Country_Homes_and_Interiors_-_November_2019

MY FAVOURITE VIEW...

The bay of Port Isaac

ForchefMonicaGaletti,theCornishcoastlineprovidesanopportunity

to escape the city and enjoy nature and the simple things in life

About 10 yearsagosomefriends

ofmineboughta houseinCornwall’s

PortIsaac,wheretheyfilmDocMartin,

andeversincethenI’vebeengoing

backandforthtovisit.I’dbeento

Cornwallbefore,ofcourse,butonly

everforwork,andI’dneverstayed

anywherequitelikethis.

It’sa popularareainthesummer,

butI loveit justasmuchinthe

winter,too.Whentheseais really

rough,it’ssobeautifulandcalming.

I tendtostaytherewithmyfamily

andwelovetospendtimeouton

thebayandgobodyboarding–

whatevertheweather!Thereare

theseamazinglittlecaféswith

fireplaces,soyoucanbeoutin

thecoldwaterallmorning,then

comeinandwarmupbythefire.

Oneofmyfavouritethingsabout

Port Isaac is all the fresh seafood on

offer.Wejustpopdowntothe

fishingboatseachdayandorder

whatwewant– maybecrabsor

lobsters– andthenwegoand

collectit laterforourdinner.

Enjoyingfreshlycaught,simply

cookedseafoodis trulywonderful.

IalsoheadtoCornwalltoescape

thecity– it’squiet,calmandso

peacefulthere.It’stheperfectplace

tospendtimewithfamilyandfriends.

It’salsoaboutappreciatingwhat’s

thereandwhattheheritagehas

tooffer.I lovepoppingintoallthe

little,localshops,pickinguphoney

andclottedcream.You’vegotto

havesconeswhileyou’rethereand

reallyindulgeina nicecreamtea.

Therearealsoplentyoffantastic

walkstogoonthroughthewoods.

Spendingtimeinthecountrysideis

a great way to refresh your head any

time,butespeciallysoif you’ve

justcomedownfroma bigcity.

BeforeI gobacktoPortIsaacfor

anotherbreak,I’llbejudgingthe

S.PellegrinoYoungChefcompetition

inLondon– it’sreallyexcitingand

I’msohappytobepartofit.Ourtop

finalistsfromthisstagewillgoonto

competeintheWorldFinalsinItaly

nextyearand,althoughit’sa lot

ofpressurefortheseyoungchefs,

it’sa greatwaytoseewhatthey’re

capableof.I knowthey’veallbeen

practisingandperfectingtheir

dishessinceearlythisyearand,

forme,it’swonderfultoseewhere

they’vecomefrom,whatthey’re

passionateaboutandhowthat

comesthroughintheircooking.

TheUKandNorthernEuropefinal

oftheS.PellegrinoYoungChef

Competition is on November 12. FEATURE

THEA BABINGTON-STITT

PHOTOGRAPH

ALAMY STOCK PHOTO

Whetherthesea

is stillorrough,it

bringsa senseof

calm to Monica

MY FAVOURITE VIEW

162 COUNTRY HOMES & INTERIORS