Chef Spotlight: Andy Short of voco Zeal Hotel
Andrew Short is Head Chef at ISCA, the restaurant at voco Zeal Exeter Science Park which opened in February. Andy brings his expertise in environmentally-focused cuisine to the new four-star hotel.
Andy joined from Salcombe Harbour Hotel, where he was Head Chef, building on a career which has included hotel and restaurant openings across northern Europe. In addition to his skills in the kitchen, Andy also has a degree in environmental science and a Masters in environmental consultancy.
Located at the entrance of Exeter Science Park, voco Zeal Exeter Science Park is IHG’s first net zero carbon hotel and offers an exceptional stay for the environmentally conscious traveller.
The voco Zeal features 142 stylish bedrooms, a restaurant and bar showcasing local produce, a mini gym, gardens and meeting space. The hotel is 100% electric and has a car park with 12 EV charging points.
Let's find out more about Andy, his cooking style, career and more...
What's your most treasured or earliest food memory?
My earliest food memory is making cakes and omelettes with my mum. She helped foster my enjoyment of been in the kitchen. Not sure I’d enjoy cooking with a toddler though.
My most treasured professional memory is getting recognition from the Michelin guide. The team worked hard to get that and I’m proud of them.
What three words would sum up your style of cooking?
Fresh, seasonal, bold. I used to make everything too complicated, the flavours were nice, they were good dishes, but there was nothing that stood out. As I've got older, I've just made things simpler, which is a common chef journey.
The industry is coming back to simple, tasty food and I think it's got a lot to do with the movement towards local and sustainable. Just stick with good produce and make it taste the best that it can be.
What has been your career highlight so far?
Watching young chefs grow and learn their trade. Watching them go off into the industry and become successful. The industry's had a little bit of a downturn in skill levels, and what I want to do is impart a higher skill level to the people that I work with. I want to give them the ability to leave when they want and go anywhere and be successful. That's the most important thing for me.
What is your favourite seasonal ingredient, and how would you serve it?
Scallops or crab. Devon has some of the best scallops; I cook them in butter and finish with lemon juice. With a great starting product, you don’t need to do much.
What does ‘sustainable’ mean to you?
For me sustainable is a local, fresh and seasonal menu, reducing our environmental footprint as much as possible.
Customers are making sure that the quality they have is better. They want the provenance, they want the story behind the product, they want to know what they're eating.
At the voco Zeal we are sourcing as locally as we can. We are supporting the local community and with our working practices we are reducing our carbon footprint.
Our kitchen is fully electric running off the extensive solar arrays around the building. We have changed our working practices to run off this power source. Using induction and energy saving equipment where possible and reducing water use with the kitchen.
The hotel uses a third of the power of a comparable hotel, and in the kitchen, we have our part to play in this, an example of this is we braise and slow-cook throughout the day using the solar power. All our waste is monitored and analysed to find where we can improve this area of the business.
Who is the chef you most admire?
I have three, beginning with my uncle Michael Adamson MBE. I used to cook with him, eat next to him at family events. He used to show me what he was doing when he was cooking. I don't know how he did that when he was running a big business, but he always made sure that family and friends came first. He was the embodiment of hospitality, a larger-than-life character.
The other two are my old sous chefs in North Wales; two great chefs with the ability to be focused and still have the time to mother their families. I don’t know how they found the time to juggle it all around and do such a fantastic job.
Most thumbed recipe book?
Escoffier. I love going through his recipes and not a lot of it has changed. I love the classics and looking at the old menus.
Guilty food pleasure?
Must be a Five Guys or a buttered chicken curry. High calorie, fatty, big flavours, the sort of stuff that makes you happy that you're about to eat it, and then afterwards the feeling of huge guilt.
What would you choose as your last meal?
My last meal would be a never-ending gobstopper. Try and play this ride out as long as I can. But until Wonka pulls his finger out and makes them, I will go with a Ribeye steak, frites and bearnaise sauce.
Find out more about the new voco Zeal Hotel at Exeter Science Park.