Adam Handling Hosts Michelin-Starred Chef Series at Newquay’s Ugly Butterfly

Fistral Beach is about to become the most interesting place to eat in Britain, at least for three nights between June and September.

Chef Adam Handling MBE has lined up three of the UK’s most exciting Michelin-starred chefs to cook alongside him at Ugly Butterfly by Adam Handling in Newquay, with a combined nine Michelin stars between the collaborators across the full series.

The four-hands dinner series kicks off on Thursday 4th June 2026 and runs through to September, with each chef taking over the open kitchen for one night only. Tickets are £175 per person, excluding drinks and service, and can be booked through [email protected].

The line-up

Three dates, three chefs, three very different cooking styles.

Nieves Barragán, Sabor and Legado, London – Thursday 4th June

First up is Chef Nieves Barragán of Sabor and Legado, with the evening run in collaboration with Estrella Galicia. Nieves grew up in Bilbao in Spain’s Basque region, regularly heading to the market with her mum, a passionate home cook, learning the value of fresh ingredients and traditional cooking. She originally studied graphic design in Bilbao, working in kitchens to support herself, before realising her deeper connection was to food.

In 1998, at 19, she moved to London with no English and no job lined up, and got a kitchen porter role at Simply Nico. She rose through the ranks and by 2003 was Sous Chef at Fino in Soho, becoming head chef there in 2006. Barrafina opened in 2007 and earned a Michelin star in 2013, and she eventually oversaw four locations.

Her first solo restaurant, Sabor, opened in Mayfair in 2018 with JKS Restaurants. Named after the Spanish word for flavour, it spans several spaces, a ground floor bar and counter serving tapas and seafood inspired by Andalusia, and an upstairs Asador focused on Galicia and Castile with dishes cooked over wood fire. Sabor won its Michelin star just eight months after opening and has held it since.

Legado, meaning legacy, opened in August 2025 and earned its own Michelin star six months later in February 2026. The restaurant tells the story of Spain through its regions, traditions and ingredients, with a vibrant taberna at the entrance leading into a double-height dining room.

Andy Beynon, Behind, London – Tuesday 21st July

Andy developed the idea for Behind long before opening, driven by a desire to build a customer-focused, interactive dining experience where chefs engage directly with guests. He started shaping the concept during the Covid-19 pandemic, which, despite its challenges, gave him the chance to launch his self-funded restaurant.

Behind opened in October 2020 and earned a Michelin star within 20 days. Built around a curved counter where dishes are prepared, served and explained by the chefs themselves, the restaurant focuses on sustainable British seafood and hyper-seasonal ingredients, combining depth of flavour with a clean, minimalist style in a relaxed fine dining setting.

Simon Hulstone, The Elephant, Torquay – Tuesday 8th September

The series closes with Chef Simon Hulstone of The Elephant, the bright, informal seaside restaurant by Torquay harbour run by Simon and his wife Katy. It was the first restaurant in Torquay to win a Michelin star and has held it since 2006.

The Elephant has a reputation for one of the best value Michelin-starred lunches in the UK. Many of its ingredients come from the restaurant’s own farm in Brixham, with dishes changing regularly depending on what’s at its best locally.

What’s on the plate for the first dinner

The opening night with Nieves will feature snacks followed by three dishes from each chef and a dessert. Guests get the chance to chat with both chefs before sitting down, and the meal will be paired with Estrella Galicia Cerveza Lager 4.7% and the non-alcoholic Estrella Galicia 0,0%. Wine is also available.

Leonora Mellish, Marketing Manager at Estrella Galicia, said: “We’re proud to bring together two Michelin-starred chefs through a collaboration rooted in the shared connection between the Cornwall and Galicia Atlantic coastlines and its extraordinary seafood produce. With gastronomy at the heart of Estrella Galicia, this partnership perfectly reflects our passion for exceptional food and beer experiences.”

Estrella Galicia has been brewed by the same independent family-owned company in Galicia since 1906, using traditional methods for a minimum of 15 days. It’s Spain’s number one preferred beer brand, with a long-standing affinity with food, particularly seafood, reflecting its Atlantic heritage.

Why Adam wanted to do it

Adam said: “I’ve always believed the most exciting things in this industry happen when you cook alongside people who see food in a completely different way to you. This series is about exactly that. Bringing together chefs I genuinely admire and letting those different perspectives, backgrounds and styles collide in 6 exclusive menus with some of my friends and legends in the industry, bringing together 9 Michelin Stars between us.”

He added: “This time we’re doing 3 dinners at Ugly Butterfly and 3 at Frog, to make it a little easier for guests to join us wherever they are in the country. It’s going to be amazing and something guests hopefully won’t forget anytime soon.”

A bit about Adam

Adam runs the Adam Handling Collection, which includes Frog by Adam Handling, Eve Bar and the Adam Handling Chocolate Shop in London, The Loch & the Tyne in Old Windsor, and The Tartan Fox and Ugly Butterfly in Cornwall. He’s passionate about British food, sustainability and fighting food waste, working with British suppliers and seasonal ingredients across the Collection.

His awards list runs long. Scottish Chef of the Year, British Culinary Federation’s Chef of the Year, Craft Guild of Chefs Restaurant Chef Award, and Chef of the Year in the Food & Travel Awards. He was, and still is, the youngest person to make the Caterer’s 30 under 30 to watch in the 2013 Acorn Awards. In 2020 he was voted Restaurateur of the Year in the British GQ Food and Drink Awards, and earned his first Michelin star at Frog in 2022.

He was crowned Champion of Champions in the 2023 series of Great British Menu with his Food Fight trifle dessert, inspired by Dundee publishers DC Thomson to mark the 80th anniversary of the Beano and Dandy, voted best dish by the British animator and illustrator guests at the banquet. In 2024, the Collection made Foodservice Equipment Journal’s 30 Under 30 guide, Adam was named Restaurateur of the Year – Independent at the Cateys, and he was appointed MBE for services to Hospitality and International Trade in the New Year Honours List. In January 2026, Ugly Butterfly in Newquay was awarded its first Michelin star.

The Collection works with charities including The Felix Project and Quintessentially Foundation to fight food waste. Adam is also a GREAT Britain and Northern Ireland Ambassador, HMG’s flagship international communications programme, and was chosen to create one of five official recipes for King Charles III’s Coronation, a Strawberry and Ginger Trifle made at coronation celebrations across the UK. His Majestic Chicken Pie also won The One Show’s Coronation Dish competition, announced live by Dame Mary Berry.

Adam has made numerous TV appearances including Saturday Kitchen Live, Great British Menu and judging on amateur MasterChef and MasterChef: The Professionals. He has authored four books, the most recent his boxset trilogy: Frog by Adam Handling, Why Waste?, and Perfect, Three Cherries.

And there’s more in London

The London arm of the series runs at Frog by Adam Handling in Covent Garden from Monday 7th September to Tuesday 3rd November, as part of the ongoing Friends of Frog collaborations. Chefs from Lyla, Orrery and Midsummer House are joining that run. Bookings go through [email protected].

For anyone wanting another bite of the Adam Handling Collection, The Tartan Fox down the road is hosting its second Food Festival from 12th to 14th June 2026, with chef demos, blind tastings, live music, an artisan market and feasting nights.

Ugly Butterfly by Adam Handling, The Headland, Fistral Beach, Headland Road, Newquay TR7 1EW. 01637 839739.