Originally from New Zealand, Fiona's passion for food and cooking was inherited from her mother. She trained in New Zealand and began her career at the Canterbury Tales Restaurant at the 5 star Park Royal Hotel in Christchurch New Zealand. She trained under 3 German chefs and was awarded Apprentice of the year with South Pacific Hotels. She was also the first student to gain 100% for her Chef qualification.

Fiona came to the UK 11 years ago. She met her partner Iain while he was working and travelling in NZ and he brought her back to his beloved West Country. She has since, worked at hotels and restaurants in the southwest.

She moved to Cornwall 4 years ago and set up her own consultancy business. From this she became the training and development chef for Fifteen Cornwall during its inaugural year, ensuring the trainees made the standard for which Fifteen is now recognised.

From Christmas 2006, Fiona was the Executive Head Chef at St Michaels' Hotel and Spa in Falmouth. In this post, Fiona appeared in several Cornwall Food publications. She also demonstrated at the Cornwall Food and Drink Festival and the Falmouth Oyster Festival in 2007, She has since appeared in the exclusive Yes Chef magazine and been named as one of the top 10 female chefs in the UK, in the Independent on Sunday.

Now at Housel Bay Hotel, Fiona's style of cooking focuses on fresh, local and seasonal produce, with international twists. She is passionate about only using free range poultry and fish caught using ethical methods, from sustainable resources.

Fiona and her partner liberated 5 ex battery hens earlier this year. They are also planning to breed rare breed table birds as part of their ‘nano’ holding. She is also a keen forager and can often be found, walking the hedgerows and coastline with plastic bags in hand, looking for edible wild foods.

Fiona plans to put Housel Bay Hotel, well and truly on the map as a foodie destination with stunning views. If any accolades are achieved along the way, then this will certainly be an added bonus. She is in the process of completely revamping the menus and the style of food on offer. Just about everything is homemade and there will be an increasing bias towards fish and seafood dishes, over the forthcoming months. A true advocate of Cornish fare, Fiona and her team support small, local producers and make the most of what is in season.

What's on, 29th Jan 2009

What's on August 2009