Five Minutes with Robert Thompson

Dammy Ponnuthurai speaks with Chef Robert Thompson about Michelin stars, leadership and cooking over fire. He also shares a fabulous summer recipe!

1) You have said that part of what drove you was working under uninspiring leadership. Did achieving a Michelin star change your understanding of what good leadership looks like in a kitchen?

As I’m sure we all have at some point, I’ve definitely worked for a few shockers, but I focus on lessons learned working for legends like Germain and Annie Schwab back at Winteringham Fields. They were both on site at the coal face when you arrived, and they were long after you left! I’ve long been a fan of Michelin, and of the environment/structure that exists in so many places – firm but fair. I try to always lead with respect and understanding, giving my staff my time whenever they need it.

2) During Covid, your “You Be Chef” boxes allowed you to keep reaching guests at home, and you have said they helped draw you out of a more rigid format. What did that period change in the way you wanted to cook, or the kind of restaurant you wanted to create?

You Be Chef still runs today, because, excuse the pun, it saved my bacon!

I just loved the relaxed interaction with guests, at that time that was flying around the Island, delivering food boxes! I think because I’d always been in the world of Michelin kitchens, and in the early years, Michelin ambitions, I had not afforded myself the chance to explore and create something more laid back.

I now feel I have the best of everything, RTCafé Grill is super chilled, but exists in pretty nice surroundings, Thompson’s is downstairs and offers more of a dining experience once a month for a week at a time, and then there’s my new RTCabana Bar out in the garden, where the musics on, cocktails flow, all with the sound of the sea, and palm trees in the wind.

3) The Grill sounds more relaxed and adaptable than the format you were trained in. Is there something about cooking with fire, where heat, timing and weather all have to be responded to, that encourages a more intuitive way of cooking?

The Grill is definitely more relaxed, but still has to be run with precision. I do love cooking over fire, and am really excited to start our BBQ style Sunday evenings later on in the summer. I think it really brings out the qualities in a chef – the need for serious organisation, and the opportunity to display one’s flair.

I relish the chance of being able to cook for the guest, and surprise them with something simple off the Café Grill menu. I feel I have more freedom here, to create dishes, and to bring back classics which go down so well with guests.

4) Does cooking over fire take you away from the rigidity of a professional kitchen, or is it simply another kind of discipline?

As I said above, I think it can be more relaxed, but it still needs that underlying discipline. For me its the same with anything in the kitchen, once you have put the hours in and learnt the basics, you can then start to have more fun with it, developing your own style etc.

5) Does where you are cooking matter? How much do landscapes and surroundings influence the way you cook outdoors?

Where you’re cooking changes everything. The environment, the weather, even the view in front of you—it all influences how you approach food.

If I’m cooking by the sea, like where we are, that naturally pushes things in a certain direction. You start thinking lighter, fresher—grilled fish, citrus, herbs, clean flavours. The salt air, the openness—it all lends itself to that style. You don’t want heavy, overly complicated food; you want something that feels right in that setting.

Landscapes also affect how you cook practically. Wind changes your heat control, temperature affects timing, and you have to be more instinctive. You can’t rely on precision in the same way you would in a kitchen—you cook more by feel, by experience.

So yes, where you cook absolutely shapes how you cook. It changes your ingredients, your technique, and the way people experience the food.

6) Could you share a simple, adaptable recipe for cooking outdoors that readers could easily make themselves?

Here’s one of my favourite recipes, which can easily be adapted by changing to red mullet, or sea bass, or change it up completely with some roasted chicken thighs cooked on the bone.

Grilled fillet of mackerel with a ceviche of Heirloom tomatoes

Ingredients – serves 4 as a starter or 2 as a main course

2 Super Fresh Mackerel – filleted & pinboned 500g Mixed colour/variety tomatoes – washed, drained and sliced into chunks, slices, halves – whatever you feel here to be honest!

½ Red onion – peeled & finely sliced

½ Red chilli – deseeded and finely sliced

1 Handful of coriander – finely sliced

1 Lime – juice & zest

50 ml Rapeseed or Olive oil and extra for grilling mackerel

Maldon salt

Method

Mix the tomatoes with the red onion, chilli, coriander, lime zest and juice together with the rapeseed/olive oil and a good few pinches of Maldon salt to taste. Allow to marinade for 30 minutes before serving which allows the salt to soften the tomatoes slightly releasing their fabulous flavour and creating an instant dressing.

Lightly season the mackerel fillets and rub with a little oil, Grill the mackerel over the coals for 2-3 minutes or until the skin blisters, spoon the tomato ceviche between your serving bowls or plates and place the mackerel fillets on top.

Learn more here: https://www.robertthompson.co.uk