Mel catches up with Coach House Head Chef Matt

Whilst in Chester looking for a birthday present, Mel popped into The Coach House Inn to catch up with Head Chef Matthew Scard-Jones.

From sticky toffee purgatory and steering the busy kitchen towards top rankings on TripAdvisor, Matt explains why small plates are taking over the world, especially in this historic and popular coaching inn...

Matt, you have worked here for 18 months now, what has changed since you arrived? Everything really and we’re picking up a lot of new faces. In fact 12 months ago we surveyed our comment cards and found that 25% hadn’t been here before whereas now it’s closer to 50%. So it’s means we’re reaching out to a larger base of diners.
Why do you think that has happened?
I don’t know a mixture of things I guess. We’ve found our niche; and we’re doing a lot of different types of burgers, our specials are popular as well as our main menu. We do a range of nibbles too that appeal to a lot of people.
And some small plates too?
Yeah, our small plates are selling well and you can have three plates for the price of two.
Is it the flexiblity that people want nowadays?
It is, and it’s easier for us! Some nights we’ll only do ten tables in the restaurant but the bar area will be ordering nibbles and small plates all night long. People are coming for drinks; especially with the nice weather and sit outside just munching away. We have a couple of sharing boards (along with our mezze platter which are all selling really really well) on the menu so people often order a couple of those with some sides.
Seems that the small plates concept is appearing everywhere, so it’s easy to see why - flexible plus its ideal for vegetarians too i assume?
Yeah, we’ve got the likes of our grilled halloumi that is popular with veggies as well as meat lovers. We coat it in pesto, grill and serve with chargrilled bread. Having said that, cheesy chips tick all boxes! There are also miniature nachos, olive and feta mix, plus our own nuts (salted and Cajun) on the bar menu.
So it’s still a pub, but with fancy bar snacks.
Yeah! We try and make as much of it ourselves and you can tell.
That’s the appeal - scratch made and to suit the customers’ needs! Yes, exactly!
What is new on your new menu then aside from the nibbles and small plates? Well we have the pie for two which is proving quite popular and we also have the meat platter where you choose from a pork chop, a chicken supreme or a rib eye steak. You pick two of those, a choice of sauce, two sides from the menu for £34.
That’s pretty reasonable! for two people or one greedy person?! Oh, it’s for two. That’s a lot of food but people do buy a couple more sides sometimes - maybe because it is so reasonably priced....that and of course a bottle of wine.
Is that the most popular option at the moment? No, I’d still say the burgers are the most popular dishes on the menu.
Anyone in particular? Well funny you say that because we’ve had a special burger on for a while now and people won’t let us take it off. It’s called the messy meatball. Topped with ragu, and caramelised mozzarella. Butter the brioche buns with garlic butter then toast; so it’s like garlic bread. It’s basically a massive messy meatball! We’ve also switched from buying the burgers from our butchers and instead just get the mince and create our own all on site.
What’s the meat/fat ratio? 25% fat to a 75% mince. We keep it pretty simple in the mix; garlic powder, salt and pepper, tiny bit of breadcrumb and egg. This is the base for all of our burgers. Special burgers are great; we’ve done a chicken and chorizo burger, a lamb & mint burger topped with a pulled lamb leg which we bound in rosemary and onion.
I’ll have to come back! Proper burgers.
What is the most enjoyable dish to make? the specials to experiment or the main dishes? We enjoy playing with the specials, although a good 90% of the menu is enjoyable to make. There’s the odd dish which will get a curse or two when it comes through... Like what? Well the cannelloni, don’t know why. I enjoy it, but maybe it’s the filling process. Time consuming when we’re making a batch every day!
Matt, you must get a day off every now and again. where is the best meal out you’ve had this year? The odd day, yes. I was at the Kings Bar & Grill in the Queen Hotel (by the railway station) recently for my birthday. Really good meal there. Had a wild boar head terrine followed by a pork belly main. Really really nice - easy to see why they’ve got the double rosette. It’s very upmarket and they change their menu bi-monthly.
What about seasons; do you have a particular season that you prefer the produce? Spring and autumn. Not too fussed about the summer and I enjoy using the fresh spring vegetables; asparagus, rainbow chard, heritage tomatoes - anything with a bit of colour. In the winter I like using pears, plums for desserts, but also in some of the main dishes. For example last year we had Welsh Dragon sausages with roasted pear in a giant Yorkshire pudding. Popular.
Do you prefer cooking with meat or fruit & vegetables? I like both. Pastry is usually my baby although I didn’t do any of the current dessert menu. My two commis and sous chefs wrote the menu when I wasn’t there! Was happy to let them take it, but I did have one rule that I wouldn’t touch the sticky toffee pudding. Why?! Ten years of making sticky toffee pudding in every pub I’ve worked in (even in a rosette restaurant) and you get sick of making it! So my response was; “you lot can make it all, but don’t expect me to touch a sticky toffee pud”. Two days later I was making it....
Do you use fruit in it? Yes, dried dates and sultanas - it tastes great!
What about fish? do you enjoy cooking fish? I certainly do. One of our most popular dishes is our sea bass Thai curry. Started as a special but sold that well we put it on the main menu. Go through 30 a week. Sweet chilli, coconut, Thai vegetables and the sesame and panko topping. Very light but you don’t lose the delicate taste of the bass.
So desserts, what do you like making? I enjoy the summer puddings, although time consuming, it’s a great dish when make properly. So simple so you have to get it right! No room for error.
What about eating? Oh a brownie. Easy. When I first started here we used to change the dessert menu daily so we used to try all sorts of brownies such as a mini marshmallow one with an oat biscuit base topped with chocolate ganache with a Cheshire Farms’ white chocolate and raspberry Oreo ice cream. Others included a jaffa cake brownie and even a PB&J one!
How long will we be able to enjoy this menu then? September is when we’ll have the new one. I’m also writing the dessert menu so I can take control of that too!
Who inspired you to become a chef? Jamie Oliver and my parents. Jamie was the guy who appeared on the TV when I wanted to become a chef. Parents encouraged me to cook from the age of 6. Beats my other career idea of becoming a PE teacher.
What is the best thing about being a chef? Experimenting! Putting my own spin on existing dishes. Try and get my lads to experiment and let them take the reins. Work with them and help with advise.
Worst part? The hours have their moments, but really I don’t mind because I enjoy being here.

You can enjoy all of the food Matt mentioned by booking a table at the Coach House in the heart of Chester. Bookings are advised by calling 01244 351900.

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Posted: Thursday 26th May 2016
ID: 4047 - 1692