Operating outside a major metropolitan hub offers benefits, like access to incredible Sharrington strawberries, but it comes with unique logistical ironies.

“We try and buy as locally as we can, but it would surprise people what you can't get around here,” Lewis says. “Fish, for example. Amazing fresh fish is really hard to come by, considering we're four miles from the sea.”

While the local shellfish is incredible, the restaurant sometimes has to look further afield for other catch. It is a constant navigation of availability, proving that "local" is often harder work than it looks.

One of the most significant operational shifts for The Old Bank was the move to a tasting menu format. While this allows for a refined guest experience, Lewis is clear that it is also a rigorous method of cost and waste control.

“We don't have the wastage that can go along with an a la carte menu,” he explains. “We are very selective with what we use. That is the key to being able to do what we do and keep the price where we want it to be.”

In the kitchen, waste reduction is a discipline. Lewis describes a system where virtually nothing hits the bin.

“We’ve got two buckets out the back where all the veg scraps go for composting. Meat trimmings are always incorporated into a dish. When we explain a fish dish, we tell the guest how we’ve made the sauces from the bones and the crab shells. People appreciate knowing that we’ve used everything.”