Meet The Team - Alistair Craig - Executive Head Chef

Introducing Alistair Craig | Executive Head Chef at The Montagu Arms

Meet Alistair Craig, our newly appointed Executive Head Chef at our New Forest Hotel. Alistair has always been enthralled by cooking and eating and with prodigious passion, his aim is to ensure that every mouthful of his dishes takes you on an exciting journey of flavour.

His dedication to cooking began when he enrolled in Northbrook Catering College where he was taught the very basics of cooking and learnt how to experiment with flavour and ingredients. It was during this time his tastes evolved and a great Chef was born. "I love eating and exploring every flavour in food; it’s a joy and it’s my passion"

Alistair’s career began right here at the Montagu Arms as sous chef at The Terrace Restaurant back in 2010.  Under the wing of Executive Head Chef and Roux Scholar, Matthew Tomkinson, he was taught by the best and was given the opportunity to work as his Sous Chef.  ‘It was a great experience and taught me how to treat ingredients with passion and care and to create my own identifiable style. I now firmly believe in the importance of developing myself, rather than trying to be someone else’

Ready for his first head chef role, he left in 2013 for The Horseshoe Inn, a small 2 AA Rosette restaurant in Scotland. Dubbed by Michelin and The Good Hotel Guide as one of Scotland’s best restaurants, his position as Head Chef gave him full responsibility for running the kitchen and creating a simple but delicious menu made up traditional Scottish dishes. 

After three years, Alistair returned to the beautiful New Forest at as Head Chef of our sister hotel Careys Manor’s flagship restaurant, Cambium. With the natural beauty of the forest as his inspiration, he created delicious, menus focusing on simplicity, quality of ingredients and exacting flavours. Alistair believes the enjoyment of food should engage all of your senses and be a journey through taste and flavour. 

We are delighted to welcome Alistair back to the Montagu Arms and look forward to him heading up the kitchen teams for both the Terrace and Monty’s.
 

Whether you are thinking about a career in hospitality or looking to continue on your career path, join our friendly and growing business offering many excellent training and development opportunities.

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