Eating at The Anchor

Our approach to food is robust. We want to put on each plate satisfying combinations of flavours and textures. Our job is not to puree and sieve every vegetable until it can be sucked toothless through a straw. We like crunch and resistance – chewing can be good exercise for humans too. We like to follow the path of the seasons and use produce from our and the village’s allotments, market gardens and neighbours’ gardens. We want to keep food miles down of course, but not at the expense of quality or to the exclusion of variety which would be dull, and food like drink and sport and conversation and sex should not be dull.

Sophie started life as a student of ceramics and, by a twist of fate, found a career in food. Unsurprisingly, she enjoys the creativity of bread making and delving into the deep flavours of Indian and south east asian dishes. Closer to home, her principal influences have been holidays on the Catalan coast around Collioure & Banyuls and in Sicily. Inspiration has been drawn from Sara Fox at the Lighthouse in Aldeburgh and Sydney sider chef Heidi Flett, a protegée of Matt Moran of Aria.