Cornwall has always been famous for its coastline and is England’s favourite holiday destination, but today it is becoming equally well known for it restaurants and food. It’s no surprise that Jamie Oliver chose it to locate one of his world famous Fifteen restaurants in Cornwall, in a stunning location over looking the spectacular Watergate Bay. It offers great Italian food while making use of the seasonal produce found locally.

The chef that many associate with Cornwall is Rick Stein who started his Seafood Restaurant in Padstow in the 1980’s and now has expanded to a number of others in the town and recently opened a new restaurant in Falmouth (you can read our exclusive interview with it’s Head Chef Paul Ripley here ….link). Rick Stein TV series are very popular as he travels to other countries to explore their cuisine, then featuring those recipes he finds in his restaurant menus.

But now we have a new wave of chefs building great reputations in Cornwall, they are well known in Cornwall, throughout Britain and internationally. Nathan Outlaw, at the St Enodoc Hotel on the North Coast of Cornwall, has two Michelin stars which makes it one of the most highly rated restaurants in Great Britain.

Chefs that are being talked about as the next stars of Cornish cuisine include Paul Ainsworth of Number 6 also in Padstow and Jude Kereama from Kota in Porthleven offering some of the most imaginative food being offered in the South West.

German Translation

Cornwall has all that you could wish for in for a holiday in Great Britain, whether a family holiday on the beach, a walking holiday on the stunning south west coast path or a couple on a romantic getaway.

Bed and breakfast or Cornwall B&B accommodation offers a great alternative to a full service hotel with a number of advantages. Cornwall has the highest proportion of 4 and 5 star B&Bs in any county in Southern England, places offering top quality rooms and service with that extra personal touch that you will only find in a family run business. You’ll be welcomed to their house, often with a cup of tea and biscuits or even some home made cakes.

Friendly advice on the best that the local area has to offer will be invaluable in getting the most from your holiday in Cornwall or Urlaub in Cornwall as the many German visitors to Cornwall would say. You’ll hear about the best local pubs or maybe the new restaurant that doesn’t feature in the guide books. Also other activities like walks or little known beaches that you would otherwise not get to see.

In recent years bed and breakfasts have become a real alternative to hotels as new owners come to the business bringing new ideas and higher standards. Living and working in Cornwall is seen as a lifestyle choice by new B&B owners who want to challenge what has been offered before. You can still find traditional places, but you can now choose from contemporary, modern and even luxury boutique accommodation.

UrlaubCornwall has carefully selected only the best bed and breakfasts in the locations that you have to visit on you holiday or tour of Cornwall. Find the perfect B&B on our interactive map of Cornwall

What is the most popular destination for Germans travelling to the UK? You may be surprised to know that Cornwall is their holiday of choice or as the Germans say Urlaub in Cornwall.

Some of the reasons are obvious Germany as doesn’t have a lot of coastline relative to its size and population. Cornwall has some of Britain’s most beautiful beaches and coves and a history and mythology that fascinates. The Atlantic rollers make it the surfing capital of Europe, with Fistral Beach at Newquay being among the most famous.

One of the less well known reasons is the German obsession with a relatively minor authors called Rosamunde Pilcher whose novels including her most famous The Shell Seekers. Her books have been serialised for TV and are screened constantly on a Sunday evening. They have a major following and there Cornish locations create a huge demand to visit the towns, gardens, country house and beaches that feature so prominently.

Germans take the tour of Cornwall or Reisen as they would say visiting all the sites from the Lost Gardens of Heligan, to the historic port of Falmouth, Lizard Point, Lands End and along the North Coast to Newquay and Padstow.

They love to stay in bed and breakfast accommodation as they appreciate the homely qualities and family run nature of these businesses.

This German love affair is set to continue as more of her books are filmed this year.

UrlaubCornwall have nearly 200 holiday house or apartments with sea views across Cornwall or Ferienhäuser und Ferienwohnungen in Cornwall as the German say, Great Britain’s most popular holiday destination for 2012

We can offer the most extensive collection of holiday houses or apartments in all the locations you could want in Cornwall. Bojowan at Praa Sands on Cornwall’s south coast is a fantastic holiday house for a family of up to 10 people and 2 cots. With breathtakingly beautiful panoramic views across Praa Sands and Mount’s Bay, Bojowan is a stunning contemporary home with almost every room overlooking the sea.

It overlooks the sea, is beautifully decorated and fully equipped for a memorable family holiday by the Cornish Coast. Close to Penzance and the fishing village of Newlyn meaning there are many restaurants specialising in local seafood nearby.

The fabulous glass-fronted sitting-room has a wood-burner and an enormous wall-mounted television, and in the striking kitchen/dining-room the table by the window makes the most of the glorious scenery.

UrlaubCornwall can exclusively offer over 550 holiday house and flats throughout Cornwall so what ever you chosen location, accommodation requirements or budget we will have the perfect place to enjoy your dream holiday in Cornwall in 2012.

Hotel accommodation in Cornwall has changed a lot in recent years as hotels try and attract discerning guests who don’t just want to book a room for the night, but want to experience some of the Cornish lifestyle. Rooms are light and airy with a feeling of comfortable luxury. Excellent service from hotel staff that’s relaxed, but attentive. Restaurants and cuisine in Cornwall now have a world wide reputation and our hotels pride themselves in offering the best from the land and sea. The freshest fish and shellfish found around the Cornish coast are used widely on their menus.

So what is Cornish style? Cornwall is famous for it’s relaxed pace of life where people have time to stop and talk, the Cornish have an appreciation of the beautiful landscape and coastline that the Cornish are privileged to enjoy. Many of our selection of hotels try to bring the feeling of relaxed seaside living right in to your hotel room with touches that are reminiscent of the beach and seaside towns around its rugged North Coast or more tranquil South Coast.

Find our why Cornwall is the most popular holiday destination in Southern England and see why visitors come back again and again. Urlaub Cornwall offers advice, tips and recommendations for hotels, restaurants, self catering house and apartments, bed and breakfasts, as well as attractions. We are based in Cornwall so we can give you the information in our blog that doesn’t get in to most guidebooks.

German Translation

An interview by UrlaubCorwall the best guide to holidays in Cornwall or Urlaub In Cornwall as the German say.

Paul Ripley took over Rick Stein’s Seafood Bar in Falmouth last year bringing them back together again after 10 years. Paul was previously head chef in the world famous seafood restaurant in Padstow, leaving in 2000 to run his own restaurant where he became one of only a few chefs to achieve a Michelin star in his first year.

image © davidgriffen.co.uk

UrlaubCornwall: When did you first start working with Rick Stein?

Paul Ripley: In 1988 I was given his (Rick Stein) first book as a Christmas present and I read it from start to finish in about 2 days. I thoroughly enjoyed it and then I saw he had placed an advert in a catering magazine. So I thought I’d apply, and after two interviews I got the job. I came down from London to Cornwall to become Rick’s number two in the kitchen. Obviously as his programmes took off, so he became less and less involved in the kitchen and promoted me to head chef.

UrlaubCornwall: What is special about the new Seafood Bar?

Paul Ripley: The original Champagne and Oyster Bar was expanded adding grills, a fryer and other equipment to enable us to put a number of new dishes in the bar. Not just oysters and shellfish, they are still on the menu but we are doing a few more things up here now. Not even just fish, we’re doing a couple of meat dishes as well now. It’s going really well.

UrlaubCornwall: What style of food do you serve up here?

Paul Ripley: We feature dishes from Rick’s new book about Spain. And the dishes from that have proved really popular. We’ve got a tapas theme going on, where people try a lot of smaller dishes. It’s an intimate atmosphere and sitting at the bar you’re almost in the kitchen watching the food being prepared for you.

UrlaubCornwall: What’s your favourite dish on the current menu?

Paul Ripley: I like the scallop dish, which has become our signature dish. It’s with Guindillo peppers and chillies, tomato and Serrano ham. The scallops are put under the grill with a few breadcrumbs.

image © davidgriffen.co.uk

UrlaubCornwall: How much local produce features in your menus?

Paul Ripley: Rick prides himself on using as much local, sustainable English produce as possible. It’s the best in the country we think. Cornwall’s got some of the best ingredients, best produce and now some of the best restaurant in the country as well.

Cornwall is in the running to be officially named as the top county in England for food. We find out in the next couple weeks if we’ve won it would be great for the chefs down here.

UrlaubCornwall: You must be able to get some of the freshest fish in the country in Falmouth?

Paul Ripley: Yes, we pride ourselves on using the freshest fish. Even the chip shop uses all the freshest stuff. It may be a couple of quid more than ones down the road, but if you could see the fish coming in the morning you’d see that it’s definitely worth paying a little bit more for.

UrlaubCornwall: The chip shop seems very popular, how is it going?

Paul Ripley: Downstairs is ticking over really nicely. Rick’s been pleasantly surprised how it’s been going since we opened in the restaurant in Cornwall Falmouth. Rick just wanted to be part of the up and coming food scene there is in Falmouth, hence why he chose it for his restaurant.

UrlaubCornwall: Thanks for your time Paul and good luck with the Spanish menu.

German Translation

UrlaubCornwall has uncovered a Cornish hotel hideaway offering unrivalled peace and tranquillity. It offers stylish comfort, sea views and award winning food in a unique island location. It’s the ultimate seaside holiday destination for families with children or those looking for something special in 2012.

Located on Cornwall’s hidden jewels, the Isles of Scilly, Hell Bay Hotel provides a perfect holiday retreat in an untouched Cornish paradise on the island of Bryher – 28 miles off the coast of South West England.

Hell Bay Hotel is set in its own carefully maintained gardens and stylishly decorated using the work of local artists and sculptors with local connections, including original paintings and sculpture by Barbara Hepworth, John Miller, Ivon Hitchens, Julian Trevelyan and Richard Pearce. From the hotel there are incredible views of the ocean and surrounding islands.

The tiny island, which offers a glimpse of Cornwall as it used to be, boasts wonderful unspoiled beaches with crystal clear water, soft sand and hardly another person in sight.

The Isles of Scilly provide a unique larder of ingredients for the restaurant at Hell Bay to call upon. The finest, freshest seafood is caught just off the shore from the Hell Bay Hotel and served to you almost straight away. Bryher is famous for its crab and lobster served with locally grown farm vegetables, creating a truly Scilly food experience.

If relaxing by the heated pool isn’t active enough for you, there is definitely plenty to do on Bryher. The Hotel can organise kayaking, jet boat trips to discover the seals and puffins, or point you towards the rocky coves that are ready to explore all around the island.

Daily boat trips from Bryher let you explore all the other islands. Whether you want to visit the seaside pubs of St Mary’s, or the white sands of Great Bay on St Martin’s, there is plenty for everyone to see and do.

The world famous tropical Abbey Gardens on neighbouring Tresco are a very short boat ride away. You won’t believe you’re still in Britain!

German Translation

The Star Castle is a unique hotel in a 16th Century castle built in the shape of an 8 pointed star on the unspoilt Isles of Scilly is the perfect location for dream holiday in Cornwall, Southern England’s most popular holiday destination in 2012.

Bedrooms in the castle are elegantly appointed in a Cornish seaside style, but retain the original charm and history of this unique building. Garden rooms and suites are available adjacent to the castle in the grounds, but all are furnished to the same high standard. Many guest rooms and suites have sea or harbour views.

The islands themselves offer a holiday by the sea in Cornwall that you won’t forget. White sand and azure seas mean that the Scillies boast many beaches that feature in the top 10 beaches, not just in Cornwall, but Great Britain as a whole. This hotel on the Isles of Scilly really is also perfect for a family holiday with children; family suites offer all the flexibility that a family wants.

The Star Castle, with head chef Gareth Stafford, runs a superb kitchen, rising early every morning to make the freshly baked bread. Everything in his kitchen is made from fresh ingredients sourced locally and from Cornwall, with vegetables, herbs and salads grown in the recently extended kitchen garden. Hotel owner, Robert Francis, also an early riser, takes his fishing boat out most days to catch the lobsters and crabs that are served in the Conservatory seafood restaurant.

The Star Castle is steeped in history – in 1643 it sheltered the Prince of Wales, it was the last stronghold of the Cavaliers and it was opened as an hotel in 1933 by the then Prince of Wales, later to become King Edward VIII. The dining room was the original officer’s messroom and the cosy bar was once the dungeon, in which some of the country’s most notorious prisoners were incarcerated.
Today, it is a superb hotel, run by the Francis family and offering the perfect place to stay to explore the islands.

German Translation

In his 2 Michelin star fish and seafood restaurant at the stylish St Enodoc Hotel in Rock Nathan Outlaw has built a reputation as probably the best head chef in Cornwall. In fact, he has the accolade of having the only restaurant specialising in fish and seafood with 2 stars not just in Cornwall, but in the world. Showcasing local produce in both a fine dining restaurant and his family friendly seafood bar and grill.

UrlaubCornwall: What first brought you to Cornwall?

Nathan Outlaw: I used to live London, but had enough of the city and I always had a big interest in seafood. At the time Rick Stein in Padstow had the best seafood restaurant in the country so it made sense to work at the best place and work with the best, so that’s what’s first attracted me to move here.

I had spent a lot of time down here as a kid on holiday so I think there was always something in me that wanted to return here. Life is a bit calmer down here than it is in the city.

UrlaubCornwall: So I guess you’re enjoying life in Cornwall?

Yeah, I would never move away from here now. My wife is from Padstow, all my children have been born in Cornwall and so this is home now.

UrlaubCornwall: How did you get involved with the St Enodoc Hotel?

Nathan Outlaw: I used to have a restaurant in Rock before and the owner of the hotel would come down for lunch and dinner with his family, so I got to know him. Then in 2009 he asked if I’d like to take over the restaurant here, and bring what I do into the hotel.

But instead of doing a purely fine dining restaurant, we decided to open a seafood bar and grill as well, which is a much more family style restaurant. This made sure I was able to do all the hotel stuff as well, like breakfast, afternoon tea etc.

UrlaubCornwall: Has it been successful?

Nathan Outlaw: The seafood and grill has been growing through reputation. It’s got loads on offer; the best meat and the best fish we can find locally. It’s either pan fried or cooked over the grill and then you choose the sauce and the garnish you want to have with it. So you can really create your own dish.

But the fine dining restaurant is my labour of love, it’s what I really enjoy doing. Its offers a seafood 6 course taster menu which myself and one other chef cook for only 20 people so we can make sure everyone gets the 100% best experience. And it’s going really well. Last year Michelin gave us 2 stars which was such a boost for us here. Now we are working hard to see if we can get up heights of 3 stars in the future.

UrlaubCornwall: 2 Michelin stars is already an incredible achievement.

Nathan Outlaw: Yeah that’s right, we are actually the only 2 star entirely seafood restaurant in the world.

UrlaubCornwall: Do you have favourite dish?

Nathan Outlaw: We don’t have signature dishes here. They sort of show that you are content with what you’ve already achieved. Our only signature really is that we buy everything from boats from the responsible fishing scheme which makes sure we get the best fish, sustainably. We cook in a style here, unlike anywhere else I think, where we keep everything as simply as we can to do justice to the ingredients.

UrlaubCornwall: What is you favourite ingredient then?

Nathan Outlaw: My favourite fish is mackerel. That’s the one I enjoy cooking and eating the most. And my favourite style of cooking is on the chargrill or barbeque. It allows me to get a nice crispy skin on the fish, which is really the best way to cook a lot of fish.

UrlaubCornwall: Cornwall must be a great place to get the best ingredients.

Nathan Outlaw: Absolutely. We work very hard to get the best ingredients. It’s probably the hardest thing to do, even more than the cooking. There’s plenty of great produce in Cornwall, but the search for more goes on. If you stick to the larder of the South West, you don’t need to go anywhere else.

UrlaubCornwall: There seems to be a community of great chefs in Cornwall now, why do you think that is?

Nathan Outlaw: I think it’s amongst chefs across the whole country. In my early days, I think everyone was a bit more secretive. No one would give each other recipes, tips or advice. But now we’ve taken on the style of Spain, and Scandinavia where they are a lot more open with their food. And now you can walk into the kitchen of any top chef and talk about recipes or anything. That’s being led by the generation of young chefs. It can only be a good thing. The more you share, the more you learn, and things get better for the customers.

UrlaubCornwall: So what’s the next challenge then? Is it just the 3^rd Michelin star?

Nathan Outlaw: We’ve never really chased accolades. We weren’t prepared at all when we got the 2 stars. People always ask if I’m worried about losing my stars, but I think you’d go mad if you did worry.

But there’s no reason to say we can’t achieve 3 stars. The most important thing is that we enjoy the cooking, and we enjoy giving the customers the best experience. There’s nothing better than the praise of someone who’s been looking forward to their meal for ages, saving up their pennies, and then they love it.

For example we had a guy in last night, who came in for his 50^th birthday, and he’ll remember it forever. He said it was the best meal he’s ever had. So when you think about things like that, that’s the most important thing.

German Translation

In May 2012 St Mawes, one of Cornwall’s most attractive seaside towns, will come alive once again to the roar of the engines of some of the worlds’ finest classic motor  cars.

The festival takes place over 5 days in St Mawes on The Roseland Peninsula, on Cornwall’s southern coast, where classic car enthusiasts can choose to stay at the Olga Polizzi’s stylish Hotel Tresanton and indulge in a festival programme suitable for both the petrol heads amongst you as well as their partners (the ladies whom might choose to visit one of Cornwall’s finest Spring Gardens).

Cars of any age are welcome to this exciting new festival now in its second year.

The cars will go off on daily excursions. One day over to St Ives and the land of Leach Pottery and the Barbara Hepworth Sculpture and garden museum and then a great drive along the coast to one of Cornwall’s finest gastro pub “The Gurnard’s Head” for lunch.  Another day a trip to Tregrehan, a beautiful garden and the scene of Cornwall’s annual Hill Climb, there will be a chance to drive the course and there may even be a stop watch on hand!  Lunch afterwards will be at “Sam’s” a great fish restaurant in an old converted lifeboat station on the beach.

The final day there will be a chance to visit another art gallery and garden and then in the afternoon a Concours d’Elegance on the quay in St Mawes.  Cars from around the county will join the festival cars to be judged and prizes awarded.

A James Bond themed gala night at The Hotel Tresanton, complete with fun casino and a few surprises will round off the festival in great style: a perfect end to a unique driving holiday in Cornwall.

For more information download Classic Car 2012 Itinerary or to get in touch with the English speaking organisers Nearwater Events email [email protected] or telephone 0044 (0)1326 279278.

German Translation