James Goodyear

The garden-to-plate chef that Hampton Manor has nabbed for its supper clubs. 

James Goodyear is the chef who has us seeing stars; pre-Manor he spent a year at Maaemo (3-star) and has done stints at Le Manoir (2 stars) and Dabbous (1 star).  As of late, he was Head Chef at Spanish restaurant Wellbourne in the Pyrenees, proceeded by a stint staging in Copenhagen. His career has led him far and wide, but the tying thread has been a focus on seasonal produce gathered from the local land and served with finesse. We caught up with James on his culinary gallivanting…

‘We [my Mexican girlfriend and I] went to a little restaurant in the north of Mexico the other day. It was remote, with no internet or telephone signal. It’s run by a local woman who gathers produce every morning with her friends and cooks what she finds on an open fire. Her food is served in wooden huts and consisted of corns and chillis that I’d never tasted before. These are the experiences I travel for.

The street food in Mexico is an experience in itself. There’s corn on every street, with tacos, tortillas and the freshest fruits on the market. To offset the casual we went to a restaurant in Mexico City called Quintonil where we experienced fine dining interpretations of the Mexican specials.’

What are the food and hospitality experiences that have stood out for you across your whole career?

It’s the Nordic experiences that have left a lasting impression [notably, his time at three-star Maaemo in Oslo]. I’m drawn to welcoming, homely dining experiences. Comfort as opposed to high end. The cuisine that I like to cook represents the region, serving only seasonal produce. I like it to be very refined, but with a touch of recognisability. I use classical cooking techniques to create dishes with interesting flavours, like fermentation for example. Back in the UK, I look forward to using the techniques picked up on my travels to make the most of the produce around me.

How did James and Fjona lure you back to Hampton Manor to cook for a series of Supper Clubs? 

‘When we first started talking about it, the only time I’d seen Manor Cottage was as a building site. But James showed me the images of the finished product and I was sold. He told me he wanted a menu inspired by the produce in the Walled Kitchen Garden. He mentioned the food counter and relaxed dining spaces which offer unique, informal styles of dining. It was spot on.

Can we have a taster of what you’ll be cooking? 

I’ll be cooking what’s available at the time so the specifics will be dictated by the garden. That’s how I like to work. I have a lot of ideas and techniques, but these will all come into fruition once the ingredients are in front of me. I definitely want to be using the Big Green Egg so will be cooking whole fish and meat on that. The menu will be very simple and flavoursome but finished with finesse.

Snacks for the first weekend of the pop-up include flatbreads with oyster aioli and garden herbs (top) and monkfish with black bean sauce (bottom):

What’s the grand plan once Supper Club comes to an end? 

At the moment, who knows? I’ll be heading back to Wellborne when the ski season re-commences. Until then I’m excited to be working with James [Hill] and in a new space. I hope I’ll be able to do more pop-ups in the UK. I love travelling, it’s a good way to get inspired and see different things, but I think I’m coming to the end of my time abroad. I plan to come home and, after cooking in a lot of different places for some incredible chefs, come into my own.

We’ll be the first on the waiting list when that day comes. 

Supper Club is nearly all sold out for September and we’ve just opened updates for October. Click here to book your place at the table and here to find out more.