Tiny Welsh restaurant in a former jail where you can't choose what you eat and it's just won a place on a prestigious list
The owners of a tiny restaurant in Powys have spoken about their recent success after being awarded for their sustainability efforts for the second time.
Chapters, which is nestled in Hay-on-Wye, was recognised for its efforts in sustainable practices and low waste philosophy with the prestigious three green circles award by 360°Eat Guide. It is one of only 15 restaurants in the UK to be awarded the accolade, and comes three years after the Michelin Green Star, which they have upheld since 2022.
The driving force behind this small 22-cover restaurant are husband and wife, Charmaine and Mark McHugo, who opened Chapters on Lion Street in the Powys town back in 2019.
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For the couple, the recent global award came as a surprise to them. "[360°Eat Guide] got in touch with us to say that somebody had eaten and that they were impressed and wanted to include us on the list," Charmaine explained.
"We we didn't know that they'd come in," she continued. "It's quite a nice feeling to be recognised for that. We were absolutely delighted when we looked at the list of people that were included in it with us.
"There's some incredible restaurants on that list. And so yes, we are really delighted to be part of it. It's amazing".
While it may have come as an initial surprise, Charmaine, Mark and their team at the restaurant have worked hard to earn such a status. For the latest restaurant news and reviews, sign up to our food and drink newsletter here.
Chapters sources its produce from its own kitchen garden, a half-acre plot located a few miles away within a private estate.
While Charmaine oversees the growing operation and front of house, Mark is the head chef in the kitchen.
The restaurant offers guests a single set menu, which changes every six weeks.
Mark's cooking aims to depict a homely but refined style of modern British cuisine, which also focuses on preservation methods such as pickling and fermentation to ensure that dishes utilise all surplus produce from the garden.
In an era where environmental concerns are at the forefront of global discourse and in an industry that is prone to waste whether that is through food or packaging, Charmaine and Mark are both passionate about sustainability.
"The sustainability side of things is at the core of the restaurant for us," Mark explained.
"It's part of our day-to-day and it's part of our everyday conversations. When we discuss new menus or new products that we might be bringing in, it's part of those conversations all the time.
"I don't think we are the best at banging our own drum about it. We don't always talk about these things to other people. So these awards are a nice reminder that we should be discussing what we do to the public.
"We should be talking about it to our guests, promote the sustainability side of things and encourage other businesses to work in that way."
Charmaine added: "I think sustainability in looking at the behind the scenes efforts of businesses is just crucial to our planet.
"We have to look at these things. I think with regards to running a restaurant, you have to look at where your produce is coming from, what time of year you're buying certain ingredients, but it also comes down to things like the paper that we print our menus on.
"It also comes down to how we treat our staff and how we support a community. I think it is integral to every single part of the business and it's important to us on a personal level".
Charmaine's culinary journey began in her home city of Hereford, where she took on various front of house roles in her earlier career at restaurants including at The Clive Arms and Old Downtown Lodge in Ludlow.
She then took on a role as a manager for Ludlow Food Centre, which she said opened her eyes to the world of artisanal produce, the importance of zero food miles and animal welfare.
During this time, Charmaine began gardening as a hobby, a passion which grew and later led to her establishing Chapters very own garden, which she now maintains almost single-handedly throughout the year.
Meanwhile, Mark, who is originally from Stourbridge, forged his career as a chef within kitchens and hotels around the West Midlands before relocating to the Middle East where he worked as chef de cuisine at Six Senses Zighy Bay in Oman for three years. As he explained, it was here that he began taking interest in sustainable cooking.
Mark eventually moved back to the UK and became a head chef at a modern brasserie in Hereford, which is where he met his future wife Charmaine in July 2017.
With a shared ambition to have a place of their own and identifying a shortfall in high quality, eco-conscious dining experiences in the area, Charmaine and Mark began looking for potential spaces.
Around a 40 minute drive outside of Hereford, the couple found the perfect place - the old meeting room of St John's Chapel in Hay-on-Wye, said to be one of the oldest buildings in the Powys town.
"It was just perfect," Mark recalled. "It was once the meeting room for the chapel, but it's been many things over the years. It's been a school, a jail, a butcher's."
He continued: "The space that we had, it was just the right size to do the food at a good standard."
Chapters was officially opened in July 2019. According to the couple, the community have been kind to them over the years. By now, the couple live in Hay-on-Wye.
"There was a lovely restaurant here before us," Charmaine explained. "And so people would come to us and tell us, 'you've got big shoes to fill', when we were setting up.
"But everyone was very positive and delightful. In Hay-on-Wye, I'd say that 99% of the businesses are run by independents.
"So there's a real different feel to it. And I think we were accepted quite quickly because we wanted to support the town and because we were using suppliers and tradespeople that were local.
"Everyone started coming in quite quickly after that I think. It wasn't long before COVID happened and then we had to switch our business model to serving takeaways.
"That worked quite nicely because it meant that we were able to carry on and we were accessible to a lot more people, which again, I think just helped with people's attitudes towards us.
"I think we were accepted quite quickly and now I think we're well supported by the people of the town. I think we kind of fit in with the feel and the ethos of the town as well."
By now, Chapters has been going for nearly six years, with three chefs in the kitchen, including Mark, a kitchen porter and Charmaine as the front of house.
This time of year, guests can dine on wild venison dolmades, middle white pork loin with braised leeks from the garden, dark chocolate delice or Caws Cenarth with quince and seeded crackers for dessert.
In its review of Chapters, 360°Eat Guide said: "It's not just the seasonal, varied menu that makes you want to return to Chapters, it's something about the approach and the sharing of knowledge that makes you crave more of the good."
Meanwhile, back in 2022, the Michelin Guide spoke of the "whole team's passion for their way of working makes the place even more endearing".
When asked how they felt about receiving such accolades, Charmaine replied: "It just fills you with pride and it makes you so happy to come to work every day."
She continued: "We're really proud of what we're doing at the moment. It's the kind of restaurant that we'd like to come and eat in and we are really happy with how things are going."
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