By Ben Shore
Working Lunch |
  | Producer Ben on St Martin's |
Just how good can soup be? It's a question I had never asked before, but the shell fish and truffle triumph in front of me had changed my perspective. I noticed I was sipping deliberately slowly because I couldn't bear the thought it would end. It wasn't food love, it was food lust; a chronic case. I hadn't expected this passionate affair on the Isles of Scilly. In fact, when the idea of doing a series of reports from the islands was first mooted my immediate reaction was to quietly find out where exactly are the Isles of Scilly. The answer is 28 miles off the south west coast of Cornwall. The initial idea had come about because our reporter Rachel had noticed that a restaurant on one of the islands had won a Michelin star. This meant the Isles of Scilly, population 2153, had a better restaurant than anywhere in Greater Manchester. Long journey  Helicopter ride between Penzance and St Mary's island |
Just how on earth had Kenny Atkinson, the chef at the "Tean" restaurant managed it? It wasn't just that many of the ingredients had to be flown in by helicopter, it was the fact that he was only open for eight months of the year that fascinated us. How do you maintain Michelin starred levels of service with a temporary staff, we wondered? To answer this question we had to take a very long journey. St Martin's is around 350 miles from London, and to say there's no direct route is putting it mildly. First we took a train to Penzance, then a huge military-style helicopter to the main island of St Mary's, and then, finally an extremely fast "jet boat" to the tiny island of St Martin's . In total the journey took just under 24 hours and under normal circumstances we would have been shattered at the end. But arriving in St Martin's in the early morning, and seeing the views across the cobalt blue ocean to the other islands in the chain, we were all simply stunned by the beauty of our home for the next three days. Huge impact  St Martin's On the Isle hotel which relies on seasonal workers |
We didn't have much time to ponder our luck though, because we had to start work. Our first report was on the importance of seasonal workers to the economy of the Isles of Scilly, using the hotel on St Martin's as an example. Through the winter months the hotel maintains a staff of just five, but when the season starts it needs to recruit an extra 30 people. Of those, 15 will come from outside the UK, with a very strong contingent of Slovakians and Czechs. I came to see how for people who work in the hotel and catering industry, the political and economic debate about migrant workers is not abstract or theoretical at all, it has a huge impact on how they manage their business. The hotel manager made a particularly poignant comment when he said he didn't think that British people saw the hotel trade as a career option anymore, while people from the continent did. He was very sad about this, having worked his way through the ranks at the Savoy. Michelin starred  The team took the ferry service which travels between the islands |
Our second day on St Martin's was spent shooting a report on Churchtown flower farm, where they grow a flower called the "scented narcissi". The Julian family who run the farm are an inspiration, having turned round the business from almost certain bankruptcy to a turnover in the millions. But the real highlight of the day was when I persuaded Rachel and Sara (our camerawoman) to film some shots from the hill at the back of the farm. The views from the top were breathtaking as the island chain stretched out in front of us. I don't think I have ever finished a filming day with everyone in such a good mood. Our final day was focussed entirely on Kenny Atkinson, the Michelin starred chef who had sparked our interest in the first place. Having spent the previous day almost entirely outside in glorious sunshine, it was initially a shock to be filming indoors again. Real pressure But the intensity with which Kenny runs his kitchen soon put pay to any longing for the views.  You can watch the reports from the Isles all week on Working Lunch |
He controlled the service in a mesmerising way, apportioning duties to individual members of his team while assembling every single dish himself. I tend to think a TV newsroom can be quite a pressurised place, but having seen this Geordie dynamo cook, I realised I didn't know what is real pressure. And then the day finished with that quite extraordinary soup. The best thing about working in TV is usually the visual memories we take away with us, and it's true there was no shortage of those on the Isles of Scilly. But I think the thing that will live with me from this trip is the taste of the best soup of my life.
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