Executive Head Chef, The Idle Rocks & St Mawes Hotel

Dorian Janmaat is Executive Head Chef at The Idle Rocks (winner of Restaurant of the Year – Cornwall Tourism Awards 2022) in St Mawes, having returned to his home county of Cornwall in 2020 following an eight-year stint at Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons.

Growing up near Penzance, Dorian went on to work at numerous Cornish restaurants whilst studying at Cornwall College. His fondness for his home county is showcased nowhere better than in his cuisine, through its focus on celebrating seasonal, Cornish produce with a fresh and modern approach (think tartare of mackerel with dashi and yuzu for the ultimate umami flavour, or curried monkfish, or Cornish rump of lamb).

Dorian’s menus at The Idle Rocks reflect the hotel’s ethos of re-engaging with the simple pleasures in life. The emphasis is on sustainability and promoting local businesses, from using the local fishermen to source the finest lobsters, to the county’s best vegetables growers. A nod to Dorian’s coastal location can be found throughout his creations – not just from the freshly shucked Fal oysters from local fisherman James Brown, but even down to the ‘reef-knot’ pretzel breads served with a miso butter.