BEST CHEF
DAVE MOTHERSILL (Furna)
Winner
Dave Mothersill has been known and respected on the Brighton scene for many years. After working as head chef at The Gingerman group, he went on to oversee the food of the Black Rock Restaurants, opening The Salt Room in Brighton and the London branch of The Coal Shed.
In late 2022, he finally opened his first restaurant, Furna, which has won this year’s Best Restaurant and Best Fine Dining awards and consistently wows diners with its inventive, beautifully presented seasonal cooking. The Michelin Guide has praised Mothersill for his ‘precisely crafted dishes’, while the Good Food Guide describes the menus at Furna as ‘epic’ with every course delivering ‘vivid flavours, on-point cooking and artful presentation’.
DUNCAN RAY (The Little Fish Market) - Runner up
Duncan Ray has a hell of a CV. He was part of the original kitchen brigade at Heston Blumenthal’s The Fat Duck, and also worked at the three Michelin starred Georges Blanc restaurant in France, as well as Michelin starred restaurants in the UK, including Lettonie and L’Ortolan.
He opened The Little Fish Market in Hove in 2013, which has since received rave reviews in the national press. The Telegraph said that he
‘is in the business of very successfully making fish taste its finest. Everything we ate was both perfectly and delicately realised’, while the Financial Times described him as having developed a ‘sure style and unimpeachable craft skills’. The restaurant holds three AA rosettes and is rated ‘Very Good’ by The Good Food Guide.
DAN KENNY (The Set)
Runner up
Dan lived in Ho Chi Minh city for two years before moving to Brighton to work at the acclaimed Gingerman restaurant. He first launched The Set as a pop-up for Halloween in 2014 at the Artist Residence hotel, and since then its concept (and location) has changed and evolved.
Now based at Cafe Rust on Preston Street, guests at The Set can expect a wildly creative and surprising multicourse tasting menu, and to be taken on a dining journey of up to three hours which promises '‘big flavoured umami and fat-led food”.
“There are no rules,” says Dan. “We’re not a fine dining restaurant. Expect delicious food, drink, music and laidback service without the faff.”