Summer 2009
Sporting hero
Perhaps my experience of snow skiing helps, though, as I’m up first time. But I’m concentrating so hard at bending or straightening the right bits of my body that I almost forget to watch for Simon’s hand signals to release the bar as we approach the shore. That could have hurt.
“And keep your chin up next time,” he bellows over the roar of the outboard.
Several more passes see me trying to turn, digging in hard with the left ski to cross the wake of the boat. I’m repeatedly sent crashing. Time finally comes to climb back into the boat and, even with skis removed, it feels as if I’ve got anchors tied to both feet. I flop to the floor exhilarated and gasping for breath like a freshly-caught seabass.
“How did it feel?” shouts Simon.
“Like a 15-minute spin in a washing machine,” I smile. In fact, that troubling childhood memory has been washed away.
For lunch, we head to Watergate Bay where a landmark beachside restaurant is helping train the chefs of tomorrow. Owned by charity Cornwall Foundation of Promise, Fifteen Cornwall is part of an innovative social enterprise founded by Jamie Oliver, where 20 local disadvantaged young people in need of a fresh start in life are taken on each year to be apprentices in the kitchen. Anyone can apply, as long as they are between 18-24 years old, not in education, employment or training, living in the area – and have a passion for food and cooking, of course.
We chat to Executive Head Chef Neil Haydock, who previously worked at the exclusive Sandy Lane resort in Barbados, but wanted a new challenge. He certainly found one here.
“The hardest thing for our apprentices to do is turn up every day as they’ve never had much routine in their life, so the first three months are the toughest. It’s a revelation: all through their lives they’ve been told they’re stupid, but of course they’re not – they’ve simply never tapped into their potential. That’s why cooking really works, because it’s instant gratification,” he explains.
I’m weak with hunger as he prepares a dish of organic lamb and Cornish Earlies (new potatoes) with sweet and sour peperonata made from red peppers and tomatoes. “I realised long ago that Michelin-style cooking isn’t the be all and end all,” he says. “It’s the theatre of the all-round dining experience, working with trends and menus that vary according to the seasons and weather.”
