Head chef at The Royal Crescent Hotel and Spa since December 2021, Martin Blake holds over 18 years’ experience spanning some of the South West’s finest hotels and restaurants including Bowood Hotel, Bath Priory and Manor House Hotel.
Originally from Frome, Somerset, Martin’s ethos focuses on simplicity, clean execution, and quality ingredients, utilising strong relationships with local farmers to create dishes with the freshest seasonal produce, from the a la carte and seven-course tasting menus to afternoon tea.
We sat down with the talented chef to find out more about his exciting career, his inspirations and why spring is his favourite time of year.
Can you tell us a little bit about yourself, including where you are today, professionally, and what got you here?
I was originally set on a career in media, but I worked part time at a café when I was studying and found a love for hospitality. I worked my way up through kitchens at top hotels like Bowood Hotel, Homewood and Bath Priory. Today, as head chef at The Royal Crescent, I oversee all F&B at the hotel, including our restaurant, Montagu’s Mews.
What or who inspired you to become a chef?
It wasn’t a particular person who inspired me, I just loved to cook so put myself in kitchens where I was surrounded by people with the same passion and enthusiasm as I had.
Who has been your biggest influence to get you to where you are today?
It sounds cliché, but I’d say my parents. Neither are in hospitality, but both have always worked very hard, and I’ve always tried to follow by that example.
What’s your signature dish?
I don’t really have a signature dish, but one dish that has been on my menu for a while and has had incredible feedback is our Longhorn beef tartar served with Bath ale hollandaise and IP8 vinegar. It seems to be a favourite for many of our guests.
Do your personal preferences influence the menu at all?
Being from Somerset, I’m inspired by the produce we have here in the southwest, so I always focus on incorporating as much local produce as I can. Using quality local ingredients means we can create uncomplicated dishes that are big on flavour.
How would you describe your cooking style?
My cooking style is modern British. We use classic techniques and avoid gimmicks.
Do you have a favourite time of year or set of ingredients that you look forward to working with?
The spring. Everything starts becoming more vibrant, there are lots of fresh flavours and colourful fruit and veg.
What would you be doing if you weren’t a chef?
I’ve always wanted to bake wedding cakes, but if I were to do something completely different, I’d work with animals, possibly at a zoo. I think that would be quite rewarding.
What is your favourite dish to cook at home?
A roast dinner, surrounded by family with a good joint of slow cooked lamb and bowls of veg!
What is your favourite piece of kitchen equipment?
A good set of pans is essential. There’s nothing worse than trying to cook a meal without the right set of pans!
When you’re not in the kitchen where can you be found?
You’ll find me walking through nature in the countryside around Bath with my partner and dog.
Where is your favourite place to dine?
I’d have to say Paul Ainsworth at No6 in Padstow. I’ve been a number of times and the food seems to keep getting better and better. It’s an amazing setting and the team are so knowledgeable – I’d recommend it to anyone.
What do you think is the most over-hyped food trend?
Freezing mousses in the shape of fruits has been well overused in my opinion, it seemed that for a while everyone was doing it.
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 try to follow the seasons and use what is good right at that point. Take a great ingredient like Wye Valley asparagus, for example, and pair it with some quality local produce.
How would you describe the food you create at Montagu’s Mews to someone who’s never experienced your kind of food?
You’ll see a lot of influence from local suppliers within my menus, local dairies and farms in particular. The food itself isn’t overworked or over complicated. We’re not trying to be like anyone else, we just cook food that excites us, food that we would like to sit down and eat.
What is the USP of your restaurant?
We’re open from morning to night and our menu evolves throughout the day, from breakfast, lunch and afternoon tea, to evening a la carte and tasting menus. We also have a more casual bar menu with small plates and classic dishes, so there are plenty of reasons to keep coming back. In the summer, guests love dining out on the terrace in the hotel’s private gardens.
What do your future plans entail?
I hope to continue to develop the food here at The Royal Crescent. We’d like to be the number one place to dine in Bath and surrounding area.
Factbox
Address: The Royal Crescent Hotel and Spa, 16 Royal Crescent, Bath, BA1 2LS United Kingdom
Phone: +44 (0) 1225 823333
Website: royalcrescent.co.uk
All imagery credit: The Royal Crescent Hotel and Spa
