Welcoming in the change of season, we speak to head chef Adam Thompson about the inspiration behind Blakeney Hotel’s new autumn/winter menu
03.10.2024
New-season dining
It’s the month of mussels. As temperatures turn cooler, the mollusc takes the spotlight. ‘There are much larger mussels round here,’ says head chef at the Blakeney Hotel, Adam Thompson, ‘quite heavy, quite meaty, and the shells are much thicker. Sometimes when the mussels are from slightly warmer waters the shells are so thin that when you’re cleaning them all of the shells break, whereas the ones here are lovely, big mussels.
‘Richard Matthews – he’s the local fisherman. He’s been fishing off the coast for about forty years and he supplies us with all of our crabs, lobsters, mussels and occasionally our wild sea bass,’ explains Adam. ‘You can really taste the difference.’
Since first starting at the Blakeney Hotel seven years ago, Adam has upheld the standards in its award-winning restaurant, bringing fresh flavour combinations and showcasing local ingredients. ‘Twenty six years ago I started, as most people do, having a Saturday job in a local country inn. It really opened my eyes as to where food comes from and how exciting it is to turn it into something that is absolutely delicious and give it the utmost respect.’
With the approach of a new season, we say goodbye to the spring and summer dishes and welcome in local game, foraged winter fruits and, of course, the coveted mussel in our autumn and winter menu. Using fresh, local, seasonal ingredients, guests can expect classic recipes such as moules marinière as well as more modern takes on dishes, with influences from all over the world.
Here, we caught up with the head chef at work to find out more about his culinary inspirations, the beauty of Blakeney and more.
BH
What drew you to working at the Blakeney Hotel?
AT
Location wise, you can’t beat it. It’s on The Quay, looking out over the marshes, tides coming in… there’s nowhere quite like it. It’s absolutely beautiful.
BH
How do you approach the menu?
AT
All the ingredients, when they're in season, we showcase in many different ways, many guises. It’s never the same each year, we’re always moving forward, we’re always trying new things. First and foremost, we look at the quality of everything, what is really good. We look at some classical pairings of things, but then we also get quite creative and innovative with some of our other dishes. Sometimes my other chefs will have been on holiday, been away somewhere, have an idea – they’ll come back, we’ll talk about it and try it out and change it. It’s great when they return and they’re excited to have found something to potentially put on the menu. I always encourage that; it’s always a team effort here.
"Richard Matthews – he’s the local fisherman. He’s been fishing off the coast for about forty years and he supplies us with all our crabs, lobsters, mussels and occasionally our wild sea bass. You can really taste the difference."
– Adam
BH
What inspires your cooking?
AT
In terms of inspiration, it’s looking at what ingredients are really good and giving them the utmost respect. Some things don’t need much work doing to them, they just need to stand out on the plate as they are. Other ingredients, like mussels, we can really play around with flavours. Mussels are like a vessel to carry quite strong flavours, so we have a lot of mussel dishes with an Asian influence, for example. As we move into the autumn months and winter, the venison would really shines through for us and that comes from the local Holkham estate.
BH
What ingredient could you not live without?
AT
One would be really high-quality Maldon sea salt from Essex and the other would be really good-quality local butter.
Join us at our award-winning restaurant by making a reservation on 01263 740797
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