Shropshire Star

Shrewsbury Food Festival: Michelin-starred chef Stephane Borie to host demonstration

He’s the region’s only Michelin-starred chef. Stephane Borie earned a star within seven months of opening The Checkers, at Montgomery, and has retained it to this day.

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Stephane Borie

He has worked with some of the biggest names in gastronomy, including Michel Roux, at The Waterside Inn, which holds three Michelin stars and is the most successful British restaurant of all time.

And this weekend he’s one of the (Michelin) star attractions on Shrewsbury Food Festival’s Wenlock Spring Chef Demonstration Stage.

He fell in love with food as a young boy. “Food was a bringer of joy, a source of contentment: it gave me something to look forward to. I was born and raised in Agen, in south west France, near the river Garonne. We were 80 or so miles from Bordeaux.”

He launched his own restaurant at The Herbert Arms, in Chirbury, with his partner, Sarah, who had also cooked at The Waterside Inn, and Sarah’s sister, Kathryn Francis.

“We saved as much money as we could, each invested an equal share and brought a rundown pub called The Herbert Arms, in Chirbury, about 20 miles from Shrewsbury. It was a dive. The Herbert Arms had no heating but the rent was cheap and we took the plunge.”

After 18 months, they heard about another venue, The Checkers, at Montgomery, just over the Welsh border.

“The Checkers opened in 2011 and within seven months we’d won a Michelin star. It was beyond our wildest dreams.”

“We published our debut book in 2016, The Frenchman and the Farmer’s Daughters. It is available from the restaurant and we hope people will enjoy it.”

l To book at The Checkers visit www.checkerswales.co.uk or call (01686) 669822. Copies of The Frenchman and the Farmer’s Daughters are available from the restaurant, from www.awaywithmedia.com or from www.amazon.co.uk