Blackpool Sands’ head chef Sam Evans reveals his favourite flavours

What is your earliest food memory?

Cooking with my grandparents in Surrey and Dorset. They were the quintessential loving grandparents, taking care of our family and teaching me the basics of English cooking. We'd bake fairy cakes and Dorset apple cake together, and they showed me the importance of family, fresh ingredients, and running a household. My grandfather built ships in Holland and visiting him sparked my love for travel.

How would you describe your approach to food?

I like to create good tasting food using fresh and local produce. It’s classical French, simplistic cooking. So, if we have local hand-dived scallops, I’ll make a simple Cafe de Paris butter, grill it in the half shell and let the scallop speak for itself. It’s simple dishes like this that work brilliantly at Blackpool Sands.

I also enjoy speaking to our customers and finding out about the food they love. I don’t like kitchens where there’s no engagement with customers who come to eat the food we are preparing and cooking.

Who is your culinary idol, a chef who has inspired you?

Marco Pierre White and Michael Caines stand out for me. Michael’s contributions to the culinary landscape of the West Country, including the South West chef of the Year Award, have left a lasting impact. Despite his success, he remains grounded and approachable. I also find great inspiration from TV programmes like Great British Menu and MasterChef Professionals

A memorable cooking experience?

Being the head chef at the Rose and Crown in Yealmpton at just 22. Leading a team of nine kitchen members was daunting, but it taught me the value of being a good leader and creating a positive work environment. We had a great time producing incredible food.

Your favourite dish on the menu?

There are many, but our fresh lobster from Start Bay, scallops in half shell with our homemade Cafe de Paris butter, and Dartmoor steak bavette are standouts. We want to incorporate local ingredients like seaweed from Tor Cross and wild garlic into our dishes, as the land we are positioned on is thriving with great free produce.

A favourite dining spot in Devon?

My favourite is going to the beach with my family and having fish and chips because it’s not just about the food, it’s who you share your time eating it with!

What do you love most about Devon?

I live in Down Thomas and I love helping on the farm next door with my six-year-old daughter Ellen and wife Sarah. We’re so lucky in Devon with its stunning landscape and the coast. It's a source of the very best ingredients. There really can’t be anywhere better than working at Blackpool Sands right on the beach, and its approach to the environment, conservation and sustainability is something I believe in very strongly.

We have on our doorstep the very best ingredients and creating dishes that visitors will love is very rewarding.

A down-time/go to meal like to cook/eat at home?

I love spending time with my Spirewell ‘family’ (the farm next door to where Sam lives), having barbecues with the meat from the surrounding farms and talking everything plough to plate. Helping on the farm and gamekeeping with Sarah and Ellen is really rewarding and will put my Ellen in good stead for the future.