Budock Vean’s new head chef Dale McIntosh has a MasterChef past

The kitchen at Budock Vean Hotel & Spa on the Helford river has a new man in charge, and he arrives with a record most chefs never get near. Dale McIntosh has been appointed head chef at the four-star hotel near Falmouth, moving across from one of the town’s best-known seafront kitchens.

Eight years at Gylly Beach behind him

Dale joins Budock Vean after more than eight years at Gylly Beach Café in Falmouth. During that time he helped build the café’s fine dining evening menu, ran themed dining events and developed a popular summer seafood and barbecue offering.

Born in Kent and now based in mid Cornwall, Dale has worked across a string of respected restaurants, hotels and gastropubs. That list includes Merchants Manor Hotel, Bustophers Bar Bistro and The Pandora Inn.

The MasterChef run

In 2016 Dale reached the quarter-finals of BBC’s MasterChef: The Professionals. He made it into the final 12 from an original field of 48 chefs drawn from across the UK.

He is a familiar face on Cornwall’s food scene too, appearing at demonstrations and festivals around the county. He opened the 21st Falmouth Oyster Festival. And he has form with the county’s biggest names, having won the Cornish Challenge with a locally sourced seafood dish judged by Michelin-starred chef Nathan Outlaw.

Cooking from the estate and the coast

Dale’s cooking leans on game, fish and shellfish, and at Budock Vean he wants to make the most of what grows on the hotel’s own estate and what can be foraged nearby. The plan is a menu built on quality, seasonal produce and confident, uncomplicated cooking.

The hotel sits within 65 acres of sub-tropical gardens on the banks of the Helford, with its own private foreshore, a James Braid-designed golf course and a spa. Dale will work with the existing kitchen team on the food side.

“Cornwall has one of the finest natural larders in the UK and Budock Vean is uniquely placed to make the most of it,” Dale said. “We have produce growing in the grounds, ingredients we can forage locally, and fantastic fish, shellfish and game on our doorstep. My aim is to create honest, confident dishes that showcase those ingredients at their best and give guests a dining experience they’ll remember for the right reasons.”