Entrepreneur partners with Michelin-starred chef for new restaurant

Friday 13 October 2017

Serial entrepreneur, Jonathan Ruff, and Michelin-starred chef Mark Jordan have joined forces to open the Cow and Lobster - a new restaurant based in the old Tamba Bar at the Waterfront.

Having left the Atlantic Hotel in May this year, Mark Jordan says he wanted to return to a 'stripped-back' version of what he is used to doing.

The unlikely duo met about eight months ago by coincidence as they were both interested in the same property for their respective ventures.

With Tamba Bar, "doing alright but not fantastic," Mr Ruff suggested the venue for a new restaurant and the chef loved it. Mr Ruff says: "We started brainstorming about what we could do, how we could do it and here we are. We have got an awesome restaurant, which is simplistic, with chosen produce, the best of Jersey and cooked by an awesome chef, in a relaxed, cool atmosphere."

This marks the first time that Mr Ruff, who runs Tamba Park and Tamba Arcade among other businesses, has partnered up with someone. "I run solo most of the time. This is the only time I am sharing, but with Mark it’s pretty easy. He leaves me to my side, I leave him to his side, if we need to have a chat about something we can agree on it quickly. We can make decisions, change decisions, up to today it’s all been fine. Let’s see how the future holds!"

Pictured: The bar at Cow and Lobster has got all the right wines to compliment the dishes on offer.

While Mr Ruff looks after the marketing and business growth side of venture, Mr Jordan is in charge of the menu. After the luxurious Atlantic Hotel and 'Mark Jordan at the Beach', he wanted something completely different: "Michelin was good for advertising and to get you recognised in the trade this side and the other but once you have done it for so many years, if you can’t move any further with it, you have to look at a different style."

Speaking of the menu, it features three main ingredients, all local: oysters, beef and lobster. "They have been friends for many years, they have helped my career. They are what made me successful," says Mark Jordan. But at Cow and Lobster, they have all been 'stripped back.'

The selection includes Mark Jordan's famous poached oysters, along with whole lobster, grilled, smoked or tempura style. For the meat-lovers, a selection of burgers is also available, as well as fillet, ribeye or sirloin steak.

"I want to be able to sit down and eat food that I really eat without all the pumps. This is what I like about this place, it’s stripped down. Never in my life I have done this. When I was planning a menu I had to have it in a leather binder, here it's on a piece of paper that we are going to throw away. I am serving main courses on metal trays. It’s completely at the end of the spectrum of what we normally do."

Pictured: Bokra Midnight designed graffiti art for Cow and Lobster.

Once the duo had agreed on a menu and a theme, Tamba Bar got a complete revamp with bricks and wood on the wall and a mix of red and white paint. The old simulators were turned into dining areas sitting up to 20 diners that people will be able to hire. References to the cow and the lobster are of course a-plenty with fishing nets, buoys and cow hides as well as graffiti art specially designed by local artist Bokra Midnight. The atmosphere the duo designed aims to bring the London-scene to Jersey.

The chef says he is "excited" about the new venture, opening on 17 October and he is hoping the recipe will work. "It's something that has never been done here. If it doesn't work, it's because Jersey doesn't accept it. I get so excited about this now, the whole concept of it, hopefully everyone else who comes through the door picks up on that as well. The best thing about it is that it is all local, everything you see on the menu is local and it’s there for a reason."

If Cow and Lobster proves successful, Jonathan Ruff and Mark Jordan could try to replicate the success. The entrepreneur explained that the two already have a few 'top secret' potential ideas. "Hopefully this could be the first of a few restaurants for us, we could have different themes. Mark has so many great ideas and he is so talented in the kitchen, he can do so many different things. We have got some great ideas, if we can make some of them a reality it would be nice.”