THE co-founder and chef of an acclaimed restaurant which relocated from Kent to Mersea has spoken about his love of cooking, online negativity, and the hospitality industry.
Ben Crittenden, 36, runs the award-winning restaurant, Stark, in East Road in West Mersea, alongside his wife, Sophie.
The pair launched the eatery back in 2016 in Broadstairs, Kent, and have won numerous accolades for their seasonal six-course tasting menus.
Before completing its move to Essex at the beginning of July with its opening, the restaurant was the only Michelin-star restaurant in Thanet, which they retained since 2019.
Sophie is originally from Mersea, the duo had always dreamed of opening a restaurant in the area but couldn’t because nothing was available at the time.
So, Ben has been keeping an eye on the former Seafood At Dawn site for the last eight years.
During a conversation with The Gazette Ben spoke about what he loves about being a chef, and he also acknowledged how it’s well-known to be a high pressure industry.
He said: “It’s all I’ve ever done, I was at school, got a job in a kitchen, I wasn’t bad at school, but I wasn’t one for the education system, I was always busy as a kid, so I knew I wanted to get a job.
“The catering and hospitality side, once I started doing it, I loved it, I was lucky to work with a good group of people.
“They encouraged me to pursue it, once you do it, people love it because of the creative side of things.
“It’s a pretty high turnover sort of job but If I’m good at something, I want to be as good as I can be.
“I’ve always known my limitations of what I can and can’t do, some chefs make things look pretty on plates but not tasty, I’ve always focused on the flavour.”
Prior to opening Stark, Ben worked for the Michelin-star restaurant The West House in Kent, where he cut his teeth working with rockstar-turned-Michelin-chef Graham Garrett, before competing in MasterChef: The Professionals in 2014.
As Stark prices start at £90 due to the range of quality ingredients the restaurant uses, Ben has spoken about online criticism and negativity they sometimes face online.
He said: “Me and Sophie are just parents trying to support our kids, when it gets put out what we do, the amount of abuse we get is horrific.
“It is personal because we built up this restaurant,
“We base our service on relaxed, informal, and we’re just serving food.
"Our price point is higher than some places, but we believe it is value for money, as what we use is expensive.”
Ben believes that popular cooking dramas like The Bear which has enthralled audiences around the world, has the ability to highlight certain truths about the hospitality industry.
He said: “The cooking drama The Bear, I watched it a while ago, it highlights how hospitality is a f**ked up industry, it is about overworking and driving yourself into the ground.
“I used to work silly hours, like 80 hours a week because I loved the job, and I thought I was invincible but after three years I got burnout.
“It is bad, I think The Bear highlights the mental health issues that are pretty rife in the industry.
“It’s why I work alone; I don’t want to be around anything toxic.”
To find out more, head to starkfood.co.uk.
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