Dorset, Somerset &amp; Bristol

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1500" height="1500" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2025/04/00-Stephan-Priiory-wareham.jpg" alt="0 Stephan Guinebault chef Priory Wareham Dorset" class="wp-image-106743" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2025/04/00-Stephan-Priiory-wareham.jpg 1500w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2025/04/00-Stephan-Priiory-wareham-800x800.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2025/04/00-Stephan-Priiory-wareham-1000x1000.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2025/04/00-Stephan-Priiory-wareham-400x400.jpg 400w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2025/04/00-Stephan-Priiory-wareham-768x768.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2025/04/00-Stephan-Priiory-wareham-500x500.jpg 500w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2025/04/00-Stephan-Priiory-wareham-1100x1100.jpg 1100w" sizes="(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px" /></figure>



Head chef at <a href="https://www.priorywareham.co.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Priory Wareham</a> since 2006, Stephan Guinebault&#8217;s passion for food stems from growing up on his grandmother’s farm in the Loire Valley. He worked at Michelin and Relais &amp; Chateaux restaurants in France, acquiring a classical training and an understanding of regional dishes and techniques along the way. He still loves to work with the best, locally sourced, seasonal produce, with a guaranteed provenance. 



The independently owned luxury country house hotel and restaurant Priory Wareham, once a 16th century monastery, was one of the first hotels to join the PoB (Pride of Britain) collection. Idyllically positioned on the banks of the River Frome, in the historic market town of Wareham on the Isle of Purbeck, hotel guests and non-residents alike dine in the beautiful oak-framed Garden Room or out on a terrace overlooking lawns running down to the river with views of the Purbeck Hills beyond. Merveilleuse!



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1500" height="1124" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2024/07/00-priory-25375421_18338006104101060_5605243978308387023_n_Fotor.jpg" alt="The Priory Wareham dorset" class="wp-image-98224" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2024/07/00-priory-25375421_18338006104101060_5605243978308387023_n_Fotor.jpg 1500w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2024/07/00-priory-25375421_18338006104101060_5605243978308387023_n_Fotor-800x599.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2024/07/00-priory-25375421_18338006104101060_5605243978308387023_n_Fotor-1000x749.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2024/07/00-priory-25375421_18338006104101060_5605243978308387023_n_Fotor-400x300.jpg 400w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2024/07/00-priory-25375421_18338006104101060_5605243978308387023_n_Fotor-768x575.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px" /></figure>



What was your first ever job in the kitchen?&nbsp;



I was helping a chef in a small restaurant, who found me an apprenticeship in a &#8216;Relais &amp; Châteaux&#8217;&nbsp;[an association of individually owned luxury hotels and restaurants in France and around the world].



Your career highlight … so far?&nbsp;



Being part of the Priory team as head chef for so long – since 2006 – and being able to fulfil my passion for cooking.&nbsp;



Can you sum up your food philosophy? 



Respect of produce from farm to table&nbsp;



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1500" height="2250" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2025/04/00-priory-food.jpg" alt="food at Priory Wareham Dorset" class="wp-image-106752" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2025/04/00-priory-food.jpg 1500w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2025/04/00-priory-food-533x800.jpg 533w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2025/04/00-priory-food-667x1000.jpg 667w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2025/04/00-priory-food-267x400.jpg 267w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2025/04/00-priory-food-768x1152.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2025/04/00-priory-food-1024x1536.jpg 1024w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2025/04/00-priory-food-1365x2048.jpg 1365w" sizes="(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px" /></figure>



Ever cooked for anyone famous? 



Mick Jagger use to own a little castle with a recording studio near the hotel where I was an apprentice. The band use to come to eat. I still love them.&nbsp;



The dish you’re most proud of creating? 



Not my creation but I love wellington, it can be beef/venison/trout with different fillings.



What’s been your biggest mistake at work? 



A horrible mistake when you start in the kitchen is to have mistaken the salt and sugar. You realise quickly! It is wise to read the label.&nbsp;



You’re tired, starving and impatient: what do you cook for dinner? 



Cooking won’t be an option. I will settle with a cheese, red onion and mayonnaise sandwich.&nbsp;



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1500" height="1000" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2025/04/00-priory-DSC05233.jpg" alt="food at Priory Wareham Dorset" class="wp-image-106751" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2025/04/00-priory-DSC05233.jpg 1500w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2025/04/00-priory-DSC05233-800x533.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2025/04/00-priory-DSC05233-1000x667.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2025/04/00-priory-DSC05233-400x267.jpg 400w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2025/04/00-priory-DSC05233-768x512.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px" /></figure>



What would you cook to impress a date or a mate? 



Beef wellington with parsley mousse, cooked medium rare.&nbsp;



Your favourite local markets and suppliers? 



Difficult to choose a favourite. I will go for one who has been working with us for a very long time: &#8216;Lobster Nick&#8217; from Kimmeridge in Dorset.



Favourite cookbook? 



Larousse Gastronomique. Not a cookbook, more an encyclopaedia. I just open any page and am still learning.&nbsp;



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1500" height="2250" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2025/04/00-priory-DSC00799.jpg" alt="food at Priory Wareham Dorset" class="wp-image-106749" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2025/04/00-priory-DSC00799.jpg 1500w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2025/04/00-priory-DSC00799-533x800.jpg 533w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2025/04/00-priory-DSC00799-667x1000.jpg 667w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2025/04/00-priory-DSC00799-267x400.jpg 267w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2025/04/00-priory-DSC00799-768x1152.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2025/04/00-priory-DSC00799-1024x1536.jpg 1024w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2025/04/00-priory-DSC00799-1365x2048.jpg 1365w" sizes="(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px" /></figure>



Is there a kitchen gadget you not be without? 



Rational Oven [a professional combination oven that can cook in many different ways]



What mistake do inexperienced cooks tend to make? 



Where to start…?!&nbsp;



How can we be more sustainable in the kitchen? 



Plastic is everywhere and not always necessary. The difficult subject of supply and shelf life – it is not as straightforward as one first thinks. We aim to reduce waste where possible and I am a huge fan of using as much of the produce as possible to do so. For example, all our stocks and sauces are made from scratch using the bones from the meat we use.&nbsp;&nbsp;



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1500" height="2250" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2025/04/000-priory-DSC00875.jpg" alt="food at Priory Wareham Dorset" class="wp-image-106753" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2025/04/000-priory-DSC00875.jpg 1500w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2025/04/000-priory-DSC00875-533x800.jpg 533w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2025/04/000-priory-DSC00875-667x1000.jpg 667w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2025/04/000-priory-DSC00875-267x400.jpg 267w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2025/04/000-priory-DSC00875-768x1152.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2025/04/000-priory-DSC00875-1024x1536.jpg 1024w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2025/04/000-priory-DSC00875-1365x2048.jpg 1365w" sizes="(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px" /></figure>



Most overrated ingredient?



Truffle oil, mainly because most truffle oils don’t contain any actual truffle.&nbsp;



Can you share your best ever cooking tip? 



Same again – respect for the produce.&nbsp;



What three dishes should every home cook master? 



Timing, knife skills, seasoning, and tasting your food are the ways to master any dish.&nbsp;



&nbsp;<a href="https://www.priorywareham.co.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Priory Wareham</a>, Church Green, Wareham, Dorset BH20 4ND. Tel <a href="tel:01929 551 666">01929 551666</a> <a href="mailto:reservations@theprioryhotel.co.uk">reservations@theprioryhotel.co.uk</a>

What’s cooking? Stephan Guinebault, head chef at Priory Wareham

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