A well-known figure from the South West hospitality world is embarking on a new culinary enterprise. CATHERINE COURTENAY went to meet him to find out more
“I don’t expect you’re used to seeing a chef in slippers!” Chef Dez Turland opens the door to his Combe Martin home and greets us with a big smile and a joke about his footwear.
There are plenty of preconceived ideas about chefs, that they’re moody, temperamental sorts, who terrorize young kitchen trainees. But that surely can’t ever apply to Dec, who must be one of the South West’s most welcoming, friendly and engaging culinary heroes.
Dez gets to work on the raised beds in his garden.
– Credit: Jim Wileman
His slippered feet (also sporting entirely appropriate orange socks with fried egg designs!) lead through to a spacious kitchen which is kitted out with everything a professional chef would need, and it is absolutely spotless. The view through the floor to ceiling window looks down across the garden to the River Umber and the hill beyond. There are newly planted fruit trees and raised beds where Dez is experimenting with growing veg and herbs.
After a tour of the garden, we’re back inside, and there’s a plate of his freshly made cakes on the kitchen island. Chunky chocolate and salted peanut brownies and delicate Earl Gray and lemon drizzle cakes. The lemon came from his own lemon tree, which clearly enjoys soaking up the heat from the south facing stone terrace.
Dez is enjoying experimenting with his home grown produce, but he’s equally passionate about working with local producers and suppliers, people he has worked so closely with since moving to Devon, that many have become good friends.
He first stepped into a kitchen over 40 years ago, in his home city of Birmingham. It was a little Italian restaurant and he remembers the moment well.
Dec produced his own Earl Gray and lemon drizzle cakes as a welcome to his home.
– Credit: Jim Wileman
“My first job was chopping parsley. I said, ‘Is this okay boss?’ ‘No, finer!’ he replied. More chopping, ‘Is this okay boss?’ ‘No, finer!’” Eventually, Dez’s parsley reached the required standard. “I was so pleased with myself, but then chef said, ‘Okay. Now do the rest of the box!’ I spent the whole day just chopping parsley.”
Dec soon left Birmingham to go to London where he worked in top level kitchens, from the law courts to a private hospital and the Ritz Hotel. He then moved to Cornwall as sous chef at the Alverton Hotel, followed by a head chef job at the Greenbank Hotel in Falmouth. From there joined the Brend hotel group, working initially at the Royal Duchy before becoming development chef and in 2010, moving to Devon to be based at the Saunton Sands Hotel.
Dez has worked in many kitchens, he’s trained many youngsters and developed brand identities; he’s also a master of the cooking demo and he’s a seasoned competitor.
Now, after decades of 16-hour days spent in the heat of a kitchen, he’s chosen a new path, that of the private chef, setting up his new company, Dez@SV, to offer bespoke dining options for people in a home setting .
It’s a move that came out of the coronavirus years, when work was put on hold, allowing precious time to stop and think. But it also resulted from a personal tragedy. Three years ago, Dec lost his wife, Rachel, who died very suddenly from a brain haemorrhage.
Rachel and Dez had been together since their college days and her loss was devastating. He seriously considered a move away from Devon, to be closer to their daughter, but friends warned him against any snap decisions and, as he says: “I’d been here 30 to 40 years and everyone I know was down here. I thought, did I want to start another life?”
Dez is bringing all his years as a chef to the plates of people in their homes.
– Credit: Jim Wileman
So, Dec stayed. And cooking, whether for his own friends, or his private clients, brings him happiness. It may go back to his family roots, he says. His mum was Austrian and they always valued sitting around a table together to cook and eat. “Food brings people together,” he says. He’s also perfectly at home, cooking in front of people, in their kitchens, chatting to them about the dishes he is preparing.
He also has his culinary partner, and girlfriend, Carolyn, a former friend of Rachel’s who also suffered the loss of her husband to cancer. Carolyn joins Dez on his private ding trips, working as front of house, looking after the diners, laying up the table with bespoke crockery, cutlery and flowers. “She loves doing it, and she is so supportive,” says Dec. “We’ve both been through the mill a bit.”
Losing Rachel made him step back and re-look at life, and see what’s important. He may have given up the camaraderie of a busy kitchen, but he says, “I’m quite happy being on my own,” and he still gets to cook for friends at home, which he loves.
Dez will never stop cooking, and he loves to chat to people. He’s full of smiles when he says: “I really love seeing happy people sat around a table, enjoying each other’s company, the food and the hospitality.”
Dez Turland always personalizes the menus for his clients.
– Credit: Jim Wileman
What’s on the menu?
Dez has devised a series of menus for groups of up to around 12 people. They range from a three-course classic menu to various taster menus, and a Sunday lunch menu. All can be adapted to suit – and are charged per head.
He’s also offering afternoon teas, which can be delivered to the door. Everything is made by Dez, with all the prep work done in his kitchen. Produce comes from the local suppliers, growers and producers he has worked with over the years; some produce, like the Exmoor beef, comes from just a few miles up the road.
Dez explains: “When I moved to Devon, my main aim was to use local producers as much as possible. These producers, the farmers, the fishermen – they became my friends.”
Dez is a big fan of the food at The Cornish Arms in Tavistock.
– Credit: James Baker
Where does Dec eat?
Dez loves to eat in different restaurants, being inspired by other chefs. “Food opens your eyes and as a chef you never stop learning,” he says.
He recommends:
The Cornish Arms in Tavistock: “It is one of my favourites. It’s so laid back and casual and has excellent food with such great flavors from chef John Hooker.”
Michael Caines at Lympstone Manor: “Michael is also such a great ambassador for the South West.”
Casamia in Bristol: “It’s absolutely stunning. An 18-course taster menu and the whole experience is something completely different.”
