Sarah Hayward, head chef, The Coach in Marlow: ‘Tom Kerridge encourages creativity’

Despite still being in her early 30s, Sarah Hayward is rapidly approaching a decade of working for Tom Kerridge.

Having grown up on the Isle of Wight, Sarah, whose dad is also a chef, started out her professional journey in the industry with an apprenticeship at The Royal Hotel in Ventnor.

Five years later, following a spell at Lucknam Park, she linked up with Tom, at The Hand & Flowers.

Sarah moved around celebrity chef Tom’s businesses, her first stint at The Coach coming in 2017, before moving up to the Bull & Bear in Manchester.

Then, in 2021, she came back to Marlow, taking over from Tom De Keyser as head chef at The Coach, retaining the Michelin star it first earned in 2018.

“My biggest fear when I came here was the size of the shoes that I had to fill after people like Nick Beardshaw and Tom De Keyser,” Sarah admitted.

“They’re both incredibly talented chefs, with big ideas and very big personalities. So that was the thing I was most nervous about when taking over the reins.”

She needn’t have worried.

Sarah’s fine continued work at The Coach saw her crowned the 2023 Michelin young chef of the year.

LIFE UNDER TOM KERRIDGE

Reflecting on her long stint with the Tom Kerridge Group, Sarah said: “I am one of a few that have been with Tom for 10 years or more.

“I think that speaks volumes about what he’s like as a person and what he’s like to work for, because I don't know many other businesses that have got quite an alumni of staff who have been there for so long.

“He really looks after us and takes care of us. It's not just that, he gives you the room to grow.

“As a young chef, that is always incredibly important, to feel like you've got room to learn and grow as a person.

“One of the best things about working with chef Tom as well is that he allows that creativity. He encourages the creativity.

“He very much wants you to be able to put your own stamp on the menu. Before I came here, The Coach had probably never had a baked potato on the menu and now it's one of our signature dishes.

“There are not many things that he doesn't encourage.

“We’re a really close-knit community between The Hand, The Coach and The Butcher's Tap, we all work really closely together. We are like a little family and we help each other out.”

Asked how she finds the responsibility of being head chef, Sarah added: “It does come with a certain amount of pressure, but, for me, it's about how you deal with that pressure.

“I like to think of myself as someone who's relatively calm in the kitchen.

“It’s a comment that I get a lot from customers. They sit in front of the kitchen and always go ‘the kitchen is so calm’. I just always joke about them watching too much Gordon Ramsay!

“I don't know anything else. I've been in kitchens from a very young age. My dad is a chef and he is the exact same. He's super chilled, never shouts.

“I worked with him when I was at school, plating up puddings and doing the washing up and things like that. I don't know if that is the reason I'm quite collected within the kitchen. But I've worked for shouty chefs and it doesn't particularly get you anywhere, so I don't think I let the pressure get to me. I try not to show it anyway, even if it does.”

MICHELIN-STARRED PUB

As for The Coach itself, how difficult is it to strike the balance between being a pub for locals, as well as a Michelin-starred dining experience?

“We're right in the heart of Marlow and we very much value the traditional sort of pub ethos, but I'd probably say we elevate the dishes ever so slightly to your usual pub classics,” Sarah explained.

“I think there's a lot of pub elements here at The Coach. You've got the low ceiling, you've got the wooden beams, you've got the leather banquettes. And then you've also got this incredible, yet small, bar space where we serve real ales and local beers and local gin and tonics.

“You can sit at the bar and have a conversation with the bartender or the chef. I think not just that, but food menu is ‘pubby’. We sort of take pub classics and elevate them.

“So maybe we stand out more in the pub world rather than being a traditional pub, but we share a lot of the same values and we work quite closely with that.”

She added: “Tom is massive on it being a boozer.

“We welcome guests with open arms who just want to come in for a quick pint and we work really closely with a lot of local suppliers.

“The beauty of The Coach is where it's an open kitchen, you can create that relationship with customers.

“They have their regular spots in the restaurant and we know their drinks order before they sit down and things like that. With that relationship, you can kind of ask the customer what they want. Are there old dishes that they want us to bring back or are there new dishes they want to see?

“It’s that relationship that makes The Coach so special. You actually build that relationship with customers. Normally, chefs are gremlins that hide in the back and that's kind of where they stay!

“I think a lot of the dishes on the menu you would find in any kind of traditional pub, but they're not quite what you would expect. They're dishes with a twist.

“So yes, we have a chicken Kyiv on the menu and a burger and a risotto, but the risotto has no rice, the burger has seven different layers and the chicken Kyiv is not one that you'd buy from Tesco.

“They're all just slightly elevated, slightly different and normally with a twist that you probably don't quite expect, but they're still great. For me, it's the food that I would want to eat. There's something on the menu for everybody. It's very accessible.

“There's a lot of stigma around Michelin-star restaurants in that people can read a menu and not know what a lot of the ingredients are.

“But with The Coach, there's a lot of things on the menu that are appealing to most people.”

A PLACE FOR ALL COMERS

Sarah cites passion and love for the job as key factors behind being able to thrive in the industry.

Looking to the future, she said: “For me, success is bums on seats, happy customers and also doing what you love.

“Tom drives it forward every day and that gives you the motivation to want to also drive it forward every day.

“We have this set lunch menu that's £15 for two courses that fills seats, but doesn't necessarily make loads of money. But there's nothing worse than coming into an empty restaurant.

“We love the fact that it brings people in. That’s sparked something.

“It's a very versatile place. People can not only come for a £15 set lunch menu, but they can come for the golden wedding anniversary or mum's birthday. I think that's quite cool.

“We could literally fill this dining room with regular guests. I've personally never worked anywhere that's like that before.”