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When Charlotte Baker casually mentioned to her husband, Joe, over breakfast one morning that he would receive a phone call from the BBC that day, he was understandably surprised and intrigued.
She had applied for him to take part in the Great British Menu and the application had been accepted.
"It was a programme that we had always watched together, so once the initial bemusement passed, he was really excited about the opportunity."
Pictured: Husband and wife duo, Joe and Charlotte Baker.
At the time of his appearance on national television, Joe was running Number 10 in Bond Street, a restaurant which he had opened in 2016 with the support of his parents, Jolyon and Annie, who also run Le Braye beach bistro.
"I was 25 when we opened Le Braye – too young really – but I had loved cooking from an early age," Joe reflected.
Tracing that early culinary love to his childhood, Joe recalls "eating well as a family" and "always loving cooking".
In fact, as that passion continued into his teenage years, unbeknownst to his contemporaries, he signed up to a two-year cookery course at Highlands.
"I didn't tell anyone outside the family because I didn't think it was very cool but, once a week every week for two years, I would pack up my ingredients, jump on my scooter after school and ride to Highlands for a three-hour class," explained the former Victoria College student.
Pictured: Joe recalls "eating well as a family" and "always loving cooking".
While he didn't then go to catering college – "I studied English literature at Durham University before changing my mind at the last minute and switching from a law conversion course to a masters in finance" – Joe never stopped cooking during those student years.
"I was always working in kitchens during the holidays and, while studying for my masters, I was working full-time – as well as finding time to party," he smiled.
During a gap year which took him as far afield as western Australia, Joe enjoyed what he describes as the "most formative experience" in his culinary life, with a stint at Bodegón Alejandro in San Sebastián.
"That really showed me what the profession was like. The staff there took it very seriously and drilled me hard," he said, adding that the challenge was further complicated by the fact that he didn't speak Spanish.
"There was a lot of gesticulation," he laughed. "It was the ultimate steep learning curve."
Pictured: Joe and Charlotte opened Pêtchi in the former Jersey Tourism building at Liberty Wharf this summer.
Despite the obstacles, it was an experience which stayed with Joe and which has helped to influence the style of the new restaurant, Pêtchi, which he and Charlotte opened in the former Jersey Tourism building at Liberty Wharf this summer.
And while the process of opening their new venture was anything but simple – "it was a nightmare," chuckled Joe – simplicity is very much at the heart of the restaurant.
"'Pêtchi' is a Jersey-French word, meaning to try to catch a fish," explained Joe.
"It is all about the pursuit and the feeling we get when we find that bounty," added Charlotte, who has a background in marketing and advertising.
"It's all about that reverence for the produce. Our goal is to be the restaurant that people think of when someone asks where they can go to get the best Jersey food."
Pictured: The couple is focused on sourcing the freshest and best possible local ingredients to feature on the menu.
With such an ambition, it is no wonder that the couple is focused on sourcing the freshest and best possible local ingredients to feature on the menu.
"What we do, day in, day out, is cook the best ingredients," said Joe. "As a result, it is quite likely that if you are dining in the restaurant in the evening, you will see the scallop diver arrive with his catch. It's honest, it's real and it shows the unparalleled quality of produce that the island has."
But it is not just the commitment to showcasing the finest local produce which Joe says makes Pêtchi unique in the island, with both the cookery methods and the restaurant's layout contributing to its sense of difference.
"There are a few restaurants with open kitchens in Jersey but none of them are quite as open as ours," he said. "We are also the only ones cooking over wood and charcoal."
Indeed, it was that desire to cook over an open fire which ultimately led the couple to close Number 10 and open Pêtchi.
"It was a tough decision," Joe acknowledged, "and, in many ways, it was slightly mad. We'd made the restaurant successful and paid off our debts but, instead of sitting back and enjoying that success, we decided to do it all again.
"Our daughter, Margot, had also recently been born so, in the space of a year, we moved house, became parents and opened a new restaurant."
Behind that "madness", though, was the couple's love of food and desire to "achieve the next step".
"We felt that the food had outgrown the space at Number 10 and didn't really reflect the ethos of what we wanted to achieve. It certainly wouldn't have been possible to do the open-fire cooking there," said Charlotte.
Pictured: It was the desire to cook over an open fire which ultimately led the couple to close Number 10 and open Pêtchi.
Having said that, when Joe and Charlotte first saw the space in Liberty Wharf, it was difficult to envisage how the "shell" would transform into the bar and restaurant, complete with reception area and private dining room, which diners see when they climb the stairs.
"There was nothing here when we first took on the space," reflected Charlotte who, having previously worked for Offshore International advertising agency when it was based in the site, had a definite feeling of "coming home".
"We had to put in drains, electrics, plumbing, ventilation and extraction, as well as build the kitchen and create the dining areas. To be honest, we underestimated what would be involved in the build and fit-out stage – a process which was further complicated as it is a Grade 2 listed building – but the opportunity to create something from scratch was hugely exciting."
Despite the headaches of the first six months of the year, as the couple look at the space now, they have no regrets about their decision.
"We could have taken on easier premises but then the end product wouldn't have had the character that we have," Charlotte added.
"When you go to work every day, you want somewhere inspiring and with the light pouring in, and the open high ceilings, this is a space which feels good.
"It is also a building rich in history and is home to the most famous flagpole in Jersey, as it was from the window in what is now the bar that the Jersey flag was hoisted on Liberation Day 1945."
Pictured: "Our daughter, Margot, had also recently been born so, in the space of a year, we moved house, became parents and opened a new restaurant."
With the work complete, diners can enjoy an unparalleled view into the kitchen, which features a "huge" bespoke Rhys Allen grill and a large pizza-style oven.
Meanwhile, in keeping with the aim of showcasing both the ingredients and the cooking styles, the reception area features a display of some of the wood used in the kitchen, as well as the fridges which are used for dry-ageing both meat and fish.
"We use different wood for different dishes," Joe explained. "On the grill, we tend to use holm oak charcoal, which is a really beautiful product, and then in the wood-fired oven, we use English ash. We probably get through at least a tonne of wood and another tonne of charcoal each month."
Although he admits that this adds to the restaurant's operating costs, Joe has no doubts that the benefits outweigh the financial impact.
"Firstly, people love to sit around a fire and eat," he smiled, "but, from a cooking perspective, if you add just a subtle whiff of smoke, you can really elevate the produce, particularly with shellfish. It's not about being aggressive and adding char marks. In fact, the sweetness of shellfish with the subtle flavour of smoke is actually very delicate."
Achieving this, though, requires hard work and skill.
"It's not just a case of coming into work and turning on the oven," Joe said. "You have to build and light the fire and then manage the fires to make sure that the temperatures are just right. While some items are smoked overnight over the embers, others, such as the breads, are cooked to order during service."
Critically, says Joe, this approach underpins the couple's commitment to showcasing quality produce in a simple, honest way.
"The idea is to be very 'un-chef-fy'," he said. "We are not hiding behind any gimmicks or techniques like fancy sauces or silly foams. Instead, we are showing an honesty to the food.
"A big part of a chef's job should be sourcing quality ingredients, working with suppliers and finding out from them what is at its best at any time.
"It's not a case of saying that you want such and such on the menu. Instead, you have to ask these suppliers what they have and then it's your responsibility to showcase it."
Pictured: "In many ways, it's quite funny because our inspiration for Pêtchi was very much Jersey, a place which we both really love."
In this, Joe says that much of his inspiration comes from Elkano, a restaurant in the north of Spain.
"The chef there says, 'buy well and don't mess it up' – and that sums up our ethos, which is why you will find a side dish of tomatoes, from Three Oaks, served simply with nothing more than oil and espelette pepper because anything else would detract from the quality of the fruit," he explained.
"Similarly, the wood-roasted greens with burnt garlic and garum is so simple but really champions the ingredients. There is actually a lot of skill in keeping dishes so simple."
From the feedback received during the first three months of service, though, it is a skill which is appreciated by diners.
"A lot of customers who used to come to Number 10 have said that the food has gone up a level since we opened Pêtchi, which is really gratifying as it was a big step to switch from one restaurant to another," said Charlotte.
"In many ways, it's quite funny because our inspiration for Pêtchi was very much Jersey, a place which we both really love," said Joe.
"However, a lot of people come in and say that it feels like a London restaurant, as it's so cool. Wherever they feel that it could sit, though, our goal is very clear and that is to create a restaurant which people don't say is 'great for Jersey', but a restaurant which they say is 'great'.
"We want to stand up against the best anywhere in the world."
This article first appeared in the October edition of Connect Magazine, which you can read in full below...
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