The Shabby Gourmet

Maz & Simon Pennington are both passionate about food.  From vastly different backgrounds, they discovered early on that their food experiences were pleasingly complementary.

Simon grew up across the road in The Polmary, where his parents' food and particular brand of repartee ensured that the restaurant became so popular that it was not unknown for them to be knocked up in the small hours of the morning to whip up anything from Lobster Thermidor to a full English breakfast.  Simon grew up working in the kitchen and front of house and developed a great love of food and a massive respect for good, fresh ingredients.  He is the ultimate sous-chef!

Meanwhile, over in Belgium, Maz was growing up surrounded by all the foods of Europe.  With a keen gastronome as a father and a Cordon Bleu cook for a mother, there was little doubt that Maz was going to grow up a keen cook.  A collaboration with Marion Dean, founder of the Truffle Hunters' Dog School, resulted in the writing of Discovering The Great British Truffle, and the year of honing skills to come up with some thirty recipes starring the Great British Truffle - from picnics to puddings - sealed the deal.  

They set up their catering firm, The Shabby Gourmet, in Hampshire.  Providing high quality catering, home cooked ready meals, fresh sandwiches, dietary options, cream teas, corporate contracted meals, weddings, curries, balls - you name it - the company was enormous fun to build and run.  Running a private and corporate event catering firm in a pandemic, however, is not delightful, and when the opportunity to buy the Cottage Bed & Breakfast came up, it was a no brainer.  After their first full season, Maz & Simon know this was the right decision, and look forward to welcoming you to this particular little corner of paradise.