Born To Cook

Matt Cook is head chef at Jenkins & Sons in Penn Hill where chargrilled locally sourced meat and fish sizzle in the josper oven and there’s a whiff of hay smoke in the air

 WHEN it comes to nominative determinism, the belief that people gravitate towards work that fits their surname, it seems that Matt Cook knew this from an early age. His weekend job as a teenager in the kitchens at the Old Granary in Wareham lead to an exciting culinary career which took him around the world working alongside Michelin-starred chefs. Now back in Dorset he is heading up the team at Jenkins & Sons, situated in a converted 1920s fishmongers and butchers in Penn Hill, happily creating delicious dishes cooked over charcoal in the josper oven to tantalise diners’ taste buds.

Tell me about the food of your childhood

I was always experimenting with food. One of the first dishes I made was belly of pork rashers with runner beans and dry sherry. Then there was my classic ‘Man vs Food’ burger - two homemade patties, with bacon, egg, potato waffles, beans and barbecue sauce in a bun!