In Good Taste
An Interview With Inspirational Chef, Emily Scott
I am delighted to chat with celebrated chef, Emily Scott, this week, about all things career, home, life, kitchen cupboard essentials, life around her own kitchen table, global inspirations and of course her new book, Home Shores, which is due out on the 15th May. Ever since tasting Emily’s food, firstly in St Tudy Inn and then several times at Watergate Bay in Cornwall, I have been a huge fan, and her cookbooks are among a select collection that I love for both the recipes and the storytelling within.
We have published our books at similar times to each other and it has been a pleasure to get to chat to Emily for a few different interviews, but getting under the skin of her story for this conversation, I was touched with her honesty and am thrilled to share her story with you all. I hope it inspires you, as it did me.
CAREER
What inspired your love of cooking? Cooking has always been important to me from a very early age. My grandmothers were very inspiring women - strong, independent and very good cooks, as is my mother, who at nearly 80 still does the dance. The kitchen was always the place where we would come together as a family growing up and now with my own children.
How did your career begin in the early days? My career all began around food where food was my greatest enemy. I suffered from Anorexia throughout my teenage years, in and out of hospital with no great prospects of anything. I believed my whole purpose was one of hiding away from the world and not eating. So terrified of failure. I did have a moment of clarity where I realised that I did have a choice as I simply did not want to die. So I chose to live and this was the moment I turned food into my greatest passion.
What gave you the impetus to follow your dream and set up on your own? I guess my entrepreneurial spirit. I am passionate about what I do and the brand I have built, I also love business, although I still see numbers in colours, but that is ok. I have certainly made mistakes and wrong turns but I learn something every time. Finding solutions and celebrating the moments is so important.
I have always admired how you continue to pivot – from your award-winning pub to your restaurant in Watergate Bay, cooking for the President of the US, your ongoing work in the Caribbean, and now a new venture in France. Is pivoting something that comes naturally to you? Do the changes help to keep your creativity fresh? Opportunity is everything and I will always say yes. I am very proud of St Tudy and what I achieved there. Sadly, Covid brought that to a halt. My restaurant at Watergate Bay - the lease came to an end, and I was unable to renegotiate it. Cooking for the POTUS what a moment and so honoured to have been chosen. The Caribbean I was headhunted to take on the most wonderful restaurant and although it took me six months to say yes, I haven't looked back. Change for me can be debilitating. I like routine and calm, but this simply hasn’t happened in my career as I have grown, so have my opportunities. Working for yourself is hard work and you have to keep driving everything moving forward. Some days feel like a constant hustle other days well they are simply magic.
Have you always believed in your ability to succeed, or do you have to work at imposter syndrome? What advice would you give someone setting out in their career? Believe in yourself and what you are doing, if you don’t, pretend you do. If you had asked me if I had imposter syndrome a year ago I would have said yes but I am not sure I ever have had this - in fact labelling myself has often been an excuse not to push forward. A lack of confidence in my abilities yes, but as I turn 50 I am feeling so much stronger. I want to take on everything with a purpose and not care what others might think and most importantly enjoy what I am creating. Someone recently said to me be as busy as you want to be Emily but be happy.
Best bit about following your dream? I feel incredibly proud of what I have achieved so far and it has not always been easy. I look back at the single mother of three children, juggling everything and I wish I could give her a hug and say it is all going to be ok and it will work out. So much wasted energy about failing as a mother, not feeling good enough or successful enough. The best part is I feel secure in life and really understand that the simple most humble things are always the best. Looking up and appreciating the seasons and being able to travel and work all around the world.
HOME
Your approach to creating beautiful food, is very much less-is-more, using wonderful seasonal ingredients. Does that natural, pared back ethos cross over into your interior choices? Food, fashion and the way I live at home all crossover for me. Simple, seasonal and beautiful.
You split your time now between Cornwall, France and the Caribbean? What inspired the change in locations? Cornwall will always have my heart and a place I will always be a part of. Bordeaux's dream has always been to return to France and live. My partner Mark, a winemaker, has always shared the same vision. So with hard work and consideration we moved last year. The Caribbean is very much work and the most wonderful adventure.
Does the changing ‘sense of place’ have a major influence on what you cook and how you decorate? Cornwall and Bordeaux are very similar in the sense that it is so seasonal which for me is the most natural way to live. Bordeaux is a project - our beautiful 1790 town house needs a little tlc.
In the Caribbean I always travel with a “at homing kit”, my favourite napkins, table mats, bed throws, photographs, candles and so on. I nest and make my house feel like home.
Describe your interior style?
Rustic, natural, simple, cosy and beautiful.
Is the kitchen your favourite room in your home? What makes it special for you? I love my kitchen, it’s the place where I feel most at home. A place where I can be most relaxed and potter. I love to potter. All the therapy. In our home in Bordeaux, it is a project. We are moving our kitchen downstairs so that French doors will open out to our garden. I am so excited to get started this year.
What is catching your eye in the world of interiors at the moment? There is so much colour. So, I would like to look at how I can introduce some colour into my home. My natural style is always neutral, and I love bringing nature inside large glass vases with seasonal foliage.
KITCHEN CUPBOARD ESSENTIALS
Key equipment and utensils every home should invest in? A pestle and mortar, a good mixer e.g. KitchenAid, a micro plane and ice cream maker.
Favourite cooking ingredients always to hand? Herbs, lemons, butter, parmesan, sea salt, olive oil and fennel.
Your favourite choice of cooking knives? Savernake knives. Beautiful stylish & practical.
AROUND THE TABLE
Does food and cooking play an important role in how your family come together at home?
The most important thing is cooking together, laying the table and being together. High days and holidays or simply because.
Does your partner’s love of wine, as a wine grower, influence your dishes? Wine is very important in our life and what Mark created over the years with Civrac is extraordinary. Mark’s palette is very good, so I always use him as my recipe tester.
Best meal of the week? Market day supper. I always try to be considerate about what I am cooking so every meal always feels exciting, and I genuinely look forward to cooking. In Bordeaux cycling to the market and then the flower stall is joyful.
Comfort food? Roast chicken with tarragon mayo, fennel and mashed potato. If suitably hungover peanut butter on toast.
Go to supper party menu?Apéritif of Lillet over ice in a café tumbler. Celeriac carpaccio with basil and parmesan. Lemon Sole à la Meunière. Always cheese. Pedro Ximẽnez Chocolate Pots.
Table setting style – all in, or relaxed? Seasonal and relaxed, with all the detail.
Cocktail of choice? Margaritas - having recently decided it was time to become more grown up and know what cocktail I like. Classic and classy, I do love a Margarita.
GLOBAL INSPIRATION
Favourite restaurant in the world and why? The Wolseley I just have so many lovely memories of having supper here with Mark. We just love it. It is so beautiful. I always eat the same thing - Chicken schnitzel, baked fennel and a side of French fries. Timeless dining.
Restaurant on your wish list to visit? Chez Panisse.
Best places to shop for ingredients? Cornwall & Bordeaux.
Chefs that inspire you? Alice Walters is so inspiring and created the farm to table movement in the US.
Dream location for another restaurant of your own? (Can you tell I miss Watergate!) Bordeaux, although dreaming of a bakery / café called Mimi’s (my nickname) - with a rustic feel and red cafe chairs.
NEW BOOK
Your new book is due out very soon – which I am very excited about. Can you share some behind the scenes details with us? It was very natural to decide on the subject of my next book. Fish and Shellfish have been such a wonderful part of my life and career. I have never lived far from the sea and has always been the backdrop to my restaurants. I was slightly nervous as not many female chefs have tackled this subject, but it all flowed and somehow, I created 100 plus recipes. I am excited to inspire more people to cook fish at home and showcase the wonderful fishermen and fishmongers.
What makes this book different? Home Shores is very recipe led and focuses on the mighty subject of fish and shellfish. Very kitchen based and practical. With beautiful Cornwall showcasing everything.
Where did you shoot the book? How long did it take to finesse your recipe choices? The book was shot in London and all the location shots in Cornwall.
Top three favourite dishes from the pages? Lemony orzo, tuna, avocado, spring onions and mint. Spaghetti with mussels, white beans and tomatoes. Raw scallop salad, citrus dressing, pistachios, chilli and nasturtium.
What do you love about writing books? How did writing and shooting the book fit into your busy schedule? Writing books is such a privilege and as always a dream of mine. It took me at least 10 years to get my first book Sea & Shore commissioned. My synopsis landed on the right desk at the right time. Last year was full of writing and testing recipes and moving to the country. So typical of me!
Any events planned that your followers could come to? Fortnum & Mason Behind the Pages https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/emily-scott-the-food-behind-the-pages-supper-club-tickets-1286525364 999
LIFESTYLE
How do you juggle work and home life so successfully? I write lists, and I love notebooks. I am also learning to ask for help and delegate. I am over being that person that everyone goes “I don't know how you do it”? My family is everything and that is really all that matters.
Do you feel you have entered a new phase of life with grown up children, and the opportunity to travel again? Last year I felt almost invisible like I had lost my place. My children all had flown the nest and I was left feeling bereft. Luckily, I am busy so work saved me. Being creative and having the time to learn new things is lovely.
What makes you feel good outside of cooking? Fashion. I love fashion and there are so many crossovers. I love how clothes can lift my mood, make me feel good, cool, stylish or fun. I am also seriously learning French which I hope will open a whole new world to me.
Daily rituals? That first cup of tea.
Supplements / midlife survival kit? Self love. Taking time. Learning to respond not react.
How do you switch off? Cooking at home for the people I love. A walk by the sea or swim, market pottering and travelling.
Where is your happy place? In my kitchen, by the sea, at home with Mark and our children and Inca our cocker spaniel.
What are you dreaming up next? I am loving my Substack Shore to Shore and working hard on being consistent and writing what makes me feel good. I feel very lucky my community continues to grow. There are a few more projects on the horizon. I am enjoying the promotion around my new book. I feel so proud of Home Shores and really loved writing it. Working and living in the Caribbean is such an adventure and when I am an old lady I will look back and think wow, I did that!
I loved chatting with you Emily - thank you so much and wishing you huge success with your new book. I hope you have all enjoyed this conversation - please do like and share if you have.
Quick Links:
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Emily seems to have such a lovely roaming expansiveness. What a great read.
I really enjoyed reading this, so inspirational and the thought of Cornwall, Bordeaux and the Caribbean...dreamy. I've not discovered Emily's work or ventures before, am very excited to dig in x