Chapters is a restaurant in Hay-on-Wye that offers highly season, inventive tasting menus, with a total commitment to local, sustainable food practices. Co-owners Mark McHugo and Charmaine Blatchford have been on quite the adventure before arriving in Wales. Mark's chef career took him as far as the mountaintop Six Senses Resort in Zighy Bay Oman before arriving in sleepy Hay-on-Wye, and Charmaine worked front of house in Hereford and Ludlow previously. Both have a passion for sustainability, and that shines through at Chapters, which is set in the old meeting rooms of the village chapel.
Kilner jars of pickled, fermented and preserved seasonal ingredients line shelves around the restaurant - there's meadowsweet vodka, gorse rum, pickled wild garlic buds and more. Mark and Charmaine made sure to use local tradespeople for every element of the restaurant, from plumbers, carpenters and electricians to artists and signwriters.
That commitment to the local area continues with the food. The menu is highly seasonal, using only ingredients from local growers and producers that are in season - consequently, the tasting menu changes often, showcasing ingredients when they're at their very best. There are lots of techniques and interesting combinations on show here - Cornish pollock is served with a kombu cream, hay pancetta and samphire, whilst a slice of Middle White pork terrine comes with a tangy aubergine pickle and wild garlic.
Waste is another huge focus at Chapters - the restaurant aims to be zero waste, and if there are small amounts of waste food left after staff meals, that goes towards compost in the restaurant's walled garden. All other waste is collected for recycling, and unrecyclables are collected by the council and burned for energy. This total commitment to sustainability earned Chapters a well-deserved Michelin Green Star in 2022 - awarded by the guide to restaurants that champion sustainable practices.