Chef Spotlight: Meet Damien Spinks of Greyhound Country Inn, Honiton

What prompted you to become a chef?

After leaving school, Damien wasn’t sure what path to take. He thought about being a  plumber, but so enjoyed food and eating out, that he applied for a role in The Globe, Topsham… and he never looked back.

His interview was the first time he’d been in a commercial kitchen and he was so excited to see what goes on behind the scenes of a restaurant and how raw ingredients come in, and then leave the kitchen to be enjoyed by guests. That first kitchen experience sparked a passion which made him immediately think this is what I want to be doing.

What has been your greatest achievement/proudest moment in your career?

Damien has participated in a few competitions but doesn’t really enjoy the cameras and limelight; he prefers to be in the kitchen or with his notepad, creating the next set of menus. He describes his proudest career moment to date as moving from Sous Chef to Head Chef. It’s a whole different ball game being a Head Chef and isn’t all about the creative cooking; it’s building and managing relationships with local suppliers, stock taking, pricing of the dishes and more.

A great part of being the Head Chef is encouraging the younger staff in the kitchen, sharing his knowledge and expertise to grow the talent and passion, and encouraging their creativity. He’s a natural and takes it all in his stride.

What makes Devon such a great place to work as a chef? 

Damien cooks with the seasons, using what’s available in that month as well as pickling and preserving to extend their season. The biggest benefit of being in Devon is having exceptional local produce available every single day.

Seasonality is at the core of Greyhound Country Inn’s ethos, so having great relationships with local suppliers, especially fish and meat producers, means he knows the daily specials and can adjust a menu accordingly.

Where would you go to dine out on a night off?

For Damien, it’s rare to go to the same place twice. He likes to explore the Top 50 gastro pubs, working his way through the list.  He enjoys seeing how other chefs might cook an ingredient and always tries anything on the menu he’s not heard of before. He recently enjoyed eating out at the Cornish Arms in Tavistock.

Damien’s go-to dessert would be sticky toffee pudding if there’s nothing unusual to try. He enjoys seeing how each chef plates this and what twist they might give. The Greyhound Inn’s sticky toffee pudding is a traditional version, in individual rounds, served with homemade vanilla ice cream with lots of sticky toffee sauce. He once tried to take it off the menu, and there was an uproar from locals. It’s a firm favourite!

What is your favourite Devon ingredient to use in your dishes? And why?

It has to be Creedy Carver Duck breast, with crispy skin and nice pink centre. The quality of the meat is exceptional. It’s so easy to over and under cook it. In fact perfection means to rest it as long as you cook it. Whole bird, carcass for stock and legs used for another part of the dish, sing up as much as you can of the bird.

Damien has also go a real passion for fish.  With excellent suppliers in Devon Quality Fish and Kingfisher, Damien finds that there is a lot more experimentation which can be done with the freshest and most delicious seafood. His favourite fish is halibut; incredible flavour and so meaty flesh. Lots of possibilities!

 
For more information about Greyhound Country Inn visit their website HERE.

Try Damien’s recipe for Creedy Carver Duck breast HERE.