Matthew Tomkinson, innovative head chef and Roux scholar of The Terrace at The Montagu Arms, Hampshire, creates a seasonal, enticing 3AA Rosette menu capturing a delicious and exciting range of flavours, textures and aromas. Matthew’s commitment to the perfect dining experience drives a constant quest to find the best ingredients for the plate through sourcing fresh, local and seasonal produce from trusted regional suppliers.
The Hotel’s Kitchen Gardener provides a selection of home-grown ingredients, nurtured by hand and harvested with care to perfectly compliment each dish.
Matthew was enticed into a career in the kitchen on a fishing trip with a friend. His companion was a chef at a French restaurant, who regaled him with tales of his job.
Matthew completed a degree in Hospitality Management where he spent time in work placements in a supermarket canteen and as apprentice chef at a pub. A year at The Greenhouse (a vegetarian restaurant in Cheshire) followed, during which time he began to broaden his understanding of ingredients – particularly vegetables – and how to best to reflect their individual merits.
His next job was at Simply Nico in the Crowne Plaza Hotel, near London. Allured by a menu filled with French terms he didn’t understand, he loved the atmosphere, friendship, food and attention to detail,
From there he moved on to Michelin-starred Ockenden Manor in West Sussex, working under Stephen Crane. While there he won the Roux Scholarship – a prestigious cooking competition for promising chefs under 30. He won a work placement at the three Michelin-starred Michel Guérard’s Les Prés d’Eugénie in south-west France.
He then joined The Goose in Britwell Salome, Oxfordshire, as head chef, winning his first Michelin star in 2008,
He is now settled at The Montagu Arms in the New Forest where, in 2009, only six months after joining the restaurant as head chef, he won the second Michelin star of his career, which he retains today. He has held a Michelin star at the hotel’s fine dining restaurant for seven consecutive years, and was named Hampshire Chef of the Year in recognition of this achievement in 2014.
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