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#1 Charlie Walters - Plant based diet and MasterChef finalist
123 Plays5 months ago
"Eating a plant based diet while cooking fish and meat on MasterChef the professionals"
We chat with Charlie about the stresses of opening his own restaurant, the experience of getting to the finals on MasterChef, his experiences of working in Cornwall, and what it was like being on a national cooking competition being plant based, while still cooking and eating animal protien.
Charlie delves into the experience of opening his first restaurant, the thrill of having his name over the door, what it's like working with his wife, and what it means to be a Cornish chef.
We also talk about the highs and lows of MasterChef, wha it was like being on the program and the expectations he had put on himself.
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Transcript
Charlie's Journey in the Restaurant Industry
00:00:00
Speaker
Welcome to the Check On podcast. And on today's check we have Charlie Walters. Now Charlie is a chef patron and a finalist of MasterChef the Professionals 2023. And today we're going to be talking about the challenges of opening your own restaurant, eating a plant-based diet while still cooking meat, and a lot of things in between. So please enjoy Charlie Walters.
00:00:32
Speaker
Welcome to the Check On podcast, the first official guest. I don't know if you're going to be the first one in the lineup or where it's going to be, but you're my first guest. So welcome on. How are you? Yeah, really well, thanks. You're good. You're not too tough for in the first sort of seven weeks of opening your first restaurant.
00:00:48
Speaker
No, uh, Sundays are great for sort of like regrouping. Um, Sunday's a lion day for me. Uh, like I think a 10 o'clock lion on a Sunday sort of like finishes me off. Like that's just like a nice, uh, a nice fresh start for a good couple of days off. Um, hello look and yeah, like that, that is a good start. Um, anything more than that is just like you regret that come, come Monday evening when you've wasted your days off.
00:01:12
Speaker
Yeah, for sure. For sure. i I don't even know the last time I slept until 10 o'clock. That sounds beautiful. Honestly, you've got to try it. Honestly, no phone, no work, nothing until gone 10 o'clock on a Sunday. um Sundays with a family that I really don't do much work until about four o'clock in the afternoon on a Sunday. What do you need to do on a Sunday? We've got a few functions coming up like at the end of the year.
00:01:37
Speaker
um you know, creating menus for that costing got obviously Christmas coming up. So I've got to make sure the Christmas menu is up to date, making sure the booking system is good. um Dealing with voicemails that I've missed from the weekend. um We don't have a solid guest relations team at the moment. So somebody's got to do the emails. My wife, be she's still in full time work at the sardine factory. So yeah, it's just about like catching up on things that get fallen or get left behind, I suppose on the weekend.
00:02:07
Speaker
ah Yeah, which is understandable. I mean, after a really busy weekend, like the last thing you want to do at one o'clock in the morning when you get home is listen to your voicemails that you've missed. I know we really want an email from you at half past one in the morning. I also don't want them to think I'm crazy. So yeah, maybe if I deal with that on a Sunday afternoon, that'll do.
00:02:24
Speaker
For sure. That's a, that's a later Charlie problem. Yeah.
Influences of Cornwall and MasterChef Experience
00:02:29
Speaker
So obviously we know each other from MasterChef and a lot of people followed you very, very closely. You had a huge amount of support from, I'm sure all of Cornwall, but you know, the rest of UK as well. I think the UK fell in love with you. You had a lot of support. and Um, I wanted to sort of, I guess, start from, start from the start. Like you started in the industry a lot younger than I did. You started very, very young.
00:02:54
Speaker
What was it like growing up in Cornwall and um how do you think that kind of influenced your cooking? You do a lot with fish. Do you think that's because you're from Cornwall? Yeah, I think naturally like you know Cornwall prides itself on on great produce and fish I think usually holds the top spot for that. um I think, yeah, like I enjoy cooking fish. It's it's just something that after working at the sardine for three years, it was sort of like day in, day out, relentless cooking fish. and And after doing it for, I guess for that long five days a week, it just kind of became something that almost felt natural.
00:03:32
Speaker
um So as much as I enjoy cooking like different areas of of the kitchen, I mean for yeah fish it just it just made sense that that's something that I prided myself on in the end of it. um Yeah I just think Cornwall as a whole is great. you know we've got We've got so much here. um The community spirit, I think, from Cornwall, as you said just a minute ago, sort of the support from Cornwall was huge. um Trying to keep it a secret for so long was was difficult. like Whereas maybe in ah in ah in a city, you you get lost and you maybe become a number of of quite a few. Whereas in Cornwall,
00:04:13
Speaker
everyone knows everyone, nobody's sister knows their brother or something like that. um So to to really try and keep it under wrap was was difficult that that was going on MasterChef, but once everyone had found out the the messages that I received and and the support and people that maybe I hadn't spoke to for so long or people that know my family, they just all sort of started coming out and sort of showing their love, which was Obviously super appreciated. um Yeah, it's just like, I love being from Cornwall. It's home for me. I never planned to leave. There's just something about being here that's great.
00:04:52
Speaker
It's almost like a little bit of a cult. like you you know Once you get there, you just never leave. Yeah, you know exactly. um It's just so chilled out. like Obviously, when we were filming for MasterChef, I spent so much time in London and it's like there's so many walls. like it's Obviously, I'd been to London before. like It's not like I've never crossed the Tamar Bridge, but um I'm making it sound that way for sure. You are making it sound like that. like you know You've literally never left. um do you know what i wouldn't have a problem with never leaving like my family's here um my childhood memories are here it's just a great chilled out place to be it's somewhere where it really doesn't take long for you to to be away from everyone does that make sense like yeah for sure you can take a five ten minute drive and find yourself not being able to see a single person in the middle of a field somewhere exactly um and that is a that is a really nice thing and something that
00:05:50
Speaker
I think maybe I take for granted every now and again, but you know it's just like super secluded. The new restaurant is completely tucked away as well. As soon as the customers have left at, I don't know, half past 10, 11 in the evening, or even in the afternoon, just to sort of like go out, sort of hear the birds. The views are great and and you just can't see or hear anyone. It's so tranquil.
00:06:14
Speaker
There's something really special about that, isn't there? like I think when you're in the city and it's always hustle and bustle and there's always horns or sirens or something, like there's there's something that's really missing in that like real peace and quiet. And I think a lot of chefs would really benefit from, I don't know, chucking on some noise canceling headphones or something for a minute if they can't get that.
00:06:35
Speaker
Yeah, definitely. I remember ah there was one one specific time that stands out that I went up to London to film for MasterChef and it was the longest stint. I was up there for nine days, whereas I think a lot of the other contestants got to go home because obviously they lived a lot closer. um I thought we'd sort of did like ah a stint of filming and then I had like two days off in London not doing a lot.
00:06:58
Speaker
um And I was homesick after like four days. Like obviously the nerves, of the stress, you can't practice your recipes anymore because you don't have a kitchen. You're literally sat there twiddling your thumbs. I found this just like open space of grass, probably two minutes away from the hotel. I spent the whole day just sitting there. It was just, it was everything I needed and more at that moment to just kind of like,
00:07:25
Speaker
look at some open space, you know, for for to not be in the hustle and bustle, I suppose,
MasterChef Challenges and Support System
00:07:30
Speaker
of London. It was really nice. You probably look like a little bit of a mad person, but I spent the whole day on like the phone to different family members and like trying not to tell them why I was in London. So who who did you tell? Joe, that's a really good point. Like you're recommended to tell only two people or you're strongly advised to only tell two people.
00:07:54
Speaker
Now that's really difficult for me, bearing in mind, I'm sure it was difficult for everyone. Two people is not a lot. You know, I've got a wife, well that's one. I've got a boss who needs to know, but that's two. I've got divorce parents, that's four. And it soon, you know, so realistically it was those ones there. yeah But then when we did the back filming at the restaurant, we we were supposed to do it a way that the staff wouldn't sort of wrap their heads around it.
00:08:24
Speaker
But the staff started turning up for their shift at like 10 o'clock in the morning. yeah And I was sat in the restaurant doing an interview and you know I could have blacked it one way or another about what that was for. But all of a sudden the in the middle of the interview, it was just like, so why is it you want to be on MasterChef this year? Oh my God. Around and like there's three members of staff looking at me and I'm like, oh God.
00:08:46
Speaker
the The Sardine team ended up like understanding and knowing what was going on at that point, but they did like a super job of keeping it under wraps as well. you know sure There was whispers of me on it, maybe a week or two before it aired, but up and you know it was a long few months to keep it quiet, um so they did a great job of keeping it quiet too.
00:09:05
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, it was it was very different, but also the same for me. like i I'm obviously not from here, so I don't know a lot of people here, all my family's back in Australia, so that was quite easy to to keep it under wraps. It's not like we I don't talk to them every single day, and if I do, it's always at weird hours, so they're not going to be like, why why are you available now, or why are you unavailable now?
00:09:27
Speaker
But obviously Vincent, my partner had to know yeah um because otherwise I don't know how I would explain that I'm going to London at random times of the week. um And my boss is new, so my restaurant manager actually had to know and the owner of the restaurant. I ended up having to tell my Sue because he was the one that did the rotors for me. So I had to very much be like, listen.
00:09:50
Speaker
I'm not here on this day. Exactly. But I don't know who talked, but I started getting like random customers come in being like, is is it one of the chefs in here that's going on MasterChef? And I was like, how are these people finding out? like I've literally not spoken to anyone about it. None of the rest of the team knows, only the core members. like Someone is blubbing. And if I get in trouble for this, I was a real, real stickler for it. I was like, do not tell anyone.
00:10:17
Speaker
Because they kind of, they put the fear of God into you, don't they? They're like, if anyone finds out, then it really ruins everything. And, you know, we might have to edit you out. I'm like, I'm not doing anything. I've told the people you said I need to tell. Yeah, for sure. I walked through Lou, like probably, yeah, like two weeks before, maybe three weeks before it was aired. And somebody went to me, he was like, hey, Charlie. And I was sort of like, oh, hi, how are you doing? He was like, yeah, yeah, good. um I know why you haven't been at the restaurant a lot recently. I was like, right.
00:10:46
Speaker
you're a master chef this year, aren't you? And it was like, how did you know that? He's like, heard it at the gym, didn't I? And I'm like, I don't go to the gym. Like, how did you know that? And I honestly, I'd love to know how people started to find out. Um, but yeah, I mean, definitely like slowly just crawls out, doesn't it? Like there's really not a lot you can do about it. Worst kept secret ever. all
00:11:11
Speaker
how did you How did you find it on there? like I know you probably must get sick of me people being commenting on how young you are and how you handle all of it at such a young age, so I'm not going to bang on about that. But I am going to say that like I could not have done it when I was younger. I would not have been able to handle the pressure. um But how how did you find the experience ah as an overall?
00:11:34
Speaker
Yeah, um I think when it was filmed, I was, was i I think I was 22 when it was filmed. um Yeah, do you know what, I i genuinely loved it. um There was, like, I look back at it with with fond memories. You know, especially um like the final four of us, sort of like me, you, Tom and Tommy, you know. ah I saw Tommy not too long ago and it's nice to have the friendships that that we've built and um Yeah, it was just sort of like a whirlwind of a year that year. Like I got married just before it started filming. I remember sneaking off to the car on my wedding day to answer emails to the casting team. um So it was like very much emotion at that point. um I ended up being on as a reserve, like long story short, it was like, they called me bittersweet. You're not 100% on, but like you might be on. That's so rough. Yeah, honestly, that was the most annoying week. ah
00:12:33
Speaker
I was so fumed to start with. Sort of remember calling out my dad like, no, they don't want me. remember um And then he was like, look, like keep your calm head. you know they're They're coming to film at the restaurant still. you know Make sure you're number one on that reserve list. I was like, all right, Pat, I'll do that. Anyway, yeah, it was literally a week later. They called me before lunch on a Friday and was like, you're in.
00:12:57
Speaker
I was going to team briefing like we do briefing um every morning before lunch and every evening before dinner. And like, I remember like just looking at Ben and being like, Ben, you're gonna have to do briefing like I'm on the phone. um And then yeah, it was like a really, really nice moment. Like Ben gave me a hug and it was just like a whoa, I'm about to do this. um But yeah, do you know what the whole thing? I loved it. It was nice to get away from the restaurant a little bit, go up and cook my own food. I think that's probably something that maybe a lot of the time young chefs don't get the opportunity to do, like especially, like I'm aware I've done things slightly different.
00:13:38
Speaker
um Obviously, at a young age, is in in the in the grand scheme of a chef's timeline, I suppose, um you spend those younger years like really sort of like learning from other people, which is great. And there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. And to a degree, like sometimes that's better. um But for me to be able to peel away from any restaurant and any sort of criteria, I suppose, and just go in, start. It's a bit cliche, but just starting to find out what my style of food was. Um, like I was just so grateful of that. Like I knew what style of food I always wanted to cook in the future, but I just wasn't cooking it at that moment in time. So it was always like a little bit of self doubt. Like, can I even cook the food I want to cook? You know, can I perform at the level that I think I can, um,
00:14:28
Speaker
So for it to kind of like, for the proof to be in the pudding was really, really nice to me. Um, and just like a huge confidence boost, I suppose. I think a lot of us went through that though. Like you say that it's, it's young chefs say are learning their style of cooking and you know, they don't get to do their own food, but I think for most chefs, like even as a head chef, my first head chef role.
00:14:50
Speaker
I wasn't cooking my style of food. I was cooking the restaurant style of food. So MasterChef, even for me, was the first time that I really got to figure out what my identity on the plate was, which was a little bit scary. Like, you know, when you're entering it and you're like, what am I going to do? Like, what's my identity? yeah And people ask you these silly questions like, what's your signature dish? you're like I don't know. Who has this signature dish under the age of 50? Yeah, for sure. The first brief you go in is like, what's your signature dish? And like, I look back at it now and I'm like, that's not my signature dish.
00:15:27
Speaker
You just like, at that moment you pulled something together and was like, yeah, okay, that's the first dish I'm taking. Like, let's do that. I told them I didn't have one. Fair. I was like, I'm not going to lie. Like, I am just figuring out what my style of cooking is. So yeah but I'm far from having a signature dish. I have stuff that I like to cook and I have a lot of ideas, but signature, not a chance. Yeah.
00:15:50
Speaker
But yeah, because you were working, where is it you were working? I was in a Japanese restaurant in Bath. Yeah, for sure. And I don't sort of ever remember looking across at your bench thinking. Say he's going with the Japanese cuisine, you know something like completely different. I feel like I gave them a bit of false promise as well, because in the initial like recorded interview, all the dishes that I said that I you know potentially would put on there, they had a little bit of a Japanese lean to it. And then once I got in, I was like, I don't want to do Japanese. I want to do my style of cooking.
00:16:21
Speaker
ah but yeah um Maybe I got in on a bit of luck with them thinking I was going to put some Japanese influence in, but there were enough people doing some Japanese stuff, so it was all right. Yeah, yeah there's always the influences, isn't there? Me, I don't like.
00:16:35
Speaker
Yeah, I just like, I didn't find any sort of, how do I phrase that? Maybe, um I think you've got to be passionate about what you're cooking. and And I think for me, like, as much as maybe I love eating um different star cuisines or um foods from different regions, I just think for me, like, I struggled to connect with that style of food actually in the kitchen um so yeah like I can completely relate to that like I'm really glad I brought my food um but only halfway through did I think I started to bring who I am that first half those first few episodes
00:17:11
Speaker
it was really weird to be coming up with your own dishes. And you always got in the back of your mind, like, this is going to be broadcast into the nation. like You just overthink it. um And I think as soon as I stopped overthinking it, it was like, everything just became a little bit more natural, which was really nice.
00:17:27
Speaker
I think that's one thing that I always think back to as well. Like, you know, we got very far, like to to the end, basically. um I always feel a little bit sorry for the people that didn't get quite so far through because there was so much that we figured out towards the end, like as much as you can, learning how to relax into it and learning how to, how to just be yourself on camera, like watching the first few episodes. Oh my oh my God, who is that? Why is she so stiff and prim and proper? That's not me at all.
00:17:59
Speaker
Even in the interviews, like I remember answering the interview questions like a bloody robot. um The interviews were great. they were such a there was such like They broke up the day so well. It was always like, who was going to go for the interview first? And I was like, come the end. I was like, yeah, I'll do it first. like yeah mine But yeah, it was it was like answering them like an exam at the start. It was like, yes or no.
00:18:23
Speaker
Charlie, you don't sound great, mate. And it's like, okay. Give me something more. Yeah, exactly. Yeah. They were very good actually, at like relaxing you into it and drawing it out. But I definitely did not relax into the process until a good halfway through. Yeah, for sure. I mean, that's definitely something I always say to everyone. Like the production team were phenomenal. who Like I completely envisioned my experience.
00:18:48
Speaker
Like it was so different in my head. I envisioned like turning up headphones and not talking to anyone. Like I'm coming to do a job. I'm coming to do well. And I don't really care about anybody else.
00:19:00
Speaker
Honestly from day one, that's really not how how things like were. um Obviously I met Tommy on literally day one. um Obviously me and Tommy were in the heats together and went straight through till pretty much the end. So yeah that was um that was really cool. But like the production team, they were so helpful and so friendly. you know Really good lunch, really good lunch. I don't know, I had some bad lunches. Lunches were great. I remember turning up and thinking, you know what, this is a good lunch. I can get on board with this. It's almost like being on an airplane. You know when you go there, you're going to have endless amounts of coffee. They're going to feed you. It was kind of fun. Yeah, definitely. I drank so much coffee. I was asking if you wanted coffee. I'm like, yeah, I can have another coffee.
00:19:44
Speaker
Towards the end, I realized though, that if I had a coffee, like if I overdosed my cell phone caffeine before we went in and cooked, I was way too shaky. And I was like, no, no, no, like three coffees before we go in and that is it. No more. Just three, no more than that. Three will be fine. Well, you know.
00:20:02
Speaker
though brilliant they were really early starts though like some of them were in the morning and it's like on camera by eight and it's like no one's coming ready at eight o'clock in the morning absolutely not i'm barely human at eight o'clock in the morning let alone you know ready to be broadcast to the entire of england like jesus brilliant not okay loved it but not okay i don't really know what i pictured it to be i think I think I pictured it to be a lot more like in-house competition. yeah i I pictured us to be more competitive towards each other, but I don't know what it was like for everyone else. But for me, it was definitely like, okay, this is what I've planned to do. This is what I'm doing. It's not like I know what anybody else is doing anyway, so I can't compare my dish to theirs until the day. yeah I don't know. It was just quite relaxed in that sense for me.
00:20:54
Speaker
Yeah, no, I can completely got involved with that. I think I thought the same like in the sense of at the end of the day, you're you're all there because you want to win. yes So it was like, yeah, I thought maybe not feud, feuds aren't the right word, but like like you said, that internal competition would be higher. um But I generally don't feel like there actually was internal competition. It was basically just everybody went in, put their head down, cooked as sort of like hard and as fast as they could for for the time period allowed. And after that, it was just a laugh.
00:21:30
Speaker
It was like team debrief afterwards, wasn't it? Funny, like that sort of once the cooking had finished, like to all sort of like meet around the courtyard and sort of like shout out about what went wrong in the hour and a half. Oh my God. yeah It was so, it was so great to be sort of like be in that moment and just like have a laugh with everyone. Everyone was in the same boat. I sort of maybe really liked that. You know, people always ask me, oh, would you do it again? It's like, well, now actually you can only do it once.
00:21:57
Speaker
and I think maybe I like the fact that you can only do it once on other youno cooking programs because you're all there for the first time. Yeah. And you just kind of in that moment, sharing it together and you're all making mistakes and having a laugh about it is actually quite funny. I don't know if I laughed straight away about my mistakes. I think I was really sort of disappointed with myself when I made mistakes and I could not laugh about it. Sometimes I just isolate myself to the side of the room and just be like, I need a moment just to debrief in my own head before I can be okay with the mistakes. Yeah.
00:22:31
Speaker
Yeah, okay, yeah, fair enough. it's um I think maybe it's easier to stand back and say, I'm laughing at it now. That's all said and done. and But yeah, it was, yeah, like all in all just fond memories. There's nothing I would have changed about that year, to be honest, it was so great, you know, for it to start filming in what was, I think it was like March, April. I think I was the first heat to film as well. You must have had a long break in between the first heat and then the first round then.
00:23:01
Speaker
Yeah we did actually. I remember sort of thinking like doing it and I was like okay we're in it now like we filmed and the timetables were so last minute and it was like so so when am I coming back and I think it was like three maybe three weeks before we went back again it was almost like am I going back? It was, yeah, there was that really long gap. And I remember sort of asking like, how come there's such a big gap? And they were like, because you were the first and actually, we've got to catch everybody else up. Because I think we filmed, I actually think we filmed like, I don't know, first and second, but before everybody else would film their first. Yeah. So yeah, there was there was a big gap there.
00:23:39
Speaker
um Yeah. And it wasn't necessarily the nicest gap to, I mean, like you're sort of in it and you're like, right, let's do this. And then all of a sudden it's like, you don't hear anything and you're like. Well, because you don't know anything either. I need to be practicing. Yeah. No, they said that they all like, everybody finds out about the challenges and everything at the same, like they have the same amount of warning. yeahly i guess Yeah. Excuse me. Some challenges were nicer than others. Definitely. Oh yeah. Some of them were awful. Yeah.
00:24:10
Speaker
i think ah john I think my worst challenge was like the piece of food I kicked out was like, okay, like it was nice. But I just like the brief, I think is so important. Like it's really easy to get carried away and cook nice food and just not hit the brief. And and that's obviously not what necessarily the program's about. um I think it was the nut round where we where we had to do nuts. I don't even, I can't even remember if you were in that with me. No, I wasn't in that one. um But I, it's like,
00:24:40
Speaker
you're not allowed to take like many recipes with you or anything and it was like as soon as they sort of said like it's nuts like my head just straight went to frangipan which was like along with a lot of other people yeah um and it was kind of like a frangipan off between me and rosie i think and like although it had nuts in it it wasn't exactly like full of nuts. And I realized at that point that I remember sort of like looking over my shoulder, Tommy was cooking behind me on that round. um And I remember sort of like looking behind me thinking like, whoa, like he's the only one that went savory. I remember that. I remember thinking like, it's a bit like weird and wonderful, like fair play looks nice. And then like the judges absolutely loved it because he went and did something completely different and ran full of nuts. Yeah. um And I think it was at that point there, it was like, okay, so
00:25:30
Speaker
the brief is equally as important as the piece of food that you bring up. Mine ended up being more of an apricot dish than a nut dish. It's hard though, because when you get given get given the brief and like it's it's exactly as they see it on TV, you know like you find out in that moment what you're doing. so And then you've got like 10 minutes to plan what you're going to do.
00:25:54
Speaker
and grab all of your ingredients at the same time before, you know, there's nothing left. And it's just, you just rack your brain. It was crazy. I think my least favourite round was one of the invention challenges where we all came together as the final 12. Yeah. that That sucked. I did so bad in that one. I just, it was a fully open challenge. Like I'm okay with a invention challenge if there is like criteria or a direction or something. But when they're like go nuts, go into the larder, have fun. I'm like, what? What do you mean? Honestly, I was just like, what am I going to cook?
00:26:39
Speaker
And obviously there was like all 12 of us together as well. And that was kind of like the first time that had happened. Like that's the most there was ever in a room at one point, I suppose was, was all of us together. Yeah. Yeah. That was, um, that was really interesting. I definitely share that view with you in the sense of like, I had no idea what to do. I got like halfway through the cook and was like, Hey, this is way too like easy. Like I hadn't stretched myself at all.
00:27:06
Speaker
um I was like, i've I'm playing this way too safe. And then I was like, I know I'm gonna get penalized for this. um I remember sort of like running, trying to run back into the larder to try and grab more ingredients. um And they were filming in there and I was like, I really need some food. Like, can I come in please? um And like Monica was so lovely. Like yeah um she was like, what are you looking for? And like, I think I was looking for a potato or something.
00:27:34
Speaker
know I think I was looking at the potato, shallot, and carrots. I think those were the three things I was looking for. She was just like, they're there, they're there, and I was like, thank you. Like, people ran off like she was so lucky to be that day. um But yeah, it was, it was nice. I remember getting the feedback on that, on that round. I was like, this is an important day. Like, I think four people went home that day. I think.
00:27:58
Speaker
And that was obviously quite a few people to go home at once because I think it was almost like it was like split between the two, like 12 into six. And then I think two from each had to cook again or something the next day.
00:28:10
Speaker
yes Yes, so i I was one of those. I had to cook again. now it was No, honestly, it was um it was one of the worst
Plant-Based Lifestyle and Restaurant Menu
00:28:21
Speaker
moments. like i I'm not a crier and I was standing there knowing I was going to have to cook again. like i just I knew it. I could feel it. I knew it and I was standing there and I'm like, Do not cry. Do not cry. I was like, I i pretty remember like biting the inside of my cheek to try and like distract myself and being like, don't you cry. It was crazy. I did. Yeah. ah but It was when the cameras were off once they'd already announced who had to cook again. And then Monica came up and gave me a hug and she was like, it's all right. Like do what you need to do. Talk to yourself, talk to someone and just come back and smash it. So I remember calling Vincent and I was like,
00:29:00
Speaker
I got put into the knockout round and I was, I was a mess. I was an absolute wreck. And he was like, what do you need from me? Do you need me to tell you it's going to be okay? Or do you need me to designed to suck it up? And I was like, I need you to tell me to suck it up. I need you to be like my boss right now. I need you to tell me to get back on that horse, come up with a plan, figure out some kind of, you know, not that we knew what we needed to do. We knew it was another invention challenge, but.
00:29:27
Speaker
just, you know, come up with a couple of dish ideas and be like, all right, if there's pears, I'm doing this stuff. I'm doing this. Um, I'm pretty sure it was the, to make a dessert, nobody in that round did a dessert to do a dessert with the leftover ingredients that were left in the Lada. Obviously they started out with a bit more dessert stuff, but I was very lucky because I was like, if there's pears, I'm doing some kind of pear and chocolate dessert.
00:29:53
Speaker
And there was, and I literally like, you can see me in the episode. I saw them and I beeline for them and I ran. I'm like, I'm getting those pears. Oh, yeah. on Like cooking again moments were horrible. I did. I think I did one as well. Um, I can't remember why, but it was later on because there was, I think it was eight of us and four of us had to cook again. Um, and I was in the, I was in the cook-off with, um,
00:30:22
Speaker
Yeah, I was with Laura and and And I can't remember what dish I did to get... I think it was the salt and pepper round. I think. Was it? I thought... Yeah, I don't think it was enough. that I think they liked somebody else's more. I can't 100% remember, but I remember being in that Final Four and like we walked in to cook again. And obviously there's a larder at the front of the kitchen.
00:30:49
Speaker
And I knew straight away what the brief was because there wasn't a protein in sight. Like there was no meat, there was no fish. yeah And I was literally, I saw like the block of vegan butter. And I was like, I know where this is going. I actually probably think that that was the round. I felt the most pressures because I knew all eyes were going to be on me for that one. um It was a, yep it was kind of like a, it should have been a tongue in cheek moment for me. I was like, cool this like this is mine to lose.
00:31:19
Speaker
But at the same time, like I don't specialize in plant-based food. Don't be wrong, I eat plant-based at home, but like I do not like specialize in cooking that part. um so yeah it was yeah um But I actually loved that cook-off. It was great.
00:31:33
Speaker
ah And you came out top dog on that one. They loved it, didn't they? It was awesome. I remember at the beginning, I was like, yeah, I'm going to do this. I'm going to build a mill foyer. I'm going to like layer up like this. And then I think we only had like 50 minutes or something. It was, it was short. And I remember getting halfway through.
00:31:51
Speaker
And like the home act team were looking at me like, Charlie, you're right. I was like, yeah, I'm just like really busy. I don't have time to speak to you. And then halfway through, like Greg walked behind me and I was just like, Greg, that milfoy that you were looking forward to ain't gonna happen. But yeah, they like let me off and it was the quickest 50 or 70 minutes of my life. It just absolutely flew by. And the pressure was on because you can't help, obviously we spoke about that internal competition, like you can't help but sort of like guess who's gonna be in the final. Like as you start to meet everyone, you're like, right, who' who's realistically gonna be where? um And like I was in a room with Lauren, Philippe and Kyle and like I had those three down, like it's that pretty high up.
00:32:46
Speaker
um yeah Yeah, I think a lot of us did. And honestly, obviously, when it got to got to the end, and it was like me and Lauren got through like, I could not believe, like, I wouldn't have believed had Lauren gone home either. But it was just I couldn't believe Carl and Felipe were gone. Like, they were like, they were just like up there in my estimation of of who was going to be in the final four, if I'm honest with you.
00:33:13
Speaker
Yeah. I definitely thought Philippe was going to go all the way, but I guess, and I know a lot of people were very upset that yeah was he was eliminated, which I can totally understand, but I guess it's kind of the nature of the competition. Like you can be the best chef in the competition and have one bad round and that's it. You know, it's not like an accumulation of all of your good rounds. It's, it's each round judge on that round. It literally doesn't matter what you've done before or what you've got planned after, what you bring on the day.
00:33:42
Speaker
Is it? yeah And that was, no, like it was, crazy it was almost like that, that final four where where it was me, you, ah Tom and Tommy, it was, I did not know walk into that, who was going to come out the other end. I was like, this is going to be close. ah And then I remember I cut myself at the start.
00:34:04
Speaker
And I was like, oh God, no, like, please don't be bad luck. It turns out it was. um But like, it was just all about on the day. And I think like all of our dishes on that day were like pretty on par, but it was literally like, I think it was so close that it came down to mine was slightly over-seasoned and it had a slightly grainy mousse and that was enough to send me home that day just because everybody else's didn't have those bad parts, you know what I mean? it was It was so close and it really didn't matter how good your dishes were before. Like there was some standout dishes that I had before that I i loved and maybe had wished that I'd brought to that point but it's just not the way the cookie crumbled on that day.
00:34:52
Speaker
no i think I think a lot of us definitely felt a shift in the judging as well. you know like The first couple of rounds we were getting used to it and I think they were not going sort of too hard on us. and then Once we came together as the final 12, it was like they stepped up their criteria and other, you know, um three notches. I remember hearing their criticism for, you know, my dish and other people's dishes and being like, okay, like now it's gotten serious. Now they're really, really looking at absolutely everything. Not only did you hit the brief, but is it slightly under or over seasoned or just like the smallest? Yeah, definitely. It was.
00:35:33
Speaker
Yeah, so I get pretty brutal at one point actually. It really did. Some of the things didn't make it to the final edit, but I remember some of the criticism and I was like, oh my God. Please don't show that. like I really don't want everyone to see that you just said that about my food. like listen that They were quite nice actually in some rounds to me. I remember thinking i remember texting my dad on one of the rounds that was going on that... like I was at work so I couldn't watch it on TV. I remember texting my dad, like, heads up, like, this isn't a good one. like I really didn't like this round. I thought it looked rubbish. it was It was just not my favourite round. And I'm like midway through service and he was like,
00:36:17
Speaker
they just said you were chef of the day and obviously like we never saw that you know it was the filming obviously like the judges feedback got filmed separately it was the critics round so it was the the one the one round i think that you actually never got your feedback um yes that was the one i was the most scared it was horrible um i hated it and um yeah i just like remember looking at my phone and obviously like every time you were on episode like your phone went pretty nuts with with notifications of people playing their part. And yeah, I was just, that was the worst one out of the way by like, I think it was like the second or third episode in. I was so glad that that was out of the way. I'm glad it went well. no I remember that was a long wait. Like I was so scared for that round because again, you don't know anything.
00:37:05
Speaker
until until you see the episode until everybody sees it so you're just waiting and you're like oh my god did they hate it did they like it like i don't want to find out at the same time as everybody else i was convinced mine was bad i was speaking to speaking to um Dylan, one of the chefs that was with me at Sardine, he now runs the kitchen at the new restaurant for me. And um I remember saying to him, I was like, it's embarrassingly bad, mate. Like, my eight-year-old niece could have done a better job of plating that food than I did. I remember saying that to him. And I like drew him a sketch of what the food looked like on a piece of paper. And he just looked at me and was like, why did you plate it like that? And I was like, I don't know, mate. Like, I was just in the mix.
00:38:00
Speaker
Things happen in that bloody MasterChef kitchen that just you just can't explain. No, I completely agree. it was um yeah That was ah ah was an interesting one, but glad it went well. That was the one I was looking forward to, the leash, shall we say. We touched a little bit before on um you feeling a lot of pressure going into the, into the not the rematch, there the knockout round, I guess, um when you saw that it was plant-based.
00:38:30
Speaker
why Why do you eat plant-based? Because you you obviously you cook everything, you cook and you taste everything. In your in your everyday life, um you eat plant-based though. Is there a reason for that? Yeah, I think um and think it's really nice that actually the the phrase plant-based is now a thing. Before MasterChef actually I would have considered myself vegan. I think obviously the word vegan has quite a lot of stigma about it.
00:38:56
Speaker
um And the casting team were always like, we're gonna call it plant-based because it kind of, um it's not so formal and it and it just sort of like lends itself to maybe a little bit of leeway. um Like as a general rule of thumb, like if I'm honest on a day-to-day, like whilst I'm in a kitchen, obviously I have to taste everything. So yeah probably like, I probably eat more meat than most people during during a day.
00:39:22
Speaker
um But when it comes to maybe what I believe in and what I actually choose to eat is my meals. Um, yes, I do eat, I do eat plant-based. I think for me, it was like a real mixture of, of a few things. Um, like, Hey, it's not for everybody. Um, but for me, it was, I was, I think it was 18 and I made the call for one reason or another to get a vegetarian. Um, I had like.
00:39:47
Speaker
issues with my stomach at that age. I used to like have have prescriptions that I would take to make sure I didn't get ill basically. um And then sort of like two months after being vegetarian, I stopped taking those tablets and like haven't taken them since. And that was probably five to seven years ago now. So that was when I was 18 and um'm I'm 24 now. so So you can do the maths on that. But um yeah, and then I think once you sort of become vegetarian, the the stigma or the you You may be a little bit more open to the to the to the to listen to knowledge about um the negative sides of meat. I think as a meat eater, you often not shut it out for one reason or another, whether you don't believe in it or whether you don't want to hear it. I think once you already are not eating meat, you're a little bit more open to hearing about it. And then I remember I just ate a halloumi wrap for lunch one day and I was like, do you know what? That was gross.
00:40:41
Speaker
I'm not eating that anymore. I went vegan for dinner. um And then, yeah, just followed that diet through, really. I just find peace in it, if I'm honest. um there's something I live a guilt-free life because of it. Not everybody needs to feel guilty about it. I do. um So I think it just suits me, to be honest.
00:41:01
Speaker
um So yeah, as a general rule of thumb, to sum it up, it for ethical reasons, the health for health reasons, sort of health reasons personal to me. um And just also, from an energy point of view, like obviously, there's arguments for and against this, but for me,
00:41:19
Speaker
I don't know if I was to have a chicken burger for lunch. I'd be in a food kind coma for dinner service. like But I don't know. Let's be stereotypical here. Let's say I had a falafel wrap. like Yes, all right, I'm full for half an hour. But all of a sudden, like I just feel energized. So those are my reasons, to be honest.
00:41:35
Speaker
um ah some pretty good reasons. I've thought about it a lot because I get asked it a lot, especially being a chef. I can imagine. Sorry, I had no no doubt problem. like I think as well, it boils down to the fact that I was a chef before I was plant based. So like my passion, like I love my job. I love everything I do. I love waking up every day and like living the career path that I've chosen. um So I can't just jeopardize that because of because of another belief, do you know what I mean? I've got to make sure that they work hand in hand together and I just basically try and do the best that I can to make sure they work together. For sure. I mean, I know that it's almost like veganism has had a little bit of a rebranding by going and calling it plant-based, but is there a difference or are they essentially the same thing?
00:42:23
Speaker
I think it's down to personal. Like my understanding of it is, I don't know, like the way I see it, there's a lot of family members of mine that. are vegan. um And I'd go as far as hardcore vegan, like sing it from the rooftop type of type of situation. and And that's fine. I've got no judgments towards my family members for that either. But I think for me, like, and why I like the plant based term is because I think it encourages people to eat more plant based food without committing to never eating meat again. Like at the end of the day, like I still believe that people
00:43:01
Speaker
shouldn't eat as much meat as they do. One way or another, whether it's all of it or whether it's none of it or just somewhere in between. I think plant-based is really just, it just allows people to be like, oh yeah, I mainly eat plant-based, but I'll still have a bacon sandwich on a Sunday. In my opinion, that's better than having a bacon sandwich every day of the week. And that's my opinion, but I think that's what it does. It just makes plant-based food a little bit more accessible. I think vegan's just a bit too strict.
00:43:31
Speaker
Yeah, no, I agree with that. And I think that there is definitely a shift moving towards it, like not necessarily people, um, choosing a vegan or a plant-based diet. But if you look at tasting menus from 10 years ago, compared to tasting menus now, like even the tasting menus that we do for our company, there's always one or two. vegetarian Yeah. on that If not umt based and it's, it's really bizarre because the vegetarian course we've got one that we've done for a while now.
00:44:01
Speaker
It's always the favorite. It's really interesting. it's Like it's so bizarre. like We spend all this money on some really, you know, high quality meat. And don't get me wrong, like the meat courses are delicious. But the thing that people I think are most surprised about is what you can do with a... Sorry about my laptop.
00:44:17
Speaker
It's okay. I haven't quite figured out how to mute it without muting you, so I think you're going to have to roll with that. Don't mute me otherwise it will be a very one-sided podcast. You have to get very good at lip reading quickly.
00:44:30
Speaker
um But you know, I think it's sort of and becoming for lack of a better word, more trendy, but vegetables and plant-based things are definitely coming into fashion more, which can only be a good thing. Because I think eating meat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day, like, A, it's not great for the environment. We all know that. that's It's not up for debate. It's not good for the environment.
00:44:54
Speaker
It can't be great for your health, you know, so I think it's a really good thing that people are, you know, incorporating that into their, into their weekly lifestyle, whether that's, you know, Thursdays, we eat plant based for dinner or whatever, but people are playing around with it a little bit more, which I think is a really nice thing. Yeah, definitely. Like, yeah, I completely agree. here um It's, it's a more affordable option as well, as long as you're not eating there the plant based junk food, as as I would call it, like, like ready meals, whether they're ready meals with meat or whether they're ready meals without meat.
00:45:24
Speaker
Again, it's probably not very good for you. Like if you're buying sort of, sort of, I know, fake chicken and breadcrumbs and you're going to cook it in the oven when you get home, then, then yes, like I'm not going to stand here and say that that's healthier for you than eating chicken because like just not clued up enough to know whether that's true or not. But like if you're actively, if you're like cooking home meals and like you are cooking from scratch, like protein's expensive. It really is.
00:45:53
Speaker
You know, we don't really buy any meat for home. My wife, Leah, like she's a meat eater, so to speak. But like on the day to day, we don't cook two separate meals. Like we just eat plant based at home. It's just easier that way. And like the shopping bill every week.
00:46:10
Speaker
is so much nicer because of it. I think I went away skiing in February. And it was like, right, Charlie's going away skiing. So like, I don't know, she went to the shop and was buying chicken, bacon, like it was like the vegans at the house, like let's actually have some nice food type of situation. and ah mean obviously Like that week shop was more expensive than the usual monthly shop. um So yeah, like there's just like so many reasons why I think people don't have to adopt it 100%.
00:46:42
Speaker
Um, and I actually think that will put people off when they think they have to adopt it a hundred percent. It's almost like for now, I think we're in the climate where people just needs to kind of like dabble with it. Um, except the fact that it's coming in, like there are great plant-based dishes. Like you said, your vegetarian option is one of the favorites. I mean, we have a pretty solid plant-based menu in the restaurant and people love it.
00:47:04
Speaker
And it is really accessible, which is great. So yeah, like all in all, I think it's a growing thing. um And I think it just needs to not be shoveled down people's totes.
00:47:16
Speaker
um Yeah, if it's not treated quite so much like a religion and I think people are a little bit more open-minded to it, they don't get their backs up straight away. Yeah, no, I completely agree. I think you're right. it's um yeah It needs to be a relaxed option, not a, you must do this. I think that's why I don't like you know, I wouldn't i wouldn't expect you to to force feed me meat, so I'm not going to force feed you vegetables. I think that's a really good way of looking at it. But yeah, I think he yeah it's just one of those things. It's always an interesting conversation, but I'm pretty level headed about it. Have a conversation with my mum, though, and like, she's she's not so forgiving on the meat front.
00:47:55
Speaker
but like their own We'll get her on the podcast next. Is it something that you were that you were nervous about? like Going on to MasterChef, were you nervous that the plant-based or vegan community were going to come at you for cooking meat? Or were you just very like sure about yourself and being like, you know what? This is my lifestyle. This is how I do it. Let them come. I i don't really care. Yeah.
00:48:21
Speaker
um yeah it was definitely something that was highlighted pretty early on that actually it's not going to be a problem but it's definitely going to be a talking point um do you know what from what i i always said but i wouldn't look online at like the public's comments on ash i think they all said that but you can't make it And there are some funny ones. um like And I think as long as you laugh about it, like at the end of the day, like people are just judgmental. There were some funny comments about me and other people, and I think we all kind of had a gig about it. But like as a general rule, I don't actually think there was much
00:48:58
Speaker
as much publicity around that that um veganism or plant-based as I thought there was, um it was definitely sort of made out to me that it was going to be much bigger than it was. But I think that's just because the production team was just trying to like give me a heads up.
00:49:14
Speaker
ah probably just preparing you just in case it didn't become a big thing. I just kind of said to them like, if you could maybe crop out the bits where I'm shoveling meat in my mouth, that would like probably be quite helpful. I remember the ah the street food round. um I was obviously sharing a kitchen with Tommy. i did ah That was one of only two rounds I cooked plant-based. I did plant-based power buns. And Tommy did like a steak kebab.
00:49:38
Speaker
it was polar opposites and um honestly like it would have been hilarious i think had it made the tv but i am i remember like i tasted tommy's food like at the end of the day it's my job like and i didn't eat a lot but like i tasted it And it wasn't really in a situation where, like, you could spit it out as well. Like, I don't want that. Thanks. So I remember I tasted it and as I tasted it, I realized that they were still filming. So I turned around with like a piece of meat hanging out my mouth, just like look dead at the camera. I was like, please don't show this. And I'm so glad they didn't, but it would have been hilarious if they'd had
00:50:18
Speaker
ah oh yeah ah yes many small bits you know and at the end of the day like i can't go through my life like not tasting it because we're just not in a climate where the majority of people still eat meat and um jobs to cook people food that they want to eat. um yeah And yeah, especially in Cornwall, you know, maybe if I was open a restaurant in London, then maybe it could be plant based and there would be the ah clientele for it. But but in Cornwall, it's just not, not say it's not as as welcome yet. So as much as, um you know, I push hard on a plant based menu to encourage people to
00:50:58
Speaker
to see that it doesn't need to be boring um at the same time. At the moment, it just needs to be quite an even split. Yeah, for sure. But I think it's still a great thing that you you do have ah on your menu. like it's It's there for people to try if they want to. you're not Like you said, you're not forcing them to eat it, but you're saying the option is here if you would like to try and see what it's about. Exactly that. And I think um i think like quite a few people do that. like we've We've only been open like six, seven weeks now. and So I've only had maybe three or four people do it, but like they come, they know I'm plant-based. So they order off the normal menu because that's what they want to eat. But then then they're also really intrigued to try some of the plant-based food. So actually on top of it, they order some plant-based food. Now it's great for me that they're ordering more, but it's also like more importantly, it's nice that people are
00:51:46
Speaker
wanting to try it and that maybe I am starting that conversation because at the end of the day, it is something that I believe in. So it is nice. Don't get me wrong. She preferred the pig cheek over the turnip, but like, h you know, if you can't win them all. But also I think I think especially now, like obviously people are spending their money very differently pre-COVID, post-COVID. um It's you know so something that everybody knows. We all know that people are ah watching their panties a little bit more. So I think it's a really good thing to see that people are trusting you with that. because
00:52:20
Speaker
At the moment, I think when people eat out, it is a very big trust thing. They want to trust that when they come to the restaurant, they're going to be happy with what they eat. So the fact that people are still going out and trying a plant-based dish that they might not necessarily know about or wouldn't have tried, I think that's a huge compliment to you saying that we trust you enough to know that I don't know what this is, but I want to try it. Yeah, definitely. No, I completely agree. It's really, really nice actually that but almost like you mentioned that because it's our normal menu, normal and our and vegan menu that it is named. um Just because we have such a small kitchen team, like they're intertwined. So for instance, like we do like a trout ceviche tart with kimchi and seaweed and we do the exact same dish. Like if I took a photo of both of them, you wouldn't be able to tell the difference that the only difference is because i have all the other ingredients are plant-based in the dish apart from the trout.
00:53:18
Speaker
we just switch it out for comfy squash and obviously it happens to be the same color as well as that helps from the aesthetic side of things um but it's it's not it doesn't look vegan does that make sense yeah um and i think that's so important and sometimes vegan food can be a bit weird and wacky and trying to make up for something that's maybe not there but I think actually sometimes it just needs to be switched out you know it doesn't need to be any different it's much easier on starters than it is mains don't get me wrong um doing a main course just plant-based is slightly more difficult because
00:53:56
Speaker
that's where meat really sort of like stands its ground a little bit like people want meat for their main course. But it's really nice and and that people maybe do accept it as a starter much more like with your tasting menu as well you know it's it's nicer to accept maybe a vegetable or a plant-based option on the lead up at least. So yeah it's just nice that you know people can have the squash instead of the trout and and actually sometimes people order both to to try the original as it was designed the trout and then the spin-off plant-based option and yes of course they're different textures but but as a whole it it tastes so similar which is really nice and I'm glad people do try it.
00:54:40
Speaker
don't get me wrong, we don't sell enough plant-based food to be a plant-based restaurant. But it's nice that people are trying it. Yeah, absolutely.
Building and Running a Restaurant
00:54:49
Speaker
So how, how have you found opening the restaurant? Because I know we spoke sort of just before you're about to, about to open. I think it was the week before you opened the doors. And yeah you were under the pump, you know, it was everything was happening. And it was a stressful time, I can imagine. Like I've done one restaurant opening and it was not to the sort of same degree as what you've done it was me just opening the kitchen basically and doing the menu and getting it ready and then trotting back off to my main restaurant um but i i think i nearly died of stress just from that it was um yeah i almost like look back and i'm like how am i here um i had a to-do list on my phone i sort of like very early on was like i'm not going to delete the to-do list like it would be funny to look back at
00:55:35
Speaker
um man this list was like longer than my arm like there's so much and everyone's always like you know also speaking to restaurant owners obviously Ben was super supportive of me leaving and I spoke to other young chefs who'd opened a restaurant. They're always like, you know, this will catch you out or this will, or there was just so much to do. And every time you tipped a job off, it revealed a new one. And it was so frustrating that every time I tipped a job, I added at least one or two. and yeah And I was all right because every day I was ticking off a job, you know, I left Sardine. ah I think we basically pulled the trigger on it and was like, we're opening in six weeks.
00:56:18
Speaker
Now that was maybe like brave. um Yes. I remember sort of speaking to, obviously the restaurant's in a hotel. um we're We're separate to the hotel, but obviously we work hand in hand together. And I remember speaking to the owners of the hotel, I was like, cool, this is the day we're opening, we're opening on the 15th of July. And they were like, Charlie, that's six weeks away. And I'm like, yeah, I know. And if we don't, we're going to miss summer and there's no point and I'm not waiting until next year.
00:56:47
Speaker
Um, so it was like now or never. And, um, yeah, I just absolutely went through like every single day I woke up. So I was working at sardine from like nine until maybe three, and then I had a couple of hours off until five. So I was working, I was waking up at seven, doing two hours worth of work, then going to sardine, doing prep and service. Then.
00:57:10
Speaker
leaving in the afternoon because Ben was supportive enough to let me do that, leaving the afternoon to go continue to then do dinner service, to go home, do a couple more hours. Like that last month at Sardine was the most tiring month ever because like I promised Ben that I wouldn't, you know, it's just not who I am. I wouldn't have taken my foot off the gas for him. like At the end of the day, I was still a paid employee. Like I had to do my job.
00:57:35
Speaker
um So yeah, to to do the two together was like super hectic. Once I'd left the sardine and I had the full day to do my own thing, I left, I think, maybe like two weeks before we opened, I left the sardine factory. So I had a bit more time there. Even still, like two weeks, yeah like for a full two weeks, still but like, I can imagine there was still so much it was crazy. And the absolute worst thing was, is there was a,
00:58:07
Speaker
Yeah, we just had functions before we opened as well. like And I wasn't catering for them, but obviously I was trying to get ready. um yeah it was Yeah, it was pretty chaotic to to say the least, but it wasn't like, I can't take all the credit. like ah I'm so lucky to have like a super supportive family. like Again, we won't go too emotional about it, but I've got a mum and stepdad who were like super hands-on,
00:58:36
Speaker
Mum was great with sorting out sort of the the garden side of things so things were customer facing and tidied that up. My stepdad was great at building tables and doing DIY to the restaurant painting.
00:58:49
Speaker
my dad deals with all my accounts so like without him my job wouldn't be fun. ah Leah, poor old Leah, like every single night I was chewing her ear off about this restaurant. I still do now. and She sits there and listens every single night and Like just being able, as I'm sure you know, like Vincent's the same, I know he is, like we've spoke about it before, like to have someone who just understands and listens is so important to be able to go home and just unload. Absolutely.
00:59:23
Speaker
It's invaluable, almost. like i I don't know how I would have come half as far without him. you know even Even on Masterchef, having somebody there. like I didn't ah really didn't have anybody here. It was just me and him. But to have my one person here be also a chef and an amazing chef as well is probably better than me, but hopefully he doesn't listen to this question. I wouldn't be saying that before as well.
00:59:46
Speaker
I know. Yeah, but we don't say it to his face. Otherwise, you know, his head's going to explode. um But it it's absolutely invaluable. um I don't know how I would get on with that. Yeah, it's just like that nice feeling of being able to let you figure things out when you say them aloud. And I literally just come home and talk crap to Leah for one hour maybe. She doesn't even get a word in. And then she's like, will you leave me alone now? And I'm like,
01:00:13
Speaker
I can't say that, that's not very nice. And she said, Carly, you've literally been chatting for an hour. And I'm like, Jaffa. But yeah, so and it was a rude effort. Yeah, just like, I'm so thankful for everyone who was involved in it as well, like Dylan, who I've i've touched base on before, like,
01:00:34
Speaker
Mate, this guy's 19 years old. um He was the first person I employed at the Sardine factory. He spent like three years working. He left and went and worked for for Adam handling for a little while. And then as as soon as I said I was opening, like he handed his notice in before I did.
01:00:51
Speaker
um Honestly, this guy, like without him, he he was integral to the setup as well. But actually, like the bit where he came in his own was ah when when we opened. like Staff is a huge problem. Not a huge problem. A challenge to overcome. um i like talking I like doing front of house. And I do a lot of front of house shifts that at the restaurant.
01:01:19
Speaker
Leah's joining us in, uh, September, I think. Yeah, which is really cool. Like Leah's coming on and like taking full responsibility in front of house in October, which is, which is going to be a huge weight off my shoulders. Um, but until that point, obviously I'm managing front of house because we just don't have a front house manager. And to be able to leave Dylan in the kitchen and him perform at the standard that we both set from the get go and actually improve on it as we go as well. Like.
01:01:48
Speaker
I just couldn't have done it like without him. Do you know what I mean? like To have yeah basically me in another body. you know People always say, I wish there was two of me. Well, I've got two of me. and And he's actually less annoying than me. So like there is very pros to that. Yeah, so like all those people as a whole, like it just it just wouldn't have happened without them.
01:02:08
Speaker
God, joe it's just been a huge family effort. You know, I've had my mum and my dad behind the bar some nights. I've had Eric's washing pots, his mum running food, his younger brother does dishes for us. Like, I don't know, it just seems like mine and Dil's family have just all sort of come together to make this this whole situation work. And it's actually, you know, as much as I appreciate my family, it's admirable what Dylan's family have done for me as well, you know, because I'm not their son and it's it's not their son's restaurant like although he's he works there like bottom line like he I just like he's employed but he's yeah's just so integral and and they see that and yeah yeah just like a ah huge thanks to them really.
01:02:52
Speaker
That's so amazing to have, you know, all of that support and have everyone pulled together. And like, I imagine sometimes you feel very much like you're in it on your own and it's all on your shoulders, but also to have those other people there to be showing you that you're not all on your own. It must be really, really lovely. Yeah, definitely. I think especially because I did it without Leah to start with it, like there were times I was like, I just feel like I'm on my own.
01:03:19
Speaker
and then li it was quick to say like you can't say that charlie like you are completely wrong and i was like yeah fair okay but sometimes that's just how you feel like absolutely it's like My name was above the door, like I never envisioned calling my restaurant my name. um yeah But it just, that's the way the cookie crumbled. um Obviously the gate was already established. So to it just made sense that for now, especially while you know we're still deciding what the future holds at the gate for us, that it was just Charlie Walters at the gate. um So it was just like so prominent that it was mine, you know there was no.
01:03:55
Speaker
There was no hiding behind it, you know, a lot of our customers come because it's me and that's lovely. um Was that a real scary moment when you sort of hung your name above the door and you were like, shit, it's my name above the door now. It was, yeah, it was, it was actually a relief in a way, but there's a stress to it as well. Like, I wouldn't say control freak, but I just like calling the shots and,
01:04:21
Speaker
for for everything to just the final save be mine now was was a really nice thought. um Yeah, it was it was worrying, but I just kind of also at the same time knew that I could probably hook it up. um And I'm glad that we have you know like, don't get me wrong, there's problems to come, I'm sure. And we've had and we have had some had had some like small issues, but like as a general whole, it has been a hit the last seven weeks and I'm super thankful for that.
01:04:48
Speaker
um guests have loved coming, like we're by nowhere near complete. You know, we are, we are seven weeks old and still so fresh. Um, there's still like a huge amount of stuff that we want to accomplish in total, but like, let alone come the end of the year. Um, yeah so yeah, it's just like, it's just really nice that, that it has been in the name above the door. Do you know what I actually think calling it Charlie Walt has had some benefits because it just makes it clear as day, like.
01:05:18
Speaker
who is this guy that's named the restaurant after himself, like people Google it, oh, it's the guy from MasterChef, okay, we'll go. um yeah But there has been a positive to that. But yeah, there is. There's no doubt about, you know it's not it's not the wrong name to the restaurant, it's not a restaurant that's somewhere else in the country. and you know it's It's definitely, definitely you. Yeah, it's interesting. like I think at some point in the future, like I very much imagine rebranding and renaming. and you know, I had a very sort of and have had a very clear dream of what I want my restaurant to look like since I was 14. And that was 10 years ago. So like the dream of the restaurant is 10 years old. And um we're just at the early days of developing her really. um Yeah, there's there's still so much more that that she has to do to
01:06:09
Speaker
be what I want her to be. And there's so much more that I have to do to make her that way. But yeah, I think maybe in the new year at some point, we would we would rebrand as what I envisioned my dream restaurant to be. um But it was just a nice, I'm just really glad we did things the way we did. Like I viewed eight restaurants in total.
01:06:28
Speaker
I'm really glad that we went where we did. We started off with 20 covers. That's what we have now until Leo joins us in October. We'll have 42 then. But I'm so glad that we started with a small team and 20 covers because we can do quality before quantity. And I think from a reputation point of view, that was the best decision I made instead of going full blown. The rationale I looked at before the gate was 70 to 100 covers it was probably going to be like a six seven kitchen man team with like the same out front and i'm so glad we didn't do go ahead with it because we have a three man kitchen team and like a one or two members of front of house on at a time for a 20 cover a restaurant and it's it's super manageable and
01:07:15
Speaker
and just a really nice atmosphere as well. So yeah, it'ss it's nice. I'm glad we did that. But then we do have the stress of moving rooms. then when drunks That's going to be interesting. The rooms twice as big. So yeah, maybe even four times as big actually by the time you put it into a square, but we will see how that goes. maybe um maybe maybe on the next podcast I'll tell you about that one. Yeah, we'll schedule that in for a bit later. You said that there are a few things, um there are a few things that you still, you know, want to improve on, you want to change in the restaurant. Where where do you feel like those areas are at the moment? Yeah, that's really interesting. I think we started with like a small plate concept, um which is all fun and games to start with. um But I just think
01:08:02
Speaker
We're just learning. Every day we learn something. And our clientele, I think, is is more prone to a traditional way of eating, you know, that a la carte, starters, mains, desserts. So I think that's something that we'll adopt by the end of the year.
01:08:15
Speaker
um I think it's easier for people to decide they want to have every starter from the a la carte menu than try and form a traditional way of eating from a small plate menu. um yeah So I just think it's easier to do one than the other. So I think once Leah joins and we go into the bigger room, we'll adopt a more traditional way of eating.
01:08:34
Speaker
um because that's the way that people are trying to do it. Like some people have, I don't know, it's a table of four and they'll have like nine, 10 plates of food for them to share. Great, I love it. I love the way it looks. It's really chilled out, but at the same time, there's a really nice formality to people eating starters' mains. Like the way that system works from a logistics point of view, like running the kitchen, it's nice to know that, right, they've got their food. Next, they're having this food. After that, they're having this food, not like,
01:09:05
Speaker
how much food is currently on that table because I want to send more food and they've got no room, like it can get a little bit like organised chaos. So that's one thing that I've learned and that we want to necessarily improve on but change. um We set a standard at the beginning that I'm proud of, like I go to work and I feel not accomplished. I'm not really one for like self praise, but like I'm happy with where we are. um But it needs to be better and it always will do. ah It always will. Yeah, we've got a lot that we want to accomplish and and we're just not there yet. And I think just every day
01:09:49
Speaker
tweaking, um i trying to improve. um I look forward to going to bigger plates. I think it will actually give us a bit more freedom in terms of um the style and quality that we could bring to main size dishes. And I think that's maybe where we'll stand out to compare to the competitors, I think, um just because like I know people remember the dessert and everything and there is that sort of saying, oh, it's the last thing they eat is what they'll remember. I don't, I'm not sure. I agree. It's the main course. I don't subscribe to that either. People come for a main course of food. The two either side, ah ah did they just accompany the main course.
01:10:29
Speaker
um So I think once we actually get to a point where we can cook main courses to ah to a ah standard that succeeds anywhere else around us, than then I'll feel much happier about life. um But yeah, there's just areas of that that we need to improve. Once Leah comes on board, there's a few rough edges that ah around front of house, like not the customers would understand, but just from an organization point of view,
01:10:52
Speaker
ah you know There's just so much to running a business other than what customers see, you know just the organization of ordering wine. like That department is so unorganized right now. Because I'll do it and I just feel like I'm trying to do way too much. I and ah just messaged the wine supply. I don't really know what I need, so like if right now, tomorrow, you could just send me a case of everything, then I'll be fine for the weekend. and um and Then like I come in on a Tuesday morning, I'm like,
01:11:20
Speaker
Why the hell do we have eight bottles of Bollinger? Like we don't sell eight bottles of Bollinger in a week. Like why have I got eight bottles sat there? Like obviously that's not a cheap thing to pay for. Like it's not wasted money because like those sort of things obviously don't go out of date very quickly, but. It's still an invoice that you have to pay though. It's an invoice that we have to pay and, and, and alcohol that we have to shift. So yeah, it would just be nice to tidy up those loose ends really. There's just,
01:11:48
Speaker
has it been Has it been really hard for you going into the front of house role? Because I imagine like opening up a new restaurant and you spending time at the front, you must just want to be in the kitchen, but also you must want to be at the front as well to make sure that's running how you want it to run. like I think that's how I would be if we had our own
Role Dynamics and Customer Interaction
01:12:07
Speaker
restaurant. I would constantly just want to have my fingers in both pies to be like, okay, this one's okay, this one's okay. like Yeah, I think you put the nails on the head there.
01:12:15
Speaker
um I love front of house. I trained in front of house for for a short while before I started at the sardine factory for one reason or another. I love it. I think customers enjoy seeing me like they're pleasantly surprised when I'm out front in a waistcoat as opposed to a chef jacket. It sort of ties back to to like having Dylan really like I'm not I say it and I try not to pick him up too much. He's not really long for praise either. But um like because he's there in the kitchen.
01:12:43
Speaker
and I can go out front and then that way I do have, as you said, a finger in both pies because he just does have things how I want them done. um And then I can focus on front of house.
01:12:56
Speaker
like this week just gone by I did one one day in the kitchen this week I did Saturday um in the kitchen like I prep in the morning and then at like 11 I change uniform and go out front ah like obviously 11 o'clock comes I'm running around like ironing my shirt like trying to light candles it's an absolute honestly the worst hour of my day is 11 until 12 I'm telling you it's cold because you're so on the back though And then you act all calm when the guests walk in, like nothing's happened. You're just, everything's calm and perfect. Why are you sweating at 12 o'clock? And I'm like, because I've been here since 7 o'clock. Yeah. So yeah, it has been difficult, but I think we've been in a position where the kitchen's been set and designed nicely for it to be manageable. You know, we don't have a huge menu. It was, I never wanted one. It was, we do this and we do it well.
01:13:53
Speaker
if you want something different, that's fine, go and eat elsewhere. um So yeah, it's, yes, it has been a struggle to do both. But I think Dylan's got quite used to especially like this week, like being by himself and starting to pick up on jobs that I would have done for the kitchen. um And also at the end of the day, that I've been learning out front, you know, I've been in the industry since I was 14 now in the grand scheme of things are not a long time, like there's gonna be chefs watching this like who's this 24 year old guy like saying he's been in the industry so long. like I haven't, I'm aware of that. um But obviously I'm not fully trained in front of house. like It's a lot of learning on the job. um But I'm a huge advocate, I suppose, for so many problems out front can be solved by a smile and a positive attitude towards the customer. like If you can fill them with confidence that you're gonna fix any issue or you're gonna take care of them,
01:14:50
Speaker
they've already had a nice time. They haven't eaten any food yet. And I think yeah it's so important. I actually think front of house could make up for every mistake that happens. But it doesn't work the other way though. The kitchen can't make up for a bad front of house, um but the front of house could make up for a bad kitchen. Hopefully we don't have either. like I'd like to think both of them are good, um but i we'll see. Again, we'll bring it up in the next podcast. You can you you can ask me what the ah general feedback's been, but so far it's been like ah like positive, which is good.
01:15:24
Speaker
No, I mean, I think that your menu looks incredible um and I can't wait to come and try it. I just, you know, it's it's very much probably how it is like with you at the moment. um I don't even remember when our last day off was. So trying to schedule in some time to have a day off and, you know, travel down to see you. I can't promise when it's going to be, but I would love
Balancing Work and Personal Life
01:15:46
Speaker
to to. You can come and join us and take us some day off, I'm telling you.
01:15:50
Speaker
is formula one That's why we close on a Sunday so that I can watch the Grand Prix. Yeah. um I don't know. I'll let you know how that goes. We try. It's not that we don't try. There's just always something that happens. You know, there's emails to reply to and I feel like it's it's maybe on us a little bit for an organisational side of things. Maybe we need to be more organised and productive on our admin days, but it's just, it's like you said, there's a list as long as you're on the new you tick off a certain number of things and then an email will come through that you've got to respond to and someone will call you and you have to answer them. It's just never ending. And don't get me wrong, like I love it and I'm so thankful and appreciative of the opportunity that we have to do this.
01:16:34
Speaker
um and I don't want anyone to think otherwise but also sometimes you get to the end of the day on a Sunday and you're still going and you're like, how is it seven o'clock and we're still going? Oh yeah, no way. I imagine though it's probably slightly more difficult for you to to switch off there because I imagine a lot of your work gets done from home.
01:16:53
Speaker
where it was like, unlike and like with the restaurant, like all my work happened, 80% of the work physically happens at the building. So at least when I'm not at the building, it's actually difficult to do work. Whereas but for you, I suppose. um your sofa's used for chilling and for working, so it's probably quite difficult to do. No, so I have boycotted the sofa. We do not touch the sofa for work. If we're doing work, it's at the table. We've just bought this beautiful large table, so there's plenty of room for all of the laptops. We've got two laptops and an iPad between us, so we've got a diary each, and yeah, no, no, no, there is no separation on the sofa. I like the separation, I like it.
01:17:35
Speaker
i can't physically separate my work from my home but i can physically separate where i do the work i with that i like we make it happen um i wanted to ask you really quickly are you have you you've obviously worked with leah before are you nervous for her to now become a part of this do you guys work well together or uh yeah like yeah there's a there's a Like there is nerves, like obviously I think she feels excited and nervous and I'm excited and nervous.
Collaboration with Leah
01:18:06
Speaker
um Yes, we have worked together before um for three years, which was like, there's swings and roundabouts, there's ups and downs.
01:18:14
Speaker
um I think the way I see it is when we were managing the sardine factory together, we had a big kitchen team of seven people maybe, um and Leah had a big front of house team of, I don't know, one like ah sometimes there's maybe nine front of house staff on at a time, so like it's a big team. um yeah That in itself is a lot of pressure um to to manage that many people.
01:18:41
Speaker
and and try and not fall out whilst doing that was really difficult and and a huge learning curve. We're obviously a much smaller team at the gate. ah Like I said, three in the kitchen, one or two out front. I think that's going to take a lot of pressure off of the maybe the argumentative side of the relationship. um We've also had three months now of not working together. And in some respect, it's been the nicest three months of our relationship, really. like ah because of the whole like actually missing each other. I actually didn't really speak to her at all yesterday, so coming home in the evening and and seeing each other is a really nice feeling, whereas other times, sometimes it can be clouded by you what happened between the hours of six and nine, whatever that may be.
01:19:28
Speaker
um I'm Carmen now as as I as I grow up a little bit and I think she is too so I think like we're aware of the issues that we've had working together before and we we know we can't bring that atmosphere to our own business so yeah ah there are nerves and like maybe that ah I don't know that that feeling of, ah we need to get it right this time. It's not like it was ever that bad, but like you fall out with people in a restaurant, like you know the score. And it's just not nice when it's your life. It's really difficult. No, it's just so much more painful, isn't it? Yeah, it's just a little bit bitter. like We always said, like we'll leave it at the door.
01:20:07
Speaker
But then as soon as you get home and there's an awkward bit of silence, you can't vote like you're both thinking about it. um But it's going to be great for her as well. you know She wants to be she want must be a florist. So ah being actually a restaurant manager isn't her end goal. So I think you know actually having her part of our team and maybe that little bit more freedom to step away and you know continue to train to be a florist and I just think it's going to be nice for both of us to just have a bit more freedom and decide when her time off is going to be. and you know she She does these lovely flower decorations for the table at the moment. like They are super awesome. um Everyone loves them. Loads of customers comment on them. and that general It's just like the smallest, most simple little bouquet that sits on every napkin.
01:20:56
Speaker
It's so sweet, but I think it's given her a real confidence because we've obviously had them since day one and we will probably always have them. It's sort of become our personality. But customers love them and that's a nice boost for her going into something new. you know um not baby be I don't see her being with us in three years time, um but I do see her being with her us in that sort of intern period of us finding out who we are, putting those front of house systems in place, which is what we're really lacking on.
01:21:26
Speaker
Um, and just like bringing her expertise into it whilst also like pursuing her own goals at the same time. So you should like, I think it's going to be a much more positive attitude towards work from the both of us. So like bottom line, I think I am looking forward to it. Yeah.
01:21:42
Speaker
I think it's also, it's probably different as well because you're both very much invested in this. Like she'll want it to go well for you. You want it to go well for her. And not saying that you didn't want that at the side of your factory, but sometimes when you're working for somebody else, you get a little bit tunnel vision into what's going on. yeah it It all feels different. Whereas when it's your own thing, I think you can see the bigger picture a lot easier. Yeah, definitely. I think as well, you haven't got to make a judgment call worried about uh who you've got to explain yourself to at the end at the end of the day if we make a decision we make a decision and now we don't have to explain it to anyone now that's daunting in itself but like from a relationship point of view there's actually no stress because
01:22:26
Speaker
We haven't got to be like, that was her idea.
Reflections and Future Aspirations
01:22:29
Speaker
Throw her straight under the bus. Like I had nothing to do with that decision. Did you throw her under the bus at the side of your back? Are you an awful person? i'm like Honestly, for me, like and and Leah's were aware of this, like work comes first um up up until maybe a little bit more recently where I've levelled the two out and that's just personal growth.
01:22:50
Speaker
um but I guess up until maybe 12 months ago it was what comes first Leah and you come second if I disagree with you I will let you know and that's where it gets savage I think because obviously um I think obviously like maybe not females in general but like especially like Leah like that's not how she that's not maybe how she envisions it um so now I'm glad that I've matured away from that a little bit and uh yeah she doesn't think I'm horrible anymore she's really really nice I don't know, how dare she think I'm horrible. Passionate is the word. Passionate, yeah, we'll go with that. But also, stop throwing your words at your best friend. But I only have an eye once or twice, I guess. Yeah, sure. I'll get Leon next and we'll speak about it. yeah
01:23:41
Speaker
Well, that's super exciting. I can't can't wait to eventually come down and see what's going on and try your food and not just see it, you know, from behind a camera. Because honestly, I don't even remember seeing anybody else's food, really. It was just such a blur on the TV show.
01:23:58
Speaker
It's, yeah, it was crazy. Everybody would always ask that. They're like, did you get to try everybody else's food? And I think the only thing I remember trying was your Szechuan pop rocks from the salt and pepper dish. I think that was literally the only thing I tried of anyone's food ever on the whole competition. Maybe the only thing to try, like they were weird. No, I loved it. Yeah, you just don't get to try much, do you?
01:24:21
Speaker
No, nothing. Yeah, I think that's um yeah think that's something that people think you should get to try everyone's food, but you really don't. so um yeah long time But I will come and try your food. and you let me what you going down over here I will, I will. Do you have a spa at the hotel? I wish we did though. Oh, maybe I'm not coming. You just give your massage in the room, problem solved.
01:24:45
Speaker
Let's keep a PG on here, please.
01:24:49
Speaker
Well, I'm sure I've taken up enough of your time already, but thank you so much for coming on. I know we had a couple of technical difficulties, but we got here in the end. Everything is good. So far, I'm pretty sure everything is recorded. um I think, fingers crossed, touch wood. That would not be hilarious. Oh my God, Vincent would kill me. You know I've come back and do it all over again.
01:25:12
Speaker
Oh my God. I mean, you're going to have to do anyway. We're going to have like a recap in six months time about where you are and what's going on. But Charlie Welters, The Gate in Cornwall, everybody has to go check it out. You already know that it's going to be amazing, but you just have to go anyway. And I will definitely let you know when I'm coming down. Amazing. Thank you so much for being here as well. And all the best for all your other podcasts as well.
01:25:36
Speaker
on this ah little baby podcast that hopefully goes into being something extremely popular. Well, I'll be your first listener. Although listening to myself might not be the the most fun thing to do with my time, but hey. It's got to be better than watching yourself on TV, right?
01:25:57
Speaker
All right, mate. Thank you so much. And we'll chat again soon. We'll see you soon. Cheers. Bye.