Wallett’s Court is delighted to
announce the appointment of
new head chef, Michael Fowler
Heritage and hospitality have long
gone hand in hand at Wallett’s
Court Hotel and Restaurant. As
far back as 1270, the hotel gave
comfortable board and lodging
to Edward I on his way to France,
celebrated by a fresco in one of
the upper rooms. Fragments of
the fresco exist to this day.
A few centuries later, in 1975, Chris Oakley, trained by the Roux Brothers and then
working at The Savoy in London, bought the
near-derelict building and set about restoring
it with his wife Lea, giving it the care and
respect it deserved. Chris brought with him
his Michelin Star, turning Wallett’s into a
centre of gastronomy in East Kent. In the
past 40 years, Walletts has become a byword
Another century has rolled on and Chris,
now in his 70s, has found a worthy successor in the kitchen in Michael Fowler, while
remaining at Wallett’s as ‘Grand Master’
Chef. Michael grew up in Deal, but trained
under Marco-Pierre White at The Criterion
in Piccadilly and with Rick Stein in Padstow
“Marco was the kind of boss who could make
head chefs cry,” Michael recalls. “And he
did.” Working for such an exacting task-master has left Michael with a disciplined, precise
approach to his cooking. “Working with Rick
Stein was more relaxed, even though we were
doing 120 covers,” Michael says. “But we
were based right on the quay at Padstow, so
still kicking when we got it in the kitchen.”
His Padstow experience has left Michael with
an overriding respect for his ingredients:
“The main protein is still the star on the
plate,” he says. Like Chris Oakley before him,
Michael Fowler will be using the abundance
of local ingredients and suppliers around him.
Fish are landed minutes away in Deal and
Folkestone. Aberdeen Angus cattle graze secabundance of Kentish sheep in the shadows of
Dover Castle. Kent is, of course, the Garden
of England and there is a luscious array of
locally grown fruit and vegetables in every
direction. Some of the herbs, fruit and eggs
will come from Wallett’s own garden; lobster,
seaweed and samphire from the beach.
Chris Oakley trained under Albert Roux and
Michelin Star. As Master Chef ( a title he was
accorded in 1981) Chris’s classical French
training maintains a high benchmark of
quality and tradition at Wallett’s, while Michael brings the inventiveness and panache of
the contemporary chef. For example, dinner
with Oakley and Fowler might include a gin
on the potato ‘rock’ by lemon sand, made
from tapioca, while pea foam laps at the sides
of the plate along with tendrils of seaweed.
Not the kind of dish to wrap in newspaper,
sensations and freshness. Pudding might be
what Michael calls “ a deconstructed Bounty
Bar” an exquisite confection of coconut and
chocolate. “I like taking the familiar and
ering how to deconstruct a ‘Topic’ using
Kentish cobnuts. His ‘roast beef”, a smoked
beef carpaccio with a sliver of pickled walnut
and horseradish ice cream bears out his
ration will be known as Oakley and Fowler
at Wallett’s Court, combining the pedigree of
the traditional with the very best of the new.
Oakley and Fowler are also planning cookery
workshops and masterclasses, so others can
spend a day or two at Wallett’s, learning
at the feet of the masters and ensuring that
Wallett’s remains the epicentre of Kentish
epicurianism for another forty years to come!
WALLETT'S COURT - An Historic Building of Kent
with Stable Snugs, Manor Four Posters & Kent Barn Suites
OAKLEY & FOWLER - Native Kentish Fare from Field,
Farm, Foreshore & Far Out to Sea...
THE GARDEN OF ENGLAND SPA - ...and Relax
let of sea bass; the chip, a triple fried wedge of
potato cocooned in a crunchy case of ‘edible
Westcliffe, St. Margaret's-at-Cliffe, Dover, Kent CT15 6EW
I: www.wallettscourt.com
T: 01304 852424