Unique Dining Concept Behind Thanet's Only Michelin Star Heads to Essex
After making waves in Kent with their Michelin star restaurant Stark, Chef Ben and Sophie Crittenden have relocated the unique dining experience to Mersea Island.
The husband and wife duo’s long-term dream has always been to settle in the idyllic, Essex coastal area where Sophie grew up, and the new restaurant offers nearly twice the covers of the previous, 12 seat restaurant.
Stark broke the mould of traditional Michelin restaurants - there is loud music, dark walls, no white table clothes or frills and famously, Chef Ben works alone in the kitchen of the intimate venue, meticulously crafting the frequently changing, seasonal six-course tasting menus.
It started life as a tiny sandwich shop on an inconspicuous street in Broadstairs, which Ben and Sophie transformed into a destination dining spot. Ben won The Good Food Guide’s Chef to Watch award in Stark's second year, and it became the only Michelin star restaurant in Thanet by its third year, which they retained since 2019.
Described as “dazzling” by Good Food Guide editor, Elizabeth Carter and “the real deal” in a glowing Guardian review by one of Britain’s most revered critics, Marina O’Loughlin, Stark has become a Mecca for foodies over the past eight years.
Their motto is “good food, laid bare” and the new restaurant offers the same pared back decor and skilled flavour combinations using seasonal ingredients, as Ben says: “If it’s not in season, it has no flavour and no right to be on the plate.”
Expect £90 set menus featuring two meat dishes, like the duck liver parfait, confit leg, ginger bread, hazelnut and apricot; two fish courses, like mackerel, cucumber dashi, lardo and borage, and two desserts, like the clean and fresh goat's curd, pistachio sorbet, lemon puree and grape.
Guests can accompany this with an optional wine flight for £55 from natural wine aficionados, Les Caves de Pyrène.
They are bold and uncompromising in their offering, not catering for allergies or dietary requirements, due to the nature of the set menu, Chef Ben personally preparing all dishes, and to reduce food waste - every diner is served the same menu each evening.
Before opening Stark, Ben worked at Michelin star restaurant The West House, Kent, where he cut his teeth working with rockstar-turned-Michelin-chef Graham Garrett, before competing in MasterChef: The Professionals in 2014.
He almost left the restaurant business in 2015 due to a bout of depression, which he discusses unflinchingly in his must-read book, Stark - an important insight into mental health and cheffing with gorgeous recipes.
But the 2016 launch of the original Stark saved him, allowing Ben to continue his passion for food, while having a better work/life balance for him and Sophie with their three young children, which now continues in Mersea Island
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Notes to the Editor
Address: Stark, East Road, East Mersea, Colchester, Essex CO5 8TQ
Opening Hours: Wednesday to Saturday. Tables are available from 6pm-8.30pm
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charli@cultmediacollective.com / matt@cultmediacollective.com / 020 8355 7864