Mark Jordan joined The Atlantic as Head Chef in July 2004. Mark’s previous experience includes the position of Head Chef at the award winning Gilpin Lodge in the Lake District and prior to that Mark was Head Chef at the highly acclaimed Pink Geranium Restaurant in Cambridge.
Mark’s earliest influence was working for celebrity chef Keith Floyd at his well known pub restaurant in Devon. He then worked as Sous Chef at Jean-Christophe Novelli’s Michelin-starred restaurant in Hampshire before gaining more experience at a number of highly rated country house hotels including Congham Hall and the Michelin-starred Mallory Court.
Working together with the Genuine Jersey Products Association, Mark Jordan uses the best local ingredients whenever possible. The summer months see the introduction of Mark’s Menu de Terroir which is designed to feature exclusively the finest and freshest produce from Jersey’s coast and countryside. This five course tasting menu uses many products which already have international recognition and arrive straight into the kitchen bearing the distinctive Genuine Jersey logo.
Mark decided at school that he would pursue a career as a chef, and his first job saw him spend three years with Keith Floyd before he met Jean-Christophe Novelli. Novelli had a profound effect on Mark as he inspired him to create food of a Michelin Star standard by introducing him to the best combinations of ingredients which appeal to the five senses of cooking: smell, taste, texture, touch and sight.
Where’s your kitchen?
My kitchen is situated at the Atlantic Hotel which is located on the west coast of the Island overlooking St Ouen’s Bay in the parish of St Brelade.
What’s your style?
I use twenty-four years of experience working with French, Italian and English chefs and have developed my own style which I suppose you could say was classic with a modern twist, for example, Scallops and Apple, Rabbit fillet with Rhubarb confit - classic pairings, but with a modern approach and style.
How has Jersey influenced your cooking?
Jersey has completely changed my whole view on cooking. Although I have always tried to use local produce in the past, nothing could have prepared me for the vast selection of local produce available in Jersey until I started working in the island.
I am in a situation where my menus write themselves - by this I mean that the seasons in Jersey strongly influence my menus, for example in the months of May and June I can put rod caught Jersey sea bass on the menu along with Jersey asparagus, and in February, March and April, the famous new season Jersey Royal potatoes.
What do you recommend?
I have a lot of favourite dishes, but if I was to choose one it would be the Red Mullet which is served with local peppers, duck foie gras and a ‘surprise’ of red mullet cappuccino.
Favourite restaurants in the world (apart from your own, of course!)?
My all time favourite restaurant would have to be the French Laundry in the Napa Valley, California followed closely by Alinea in Chicago and WD-50 in New York.
What are you like to work with? Are you highly charged or composed, a Gordon Ramsey or a Delia Smith?
I believe that the days of bullying and intimidating younger chefs are a thing of the past. I strive to nurture and develop my chefs by leading my team from the front and teaching them the rights and wrongs of cooking. This builds their confidence, and leads to me keeping my brigade together for a long time which in turn helps with the consistency of the food. During service I like to be on the pass where I can make sure that all the dishes go out to a Michelin star standard.
Away from the kitchen what do you enjoy doing?
When I am not at work I am with my family, Matti, Mia and my beautiful wife Magda. When I am not with my family you will see me with my second passion, my stunning red Ducati 750cc motorbike.
Mark writes about the seasonality of food and a favourite dish of his:
"Colours aren’t the only things that change with the seasons. People’s palettes alter, and I have to reflect this in my menus. The lighter appetites and tastes of summer are replaced by the more earthy, substantial flavours of autumn and winter. So off comes the lobster salad and chilled consommé, to be replaced by dishes like seared scallops with sticky oxtail and crushed peas, or maybe an autumn truffle risotto.
The seasonality of the produce itself dictates changes. Fishermen cannot get out as often because of the rougher seas, lobster and sea-bass become scarce. But thankfully we can rely on a plentiful supply of ingredients like venison, wild duck and monkfish – all dishes that lend themselves to gentle roasting and pot roasting in tune with autumn’s tastes as opposed to the summer staples of poaching and flash searing.
My favourite autumn dish? It’s cannelloni of sole with seared scallops, warm ratatouille and dauphinoise potato. For me it’s perfect because the potato and the accompanying sauce make it a heartier fish dish than you’d serve in summer but still not as heavy as a typical winter dish such as roasted turbot with braised celery and oxtail crépinettes (flat sausages) and a red wine veal jus."
Where can I eat Mark Jordan's food?
Mark is Head Chef of Ocean Restaurant, The Atlantic Hotel, St Brelade