Can a diner serving trad British food compete with Rick Stein?
You’d have to be either brave or stupid to open a restaurant in Padstow. The Cornish town, know as Padstein to locals, is home to Rick Stein’s empire. Comprising café, brasserie and restaurant, as well as a cookery school, deli and fish and chip shop, the amiable TV chef definitely rules the school and his popularity is broadcast all over town in the form of fully booked posters outside each restaurant and long queues at the shops and chippy. Custard diner, which opened in July 2007, is one plucky newcomer. The Custard team are well aware of the competition and to give themselves a decent chance have nicked Rick’s seafood restaurant chef, Dan Gedge, to head up their kitchen. Gedge’s kitchen offers up seasonal and local traditional British food – ticking all the right boxes in one go. The restaurant, near the harbour front, is a homage to fifties Britain with its floral wallpaper, scalloped edge mirrors and banquet seating. It’s comforting insta-nostalgia, even for those of us who weren
