Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen Cornwall has appointed an old face as its new head chef.
Adam Banks returns to the Watergate Bay restaurant following six years cheffing in Australia and at Falmouth’s popular Star & Garter.
Banks left his senior sous chef role of five years at the Fifteen Cornwall kitchen in 2011 to move to Australia and head up a Melbourne restaurant. During his time there he focused on writing seasonal menus and dish development which helped the restaurant maintain its Chef Hat award, an Australian measure of excellence.
Returning to Cornwall in 2015, Banks joined the team at the Star and Garter alongside two other former Fifteen chefs, Andi Richardson and Stephen Knowles. Banks played a key role in shaping the Star and Garter menus and style of food in the restaurant contributing to the accolade of Best Foodie Pub in the South West as voted for by the readers of Food Magazine.
Commenting on his new role, he said: “I am so excited about returning to the Fifteen kitchen – it’s like a homecoming.
“I love cooking Italian food and for a chef it’s a dream to be part of a restaurant that is so focused on sourcing the highest quality ingredients. I’m looking forward to working closely with Cornwall’s best producers and evolving the famous Fifteen Cornwall menu.”
Banks steps into the role following Andy Appleton’s departure last year, after more than ten years at the restaurant. Operations director, Polly Dent has always had her eye on Adam Banks as a future talent and approached him directly with the head chef role at Fifteen. She said: “We have been looking for the right person to join us. At Fifteen’s core is its apprentice programme and finding someone who understands us is essential.
“Adam is such a creative chef and so passionate about food and it’s fantastic to have him come back to us to head up the kitchen team.”