INTERVIEW
successful Seahorse and expanding Rockfish empire. partner and great friend of mitch Tonks, the two have worked together for over 15 years in the kitchen and running and opening restaurants. like chalk and cheese they have a different approach and style and that just maybe the secret ingredient behind their enduring friendship and business success. “mitch and I cook together and it
MAT PROWSE M
at Prowse is the other half of the dynamic duo behind the highly
works because we have two different but complementary styles, I have classical training, mitch is more of an instinctive cook and together we have had 15 years of great cooking and restaurant openings - I think 24 restaurants altogether! mitch’s brain works at a million miles an hour and I’m the guy running behind the whirlwind who has to pick things up and make them happen. It can be a challenge! We totally respect each other’s talents which makes what we have unique. We’re two best friends working together, loving what we do, so what could be better?!” a move to Dartmouth away from
where they both had their family lives was a big decision but the call of the sea was strong. mat explained: “We’d always talked about having a restaurant by the sea and then The seahorse building came up. It was a pizza restaurant before and we completely gutted it, right back to the stonework, to create an Italian influenced seafood restaurant, serving good quality local fish such as turbot, sea bass and sole. “We both love Italian food and the
family-based ethos of relaxed eating. We’re very family orientated ourselves – with nine children between us! “We visit Italy a lot and savour their seriousness about food. They always
OTHER HALF OF THE DYNAMIC DUO BEHIND THE HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL SEAHORSE AND EXPANDING ROCKFISH EMPIRE
serve fish on the coasts but there are marked regional variations. We don’t tend to do that so much in the uK, although there is a big resurgence in interest for regional food, with the evolution of local suppliers and farmers markets. people are becoming a lot more interested nowadays about where food comes from. “The seahorse has a relaxed,
unpretentious environment but we’re serious about what we do. It’s never about the chef in here but about the food and company. We’re all about giving our customers a really nice time and try to spoil them by keeping it simple but
Mitch’s brain works at a million miles an hour and I’m the guy running behind the whirlwind who has to pick things up and make them happen
using quality ingredients. “We first opened to a very busy
start. It was in the days of John Burton race’s new angel so there was a lot going on the south embankment. and now, in the seven years we’ve been here, we’ve built a regular customer base and a great following nationally. We’re very lucky that business is still growing. Being by the sea, Dartmouth is a great location for good seafood and with the growth in popularity of the Dartmouth Food Festival, I think people head here for those food experiences too.” The seahorse has also attracted national attention, including The Times columnist and restaurant critic Giles coren who rated it the best in Britain, calling it: “a restaurant I’d happily travel five hours to for supper.” Three years after starting The
seahorse, mat and mitch opened rockfish, to bring a similar relaxed
quality vibe to a family fish and chips restaurant. The rockfish brand has gone from
strength to strength and now has branches in Torquay and plymouth with a further one opening soon in Brixham. mat added: “all the branches are on a waterfront – the best place to eat fish and chips – and use local fish, including whiting, gurnard and pollock here in Dartmouth, mussels from elberry cove in Torquay, and crab in plymouth. The new place in Brixham will be on the harbour and using fish from the market next door.” For such a successful chef, mat is very modest about his skills. he said: “The cooking bit is easy – if
you’ve got good ingredients you can cook and if you enjoy eating you can cook too. When I started it was those that weren’t so academic at school who went into catering or worked in a restaurant.” mat grew up in Bournemouth and
started working in restaurants from the age of 13. he added, “I’ve always cooked. When I was 12, I won a WI cake cooking competition – beating the ladies with my Victoria sandwich! “I started out washing-up in
restaurants and got the bug for working in kitchens. There is a great camaraderie in hotels and restaurants. We all work long hours – six days a week, arriving in the dark and leaving in the dark, so we often live and socialise together like one big family. I wouldn’t say it’s unsociable, in fact, it is the most sociable industry in
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