Chef's Table chat with Sam Sturman at The Burleigh Arms, Cambridge

FavouriteTables.com: Sam, congratulations on taking over The Burleigh Arms. How does it feel stepping into this role?

Sam Sturman: Thank you! It feels incredible, It’s a huge honour.

FavouriteTables.com: What foods or styles of cooking are you most interested to bring to the Burleigh Arms?

Sam Sturman: Our cooking is produce-led, using the best ingredients possible. My team and I are looking forward to building on the restaurant’s established reputation, while bringing our own ideas and ambitions to both existing and new customers.

Hold Two AA Rosettes

FavouriteTables.com: What would be your last dish (to eat) “the death row question”?

Sam Sturman: A XL tomahawk sharing steak with all the trimmings

Tomahawk Steak

FavouriteTables.com: Which Chefs have influenced you in the past? and who continues to influence you now.

Sam Sturman: James Close, Jason atherton, Adam Byratt, Alex Dilling

FavouriteTables.com: Which restaurant/s would you like to visit? (that you haven’t had the opportunity to visit yet)

Sam Sturman: Core by Clare Smith, Row on 5, Restaurant Frantzen

FavouriteTables.com: Have you been featured or would you like to be featured on any TV food programmes, are these types of shows a good thing for the restaurant industry and chefs?

Sam Sturman: Yes I have been featured on a tv program, The BBC’s Great British Menu. Also I got on local TV News when I won Chef of the Year in 2023. They are good for the industry but also a risk to your own personal position and accolades if you don’t perform to the standard you know you can and should

FavouriteTables.com: Have you ever been presented with a dish/ingredient that you just could not eat and where was that?

Sam Sturman: No, as even if I dislike the ingredient, I know you can give that same ingredient to any chef and you can get a different outcome and flavour profile from it. So I never say I dislike anything without trying what the chef has done with it

FavouriteTables.com: Can you remember where and when you “got the bug” to be a Chef?

Sam Sturman: Since being a child, neither of my parents could cook so I took the chef role from a young age cooking family meals at home

FavouriteTables.com: What is your Favourite dish on the current menu/s in which you use ingredients or produce from your most local supplier?

Sam Sturman: Favourite dish on current menu is the Tuna Ceviche, marinaded in apple marigold and lime, then finished with a chilled dashi broth

FavouriteTables.com: If for one night you could be invited to cook alongside any Chef past or present who would that be and why?

Sam Sturman: Has to be Gordon Ramsey. I think his body of work and impact on food in the UK speaks for itself.

My Favourite Tables…

Sam, Please give us the name, and why you dine there, of two restaurants that you have visited a couple of times.

Restaurant 1

Raby Hunt in Darlington. Is sadly closed now but was my favourite place to eat ever due to the style of their food and Chef James Close’s being self taught