Harriet Mansell

Robin Wylde Restaurant and Lilac Restaurant and Wine Bar

From Sidmouth originally, my food career began, aged 12, with a job at a local greengrocers and thereafter, I worked in restaurants and cafés and was hooked. In my twenties, I moved to London, and worked at Mark Hix’s Oyster and Champagne Bar in Selfridges, followed by a stage at Noma in Copenhagen and stints at other Michelin-star restaurants.

My career took me to the super yacht industry, where I was head chef on a yacht for the Qatari royal family in the Seychelles and for the Murdoch family in the Caribbean and Mediterranean. In 2018, while working for the Murdochs, I entered the Annual Antigua International Yacht Chef Competition and won my category.

I returned to the UK to open my restaurant, initially as a pop-up venture, in Lyme Regis, which became successful enough to open officially in 2020. At this time I was approached by Great British Menu, and I went on to represent the South West in the semi-finals. I then opened Lilac Restaurant and Wine Bar in August 2021. My career has seen me specialise in wild foods and I now also host a wild foods focussed podcast called ‘If a tree falls,’ where I interview people who are working with nature in an inspiring way.

In the past few years we have received various awards, including Chef of the Year at the Food Magazine Awards and Lilac was awarded the Creativity and Innovation Award at the Trencherman’s Awards. Both Robin Wylde and Lilac were listed in the Michelin Guide and top 100 lists by Square Meal and Harden’s. Robin Wylde was also a runner-up for Best Newcomer at the Cateys. Recently, both Lilac and I have been nominated for Best Restaurant Outside London and Best Chef by Food and Travel magazine, and I’ve also been nominated for Best Female Chef this year by Square Meal.

I’m now working on a new project that will open in 2025 that will offer workshops, foraging walks, talks, and events, along with my wild foods tasting menu.