TV chef James Martin has been cooking post lockdown fish n chips for Southampton PR expert Lee Peck and his wife Kim.
James owns The Kitchen at the Chewton Glen where Lee was celebrating his wife Kim’s birthday.
“To our surprise James was in the kitchen and came over to chat. We’re both from Yorkshire so have a lot in common!” smiled Lee, who runs the city’s leading agency Lee Peck Media.
“James took us through the menu and explained the challenges of restarting a professional kitchen after three months of lockdown.”
One if the most celebrated chefs in the country, James built The Kitchen from scratch and is well known to foodies in Hampshire.
He said: “We’re delighted to be open again and I know our customers are thrilled to see us back. It’s not been without its challenges though. The main issue has been tracking down the ingredients for our menu. We have built up a reputation for working with the best local suppliers but they’re finding their feet too. I’m glad to report we’ve made excellent progress!”
Speaking of the post Covid landscape, James added: “As you would expect the safety of our diners and our team is my top priority so we have introduced a range of measures to meet and exceed Government guidelines. That said it’s important to be back working for a multitude of reasons not least employing local people. Personally I wanted to get The Kitchen up and running again do I’ve been here all week. I’ve never worked so hard!”
Having lunch, literally cooked by James, was a real treat for Lee and Kim.
For the record Lee had deep fried Cornish boat fish , cider battered with chilli jam and a knickerbocker glory for dessert. Kim had herb crusted Cornish plaice followed by strawberry merengue bisous.