Setting up The Carved Angel

They had been scouring the West Country to find the right premises for two new restaurants. They settled on the Riverside at Helford, and the waterfront bistro at Dartmouth that was to become The Carved Angel. Tom Jaine, George’s stepson, and I were brought in to make the partnership up to four. We were to run the Angel, while George and Heather ran the Riverside.

Tom and George set about reorganising and designing the Dartmouth bistro, turning it into the light, airy restaurant it is now, with its view across the River Dart to the Kingswear on the opposite bank. The kitchen was quite deliberately left open on to the dining room, marked off only by a waist-high counter. This is one of the most successful things about the Angel, from everyone’s point of view.