A love of food started at a young age for Oli Martin, who looks back with fond memories to his childhood favourites of baked beans, microwaved chocolate sponges and Nan’s famous toad-in-the-hole. Although only humble dishes to start with, Oli quickly progressed from licking the spoon at home to his first kitchen role, working in a one Rosette restaurant close to home when he was still only fourteen. ‘I fell in love with the atmosphere of the kitchen. I hate sitting still and like constant change, so it felt like a very clear career path for me.’
Working his way up through the ranks, it wasn’t long before Oli was working as sous chef at Hipping Hall. In 2014, and still at the youthful age of twenty-six, he was offered the head chef position; ‘I had no idea it was coming, a total shock! The owner didn’t mention anything until he sat me down and offered me the position. I was totally clueless, but it didn’t take long for me to say yes.’ Once over the shock, and with a little time to reflect, Oli feels the move came at the right time, he says ‘head chef felt like the perfect place to be after my sous chef position. I had eleven years experience behind me so it felt natural. I don't think age plays a massive part… it’s capability.’
This last point is very pertinent. His age is something that gets a disproportionate amount of coverage compared to his hard graft in the kitchen. After surviving his first Christmas as head chef, Oli stayed hard at work while the rest of the team had their January breaks. ‘We were closed in January so I used this as a time for change. I stayed behind while all the staff were on holiday and put my own spin on the menu. I like to think that now the menu has stepped forward a bit and grown.’
A lot of these menu choices stem from a key focus on seasonality and local produce. Again, influenced by his childhood, Oli is immensely proud to have grown up surrounded by green, open spaces, and by counties renowned for producing excellent British produce. He grew up in the small seaside town of Lythan, just south of Blackpool, and was therefore on the doorstep of the huge variety of producers based in Lancashire and Yorkshire, as well the abundance of fish and seafood from the coast. ‘It was a great place to grow up with a very strong community. As a chef I recognised loads of small family-run businesses; a great fish supplier called Lanigans, veg shop called Strong’s, and brilliant places on our doorstep like Fleetwood fish market.’
From this has grown a deep-rooted respect for local suppliers that has carried through his career. He cites the perfect example of a current dish on the menu; lightly poached lemon sole with smoked cabbage hearts, salted pear, local wild rocket and a hazelnut vinegar. ‘This dish basically came from speaking to my fish supplier, Tim Barrow at Nieves fish. What's good and local? He told me that sole had just come in off the coast... I wanted a dish that was screaming autumn – cabbage, hazelnuts and pear. It was purely the autumn season that kicked this off.’