Chef in clover

Sally Shalam
Conde Nast Traveller
9 October 2013

As a kid in Auckland, Mat Follas spent holidays fishing for sprats off a disused wharf or 'sitting in an inner tube collecting mussels, whitebait and pipis' (New Zealand clams). His faith in the foraged feast secured him the 2009 Masterchef title, followed by the successful opening of The Wild Garlic, his tiny restaurant in Dorset. Now he's moved his business to a rambling former pub in Iwerne Minster, adding a bar and grill and five bedrooms, as well as 'a very large, scruffy Harley' to his burgeoning empire. Some chefs are born to be wild...

The Wild Garlic, Blandford Road, Iwerne Minster, Blandford Forum, Dorset (+44 1747 811269; thewildgarlic.co.uk). Doubles from £85.