Ones to watch: Guy Owen

To really get a taste for top quality cooking, Guy moved to London, where he managed to land a job at Gordon Ramsay’s Michelin-starred restaurant in Claridges. ‘The kitchen completely changed my point of view when it came to food – the only idea I had of Michelin dining before that was when I had a meal at Gidleigh Park, and I had no idea how they managed to make such incredible dishes,’ says Guy. ‘The amount of work needed to create a plate food was a complete shock to me; the first few months were really hard work and I struggled to get my head around just how dedicated everyone was. I absolutely loved it, though, and really relished working with that calibre of chefs.’

The very steep learning curve at Claridges meant Guy quickly gained experience preparing Michelin-starred food to very exacting standards. He eventually left the restaurant with a keenness to chase the stars, and ended up at La Trompette in Chiswick, which had a very different approach to cooking.

‘The restaurant served some wicked Michelin-starred brasserie dishes,’ says Guy. ‘The team was small and there were a lot of covers, so there was no room for error. It was very different to Claridges, where everything was very formal and accurate; at La Trompette it was all about letting the produce speak for itself and cooking things simply. They taught me that you don’t have to put ‘sparklers’ in absolutely everything to make food look special.’

From La Trompette Guy moved to Gidleigh Park, learning to cook the food he had first experienced as a young chef. It was here that he learnt how to properly present dishes he had created himself, adding the finishing touches that elevate good looking food to artful masterpieces. However, he had always wanted to return to Cornwall, and when the opportunity to join Chris Eden at The Driftwood Hotel as sous chef, he jumped at the chance.

‘What followed was the most full-on year of my life,’ explains Guy. ‘We were working in a very small kitchen with hardly any kit, but Chris is an unbelievably driven guy and he earned his Michelin star at the end of the first year. It was amazing to be part of that team of maybe three or four chefs as I got to experience just how much work you need to put in to get to that level. Chris absolutely transformed the restaurant and it was great to see.’

After a brief move to Jersey, Guy heard about an opportunity at The Idle Rocks back home. After meeting the owners Karen and David and realising they all wanted the same thing – to showcase Cornish produce – he joined as head chef in July 2015.