He's the experienced chef using delightful local produce and now with his very own restaurant on the edge of the New Forest - plus a mop! 

Colin Nash, of Colin Nash Restaurant at The Retreat near Christchurch, talks Mudeford sea bass and sweet egg and soldiers in our meet the chef column

What first inspired you to become a chef?

"I was cooking with my mum when I was about 14 in a restaurant called The Copper Skillet in Christchurch. It was a small restaurant where the chefs used to mop their own floor at the end of the night. The head chef always had the mop bucket next to him, while the rest of us had to walk what seemed like miles to rinse the mop out. I thought ‘one day I want that mop bucket next to me’!"

What was the first meal you cooked for someone else?

“I made a Christmas cake at school. It was dry and rock-hard. Not my proudest moment."

Tell us a bit about your career so far...

"Well, I’ve been around the block a few times in various restaurants, pubs and hotels. I studied at Bournemouth College, then went to Langan’s Brasserie in London which was a great learning curve. Then I went on to Stanwell House Hotel in Lymington, and The Three Tuns in Bransgore amongst others. I have learnt so much from chefs in the area. The great thing about being a chef is you never stop learning."

(Image: The Colin Nash Restaurant) What is your proudest career moment to date?

"Opening the Colin Nash Restaurant and having the mop bucket next to me!"

What is your signature dish?

"We do a great dessert called egg and soldiers. It all looks like eggs, but it is a molecular construction with mango, passion fruit and panna cotta."

(Image: The Colin Nash Restaurant) What is your favourite dish currently on your menu?

“Pheasant tikka with our own korma sauce. It’s a take on chicken tikka but using local pheasant that is very under-used. Lots of pheasants are shot and buried because the organisers can't sell them on, which is against my principles."

Where is your favourite place to eat in Hampshire?

"The Elderflower in Lymington. They serve consistently good local food - you can taste the freshness."

What is your favourite meal to cook at home?

"A whole sea bass that I caught myself in Mudeford - very satisfying."

What do you like to drink with dinner?

"I do love a good Rioja."

What is your culinary guilty pleasure?

"Duck pizza at Soho in Christchurch."

Which key ingredient is always in your fridge?

"Garlic. We use it a lot in sauces and dressings."

What is your favourite Hampshire ingredient?

“It has to be Dan Tanner’s asparagus. Delicious."

(Image: The Colin Nash Restaurant)