Cornish top with Hispanic flavors to the fore

Former Manoir aux Quat’ Saisons head chef Dorian Janmaat is set to open his first restaurant next month – Ardor in St Ives, Cornwall, where he will combine his love of his childhood twin homelands of Spain and Cornwall.

The restaurant occupies an old house on Fore Street, with seating on two floors as well as a counter overlooking the open kitchen. It will offer Mediterranean-style small plates with a focus on local seafood, along with larger plates including meats cooked on a Josper grill.

Dorian spent his early years in Ibiza, developing a taste for the local cuisine, before returning with his family to Cornwall, where he attended university and began cooking professionally. He spent nine years working under Raymond Blanc at the Manoir, progressing through the ranks to head chef, before heading home to Cornwall four years ago to run the kitchen at the Idle Rocks Hotel in St Mawes.

He says: “It’s been a lifelong dream of mine to open a restaurant and I can’t wait to open Ardor’s doors and welcome visitors, locals, friends and family in the best way we know how – with great food and wine. Ardor aims to offer delicious dishes, using the best products, selected for their quality and flavor, enriched by cooking with care and simplicity.”

Ardor launches on Monday 8 July and will be open all day from 12pm to 9pm, with guests invited to come for pintxos and a glass of wine between 3pm and 5pm.