Chef Martin Carabott On Farm-To-Fork Dining At Gravetye Manor

Chef Martin Carabott joined Sussex hotel Gravetye Manor as executive chef in March 2025. Originally from Malta, Carabott’s career has seen him work in some of the most prestigious kitchens in the world. He won the Roux Scholarship in 2018 at the age of 29, while serving as senior sous chef at Hide in London. After winning the scholarship, he completed a stage at the world-renowned three Michelin-starred Eleven Madison Park in New York, and most recently, Carabott did a stint at London’s Luca before joining the Gravetye Manor team.

Under his leadership, the team crafts dishes that celebrate the very best of seasonal and homegrown produce. He works closely with head gardener Tom Coward to make full use of the 35-acre estate, which includes the unique elliptical walled kitchen garden, fruit orchards, glasshouses, and Peach House. We get a glimpse inside below.

Q&A: Gravetye Manor’s New Executive Chef Martin Carabott

You’re collaborating with one of the UK’s most respected gardeners. How do you see this relationship developing over the next four seasons?

Tom is a great person to work with, very knowledgeable and passionate so it has been easy for me to find common ground with him. We meet often and are in constant conversation about the produce starting, finishing and what’s in store for next year’s growing plan.

William Robinson created the gardens in 1885 and celebrated nature rather than wanting to control it – he was ahead of his time. How are you conserving this heritage as executive chef?

I believe my food style is very much aligned with the same vision William Robinson had for his gardens – very natural and, rather than altering and manipulating mother nature, using experience and a confident approach in order to let natural beauty flourish. In cooking, this means that the seasons dictate the plates.

How does the elliptical walled kitchen garden inspire your food?

The kitchen garden has really been the foundation of menu planning for me, having a brilliant gardening team and keeping the conversation ongoing with them has been key to making the most of the produce from Gravetye. I look forward to more seasons to come.

The wild natural and colourful gardens are a beautiful contrast to the refined food served in the restaurant. What is the most important aspect of the ingredients offered from the garden and orchards?

The most important aspect is the fact that fruit and vegetables can fully ripen on the vine or stem before getting picked and used, sometimes in as little as two hours. This luxury cannot be replicated in other settings where fruit or vegetables need to be picked under ripe and ripen in transit, the flavour just isn’t the same.

What can we start seeing on the menu this autumn?

We have a huge variety of apples which are now ready, quince has just gone on the menu, red kalibos cabbage, crown prince pumpkin, kales, variegated radishes, turnips and I think the Jerusalem artichokes are almost there. There is also no shortage of beautiful beetroot varieties.

What are the main challenges when working so closely with the seasons?

The biggest challenge is being ready with the right dish for when something comes into season. For this I rely on experience really, and I am very happy with how we have managed to keep up so far. Having an ever changing menu presents other challenges such as ensuring the team is always up to speed with new techniques and dishes, but luckily the team is vibrant, enthusiastic, and loves that challenge as much as me.

How do you fill the void of harvested food in the winter?

I am yet to see a winter at Gravetye so I might be better equipped for this question next year as so far I have taken each season as they come. In the past, I have found no shortage of great produce in the UK at any time of the year so I am really looking forward to what the kitchen garden has in store for us this winter.

Favourite ingredient to work with?

There are a number of ingredients I love to work with a bit more than others but these change with the seasons, and are always based on what I personally like to eat in that particular season. For autumn, I think it would have to be venison for me personally.

What do you think is the future of fine dining in Great Britain?

The future is bright, fine dining has gone from strength to strength globally in the past two decades and despite the current challenges, there will always be a demand for special experiences such as an inspirational meal somewhere nice.

The gardens were created 140 years ago this year. What would be a suitable celebratory dish to mark this anniversary?

The first thing that comes to mind is a 140-ingredient garden salad. I will put it to Tom and the kitchen team, but whether or not it will feature on the menu remains to be seen.

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