Meet East Quay's new chefs

We are enormously proud to have appointed two exceptional chefs to the East Quay Kitchen; Richard Pettitt and Sean Goswell both brimming with talent and mouth-wateringly delicious food. Here's a little bit about them, and we look forward to you tasting their food for real!

Head Chef, Richard:

I’ve been cooking professionally for about 20 years now.

During that time my career has taken me from my hometown of Northampton all over the country and beyond. In London, I worked for Gary Rhodes at Rhodes Twenty Four. I worked at the 5 star Corinthia hotel at the time of it’s opening as well as at The Ritz and Pollen Street Social. I did my work experience at the 2 Michelin starred restaurant The Ledbury. I’ve also worked with Ampersand Events, the prestigious event cater who had the contract for all of the Royal Palaces.

My family moved to Somerset so I decided to join them and open up my own restaurant in Taunton called Anise. In a short time we were awarded the #1 restaurant status in the town and #3 in Somerset and Bath. My restaurant was Mediterranean but with a lot of Anglo inspired elements. I tried to use local ingredients when possible and just served the type of food that I enjoyed cooking and more importantly eating. Sadly I had to close when the pandemic hit.

I’m interested in all types of cuisines and like nothing better than cooking for friends or family.

Unfortunately working as a chef this means that the opportunity seldom presents itself! My main interests outside of food are history, travelling and art. I’m always on the hunt for experiencing new foods. Even when I’m on holiday I’ll take cookbooks with me to read.

I think that working at East Quay is an incredible opportunity for me to be a part of an exciting project. I hope to cook some really appealing dishes, create a buzz for locals and people from further afield. I like introducing people to new flavours but I also like putting my own spin on some familiar classics also.

Assitant Chef, Sean:

Originally from Oxfordshire, I’ve spent the last three years with my family living in the seaside town of Minehead. I’ve worked professionally as a chef for over twenty years, working both here in the UK and abroad. My early career started with me working in quality hotels both in my hometown of Oxfordshire and a number of hotels across the UK. With stints in Ireland and Stockholm to name a couple.

Myself and my family moved to Somerset to have a more relaxed way of life, having holidayed here for a number of years prior to us moving, and it’s a County I have always loved. Cooking has been an integral part of my life for more years than I can remember, and my ethos has always been to cook with fresh, and wherever possible local produce. Good produce means that the food can speak for itself rather than forcing flavour onto it.

I would consider my style of cooking to be modern British with a Mediterranean edge to it. But I feel we are so lucky to live in a multi cultured society, where so many food cultures influence us all the time. Away from cooking, I love to travel, read and indulge in my other passion of photography.

I’m really looking forward to getting to work and being part of the East Quay Kitchen team, and am relishing the opportunity to create something new and exciting for the local community, and help in making the East Quay kitchen somewhere that people will want to travel to.

Food image credits: Richard Pettitt, find more examples of his food at his Instagram page: muyrico82

July 2021