Hidden Hut has come a long way since the days when it sold plastic buckets, spades and inflatable dolphins. Five years ago, local couple Jemma Glass and Simon Stallard took over the cafe overlooking Porthcurnick beach, on the Roseland peninsula in southern Cornwall, and transformed it into a showcase for the brilliant ingredients produced on this coast.
Simon, a chef by trade, started cooking fish from the bay at casual evening barbecues and outdoor suppers. This was so successful that the Hidden Hut’s reputation spread, and today getting tickets for one of its now-famous feast nights has been compared to hunting down sought-after festival tickets. Advance tickets for the feasts (which take place three times a month, from April to the end of September) are sold in three seasonal batches online.
In true British style, they go ahead whatever the weather – and on the May evening we have tickets for, it is pouring down.
Wrapped up in waterproof jackets, my friend and I, who have driven down from Devon for the evening, are greeted warmly at the serving hatch of the hut: inside, the team mill about, proffering smiles and hot water bottles.
There is no seating inside the hut, just long wooden tables and chairs out in the open. There is no shelter tonight. “Usually we put marquees up,” says Jemma. But this evening’s strong southerly breeze has ruled that out. Even so, no one has cried off from tonight’s feast of sticky ribs.
Despite the driving rain, all around us we hear corks popping, animated chatter and laughter. “It’s a true test of British spirit,” says Simon, surveying the guests. Groups of friends, families and couples are huddled around tables or reclining in the camping chairs they’ve brought along.
Guests are encouraged to bring whatever creature comforts they like, from cushions and rugs to tents. Some diners are getting creative with their umbrellas, propping them up to create a makeshift shelter.
“We’ve had billionaires come, but we also get the fishermen and the local postman,” says Jemma.
When it’s time to dish up, people form a queue along the outside serving area beside the hut, plates clutched – guests bring their own crockery, cutlery and alcohol.
Our plates are handed back, piled high with smoky, sticky barbecued ribs, Texan beans, freshly baked cornbread and watercress. Macaroni cheese is the vegetarian option.
Rain pours off my jacket as I sit down and tuck into my feast. The Texan beans are stand-out, the macaroni cheese comforting, and the homemade barbecue sauce has a delicious chilli kick. My friend reports that the barbecue ribs are some of the best she has ever tasted. As we’re eating, a chef comes round, offering extra buckets of ribs. Jemma darts around making sure everyone has blankets and hot water bottles; her baby son is nestled into her chest.
The hut, open from March to October, is a normal cafe by day, doing soups, sandwiches, pasties, cakes (baked by Jemma’s mum, Maggie) and hot chocolate.
Feast night tickets cost from £10 for a mussel or octopus feast to £25 for lobster and chips (the most popular supper). On lobster night, a fisherman sails into the bay to deliver a bucket full of fresh lobsters into the arms of the chefs who are firing up the grill. Other feasts might be a south Indian vegetable thali with 13 small dishes, inspired by Simon’s travels in India.
Seafood paella featuring local shellfish, monkfish and pollock is another staple, along with Moroccan spiced lamb, slow-cooked octopus crisped on the grill, and chicken cooked on the wood-fired grill with garlic and tarragon.
The setting is beautiful: the odd brave surfer and local dog walker can be seen enjoying the beach and the crashing waves. Along the coast, boats are bobbing in Porthscatho harbour.
Simon says: “There have been clear nights when the sun’s just gone down, and there are dolphins out in the bay.” We all laugh. We make a promise to come back on a sunnier day and, drenched but full, leave the groups of friends still laughing and joking under a makeshift cover, clinking mugs.
• The meal was provided by the Hidden Hut (hiddenhut.co.uk). The next batch of tickets, for feast nights in June and July, goes on sale on 2 June at 7pm at seetickets.com
