Drake's Progress

Steve Drake made his name in the industry when he won the Roux Scholarship, a premier competition for chefs, which is considered the most prestigious and technically challenging competition in the UK.

He learnt his trade under and alongside names such as Nico Ladenis and Marco Pierre White. After his win Drake gained his first Michelin star at Drake’s on the Pond in Abinger Hammer. After this he opened Drake’s in Ripley where he held a star for a further 14 years. In 2013, Steve purchased The Anchor Pub in Ripley, which he currently leaves in the more than capable hands of Head Chef Mike Wall-Palmer.

Drake then opened Sorrel at the end of 2017 and has since picked up a 2019 Michelin star, AA’s Restaurant of the Year 2019, and Surrey Life’s Restaurant of the Year 2019, and he currently resides at Sorrel.

At Sorrel diners can treat themselves to a menu that changes with the seasons, with intriguing flavour combinations and exceptional service. Meanwhile, the Anchor pubs sits comfortably in the cosy village of Ripley and combines every Brit’s favourite things – good wine and good food. It is certainly a good spot for a classic Sunday lunch.

Although it is not the first thing you might think of, Drake is certainly a good businessman and knows how to appeal to the county, with the use of local produce and services. He lives in Surrey and has certainly helped his local high street grow and prosper.

Molly Enser caught up with Steve Drake at Sorrel in Dorking to talk about his work and to pick up some tips for cooking at home!

Q: How did you get into cooking and what made you want to become a chef?

A: When I was at school, I wasn’t very academic and I was a slow starter but I’ve always been quite creative. I was really good at home economics and when I left school I thought I’d be quite good at being a chef so I applied for some local restaurants in Essex, where I’m from. I took a part time job in a restaurant called ‘The Old Vienna’, an Austrian-themed restaurant which was fantastic and it really introduced me to a busy kitchen and on I went from there.

Q: Who or what are your inspirations?

A: I think ingredients and the seasons are my inspiration. I like to have intriguing flavour combinations, without them being crazy. They have to be logical. For example, we poach pears in hibiscus which resembles poaching them in the classic red wine. The hibiscus gives it an acidity and dryness which stops it being overly sweet. Ingredients and flavours are my inspiration. We did the ‘carrot tobacco’ in the spring menu in 2018, it’s so simple really, when you eat the coconut ice cream the texture of the carrot resembles coconut, it’s very, very simple, but for me it’s quite nostalgic as well.

Q: Does it take a while to think of these combinations or does it come naturally?

A: Yes, it does come naturally but you can’t rush it. It’s like an evolution of ideas. So for example, rhubarb has just come into season, so I think about what I did last year or the year before. All those ideas over the years have built up, and I try not to use things that are out of season. In a way it keeps you on your toes. You look forward to an ingredient coming into season, and then start thinking about the next ingredient of the new season. So it’s more of an evolution of ideas.

Q: How long does it take to prep meals for the evening?

A: The guys are here from 8am and are pretty much carry on till midnight. They take a break in the afternoon but there is a tremendous amount of work involved. We make everything from scratch every day. The service when customers arrive is almost the easier part as the most difficult bit is getting everything ready up until that point. So making all the stocks for sauces, the butchery, the bread making and all those things. Behind all of that are all the thought processes; so there is the physical work and the creative work, which is huge.

Q: I know you have a set menu, are your chefs allowed to introduce their own creativity into that menu?

A: As a team yes, but mostly I do it. We do now encourage everyone to get involved and if they have an idea we’ll try it. We may have to tweak it, as it does need to be in the style of Sorrel. It needs to have our DNA in it. The guys that work for us have worked here a long time, and they know how to do things. They have great ideas and we look for these creative skills in people when employing them.

Q: Do you have any plans to launch a new venture?

A: Not yet. But it’s not a no either. There are opportunities but there’s no real strong need. The Anchor is really approachable and anybody can go there. Cyclists and walkers go in there, but you also get people going in for their anniversary or special occasion, so it’s a much broader reach of clients. At Sorrel, it is more of a special occasion venue and we attract real foodies. They like to see something different.

Q: Do you have regulars here?

A: We have lots of regulars. We have one or two people that come every week and lots of people that come every month and a huge amount of people that come every three months. When the menu changes, we send them out an email which encourages them to come and dine here. We look down the bookings list every day to see the dietaries and the dislikes, we go into a lot of detail and a much of the time we recognise many of the names on the list. That’s a good sign, people are coming back! We must remember, we are in a hospitality sector and it’s all about making people feel special and more importantly, making them feel like they are being looked after and cared for.

Q: Do you work with local suppliers and businesses in the area?

A: We certainly use a lot of local businesses for our maintenance, recruitment and other services. We use a farm in Leith Hill, and our eggs we get just past Guildford. We can’t buy everything local but we get what we can. Our butter comes from Northern Ireland, it’s incredible butter! Our venison comes from the Scottish Highlands, and scallops from the West Coast of Scotland. We like picking out where we can find the very best stuff in the country and championing British produce.

Q: How do you inspire young chefs?

A: All chefs want to be creative, so we talk about food and dishes. I am in the kitchen a lot so I’m always showing people new techniques and new ideas. We do weekly tasting and training to help their learning as much as we can.

Q: What do you look for when hiring?

A: It depends what position we’re hiring for. If it is front of house, it’s 90% down to personality and if they have the ability to read somebody - do they get it? If I get those two things then we are more than halfway there and obviously then depending on the position, it will be down to their experience of managing people, which doesn’t come easy to me if I’m honest, and doesn’t come easy to a lot people.

Q: Are there any cafés or restaurants you like to go to in Surrey?

A: I like Two Many Cooks in Dorking. Guildford is a tricky one as there aren’t many independents because the rents are a little bit high but there’s Blue Sardinia which is very nice. Pinnocks in Ripley too, The Grantly Arms in Wonersh is really nice and has a very cosy feel. There’s not that many as we are so close to London but there are a few real little cherries in Surrey.

Q: What would you say is your favourite dish to cook at home?

A: Roast chicken. It’s the simplest thing in the world to cook and the easiest thing to get wrong. The trick is, don’t overcook it. You don’t have to do much to the chicken, a little bit of olive oil over the skin some salt and pepper a head of garlic and some thyme in the carcass, maybe a lemon in there, cut in half, and some rosemary. Next you need a really hot oven, turn it down after 10-15 minutes. A 1.5 kilo bird takes an hour to cook, then rest it upside down. That’s it. Chicken is perfect, it’s tasty and it’s easy to cook. I love it.

Q: What basic skills do you think everyone needs when cooking at home?

A: I think people need to stop reading recipe books. What we do as cooks is that we have to understand what’s happening in front of us. So, for example, if we are sweating down onions and the book tells us to do it for ten minutes you do exactly that, but it’s not about the time, it’s about when the onions are ready! So perhaps they might take five minutes they might take 15 minutes. It depends on how high the gas is, how big the pan is and how fresh the onions are.

There are lots of variations and that’s why people struggle at home. I think we have to understand what’s happening. I don’t mean don’t read recipe books but when it comes to the method, we should just read it and then maybe put the book away. It’s about learning the process and what we can actually do on our own rather than using a watch or timer.

Q: When you go out to eat is there a certain dish you like to order?

A: I love a steak and I really love fish, but I’m pretty open minded so I’ll eat anything. I always use the word ‘discover’ with everything I do, with everything I do. Of course there are your old favourites but it’s quite nice to discover something new. Possibly a new ingredient or a new technique, texture, flavour or presentation.

Q: If you are not working for the day, what would you ideal day look like?

A: I do a fair bit of long distance running, which is a good way of chilling out and decompressing. I love going out with the family; we’ll go to the pub and have a nice Sunday roast and l like going out with friends to eat. Nothing really crazy to be honest. This job is quite full on and you do get bombarded, so sometimes running is good for that.

Q: What would you say to those considering booking a table at Sorrel?

A: I would say come with an open mind, because it isn’t what you might think. We’re not a posh restaurant. Because we have a Michelin star people do regard us as a posh French restaurant, but we’re definitely not that. What we want to do is the best food we can possibly do and have really amazing service. We want people to come with excitement, and of course we will look after you.

Q: If you could describe your cooking in three words, what would they be?

A: Flavour, discovery and mine. I want to make people happy, I want to serve them beautiful food and I want to enjoy it.

By Molly Enser