Five years ago, Guy Owen helped put The Idle Rocks on the map as one of Cornwall's premier dining destinations, including securing the title of Seafood Restaurant of the Year. Now he's  back as Executive Chef, bringing with him a refined vision shaped by years working alongside culinary heavyweights like Gordon Ramsay, Michael Caines, and at Michelin-starred kitchens across the country.

With in-house fisherman Gareth Austin landing the day's catch just metres from his kitchen, Guy is perfectly positioned to showcase what makes Cornish coastal cooking so special: impeccable ingredients, treated with respect and bold, honest flavour. We caught up with him to talk about homecomings, sustainability, and what it means to cook with the tide times in mind!

You’ve come full circle, returning to The Idle Rocks after five years away. What drew you back to St Mawes, and how does it feel to step into the Executive Chef role?

The reason for moving away from The Idle Rocks back in 2020 had nothing to do with the property, the village or the owners. I feel in love with The Idle Rocks and that never left me. Returning felt more like a continuation of what I had originally set out to do, its just now, having the full control of the F&B department, I feel I can really develop the offering to marry into the ethos of what the Idle Rocks stands for – excellent hospitality in an environment that’s feels like a home away from home, focussing on Cornwall and its best attributes from food to view.

From Claridge’s to Gidleigh Park to now St Mawes, your CV reads like a masterclass in fine dining. How have these experiences shaped the way you approach the menu at the Reef Knot, and what did each kitchen teach you that you still carry with you?

Classic fine dining is an art, and working in establishments which master it was an honour in many ways, but I didn’t feel it became my personality as a cook. Those establishments are so rehearsed and orchestrated that you become part of an oiled system, the properties that really changed my perception of food were the ones that felt raw, like La Trompette or The Driftwood Hotel. These were extremely passionate kitchens with small numbers in the team, meaning everything you did had a real impact. There weren’t 4 sous chefs hovering over you for instance. You had to get it right and work hard to make sure it was right. I learnt from all of my mistakes very quickly and that is how we cook at The Idle Rocks, our team need to own their work and their prep, so what you eat feels much more direct from the chef. Its not anymore or less passionate, it just feels…..'more', well to me at least.

You work with Gareth Austin, the hotel’s in-house fisherman, who lands the catch just metres from your kitchen. How does that relationship influence what appears on the plate, and what’s the most exciting thing about cooking something that was in the water that morning?

The reality is that working with Gareth shows the difficulty people in the fishing industry go through. As cooks we have to be flexible because targeting only one species doesn’t benefit a small day boat. Gareth could produce 5 different species after 1 landing. So rather than making something static on the menu, we can offer guests on landing days a few different options. We might have 3 lemon sole, 1 sea bass, 2 pollock and some scallops. I think there is a sort of romance to that from a consumer’s perspective, you have choice, which is always nice, but you can really tell that its literally just been landed and really is from a local day boat. Its not the cut off an 8kg Turbot caught in the North Scottish Sea, as wonderful as that is, your eating literally on the Cornish sea, and it feels less rehearsed, it feels more natural.

Your new menu features dishes like Cornish Crab Tart, Old Winchester, Brown Crab Sauce & “Mum’s Bouillabaisse”. Can you walk us through the inspiration behind one of these dishes and what you’re trying to express through it?

I think a lot more these days, chefs have to think of the guests first and what they would like to eat than it just being all about them. So the Crab Tart, I just feel, if you are coming to Cornwall and eating by the sea, crab has to feature somewhere. Cheese and crab is a really fantastic flavour combination, and we utilise the whole crab in making this dish, the brown crab bringing that lovely subtle flavour of the sea to this dish.

The bouillabaisse – that’s a dish for my mum. In every senior position I have held over the last 16 years, the first thing she asks…..wait, no, the first thing she TELLS me I have to put on the menu is “a really good bouillabaisse”, and then swiftly tells me I have to have “big lumps of fresh fish in it so you can really taste it all”. Its not a classic bouillabaisse, but I think it ticks the boxes for her, and that’s all that matters really.

Sustainability is clearly important to you. Beyond sourcing locally, what does sustainable cooking look like day-to-day in your kitchen, and are there any practices or principles you're particularly committed to?

Sustainability is becoming a more and more challenging landscape to navigate through, primarily because of rising costs. Purchasing as local to the hotel as possible will always be our focus. Our meat comes through Phillip Warren and only them, we can trace everything back to the animal and the farm that way, plus it is extraordinary quality.

Fish, again, we use suppliers who work hard to find the best quality as local to us as possible, and we obviously have Gareth with the Idle Rocks Boat. Where things get more difficult is with vegetable and dry store. Wholesalers are being forced more and more to try and find affordable alternatives, as the British farmer gets squeezed out of existence. We will support wherever we can in this respect and that would be the drum I would bang the loudest, support your local farmers, buy from your farm shops, small roadside veg stalls, seek out those small independent businesses connected directly to the land and sea around you. Supermarkets are masters in making things convenient for you, which in turn makes us lazy about the principle fuel we put into our bodies. It’s a little bit more effort, for what would make a huge impact. The British market has died a death in recent years, we need to bring them back!

St Mawes is a beautiful backdrop but also a working harbour with its own rhythms and seasons. How does the location itself find its way into your cooking, whether that’s through ingredients, inspiration, or the mood you’re trying to create?

Yes, you’re right, St Mawes is stunning, and one of the beautiful things about it is that as the weather changes in a dramatic way, so to does the environment. As idyllic as it is, sipping a glass of Rose on our terrace on a calm summers evening at 7pm as the sun begins to drop in the sky, as you enjoy 6 fresh oysters, you can still get the same sense of “occasion” on a cold December night, force 7 Gale and waves crashing over the top of the building. One thing the hotel provides is the best seat in the house no matter the weather. That, of course, changes the mood of what we serve, so in the depths of winter we are about rich and robust cream based sauces with meaty fish, or Cote De Beouf for 2 cooked over fire. Through to spring and summer where we move to more enhanced snack menus, including Tuna Tartare with wasabi and white soy, or those beautiful oysters with a chilled drink. And then into autumn, where we see late harvests and beautiful sunsets and sun rises, where the food starts to slowly take on those nods to comfort.

You were instrumental in securing Seafood Restaurant of the Year during your first stint here. What are your ambitions for this next chapter at The Idle Rocks? Are there any exciting plans or directions you’re keen to explore?

That was a really great moment, but one achieved by an amazing team of people here at the hotel, at that time. One thing I have learned over the years is to keep your personal ambitions close to your chest as you are the only one who is in control of whether you achieve them or not, but what is a focus for me and The Idle Rocks, is to focus it as a really top and desirable eating destination.

We want to be open armed and welcome in anyone who wants to join us, and give control to the guests with removing too many set menu prices and allow the guest to come in and be in control of how they choose to dine with us. If that looks like grazing on some lovely refined snacks with a few drinks and friends or through to a 7 course tasting menu and everything in between, then we can look after you. Our primary objective at The Idle Rocks is to make the experience you have here with us, about you, we want to make everyone who walks in through our front door feel like they are wanted and cared for.