Martin the Forager

When he pops in, the bag is put on table 14 near the kitchen and he and Shaun go through the flora contained within. For those of us who struggle with menu briefings at the best of times, a new arrival from Martin makes you rather worried. Not only do his sea herbs and wild plants often have similar names but they usually have wildly different flavours. What you learn to be sea aster could also be garlic mustard or Jack-by-the-hedge. And god forbid you should confuse sea purslane with sea plantain. It’s important to be clear, however, that these are not flummeries we toss in a salad or throw on the plate – Martin finds plants of exceptional flavour and we use them to bring another dimension to dishes, particularly sea herbs with fish.