Great Pub Chefs - Great knights out

Take one Russian chef and a village inn that has just been reborn to celebrate its links with King Arthur… and you've the makings of a legend. Clive Beddall pays a visit to the Camelot in Somerset.

Look on any map and you will be hard pressed to find South Cadbury, a sleepy Somerset community of just 65 chocolate box cover houses and a motley collection of farms. Yet this quintessential English village, a stone's throw from the busy A303 that links London with the west, has carved a special niche in tourist folklore, thanks to the notion that King Arthur once wielded Excalibur there. Towering above the spot is Cadbury Hill, the Iron Age hillfort reputed to be the site of Camelot, mystical domain of the legendary Arthur, his unfaithful Queen Guinevere and Merlin his magician. Archaeologists, led by the distinguished late Professor Sir Mortimer Wheeler, installed it on the tourist map in the '60s when they proclaimed that, if there really had been a King Arthur, then Cadbury Hill was more than likely to have been his stamping ground.

Yet, surprisingly, the Camelot legend has not been perpetuated at the village pub - until this summer. For in July, South Cadbury's Red Lion (formerly the New Inn) was reborn as the Camelot. Thanks to a group of enterprising locals - including the well-known Montgomery farming and Cheddar cheese-producing family, who own the property and much of the surrounding land - the Camelot has been created. And, thankfully, this is not a case of pushy marketing men assembling a Hollywood-style tribute to the Arthurian legend. There are no plastic-sword wielding staff running around in doublets and hose and the only concession to 21st century marketing is a discreetly arranged display of costume drawings from the recent screen epic about Arthur and his chums. At first glance it's still your traditional, sleepy West Country freehouse with an unassuming façade and carefully tended flowerbeds by the door. Go inside, however, and you are in an intelligently revamped local that has the menu and ambiance to rival many of the well-established culinary hostelries that populate that corner of England.

The Camelot offers visitors a comfortable, homely atmosphere backed by a skillfully compiled menu that, just a few weeks after the opening, is already attracting the culinary afiçionados from the chrome and glass bistros of Battersea. And, oh yes, there's even a skittles alley to keep the But much of the Camelot's rapidly growing reputation is due to its chef, a modest 33-year-old Russian, Sasha Matkevich, who gained his early cooking skills at the knee of his grandmother in the Caucasus Mountains. He later honed those skills at several upmarket London eateries. Sasha smiles proudly when he tells you that he designed the Camelot's new kitchen, bought the equipment and oversaw its installation, and even brought in two chefs from Poland and France, with whom he had worked before, to reinforce the cooking offer. "The Camelot is the first place where I am actually cooking what I want to cook, in total freedom. For me, as a chef, it is a dream come true,"​ Sasha says with a broad smile. Yet while the fare is a far cry from the simple meals produced during his childhood back in Russia, Sasha is quick to point out that the experience was a major influencing factor on his future career. "I used to spend my three months' summer holidays from school in my grandmother's village. We had a huge garden where we grew fruit, which we preserved for consumption in winter."​

After a brief stint as an art student, the Matkevich culinary career began in earnest at a gastro college in St Petersburg. A short spell in the Soviet Army followed and then in 1994, having met his future wife - a girl from Somerset who was working in Russia - he moved to England. At that stage his only knowledge of UK food came from legendary stories about "British puddings" that had reached the college in St Petersburg. He admits that he received "amazing training" in London's hotel kitchens. "My eyes were opened wide, especially when working with Philip Britten at the Capital Hotel. "My grandmother had taught me how to cook one item perfectly. But Philip showed me how to get different things together in one dish. It was in his kitchen where I first told myself that I wanted to make a real career out of cooking. "When I was in Russia, cooking was boring. All the recipes had come from the state and in those days Big Brother told you what to do."​ Sasha was excited at his first sight of a British pub. "It is trendy to talk about gastro pubs, but I have realised that developing good menus is the only way for pubs to survive these days."​ Having said that, his philosophy of cooking is to ensure that meals always "look good". "I have told my staff here: think about the products that you create. Everything you cook should be attractive to you, and make you want to eat it. Otherwise, cooking becomes routine and factory-like, and then you have failed."​

The Camelot customers' only real clue to the nationality of the chef is a blackboard proclaiming a list of Zakuski - Russian appetisers - with items including marinated anchovies and chives and pickled mackerel and dill. And word has it that they are becoming as popular as some local fare, including West Country potato crisps. But does he miss anything about the food in his native Russia? The answer is swift: "Yes - cold soups, fresh apricots and watermelons." Having said that he admits a liking for fish and chips and traditional British breakfasts.

Chef's CV -​

Name:​ Sasha Matkevich Age:​ 33 Experience:​ Grew up in southern Russia in the foothills of the Caucasus mountains, a region with fertile soil and a warm continental climate which produces an abundance of fresh vegetables. Interest in cooking began at an early age, inspired by his grandmother and favourite uncle. Started his professional career in St Petersburg after first studying art. Emigrated to England in 1996 and spent several years in London working at top restaurants including the Capital Hotel with Philip Britten and the Halkin with Stefano Cavallini. Having moved to Somerset, worked as a sous chef with Adam Fellows at the Mulberry Restaurant in Charlton House before heading up the team at the Devonshire Angel, a newly refurbished gastro pub in Long Sutton. Ambition:​ Has realised it by becoming head chef and a partner at the Camelot.

In the hot seat -​

What is the next big thing in pub food?​ People will begin to open their minds much more towards using beans and pulses. After all, they are healthy and they taste good. What's your favourite piece of kitchen equipment?​ A sharp knife. You can do a lot of things with a knife. The range and quality of knives that you can buy here, compared with Russia, is very impressive. What is your favourite ingredient?​ The cep mushroom. It's a classic item for adding flavour. Are you joining the trend towards using more regional foods on your menus?​ Definitely. We are using a lot of meat, fruit and salads from this region of Somerset, for example. Is the customer always right?​ I used to disagree with that idea, but not any more. You need to keep customers happy. Were you pleased to see the end of nouvelle cuisine?​ It had a huge influence on the industry. But I was very glad that it died out. It was not good value for money. Some chefs tended to overdo everything. It was not my idea of good food.

The Camelot factfile -​

Menu philosophy:​ To offer a broad range of imaginative, value-for-money food Style:​ A freehouse that retains a traditional English pub atmosphere and has a warm, "homely" feel Owners:​ A new company, the Camelot at South Cadbury, which includes five local partners. Wet:dry split:​ 40:60 Covers per week:​ 350 - after just six weeks in business and with no advertising Capacity:​ 80 covers Average spend p​