Mel Meets.....Matthew Scard-Jones at Chester's Coach House Inn

Whilst in Chester buying some suntan lotion, Mel popped into The Coach House Inn to try their new menu and bumped into the man behind the pass, Matthew Scard-Jones.

From naming dishes after staff members and steering the busy kitchen towards top rankings on TripAdvisor, Matt sneaks his native cuisine into the Modern British menu which can be viewed here.

Hi Matt, head chef? I certainly am.

How long have you been cooking Matt? All in all, about 10 years.

And here at the Coach House? I’ve been here just under 8 months. Before this, I worked at a place called The Dusty Miller over towards Wrenbury. Right on the canal, really really nice place.

Tell me about your current menu. This new menu is along the lines of Modern British, but we’ve got to have your burgers on there. They seem to sell really, really well and we all enjoy cooking them and coming up with different toppings. We run with 3 different burgers; a Bean Burger which we’ve actually named after my Sous Chef; Jamie’s Amazing Bean Burger! It sells, really well - they seem to like the spicy topping on it. We’ve got a Cajun Chicken Burger which has Rice Krispies in the crumb.

Really?! Yeah, it adds extra crunch and you get a slight sweetness that counteracts the Cajun spice. And then we’ve got a classic 6oz beef burger from our butcher across the road.

Which one is that? Might have to pay a visit after here.... It’s David Joinson, very good (he pointed WEST).

Which is the most popular dish on the menu - one of those burgers with snap, crackle and pop!? I’d say the Toad in the Hole actually, all in a giant Yorkshire Pudding.

Is the meat for this from David Joinson too? Yes, we change the sausage type frequently, and as of today (Monday 8th June) in line with our brand new menu it’s a Welsh Dragon sausage.

Spicy as in Dragon? Well yes, a little. But as a Welshman I had to get somewhere!

Welsh eh? Whereabouts? From Wrexham, so not too far - just over the border.

So away from The Coach House, who does the cooking at home? It’s a mixture of us both; my fiancée and myself. She tends to cook at least three or four days.

She any good your fiancée? She’s got a lot better! Ha ha ha ha ha, dangerous!

Apart from the excellent food here (and from your fiancée!), what stands out as a knockout dish you’ve enjoyed? Really enjoyed a Rabbit Terrine recently with pickled carrots, orange puree and a ginger crumb.

Where was that Matt? It was at a place called The Kinmel Arms just outside St. Asaph.

A favourite restaurant of yours? Yes, I’d say it is. Only discovered the place last summer but have been back several times since.

Would you consider putting something like that Rabbit Terrine on here? We have had a Ham Hock Terrine on our old menu, but to be honest it didn’t sell as much as I’d like so we have slightly changed it. It’s now a Ham Hock, Leek and Potato Cake with a Poached Egg. It’s on our new menu.

What about MasterChef - fancy it? I’ve humoured the idea in the past but not in a while. A couple of friends of mine have been on it (including the most recent series) and they didn’t do too well with the desserts which was both our thing in college.

Were you a Pastry Chef originally then? No, more self taught, but I do have the qualifications.

Where did you train? A place called Yale College which is now called Coleg Cambria in Wrexham.

We run the Great British Food Festival; would you ever consider doing a chef demonstration at one of our events? Yes I definitely would. After I trained at Yale, I went back to work there and we started what was called Food for Thought. It only ran for three or four years and has since turned into the Wrexham Food Festival so I was a big part of that when it began - behind the scenes etc.

Can you cook and talk at the same time then? You must be if you can do a demo.... I can now, I didn’t used to be able to. Used to concentrate on the food itself but now, if I burn myself I can carry on talking! Blimey! A professional!

Now although The Coach House hasn’t got a Michelin star, is this something which matters to you? At a prior job I worked at a 2 rosette restaurant and I enjoyed it but it wasn’t my thing.

So you don’t think a star makes or breaks a chef... Not at all, as long as you’re making good food which people want to eat and you’re enjoying yourself it doesn’t really matter!

Guilty pleasures; got any food which a chef shouldn’t really be ordering!? Urm, I really enjoy chips, cheese and gravy, that’s a definite one. There’s nothing wrong with it! Another one is Pork Belly, but mainly for the crackling.....but it has to be homemade! So not a Mr. Porky’s fan? No way, I make my own!

10 years from now, where do you see yourself? Possibly still here, but would like to have my own place. Only a small deli with a café on the side, but be able to use it as a food truck to take my deli on tour. Something along those lines and something which would interest myself and hopefully my fiancée.

British I assume? Yes, very much British. I enjoy Italian food, but I’d want to sell British produce.

Okay, any tips for a budding chef? Come in, listen, talk to the other chefs; hear and see what their experiences are and learn from their experiences. Just talk to us, no point in hiding in the corner and being scared saying “oh I’ve done 90 hours this week!”. NINTY?!

Are you one of those chefs who shouts or are you more of a strong silent type? No, I'm not one of those who shouts...not at all. You don’t get anywhere, just knock people’s confidence. The best way is to talk to them first, take them to one side and say “look, you’ve done this wrong, please don’t let me down or you’ll let yourself down”.

Oh you play that card, like a parent! No point in shouting, this way is much better.

Any chef you’d like to work for? Yes, Tom Kerridge or Glynn Purnell.

And finally, you’re in an all-you-can-eat. What do you go for first? Something I’ve not tried before. If I like it, I’ll go back for more.

Thanks Matt, very informative. Will let you get back to your Welsh sausage!

---

Posted: Monday 8th June 2015
ID: 4047 - 1343