The Isle of Wight may not be particularly well-known for its restaurants, but it is home to a bounty of amazing produce, from incredible tomatoes to beautiful fresh seafood. This meant that Sarah learnt to appreciate the importance of great ingredients early on – something that’s still the focus of her food at The Coach: ‘I’ll always remember this one time when I was working at the hotel,’ she smiles, ‘this local fisherman brought this super fresh seabass to us that was still flapping around in the cage. The team literally prepped it, cooked it and served it that night, and I just thought that was amazing.’ As tempting as it might have been for Sarah to stay on the Isle of Wight, she knew that to truly flourish as a chef, she needed to move to the mainland, which she did in 2010. ‘It was the best decision I ever made,’ she says. ‘If I hadn’t left the island, I don’t think I ever would have fulfilled what I considered to be my potential.’

Sarah’s first few years off the Isle of Wight saw her join the Chester Grosvenor as an apprentice, working under Simon Radley, and leave just two years later as demi-chef de partie. Her first taste of a Michelin-starred kitchen came soon after at Wiltshire’s Lucknam Park, where she was able to hone her cookery abilities under the guidance of Hywel Jones. ‘That’s one of those kitchens where so many of the chefs who’ve come through his brigade have gone on to do exceptional things,’ says Sarah, ‘I’ve been super lucky to have some very strong chefs support me through my career so far and Hywel is definitely one of them.’

No chef has been a bigger inspiration to Sarah though, than Tom Kerridge, whom she first met in 2015 when she took up a position at the two-star Hand and Flowers in Marlow. Kerridge’s ingredient-led approach in the kitchen immediately appealed to the young chef and changed the way she looked at food. ‘Chef Tom has had a massive influence over my cooking style,’ Sarah explains. ‘I just love the way he lets the ingredients do the talking. There’s no fannying around; his food just does what it says on the tin. Mother nature is the true artist, we just put things on the plate and make them look good!’

The Hand and Flowers was only the beginning of Sarah's professional relationship with Tom Kerridge. After being promoted to junior sous chef at The Coach, she moved up to Manchester to join the opening team at his hotel restaurant The Bull and Bear and, within a matter of months, was made head chef. And it was in Manchester that Sarah feels she started to have more influence on the menu, ‘I learnt so much while I was in Manchester,’ she says, ‘there was this moment where I was like ‘oh god this is my menu now’. The executive chef gave me a lot of support though and made me feel confident that my food was good enough to get on the menu.’

In 2021, Sarah returned to The Coach to become head chef of the Michelin-starred pub. There, she continues to enjoy a free reign when it comes to creating dishes for the renowned small-plate menu, proving she’s a chef that Kerridge really trusts, ‘I’m really lucky at the Coach as I still have a lot of flexibility with what I put on the menu,’ Sarah explains. ‘Tom is so encouraging about us trying new dishes but equally if I ever need any advice, he picks up his phone immediately.’

If there’s one thing that her career thus far demonstrates, it’s that Sarah is always looking to further herself as a chef, and even after such an impressively quick rise up the ranks of Kerridge’s mini empire, she’s under no illusion that she’s the finished product. ‘My style is definitely still developing,’ she adds. ‘I don’t think you should ever stop learning and as soon as you feel you have, you’re probably in the wrong job.’ With an attitude as positive as that, Sarah can only be destined for even bigger things in the industry.