As is the case with many chefs, Galton’s passion for food started at home, helping his mother with preparing meals.

“I come from an era where Sunday lunch was started at seven in the morning, and I would invariably help at some stage. I always wanted to make the pudding, but I would do all kinds of jobs.”

Although Galton showed promise in his home economic classes at school, his first love was always playing cricket. Leaving school at a young age, he went to play for Kent, but he was not quite good enough to play professionally. Luckily for him he still had another talent to fall back on – cooking.

He started out by selling home-cooked produce in the market town of Rye. Every Thursday he would take down a selection of food that he had cooked at his parents' home. The stall was very popular with locals, who turned out each week to sample ‘Galton’s Goodies.’

“I cooked all sort of things - cakes, flapjacks, biscuits and pies, and every week I would sell out. People just loved the home-cooked produce.”

As popular as the stall was, Galton yearned to learn the skills of the trade in a real commercial kitchen. His break came after his parents went on holiday to the Lake District. Staying in the famous John Tovey Miller Howe country hotel, they got speaking to the owner who told them he was looking for a pastry chef to train. Galton applied for the job, got it, and was thrown in without any prior training.

“I don’t regret the fact that I had had no formal training. It left me open to all sorts of options, and I wasn’t tarnished with college ways of doing things. I was taught in the school of hard knocks in the kitchen.”

After reaching the level of head chef at John Tovey, he set off to hone his skills further in America, Canada, London and South Africa. His inevitable homecoming happened in 1992, when he returned to Norfolk to set up the Morston Hall with his wife. The beautiful 17th century country house situated near the North Norfolk coast is the only hotel in the region to be awarded both three rosettes and a Michelin star.

“I believe that real cooking involves using the highest quality locally sourced seasonal ingredients and cooking it as simply as possible. Perhaps the best example of this philosophy is the fact that we only decide on the evening menu at Morston Hall that same morning, depending on which fresh ingredients are available.”

Gorton’s philosophy certainly strikes a chord with Michelin inspectors who awarded Morston Hall its first star in 1998.

“Even though the Michelin star came along ten years ago, I’m still very proud of it. I don’t think any chef should ever set out to achieve one, but if they are bestowed upon you, you don’t turn them down. And you try like hell to keep hold of it.”

Although Galton runs his kitchen to a very high standard, he still has his heroes.

“The Roux brothers inspire me because their style of French cooking is the building blocks of all cooking for me. Also, Atul Kochhar, because he represents something different to me, which I am not at home with. His style is really fascinating.”


Books
A Return to Real Cooking, Navigator Guides, 2006
Cooking at Morston Hall, Navigator Guides, 2006