Following the success of her pop-up at Watergate Bay, north Cornwall, chef Emily Scott is now deepening her relationship with the Bay – by opening a permanent new restaurant overlooking the beach.
Emily has built an impressive reputation heading the kitchen at St Tudy Inn. In summer 2020, she took over the former Fifteen Cornwall building, where her imaginative ‘hyper-local’ cuisine in a relaxed beachside setting was a big hit.
Says Emily: “The pop-up experience was one of the highlights of my career. We were fully booked two-to-three weeks in advance all summer, and I got to do everything I love – bringing people together, and making them happy with food and wine. But it was especially lovely because, with everyone’s lives so disrupted by the pandemic, people were really happy to be out together again.”
Emily Scott Food, which will first open in the space as a series of private festive pop-ups in December, ahead of a full launch on 31st March, will serve up the same less-is-more ethos that made Emily’s summer pop-up so popular: meticulously-sourced local ingredients; a stripped back and simple seafood and plant-based menu; seaweed on the walls and flowers on the tables. Together, these elements create a seemingly effortless sense of place and wellbeing.
“My passion for the connection between food, a sense of place and storytelling is infectious, intriguing and comforting all at the same time,” says Emily. “My experiences and memories as a child in Cornwall and Provence have translated into my no faffing, no fussing ethos. It’s all very simple really: let us cook for you.”
To meet the demand shown by Emily’s first Watergate season, the hotel team has found a way for her to return: by taking over the space on the sea wall previously occupied by the Watchful Mary bar (there are new things for the Watchful brand on the horizon, too). With its unbroken ocean views and impressive deck directly above the beach, the space is currently being customised with a retractable glass canopy to create more space for year-round dining, and a full kitchen (in the basement).
Emily Scott Food will first open in the space as a series of private festive pop-ups in December, ahead of a full launch on 31st March. Her first book is also due for publication by Hardie Grant this May.
“For me, the sea is my favourite place to be,” says Emily. “Having the chance to move back here permanently is incredible.”
For more information please visit www.emilyscottfood.com.
Follow @emilyscottfood on Instagram for updates.
Photos courtesy of Beth Druce and Lewis Pinder.
