Philosophy

"When considering an overall philosophy behind the food style and menu design at the Royal Mail, several key factors come to mind: seasonality; location; purity of flavour; and the use of technology to treat and present food in new and sometimes challenging textures and combinations of flavours.

Firstly and foremost we are driven by an awareness of season. Seasonal change determines what we are able to produce in our kitchen gardens and so ultimately what is produced by the kitchen.

In regard to location, we are fortunate to be in a rural setting where we have close contact with primary production. This allows for greater understanding of and respect for the natural environment and greater control over the production of our own non-commercially available resources. Our location also offers the ability to produce our own fruit, vegetables and livestock which allows for less reliance on traditional suppliers and production trends. 

I believe it is important to deal with food in a way that demonstrates the true nature or true flavour of an ingredient and therefore attempt to present or highlight the essence of that ingredient. Purity of flavour is imperative, as is lightness. Over the course of a meal I intend to present a range of flavours, textures and temperatures that demonstrate balance and integrity.

A key factor in our cuisine is the way in which we employ the use of technology to enhance these values. Cooking at low temperatures, extended cooking in temperature controlled water baths and the use of non-traditional ingredients to achieve unique textures all allow us to achieve our objectives. It is not important that the use of technology is apparent when dining at The Royal Mail, in fact quite the opposite. I believe that balance of flavour is most important and technology is used only to achieve this objective".  

Dan Hunter, Executive Chef