Our very first Secret List chat with Jude Kereama, owner and Chef Patron of Kota and Kota Kai restaurants in Porthleven, Cornwall.
Born in New Zealand, his Māori and Chinese-Malaysian heritage infuses his cooking with bold, innovative flavours, all crafted from the finest local Cornish produce.
Kota has been recognised by the Good Food Guide and the Michelin Guide, with a prestigious Bib Gourmand, and 3 AA rosettes.
Jude has appeared in four series of the Great British Menu and was South West Champion and banquet chef in 2021. He was named ‘Chef of the Year’ in the 2019 Trencherman’s Guide Awards, and earned the Trencherman’s Award for Special Contribution in 2020.
A true innovator redefining Cornwall’s food scene.
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I think Kota and Kota Kai are great fun, restaurants are both very different.
Kota is more fine dining, very modern, but it really is all about seasonal ingredients. It’s very ingredient-led, organic, line-caught fish. It’s all about the freshest shellfish. We have our own crab fishermen, lobster friends, lobster fishermen. And we’re very lucky with our produce. We also have the best farmers in the UK, our butchers. So that’s why, you know, at Kota, it’s always so about ingredients. Very, very seasonal. At Kota Kai it’s more family, and so it’s a bigger restaurant, and it’s, I guess it’s about dishes that come from my background.
I’m Chinese, Malaysian, Maori. My mum is Chinese-Malay, so a lot of the food that we had, had spices in hints of Singapore or Thai and Malaysia. My mum’s best friends were Indian, and I think that’s what reflects the food that we have at Kota Kai, so it’s bigger bowls, you know, punchier flavours.
And so that’s they’re both very different.
I’ve been lucky enough to eat at Kota Kai, but not at Kota yet, so I need to get myself down there.
Come on down.
So, Cornwall’s got an incredible food scene. Where would be your top three places to eat?
Well, I’ve got to say, there are so many good places to eat. One place I’ve been to recently is Ardor in St. Ives. It’s really great, really fab, amazing chef there, Dorian Janmaat, who is originally from Penzance and went off to London, actually worked for Raymond Blanc for many years and has come back and he’s doing some fabulous food.
I don’t want to go to St. Ives again, but I have to. I love Porthminster Cafe. The setting in Porthminster Beach is so beautiful. I think it’s one of the most beautiful places you can be, and the food’s always great there. Yes, okay, Mick Smith, the owner, is my friend, but he knows how much I love his food.
Whereas, Nathan Outlaw’s food is unbelievable. It looks so simple on the plate, and that’s what’s so deceiving, the flavours, the little nuances. He’s a master. He is absolutely wonderful.
What about if you’re going for a drink with some friends?
My local is brilliant. So, the Ship Inn in Porthleven, it’s stunning, right on the sea. But it’s it is very beautiful for the fact that it’s been on the AA Pub of the Year front cover a couple of times. So that kind of tells you it’s a very iconic spot.
You go in there. It’s darkly lit, there’s shanty songs, there’s lots of locals, it’s buzzing. It really is a very earthy Cornish pub to go to. It’s hilarious.
The Beach House in Falmouth. I don’t know if you’ve been there yet.
I haven’t been there yet. We were going to go a couple of days ago. That view is unbeatable.
Again, they do great cocktails there, great views, and that’s pretty wonderful.
How about the Mussel Shoal down the front in Porthleven. I mean, there’s very few places that are that close to the sea.
Last time I was in Porthleven, which was a couple of weeks ago, I went there and spent about two hours just chatting away to a few locals and supping beer and it was amazing.
And so, food producers, you know, obviously we’ve got an amazing array. Which would be your top three of those where you source your ingredients?
We’re so ingredient led, but I think for every day, because I’ve got some lovely guys who specialise in, you know, line caught fish just for us, so but for every day, I mean, we’ve got Vicky’s Bread. The integrity behind each loaf is wonderful.
So that’s all organic, organic ingredients, got sourdough base, so it’s been made with a lot of love and it’s wonderful, it’s so consistent and every loaf of this is delicious.
It just burns a hole in your pocket but you know what, it is worth it. Worth every single penny.
Don’t go for rubbishy food because it’s cheaper. Go for something that’s going to be good for your gut and good for your soul and good flavours. So that’s Vicky’s Bread.
We’ve got amazing organic fish. If only I can remember Mark’s shop, it’s just opened two weeks ago, and it’s in Porthleven. It’s an organic shed, so he’s got organic milks, juices, all the vegetables you can find.
He’s got his own farm as well, so he’s producing so many great ingredients.
He brings it in. And we go over and we just buy from every day.
And then for butchery, I mean, it’s quite a long way to go, but if you’re visiting Cornwall, you go down the A30. There’s a sign to Pennygillam Estate. It is Warren’s butchers.
So you go up to Warren’s butchers, you come into court, it’s just off the 8:30, so it’s like a one-minute diversion.
You go there and you have never seen so many people behind the counter. You must go, there’s about 14 butchers, all in a line with every single cut of every animal that you would possibly want.
That’s a great place to stock up on your way down.
You will never see better, aged meat anywhere, everything that you can find, everything’s made in-house, and they were rated the best butchers in the UK last year. And they’re my butchers. And so, what better way when you’re coming down, fill your fridge full of their healthy and rare breed animals, really beautiful.
And then fish, I’ve got a local fish monger just here in town, Quayside Fish, it’s great, I mean, again, day boat fish. He does go to the market, but you know, we’re blessed for seafood here in Cornwall where we’ve got, especially here, we’ve got Newlyn down the road, we’ve got Saint Ives Harbour, we’ve got our own fishermen, we’ve got the Lizard fishermen.
But they they do sell great stuff at Quayside Fish, really easy to pick it up.
And what about drinks producers? They’re really on the rise and there’s a lot of people doing some interesting stuff with drinks in Cornwall.
You know, I’m very much a Sharps Beer man. I love everything they do at Sharps.
And another – It’s based in in Rock – Verdant.
I am quite partial to a Light Bulb. You know what, it’s so much one of my favourite set ups in my bar too. So, I’ve made them serve Verdant, and it’s probably me that drinks it all.
And we’ve got some great wineries.
Cornish sparkling wine is unbelievable. We’ve got Camel Valley, we’ve got Trevibban Mill, we’ve got Knightor, sparkling, just beautiful wines, and of course got all outsiders, so great places.
And one last question – one special tip for a lovely experience in Cornwall?
I am such a Kernow-phile. I love Cornwall and I wouldn’t move anywhere else. But I just think it’s about the Lizard. The Lizard Peninsula is so untouristy, very unknown, and it’s just beautiful.
Walking that Southwest Coastal Path. I run it quite it quite a lot, just about every day along this coast, either left or right out of the house.
I’m just always blown away by the beauty.
So go into your shops, pick up a little picnic, get it in your rucksack and go for a walk down those paths and take some swimmers and wherever you go for a walk, you’ll find lovely beaches.
Go for a dip, make sure you do your pub trail as well and you know, just look at your maps but walking’s the best thing, the best way to see you anywhere.