BCM Journal, Isle of Wight Edition 2023

Interior
Architecture &
Design
Robert Thompson
Reopens his acclaimed restaurant in Newport.
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For those who aren’t familiar with
the Island’s most high profile chef,
Robert began his career as an
apprentice at L’Ortolan, working under
the very fiery John Burton Race. In 2001
he moved north to Winteringham Fields
in Lincolnshire, initially as a commis and
ending up as head chef when his mentor
Germain Schwab retired.
Robert subsequently gained a Michelin
star in his own right making him, at 23,
the youngest British chef to achieve
this. At the time, The Good Food Guide
named it the fourth best restaurant in
the country saying: 'Thompson soars,
sending out extraordinary dishes that are
deeply complex.' Tatler described his food
at Winteringham Fields as 'once bitten,
forever smitten'.
His next move brought him, via a stint at
Cliveden, to the Isle of Wight where he
has been based ever since. First at The
Hambrough in Ventnor, where he won his
second Michelin star, and then on to The
George in Yarmouth where he has worked
with a couple of owners. But in 2015 he
took the plunge and opened Thompson’s
in Newport, his first solo restaurant, which
Robert says “bridges the gap between
bistro and overly exclusive restaurants…I
love the Island and love cooking for my
customers and friends.”
Then the global lockdown changed
everything and Thompson’s had to close.
Robert sprang into action establishing
You Be Chef, a fine dining home delivery
service where the customers ‘play chef ’
and assemble prepared ingredients with
simple instructions, many with You Tube
tutorials by the man himself. The menus
use the best ingredients including an array
of local produce and 75% of orders go to
the mainland although Robert appreciates
his supportive locals too.
The website states that ‘food is so much
more than nourishment. Its aroma,
colours, aesthetics, flavours, and even its
sounds bring pleasure and spark joy in
people’s lives. Our boxes are packed with
extraordinary food, from carefully selected
fresh ingredients, skilfully prepared with
the addition of one powerful ingredient:
passion!’
After a summer pop up in Cowes, Robert,
head chef Edd Wilson and their team are
back home in Newport. The open kitchen
is a stage once more and you can enjoy the
lunch and dinner performance on Fridays
and Saturdays or on Sunday just for lunch.
Current a la carte dishes include a starter
of confit venison shoulder doughnuts,
wild garlic and smoked almond pesto
and a main course of slow-cooked rare
breed pork belly, Scottish langoustine,
baby beetroots, shellfish bisque. The £99
eight course tasting menu can also be
accompanied by a £55 wine flight. Better
value is hard to find at this level.
www.robertthompson.co.uk
info@robertthompson.co.uk
01983 526118
www.youbechef.com/
BCM Journal 71