South by south-west

Sandy beaches glisten in the sunshine, while the Atlantic Ocean gently laps the shore of St Martin's, one of the Isles of Scilly. Patrick Pierre Tweedie, newly appointed head chef of the 24-bedroom St Martin's Hotel, appears unaware of his picturesque environment. He is focused on one thing - raising the standards of the hotel's food.

Tweedie explains his mission: he is not interested in writing books, taking part in competitions, making videos or becoming a TV chef - he wants his cooking to earn four AA rosettes and a Michelin star.

Six months into his term and Tweedie appears to be on track. The hotel's 60-seat Tean restaurant, named after the uninhabited island opposite St Martin's, has been upgraded from two to three AA rosettes, and a recent inspector's visit resulted in his food being described as "the best south of Gidleigh Park".

In any other location, the Le Gavroche-trained chef would be confident of achieving his objectives. But working in the Scillies has its limitations - most fresh produce comes in by boat, so maintaining consistency can be a struggle. "If I ring a supplier at 7am, produce sometimes doesn't turn up until 7pm," explains Tweedie, adding that boats have to travel more than 28 miles to reach him. "I have two large freezers that I refuse to stock up because I am determined to serve fresh food. I want to bring accolades to this hotel, but it has to be consistent, day in, day out. I am definitely at a disadvantage in getting tiptop ingredients here."

St Martin's is one of 100 islands in the Scillies, of which only five are inhabited. The island measures just two-and-a-half miles long, averages about half-a-mile wide and has a population of 100. There are 30 permanent households, one post office and a fruit and vegetable shop.

With a brigade of eight full-time chefs and two porters, 27-year-old Tweedie is responsible for serving food from 7am to 11pm, seven days a week, for a 45-seat bistro (which stops serving at 5pm), the Tean restaurant, and room service. The bistro, with a further 40 seats on the beach front, caters for as many as 150 people a day. While one in five lunchtime guests is a hotel resident, most customers are islanders or from neighbouring islands.

Items on the bistro menu include about 20 varieties of sandwich, such as roast turkey, crispy bacon, red onion and cucumber (£4.45), a soup of the day, such as mushroom velouté (£3.75), lobster, shellfish or crab bisque (£2.50), fish of the day (£7.50), salads and daily changing desserts (£4.50).

Tweedie describes his staff as "people who want to cook". They are employed from February to November as the hotel is closed over winter, although Tweedie is kept on all year round. "The kitchen here is for the quieter sort of person, someone who wants to concentrate on work," he says. "There's no nightlife on the island and staff can't expect to knock off at 2pm and go sunbathing. Work comes first, I'm afraid."

The food in the Tean restaurant leans toward a Mediterranean style. Tomatoes, olive oil and balsamic vinaigrette feature repeatedly on the set-price, daily changing four-course menus (£29.50). Tweedie, who likens his food to that of Michel Trama of Les Loges de L'Aubergade, Puymirol, opts for simply presented food with clean flavours.

"I love strong Mediterranean flavours - lots of garlic and olive oil - but I have to remember my customers are here for two weeks," he says. "I cannot offer rich food - our guests would not be able to eat it night after night. I have to offer lighter food, such as poached fish, as well."

But Tweedie does not begrudge his guests. "People generally choose to go to restaurants for one reason - the food. Here, people come for several reasons - the food is a secondary factor. But hopefully, in time, we will be recognised as a good place to eat as well as somewhere to relax."

The Tean menus offer four starters, a sorbet course, a choice of seven main courses (three meat, three fish and one vegetarian option), four desserts and a selection of English matured cheeses served with warm, home-made, olive bread. Fish is in abundance and customers can see it arrive fresh on the quay every day. Tweedie gets his fish from various suppliers on and off the island. Most of his lobster, crab and mullet is fished by Keith Low, who supplies about 10lb of grey mullet, eight to ten whole lobsters and 12-16lb of crab daily, the last of these being fished at Carn Wethers on the north-east of the island.

Tweedie's recipe for chilled Carn Wethers crab soufflé with walnut and grain mustard vinaigrette is one of the most popular items on the Tean menu. "It's very delicate," says Tweedie. "I would probably recommend it as a lady's dish. It's got clean, subtle flavours."

Millefeuille of Tean grey mullet and smoked pork loin with light thyme jus uses another locally caught ingredient. Low says the local mullet is much larger than the fish found in the estuaries of England. "The mullet here has so much fresh vegetation to feed off, while off the English coast grey mullet tend to be scavengers," explains Low, who believes the local mullet's texture and flavour is more like sea bass.

Although Tweedie enjoys working with fish, he says he would rather see more meat dishes on the menu. He was anxious to show how good the locally caught fish is, but also wanted to share his recipe for roast quail stuffed with fresh foie gras on a potato mousseline with a truffle jus. "Quail is one of my personal favourites," says Tweedie, who buys his birds from Penzance-based supplier Mr Meats at a particularly good price of £1.80 apiece.

Tweedie says he would like the hotel to become more self-sufficient. His wife, Nathalie, already grows herbs and courgette flowers for the hotel.

With his wife and 18-month-old daughter, Fiona, settled on the island, Tweedie plans to stay for at least four years. Will he manage to achieve all his goals in that time? "I want to improve the food slowly," he says. "It would surely be pointless to go to the top of the ladder only to fall back down."

Next week: The Chef Take Five series on chefs from the South-west continues when Amanda Afiya visits one of Somerset's best-loved inns