Sonia Stevenson

The story of Sonia Stevenson is as much the story of the most celebrated lady chef of our generation as it is a ballad composed and conducted by her husband Patrick and performed by them both. It is a song of old-fashioned love and sacrifice about two accomplished musicians who forsook their careers to open a restaurant in a grey, manse-like, Victorian pile on a steep slope overlooking the Tamar Valley and Bodmin Moor near Tavistock.

To this day, Sonia remains faintly bewildered by her success and Patrick would feel affronted to be described as a restaurateur. Even of her, he insists, ‘She is not a cook, she is a violinist.’ But to Sonia both pursuits are noble art forms and easily reconcilable: ‘Cooking a dish is like playing a violin concerto. Interpretations vary each time you perform and there is a constant striving for perfection. Cooking reflects your personality and tests your technical ability to balance flavours, textures and colour. It is the same with music.’