Meet the guys who work tirelessly behind the scenes to make the famous dishes we all know and love. Our team of talented chefs come from all different walks of life and have an impressive skillset from a number of different cultures and cuisines, which we are lucky enough to have under one roof.

HEAD CHEF – Josh

 

With seven years of industry experience, Head Chef Josh combines his culinary expertise and his passion for local produce to present a unique offering at The Hook. His enthusiasm for all things fresh can be seen across the board in the ever-changing menu and specials, led and formulated by him.

All time favourite dish: A proper chicken kebab

Favourite cuisine: French

Your cooking role model: Tommy Banks

 

JUNIOR SOUS CHEF – Rob

 

Cooking since the age of four and working in the kitchen from 16 years old whilst pursuing other career ventures, Rob is our much-valued Junior Sous Chef. Growing up around home cooking, Rob is passionate about foraging and incorporating local produce within his dishes, favouring a twist of European inspiration. He even has plans to convert the plant area behind the second floor bar into a fresh herb garden.

All time favourite dish: Apple strudel

Favourite cuisine: Contemporary British / European

Your cooking role model: Daniel Clifford

 

RAMEN CHEF – Piotr

 

Pasta enthusiast and ramen pro Piotr may have started cooking a little later than the rest of the team, but with 15 years’ experience under his belt and extensive knowledge of the industry it’s safe to say he knows what he’s doing! You can look forward to tasting his infamous ramen in The Hook’s next project… watch this space.

All time favourite dish: Pasta

Favourite cuisine: Japanese

 

COMMIS CHEF – Alex

 

Making his cooking debut in 2015, Commis chef Alex joined The Hook’s kitchen team a little under a year ago after moving to Guernsey. Alex fell into a cooking role in his home town in Greece, he brings a passion for simplicity to the kitchen and regularly incorporates his taste for Greek cuisine in his day-to-day kitchen responsibilities. He works closely on starters and desserts, so you have Alex to thank if you’ve tried our famous crab donuts, chorizo scotch egg or miso blondie.

All time favourite dish: Souvlaki

Favourite cuisine: Greek (of course!)

Your cooking role model: Any one of his mentors

 

KITCHEN ASSISTANT – Tyler

Tyler started his first job at The Hook as a part-timer two years ago, and has learnt the ropes of almost every kitchen section since. He is still expanding his skillset and exploring his specialities. Having seen how a restaurant is run and building a good understanding of what goes on behind the scenes, we have no doubt Tyler will succeed in his future cooking endeavours!

All time favourite dish: Steak

Favourite cuisine: Top 5 – Italian, Mexican, Thai, Indian, Japanese

Your cooking role model: Chef Gordon Ramsey

 

Hazelnut Tart
600g Dark Chocolate
400g Coconut Milk
150g Hazelnuts
Almond Base
400g Almond Flour
45g Cocoa Powder
40g Maple Syrup
100g Coconut Oil
Salted Caramel
200g Sugar
100g Glucose
100g Maple Syrup
200g Soya Cream
30g Maldon Salt

Hazelnut Tart
1) Roast the hazelnuts at 180c 15 – 20 minutes until dark brown and leave to cool.
2) Mix the almond flour, cocoa powder, maple syrup and coconut oil until it comes
together to form a dough. Spread the mixture into a 12inch tart case and press
against the bottom and side evenly. Chill in the fridge until solid.
3) Gently warm the coconut milk in a large saucepan until near boiling. Remove from
the hear and add the dark chocolate. Stir until one consistency.
4) Add the roasted hazelnuts to the chocolate mix and stir. Pour the mixture into the
set tart case and shake edges to flatten. Place in fridge to set for one hour.
5) Once set, lightly blowtorch the tart case to warm and loosen the tart. Remove from
case and portion into 16.

Salted Caramel
1) Brush the sides of a medium saucepan with water and add the sugar and glucose.
Gently heat to a dark caramel.
2) Remove from the heat and add the maple syrup followed by the soya cream and
whisk.
3) Add Maldon salt or any other sea salt to finish.

The Hook has hosted another successful tasting event with a full house of happy customers. The event was held on 18th May and was designed to showcase local produce, complemented by a selection of Spanish and Italian wines.

After working closely with Grow Ltd and a local lamb famer, the tasting event team strived to feature as much locally grown vegetables and produce as possible. There was a lot of trial and error involved for head chef Josh and junior sous chef Rob, experimenting up to seven times on some dishes on the six-course tasting menu.

‘There were some really interesting and sharp flavours on the menu,’ said head chef Josh. ‘There was a heavy focus on dry aged Guernsey lamb, accompanied by local veg. Prime cuts of meat and variations of rhubarb were also featured alongside some bold flavour pairings that you’ve probably never seen before’.

Junior sous chef Rob said it was great to have creative freedom to create the menu alongside Josh.

‘We love a challenge and tried to incorporate rhubarb in both sweet and savoury tasting dishes. The amuse bouche of pork cheek, rhubarb, shallot, and onion broth went down well; and although a bit daring, the rhubarb tart with smoked beet sorbet and sorrel gel was a hit.’

Owner Sam Jarrold thanked customers for their positive feedback.

‘It was great to see so many familiar faces from previous tasting events and putting this Sprint tasting event on was a pleasure throughout,’ he said.

The Hook’s twist on local produce enjoyed with fine wine was a sell out, and regular customers can look forward to seeing more of these events in months to come.

Stuck with the job of being designated driver this Christmas? Whilst there are plenty of advantages, The Hook is about to give our alcohol-free customers another incentive to stay sober.

We have partnered with the Health Improvement Commission to support the ‘It’s a small island – don’t drink and drive’ campaign and ‘Count 14’, encouraging islanders to stick to the low-risk drinking guidelines and quite literally count 14 units, remembering to spread them over 3 or more days during a week. With more than a third of Guernsey respondents admitting they drink more than the recommended amount; we saw no better time than now to launch our new mocktail menu.

With Christmas around the corner, giddiness for a drink (or two) can sometimes get the best of us. With our newly launched mocktails you won’t have to worry about having one too many. They have been specially designed by our skilled bartenders to taste like alcohol without suffering a hangover (they sound more like magic potions to us!)

We want to make The Hook an inviting place for all customers, whether you drink or not, we offer an array of alcohol-free spirits and drinks – from Seedlip to alcohol-free beer, you won’t have to worry about missing out.

Whilst Christmas can be seen as a time to over-drink, over-eat and generally overindulge, we want the wellbeing of our customers to remain paramount. So, with health and moderation in mind, we teamed up with K-tea, a well-known locally brewed Kombucha business, to offer rich flavours in our cocktails with a twist.

K-tea was founded in 2016 and is a healthy alternative to fizzy drinks. With detoxifying and energising properties, ethically sourced whole leaf tea and botanicals are fermented with raw cane sugar to create a delicious drink with a host of benefits.

Carefully mixed with other ingredients, we have created a mocktail menu that you won’t find anywhere else. Whether you need a quick break in between your next glass of wine, a day off or are entirely alcohol-free, everyone is free to enjoy one of our delicious concoctions at The Hook.