The sign saying Kitchen by Dominic Chapman has been over the door at The Feathers Hotel in Woodstock for the last few months, and it was flattering to be invited to run the restaurant.

I’m also chef proprietor at The Beehive in White Waltham, but here in Woodstock, Kitchen by Dominic Chapman is really hitting its stride. I’m working closely with the owners and the Head chef, Wojciech Chodurcki (it’s simpler to use his nickname: ‘Wolf’) on all aspects of the business, the planning of menus, connecting with great suppliers and, above all, keeping customers happy. What I like most about the setting is the sunny terrace, famous gin bar and relaxed dining room. The Feathers is a special place.

My third series of Great British Menu starts this week. It’s heart-warming if people recognise you and say nice things about your food. But I’m most definitely a working chef which is what attracts me to the programme. GBM is real; an intense period of cooking under pressure.

Chefs often talk about ‘passion for food’ but I suppose in my case I can definitely say that it’s in the blood. My father, Kit, nurtured talents such as Gary Rhodes, Richard Guest and currently Liam Finnegan at The Castle in Taunton and pushed for the revival of confidence in British classics.

All that was quite a formative upbringing and inspired me to skip university in favour of travelling around Europe, Australia, New Zealand the US and Mexico – always working in kitchens to earn enough to explore further. More recently, I’ve been lucky enough to represent British food in India, on more than one occasion. The experience kindled a lifelong love affair with that country, its energy, excitement and other-worldliness. Travel is inspirational, but I think for a chef, discipline and the hard graft of learning technique, understanding ingredients and presentation is more important.

I trained with Rowley Leigh’s Kensington Place restaurant, then moved to Heston Blumenthal’s Fat Duck, later his Hind’s Head pub as head chef. I then went on to earn a Michelin Star in my own right, before taking over the The Beehive in White Waltham.

Looking back over my main influences, Rowley was terrific. He’s all about seasonal food and simplicity; the ‘three ingredients on a plate’ approach. Heston is meticulous, with phenomenal attention to detail. My personal style, not that I sit down to analyse it too much, veers towards producing straightforward, comforting food that people actually want to eat, to make them happy. Our popular dishes include Cornish roast cod with mussels and cockles; haunch of wild fallow deer, black cabbage, mash potatoes, baby onions and red wine sauce or whole lemon sole, fennel, cucumber, brown shrimps and dill lemon sauce.

We’ve had some great comments from regulars about the new menus – and new faces finding their way to the restaurant here in Woodstock. It’s great to be working here with Wolf, and I think that our next task is to look carefully at some of the botanicals and varieties of gin in our 450 bottle collection.

As with any chef, the changing seasons are inspiring, so we’ll enjoy bringing new seasonal dishes to the menu alongside regular favourites. Happy chefs and happy customers: that’s what Kitchen by Dominic Chapman is all about. feathers.co.uk