Monday 20th January

It takes a brave chef to open a restaurant in the town that is the capital of one of the country’s great restaurant empires. It takes a great talent to make a success of it, to win critical praise and a Michelin star. Paul Ainsworth opened Number 6 in Padstow some 5 years ago, and has flourished there ever since. Perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised. He is one among of a brilliant generation of young British chefs who are currently redefining what we mean by British cooking.Although more devoted to his kitchen than to TV fame, he has made several appearances on the Great British Menu, and his dishes, based on prime local ingredients,showed an unvarying flair, feel for flavour and sense of fun. These are the qualities that mark such dishes as Cornish smoked salmon, miso eggplant, sea emulsion, and pickled beetroot; moorland lamb, hogget pie, broccoli, salsa verde and goats milk; and an ‘A Trip to the Fairground’, his celebrated pudding that made its way to the final dinner of the Great British Menu in 2011.

“Paul is the modern British chef, intelligent, detailed and cooking very exciting food”

-Nigel Haworth