, have a snoop around the state-of-the-art winery and buy a case of Ruan Ridge red (a lightly oaked Ronda variety) or a Sauvignon-style Phoenix. This year's bumper harvest created a surplus for a rosé that will be ready in spring 2007 and wine has already been laid down for a méthode Champenoise sparkling wine in 2008 - bring out the bubbly!

Café Chandlers
St Mawes. Tel. 01326 270998.
www.cafechandlers.co.uk
This deli-cum-café offers an idiosyncratic range of produce; it challenges itself to find goodies not available in the supermarkets which means great local produce supplemented with unusual items from the UK and beyond. Organic cream and butter is from Barwick Farm just up the road (see right), speciality British and Irish cheeses are sourced locally and from Neal's Yard, and cakes are made on the premises. There's also a rather tasty range of ready-made meals.

Gill’s Delicatessen
1 The Arcade, St Mawes. Tel. 01326 270045.
This traditional delicatessen is a fixture for local foodies, even if the opening hours are a little difficult to fathom. Located near the harbourside, Gill's stocks all the typical deli comestibles you could ever wish for including local bread, cooked meats and cheese as well as a range of dry goods.

Crellow Preserves
Pine Hill, Tregony. Tel. 01872 530853.
www.crellow.com
Run by Deborah and Michael Richards, Crellow Preserves has a range of 25 different chutneys, jellies and relishes, ranging from traditional herb jellies (with herbs from their own and near neighbours' gardens) to more esoteric offerings such as Fruit Lilli, a thoroughly Cornish version of mostarda, or Paradise Chutney (quince and cranberry.) A recent Gold Award Winner at the Taste Of The West Awards. Available across the county in farm shops, delis and independent shops.

Curgurrell Farm
Portscatho. Tel. 01872 580243.
A well-kept secret among locals, Curgurrell is a hidden gem for seafood lovers. Fish and seafood is available straight from the day boat and sold through the window of the house - try fresh lobster, whole or dressed crab and a selection of fish that might include bass, sole, plaice, mackerel and more. Availability is seasonal, and in winter you'll find Christmas trees, eggs and a small selection of veg. Be aware that the shop is open 9am-12pm and then 5pm-7pm and closed on Sunday.

Barwick Farm
Tregony. Tel. 01872 530208.
www.foodfromcornwall.co.uk
Barwick Farm is an on-farm dairy processor of organic Jersey milk - for dairy lovers it doesn’t get much better than that. A full range of bottled milks (whole, semi-skimmed and skimmed) and cream is available as well as clotted cream and handmade butter – something of a rarity these days and worth the effort to track down. Look for its products in shops across Cornwall and locally in Humphrey’s Farm Shop, Lobb’s Farm Shop and Café Chandlers.

Humfreys Farm Shop
Barwick Farm, Tregony. Tel. 01872 530110.
Humfeys is a favourite among Roseland foodies who like their food local and as natural as possible. With over 30 different crops grown at the Stobart's farm there's always a good range of veg available and on Thursday, Friday and Saturday mornings the farm shop is enhanced with Will Radmore's mobile butchers selling meat from Penvose Farm. The shop also stocks cheeses from Menallack Farm and ice cream from Helsett Farm. Open every day 8.30am-5pm, Sunday 10.30am-4.30pm.

St Mawes Bakery Shop
St Mawes.
A fabulously local bakery on the quayside, just next to the harbourmasters office, St Mawes Bakery Shop may have a small range but what it does, it does extremely well. Daily baked breads are joined by a small selection of sweet and savoury items including saffron buns and pasties that should be used as a blueprint for all wannabe pasty makers. Opening hours vary according to the season.

This feature was first published in the Jan-Feb '07 issue of Cornwall food magazine.