Meet the chef: Adam Spicer, head chef at The Great Barn at Retreat East in Suffolk

In June 2020, Adam Spicer was appointed head chef at Retreat East, the luxurious rural retreat in the heart of Suffolk.

Adam has built his career working at several top establishments around East Anglia, from The Tackroom and The Jockey Club Rooms as sous chef to becoming head chef at All Saints Hotel, where he was awarded two rosettes by the AA food guide. He was also the proud winner of Cambridge Chef of the Year in 2017 and reached the final 16 on MasterChef: The Professionals in 2019.

Bringing the same creativity, innovation and passion for local, seasonal produce to The Great Barn restaurant at Retreat East, Adam’s seasonal menus reflect the retreat’s organic bounty, while drawing on local and homegrown produce from the kitchen garden. Expect dishes such as spring Suffolk chicken with potato terrine, chicken butter sauce, sorrel and barbecue spring onions and squid ‘tagliatelle’ with green sauce, fermented chillies, capers and butterfly sorrel.

We sat down with the talented chef to find out more about his influences, cooking style and his love of seafood and food preservation.

Can you tell us a little bit about yourself, including where you are today, professionally, and what got you here?

My name is Adam Spicer, I am 34 and head chef at The Great Barn restaurant at Retreat East, a sustainable eco retreat in the beautiful Suffolk countryside. I’ve been working in restaurants in and around Suffolk and Cambridgeshire for the last 14 years. I won Cambridgeshire Chef of the year in 2017 and got to the last 16 of MasterChef: The Professional in 2019.

What or who inspired you to become a chef?

I was obsessed with food from a young age and was always glued to the food channel as a child watching Rick Stein and Keith Floyd. But it was working in a local pub kitchen at 15 which really kick-started my passion for the industry.

Who has been your biggest influence to get you to where you are today?

I’ve had the privilege of working for some of the greatest chefs who have taught me so much about all areas of the business and all inspired me and helped me to develop my own style. The chef, Sebastian Mansfield, has helped me a great deal and I will always be grateful for the skills he passed onto me. I take a lot of inspiration from chefs and food heroes such as Simon Rogan, Fergus Henderson, and Nathan Outlaw.

What’s your signature dish?

I wouldn’t say I really have a signature dish, a couple of very popular dishes on the menu are our pastrami salmon and our duck dish. My style of food is very ingredient-led, treating the ingredients which are all home grown with respect by presenting them in a simple way, showcasing the quality of flavour rather than hiding behind lots of garnish.

What are the most important considerations when crafting your menu?

I’m passionate about fermenting and preserving food, not just because of the many health benefits and interesting flavours they bring after extraction, but also because they are a means to ensuring as little food waste as possible, which supports one of Retreat East’s core values. Pickling, fermenting, lacto-fermenting, dehydrating, drying, or ageing are just some of the ways we use the retreat’s leftover homegrown produce so that it can be enjoyed all year-round.

Do your personal preferences influence the menu at all?

100 per cent if you don’t like the dish it’s not on the menu, we do have a great deal of options for everyone’s taste and diets but fundamentally it won’t be on the menu unless we are happy with the taste.

Starter at The Great Barn restaurant at Retreat East — Bringing the same creativity, innovation and passion for local, seasonal produce to Retreat East, Adam Spicer’s seasonal menus reflect the retreats organic bounty and draw on local and homegrown produce from the kitchen garden. Image credit: Emma Cabielles

How would you describe your cooking style?

I take a lot of influences from Scandinavian cooking, as well as old English recipes.

Do you have a favourite time of year or set of ingredients that you look forward to working with?

I love the start of spring when wild garlic and asparagus are coming in. It kind of kick-starts the growing season and is an exciting time of year, but I also love autumn getting into game season and starting to utilise the preserves, pickles, and ferments that we have made from the summer’s crop.

What is your favourite ingredient to create with?

I love cooking with seafood and vegetables, anything homegrown always is a favourite.

What would you be doing if you weren’t a chef?

I actually had this conversation the other day, it would have to be something creative working with wood and natural materials or something to do with gardening and farming, all things I really enjoy.

What is your favourite dish to cook at home?

Who doesn’t love a roast dinner on a Sunday? To be fair, I prefer my wife cooking it and me eating it! But in the summer I do love cooking fresh fish on the barbecue.

When are you happiest?

When I’m on a long walk in the park with the crunch of autumn leaves with my wife and dog.

What is your favourite piece of kitchen equipment?

The dehydrator or a kilner jar. I love preserving food to use at a later date.

Two dishes at The Great Barn restaurant at Retreat East — The restaurant is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner seven days a week. Image credit: Emma Cabielles

When you’re not in the kitchen where can you be found?

Eating in someone else’s restaurant, buying cookbooks or in my garden at home.

What’s your favourite takeaway or comfort food?

That’s a very difficult one, but I do enjoy ordering sushi or Thai food.

Where is your favourite place to dine?

Pea Porridge in Bury St Edmunds. The food is incredible, and I just love everything about it.

What do you think is the most over-hyped food trend?

Plant-based meat. I don’t get it, it’s full of chemicals and preservatives and totally unnatural. I love vegan food that’s made of natural ingredients – vegetables not chemicals!

What do your future plans entail?

We have some big plans for our kitchen garden at Retreat East, as well as focusing on our core sustainability ethos and becoming a zero-waste kitchen.

What differences do you find working with local produce as opposed to non-local produce in terms of what you can create and flavour?

We are very lucky in Suffolk as we have some of the best producers in the country on our doorstep, we are all about animal welfare and sustainability, so we only use suppliers that have the same ethos as ourselves. Using local ensures quality and freshness of ingredients, as well as reducing our carbon footprint.

Dessert at The Great Barn restaurant at Retreat East — The Great Barn is a spectacular venue to dine in the Suffolk countryside tranquillity of Retreat East. Image credit: Emma Cabielles

How do you go about menu planning? What’s the process from picking the ingredients to getting them fresh into the kitchen and into dishes?

We work with the seasons and that builds our menus for us. We see what’s available and what ingredients are coming into season and work backwards from there.

How would you describe the food you create at Retreat East to someone who’s never experienced your kind of food?

We offer a la carte and a tasting menu for lunch and dinner in a beautiful environment, using local and seasonal produce with a heavy influence on sustainability.

What’s your favourite flavour combination?

Sweet and sour. I love a dessert that makes your mouth water from sour and sharpness.

What is the USP of your restaurant?

Relaxed fine dining in a beautiful setting, with ingredient-led cooking.