Guernsey is certainly not short of places to eat and for a small island of just 25 square miles, we are probably spoilt for choice. So, for a restauranteur, the challenge will always be to find a differentiator to help an establishment stand out from the crowd and offer something new.
Sam Jarrold certainly rose to that challenge when he opened The Hook in 2013. A lover of all things Japanese, the restaurant soon developed a great reputation for its sushi, sashimi, and other Japanese delights. At the time, Sam wasn’t convinced that Guernsey was ready for an all-in Japanese offering, so The Hook offered a hybrid mix of cuisines to cater to a wider audience with two kitchen teams working alongside each other.
Move on nine years and Fukku appeared in the Arcade in St Peter Port. Sam explained how his second venture came to be:
“We had a chef working at The Hook who was really keen on ramen, which is one of the main focuses of the Fukku menu. The concept behind Fukku was to create somewhere that was a bit more fun, informal and was more suitable for a quick lunch with a lower price point. Fukku was something totally new that Guernsey hadn’t seen before. It’s doing really well. We’ve built up a good lunch trade and the evening trade’s picking up too. The location is perfect for what we’re doing but it’s not big enough.”
Fukku’s success has tested the marketplace sufficiently for Sam to take the next step. His head sushi chef is joining forces with him and opening a Japanese restaurant in Smith Street in the old Guernsey Post Office building – the second iteration of Fukku. The Hook will focus on its European menu and the Japanese kitchen team will relocate to the new premises.
“We’re nearly 11 years down the line and we don’t want to stagnate. We want to really focus our menus and step up to the next level and bring something new again to Guernsey,” said Sam.
The ‘new-look’ Hook relaunched earlier this summer with an adapted menu, focusing on open fire and grill Basque-style cooking.
Another key aspect of Sam’s food ethos is the provenance of his ingredients. Anything he can source locally he does, and then this is supplemented by carefully selected suppliers in the UK with sustainability being of paramount importance.
“The emphasis we place on the source of our ingredients is both from an ethical point of view and also with regard to taste. Farming techniques, grass feeding, slow maturing – all these are important factors when we are looking for suppliers.”
As far as the new restaurant is concerned, planning applications are in and work is set to start once the final obstacles have been crossed. Capacity will be around double offered in the current Fukku location and will include an informal eating area as well as a ‘dining room’ plus a takeaway facility. Whilst for most of us it’s the former Post Office, some may remember a café on that site some years back. Inarguable is the building’s ideal location and great open frontage for Sam’s Japanese venture. Fukku’s popular dishes – ramen and sushi – will stay on the menu with scope for the chef to develop and try out different elements of Japanese cuisine on Guernsey palates. Food will also be prepared on teppanyaki style grills. And with research having been done in various London restaurants to create a truly ’Japanese vibe’ we can expect something really exciting from day one.
And 11 years on from the inception of The Hook, Guernsey seems ready for Fukku phase two.
“I think there’s definitely scope to broaden the cuisine offering in Guernsey,” said Sam. “There are a lot of good restaurants here and we’re looking to add something new. We could keep going with our existing concept but eventually it will become tired.”
Sam has worked in the hospitality sector for most of his adult life – as a youngster during his holidays in Christies and then as a young business owner when he ran The Townhouse bar in the High Street. He doesn’t see himself as a serial entrepreneur but more as someone who saw opportunities and seized them when he could.
Does he have anything else up his sleeve in the longer term? Nothing concrete but the words ‘breakfast’ and ‘good coffee’ were mentioned – watch this space!
