St Peter Port restaurant Alba has been awarded a ‘Bib Gourmand’ by the Michelin Guide.
The award highlights those who offer “exceptionally good” food for reasonable and moderate prices.
Ahead of the Michelin Guide’s annual awards next week, it has announced the 37 restaurants globally that have earned themselves a space on the prestigious Bib Gourmand list.
Alongside Alba’s Head Chef, Billy Etheridge, owner David Matheson said “it was a surprise for us both”.
“On Monday, we’re good friends with the guys at Vraic, and they let us know.
“I wasn’t expecting it at all, having gotten in the guide, and then to get this…we’d spoken about it before. That it was probably the most relevant award for us, one that would be a target. So we’re over the moon.”
Much like Chef Nathan Davies, who has seen his restaurant Vraic named on a list of the Top 100 restaurants in the UK, Mr Matheson said he is still focussed on the future, although he does acknowledge that the Bib Gourmand is a really good accolade for his staff.
“The biggest award you can have is having a busy restaurant, because it means people like it and are coming back,” he said. “These awards all help, and they’re all great for the team. It sort of validates all the hard work which these guys and everybody do work very hard.
“For us, it’s very much about the product and showing it to be its best, and making it accessible to as many people as possible. I mean, it’s an expensive business going out to eat and drink these days, so you want to get a quality meal for that.”
Guernsey currently has three restaurants on the Michelin Guide, one on a prestigious top 100 list, and now one with a Bib Gourmand.
Alba, alongside Fukku and Vraic, were added to the Michelin Guide in December.
Mr Matheson is confident that the better his competitors do, the better for his team too.
“We’d had none (on the Michelin Guide) up until that point, so it’s great. This year is really exciting. The guys from Vraic are going to the Michelin awards on Monday, and fingers crossed they get a star.
“The more the merrier, the more places there are to come, the better for food tourism,” Mr Matheson added.
“There are a lot of people who go to ridiculous lengths to go and eat in certain restaurants around the world, so the more there is here, it’s better for everybody. Competition is good.”
The kitchen is led by Billy Etheridge, a local chef who was working in a restaurant with two Michelin stars in the UK prior to being approached and poached by Mr Matheson.
Encouraged to come back to the island, leading a kitchen with freedom appealed to Mr Etheridge.
“I grew up on Guernsey, so coming back was a big thing for me.
“I’ve definitely enjoyed the transition from a two Michelin star, to Alba. Dave gives me lots of freedom to be honest, with the creative side of things, which is one of my favorite things to do. Creating dishes and creating dishes together, I think, which is one of our biggest passions.”
It’s a first for Mr Etheridge, leading the kitchen as a Head Chef, and with the historic Market Building as its location, there are some quirks to the kitchen layout that the team managed to conquer.
“This is my first Head Chef job as well so Dave was taking a risk, one that I think paid off,” he said.
“The first couple of months was quite hard. We have a kitchen downstairs, and a kitchen upstairs, and three days before opening, we didn’t know what we were going to do.
“Then Dave just rocked up with some walkie talkies, and we went from there. It was interesting, but we got into our rhythm, and definitely found it.”
Having previously launched cocktail bar Laska, and restaurants Red, Rosso, and Tinto, and wine and cheese bar Rouge, Mr Matheson’s latest venture has had a successful first year, but with experience under his belt, he knows that it’s about continued performance, and striving to provide the best possible service, even in a tough, competitive market.
“I just think that every restaurant, or every hospitality business, is in a tough market. It’s expensive for people to come out. Having said that, I think covid taught us that when we didn’t have them, we missed them.
“I think it’s important that these businesses are supported, but we also understand that even going out for a light lunch is still an expensive thing to do these days.
“I think the Bib Gourmand shows that we’re trying to do that, trying to do excellent things for a reasonable price. So I think the more we can keep it local, the more we support each other, the more restaurants that are striving to do good things, the better.”