Scott Dineen named head chef of Rocksalt in Folkestone

former executive chef at  Baxterstorey Scott Dineen has been named head chef of Rocksalt restaurant in Folkestone, Kent.

Scott, who is a local to Folkstone, has spent the last 10 years in London working for the catering company BaxterStorey. 

Rocksalt, which is currently closed for maintenance, is set to reopen on 11 February with a brand new kitchen and, Scott told The Staff Canteen, "some chef goodies." The chef said that along with "taking the restaurant into the next 10 years with a new driver, a new focus, and really elevate the food and service" he will also be able to popularise the local produce.

'I want to really shout and sing about the produce, the local farmers and the dayboats'

He said, "My ambition was to be able to cook locally, to cook in my home town and obviously where better to place a beautiful restaurant - literally situated in the harbour of Folkstone."

Within the next year, he said that he wants to "really shout and sing about the produce, the local farmers [and] the dayboats and really accentuate the quality produce on the plate."

Rocksalt opened in 2011 as Mark Sargent's first solo venture after his time spent working for Gordon Ramsay in London. However, the chef left Rocksalt, as well as Smokehouse and the collection of pubs he was involved in November last year, citing "unresolvable differences of opinion" between himself and his business partner.

Prior to joining BaxterStorey, Scott Dineen worked at The Ritz, where he developed his skillset with firm classical foundations in fine dining and haute cuisine.

He moved into catering as a junior sous chef but worked his way up to the role of executive head chef, overseeing BaxterStorey's high-end contracts within London. This included clients for fine dining, events, and banqueting. 

Being a local to Folkstone commuting into London for work made his work-life balance difficult, so when the opportunity came up a Rocksalt it was, in the chef's words, "too good to turn down."

Scott was also a finalist for the Roux Scholarship four times having competed in it five times.