After working his way through some of London’s best restaurants, Scott needed a breather. He returned to Kent with the aim of staying for just six months before heading back, but after an introduction to Peter Cornwell, the owner of The Swan in West Malling, he decided to stay put. ‘I worked as chef de partie at The Swan for a few years, just keeping my head down and not doing anything particularly noticeable, but Peter saw something in me and after three years I was made head chef at twenty-five years old,’ he says. ‘I worked there for seven and a half years and we achieved great things – including two AA rosette’s soon after I started – although when the recession hit in 2008 it was very difficult. I was a very young head chef and didn’t really know what was going on to be totally honest – I was just in that kitchen every day cooking my heart out. We were lucky enough to be featured on The F Word’s Christmas special, which was fantastic. It’s true what they say: if you’re on TV look out for the bookings!

‘After that I worked at The Swan at The Globe in London for a year, to see if I could take my food and make it work in the capital,’ continues Scott. ‘But by then me and my partner were expecting our first child, so we came back home again. At the same time, Peter was looking to grow and do his own thing away from business partners, so he started the I’ll Be Mother group.’ This was part of a plan to expand the ethos of The Swan to other venues, including among others The Twenty Six – a restaurant with just twenty-six covers and a seasonal, constantly changing menu – and The Beacon, which focuses on ingredients from its kitchen garden. And Peter wanted Scott to be a big part of it.

‘After an emotional move and a stint at Chapel Down while everything was being finalised, we opened The Twenty Six and The Beacon,’ says Scott. ‘Launching two venues in the same year was absolutely crazy, but we’re a year in now and it’s been fantastic. We were even chatting with the guys from Michelin in September, who said some very encouraging things.’

Scott is now head chef at The Twenty Six, in Tunbridge Wells, and executive chef at The Beacon and The Swan. His cooking is simple and lets the ingredients speak for themselves, while little touches such as using a clay teapot to pour seafood chowder over a monkfish tail adds a little theatre. ‘One of our house favourites is definitely inspired from my time with Gary,’ explains Scott. ‘Our smoked haddock rarebit was on the menu the first day we opened and it’s still there today. People come back again and again for that dish. Once I didn’t get a delivery of smoked haddock so I had to take it off the menu, and it basically ruined this guy’s life who’d travelled all the way from Surrey to eat it! It’s such a warm, homely and hearty dish which people seem to love.’

I’ll Be Mother is now known for its fantastic restaurants, and The Twenty Six in particular is doing incredible things with local ingredients. ‘The people of Tunbridge Wells are a pleasure to cook for – they know their food so you really have to get it spot on,’ says Scott, who realises how important knowing your audience is. ‘There’s all this Nordic influence at the moment, and some of the food being cooked is out of this world, but it’s not necessarily what my customers want to eat because they didn’t grow up with it. We’re proud to serve a very good steak and chips; it’s simple, but it’s how you turn it on its head to make it a memorable meal – that’s the key.’

There’s one mantra that Scott lives by – he’s only as good as the ingredients he chooses to cook – that has shaped his cooking the most. Luckily, being based in Kent means the number of good ingredients he has access to is huge. ‘We are spoilt for suppliers locally,’ he says. ‘Kent’s pheasant, partridge and rabbit is exceptional at the moment. I will always fly the flag high for the county, and I think we produce vegetables that are the best in the UK. Oliver Greens has the most amazing stuff and we work very closely with them because they respect nature. I want my carrots to turn up in the kitchen with the roots and tops still attached and all covered in dirt so I know it’s come out of the ground naturally, and they agree. Whether it’s the vegetables, the flour that goes into our pastry or the bones that go into our stock, I want to know where it’s come from. I’m not interested in uniformity.’

So what’s next for Scott? Is he planning to woo the Michelin inspectors and keep his fingers crossed for a star? ‘I want to push The Twenty Six as far as I can take it,’ he says. ‘I just want people to come here and have an amazing time. I’ll never cook for Michelin, but if they come and decide the dining experience deserves a star then fantastic. But I cook to make sure my restaurant is full of customers. As long as it’s full and they’re happy, then that’s a job well done.’