Words by Amanda Afiya
Incredibly, at the age of six, Scott Paton began on a journey that would lead to the creation of the restaurant that he is so immensely proud to head up at Boringdon Hall today – Àclèaf. Because it was at this tender age that Scott realised that, through cooking, he was almost guaranteed to make people smile. “I knew then that I wanted to be involved in an industry where memories and special moments are shared.”
Scott started his career at the age of 14, working as a kitchen porter at the Jack in the Green in Exeter, and was immediately absorbed by the atmosphere. Within six months, he was involved in the cooking. Once he left school and was able to work at the Jack in the Green full-time, he embarked on a seven-year stint at the revered property, working across all sections of the kitchen. In 2011, he took on his first head chef’s position, at the Horn of Plenty, just outside Tavistock. Eager to learn more, he peppered his career with placements at Guy Savoy, with pastry chef Pierre Hermé, and with Michael Caines at Gidleigh Park.
During his five years at the Horn of Plenty, he developed his style (for which he was awarded three AA rosettes) before moving across to the Gallery Restaurant at Boringdon Hall – a five-AA-starred Elizabethan manor house, which sits halfway between Plymouth’s coastal city centre and the spectacular tors of Dartmoor.
Scott immediately saw the potential of the hotel under its team of directors and set about realising their ambitions for the hotel’s restaurants. He was awarded an Acorn Award from The Caterer in 2017, and, today, Boringdon Hall boasts three Acorn alumni. And therein lies the seeds for the birth of Àclèaf – named after the Anglo-Saxon word for oak leaf.
Àclèaf opened in 2020 and has allowed Scott to keep pushing the boundaries. “The process never stops for me and the team; during every service, each plate is critiqued, and the question is always asked – ‘how can this be better?’ It’s through excellence at this level that keeps the restaurant and team constantly moving forward.”
The restaurant was rewarded for such an approach with four AA rosettes in March 2022 and a long-coveted Michelin star earlier this week , joining an elite band of establishments to hold the accolades.
Commenting on the award of a Michelin star, Scott says: “It’s incredible to be recognised with a star – a lifelong ambition – but it was so important we earned it in the right way, in a calm, precise environment. And it had to be from natural progression and evolution.”
Writing in his strikingly beautiful book, Àclèaf, published last autumn, Scott says: “The chefs in Àclèaf are all trained in the classics, but I’m not one to let rules get in the way of creativity and I make sure that the kitchen is an environment where the team comes together; to share ideas without the fear of rejection or failure. We learn together and make mistakes together. We talk everything through as a team and come up with new ideas, together. Everything is questioned, the dish is stripped back to individual ingredients to then find a clear purpose.”
A passionate pâtissier, Scott has been the recipient of the Dessert of the Year title from the Association of Pastry Chefs. In other words, diners at Àclèaf are always going to leave the restaurant on a gastronomic high, as this video demonstrates.
The dish Scott has prepared here is an evolution of a pre-dessert the team created for a tasting menu. “Desserts have always been a passion of mine,” he says, “so creating this with my head pastry chef John was a real delight – it’s full of flavour with great textural and temperature contrast.”
Crew, Production & Editor/Guest Blogger
Adrian Franklin, Joe Dawes and Amanda Afiya.
CHOCOLATE
Miso, Hazelnut
(Makes 32 portions)
Ingredients
For the chocolate delice:
720g Alto El Sol
700g double cream
400g milk
6 gelatine leaves
For the chocolate tuile:
200g icing sugar
4 egg whites
175g plain flour
150g melted butter
3tsp cocoa powder
For the miso caramel:
500g dulce de leche
20g Pedro Ximénez
100g white miso paste
15g maple syrup
For the chocolate dipping layer:
100g Alto El Sol
100g cocoa butter
For the miso sauce:
100g double cream
30g Alto El Sol
Pinch of fleur de sel
10g Pedro Ximénez
Dark roasted sesame oil
For the hazelnut ice cream:
1000g whole milk
100g caster sugar
115g pro crema
110g glucose
150g hazelnut paste
50g miso paste
Method
To make the delice, start by soaking your gelatine in cold water. Bring cream to the boil, add the gelatine, and pour over the chocolate, whisk this mixture together and once combined, whisk in the milk. When it’s ready, pour a small amount into the bottom of your mould and allow to set. Once set in your miso caramel insert, cover with the rest of the delice mixture and again allow to freeze.
To prepare the chocolate tuile, melt butter on a low heat. In a mixing bowl, add your flour, icing sugar, cocoa butter, and egg white and beat together. Once together, beat in melted butter and allow to rest in the fridge. After it has rested, spread over a mould, and bake at 150C for 8 minutes.
To make the miso sauce, bring the cream, chocolate, and a pinch of salt to the boil, whisk in sherry once off the heat and then strain ready to serve.
To prepare the chocolate dip, once the delice is frozen, melt chocolate and cocoa butter on the stove. Once melted, dip in your frozen delice and allow to defrost.
To make the ice cream, bring all ingredients except the pro crema, hazelnut and miso paste to the boil, once boiled add the rest of the ingredients and blend together until smooth, strain the mixture and freeze into Pacojet containers.
To plate, start by slowly warming up the chocolate sauce on the stove. using a small amount of miso caramel on the bottom of the bowl, place your defrosted delice on top with another small dollop of caramel on top of that to stick your tulle down. Pacojet the ice cream and roché on top of the tuile, add a pinch of salt and layer with truffle. Serve the dish with a warm sauce on the side split with a couple drops of toasted sesame oil.
With thanks to Amanda Afiya
