Jack of diamonds

After 10 years and several awards at the Jack in the Green Inn, near Exeter, Devon, head chef Matthew Mason is striving for even greater success.

With two AA rosettes, a Michelin Bib Gourmand award and three out of 10 in The Good Food Guide, this food-driven pub may have become a landmark on the West Country food map, but that doesn't quite satisfy the ambitious Devon-born chef.

Matthew's career started in 1990 at renowned Devon hotel Gidleigh Park, where he worked for two years under Shaun Hill. After that, he moved to a small restaurant in Exeter and the Silverton Inn at Silverton, Devon, before taking up his present job at the Jack in the Green in Rockbeare, just outside Exeter.

"I'm proud of our awards, but I'm 34 years old, I've been cooking since I was 18 and I still haven't fulfilled my dreams," confesses Matthew.

"I eat out with my chefs all the time, and we've all had worse meals in places with much higher Good Food Guide scores: that makes us even more determined.

"I know it takes time, but we're really focused on what we're trying to achieve. We'd really like to get a third rosette."

Of course, accolades don't always equate to profit and high turnover, but with more than 1,000 covers a week generating annual turnover of around the £1m mark, business is clearly booming at the Jack in the Green.

Since Paul Parnell bought the popular pub close to Exeter Airport 14 years ago, refurbishments have included three extensions, with more improvements on the way.

Matthew's arrival in 1996 marked a major upturn in business, as well as a complete overhaul of food served at the pub.

"Quality was very poor before I arrived," Matthew says, "with frozen filo prawns and lots of 'skittles' meals. Turnover has trebled since then: now I work with six full-time chefs."

Although the pub is regarded as a destination food venue, a daily bar menu offers pub classics such as steak and kidney pie with chips and fresh vegetables (£12.50), fish and chips (£12.50), a puff-pastry case of English asparagus with hollandaise sauce, salad and buttered new potatoes (£9.75) and best-selling peppered rib-eye steak with beetroot fondant, watercress, grilled tomato, mushroom and chips (£17.50).

For diners who prefer a full à la carte experience, the more ambitious restaurant menu features five starters, main courses and desserts. Dishes include scallops with gnocchi and truffle hollandaise (£8.50), Ruby Red beef fillet with a polenta croute and pesto (£19.50) and an assiette of raspberries (£5.50). Average spend amounts to about £30 before drinks.

"The game has become a lot more competitive in the last 10 years," says Matthew. "We

are aware that some of our prices are top end, so we try to budget accordingly. Our Ruby Red fillets cost us £5 so our profit on that dish is not very good, but we always hit our 65% GP by producing other dishes more cheaply."

Good housekeeping is key to the operation's success: with targets to meet and boss Paul to keep happy, Matthew is conscious that kitchen costs are always subject to scrutiny. He manages to remain within budget while sourcing the best quality, affordable ingredients, mostly from the local area.

Matthew's attention to detail, including serving seasonal vegetables with main courses, demonstrates his commitment to balancing profit with quality. The perfectly cooked selection accompanying my rack of lamb consisted of baby fennel, asparagus, courgettes, mange tout, peas, purple sprouting broccoli and green beans.

He says: "Not many pubs take much care over vegetables, but they're important. We pay a £1 a bunch for English asparagus in season, but any chef would be foolish to turn it down. We spent £350,000 on food last year but we saved a third of our costs by purchasing directly from Bristol market. I made the contacts myself and now we have fruit and vegetable delivered five times a week. We fax our order after our evening service and it arrives the next morning. The quality is great because nothing hangs around there - it's sent straight to us. We've never had a quality issue."

Matthew's latest business idea was to bake bread in-house with his pastry chef, Scott Patton, instead of buying it from a local bakery.

Says Matthew: "I love bread and I have a reputation for making it. At Gidleigh Park I spent a year-and-a-half in the pastry section where I baked it every day.

"When I realised that we were spending £300 or £400 a month to buy bread in from a bakery, it made sense to start producing it ourselves.

"First I had to convince the boss, but you never know until you try. Three months down the line we're making five breads: ciabatta, sour dough, soft white, buttermilk rolls and granary. They're consistently good, the customers like them and we've maintained our gross profit

"Of course, it takes the kitchen a bit more time, but to be honest I'm so focused and determined to make this work, I'd work 24 hours a day and most of my team are just the same."

Facts and figures

Covers for diners: 140 (including those

in the outside area)

Covers per month: 4,500

Wet:dry split: 20:80

GP: 65%

Bar menu: Peppered rib-eye steak with beetroot fondant, watercress, grilled tomato, mushroom and chips (£17.50).

Restaurant menu: Pan fried breast of wood pigeon with potato rosti and mushrooms (£6.50); Rack of lamb with ratatouille, goat's cheese mousse, châteaux potatoes, salad and black olive jus (£18.50); Peppered duck breast with poached rhubarb, ginger and potato fondant (£17.50); sticky toffee pudding with clotted cream and butterscotch sauce (£5.50).

Matthew Mason in the hot seat

Which chef has had the biggest influence on your career?

"Shaun Hill. I worked under him in my first job at Gidleigh Park [in Chagford, Devon] when I was 18 and I've never met a more experienced chef. At the time, I didn't know how lucky I was."

How do you motivate your chefs?

"Although I don't let my chefs choose

menus, I encourage them to think they've made a contribution. Of course, we try to pay them well so that they stay with us. As

an added incentive, if they work more than

50 hours a week, they get paid overtime for every extra hour. Some of our chefs have been here for five years - so it must be working."

What did you learn from working in fine dining restaurants?

"I realised that I'm a chef who believes that good food is for the masses - not simply for rich Americans."