Recipe For Success

Michelin-starred chef Michael Caines welcomed in the Cornish summer with two new restaurants, writes Susan Griffi

- Michael Caines

Michael Caines’ latest venture, The Cove Restaurant and Bar in Maenporth, was only open for two weeks before lockdown was announced in March. “What was more devastating was the news that proceeded it a week before, when people were told to avoid restaurants. That was ridiculous. We saw our bookings just completely disappear and there was cancellation after cancellation,” says the acclaimed chef who held two Michelin stars at Gidleigh Park near Dartmoor for 18 years. “When they announced lockdown and the furlough scheme, there was actually a big sigh of relief because we [in the industry] were free falling into obscurity. It provided a lifeline, and now we’re moving in the right direction with cautious optimism.”

The Cove, with its panoramic views of Maenporth beach near Falmouth, was owned by Arty Williams and Annette Rickard for 17 years. “My business partner lives locally, and we were dining there last year when he said it was a boyhood dream of his to own something like it. We didn’t know at the time Arty and Annette were going to put it up on the market but when we saw the information, we thought we’d go for it and the deal was done by mid-January,” says Michael, 51, who grew up in Devon with his adoptive family and has been visiting Cornwall for years.

“Caravanning, camping, Run to the Sun, we’ve done it all. It’s a beautiful place, as is Devon,” he says. “Until it was mentioned, I never thought I’d have a restaurant in Cornwall, and in such a wonderful location, but in life you just take the opportunities when they come along, and places like that don’t come on the market very often.”