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‘We came here with a clear goal to get a star’

The experience of gaining a Michelin star for local restaurant Vraic was very different to the first time Nathan and Hollie Davies went through it.

Two months after being awarded their Michelin star, the red plaque is now proudly on display at Vraic. Left to right, Hollie and Nathan Davies, Kuba Biskup, Ben Holland, Max Davies and Sam Munstermann.
Two months after being awarded their Michelin star, the red plaque is now proudly on display at Vraic. Left to right, Hollie and Nathan Davies, Kuba Biskup, Ben Holland, Max Davies and Sam Munstermann. / Sophie Rabey/Guernsey Press

They had already picked up the gourmet accolade with SY23, their first starred establishment, in Aberystwyth, Wales, before the couple, along with senior colleagues including head chef Kuba Biskup, sous chef Max Davies and bar manager Filip, moved to the island.

‘There was a lot of expectation here on the island, and from ourselves to do it here. So it feels like more of a relief to have it,’ said Mr Davies.

‘It’s like an Olympic gold medal – you’ve already run your race.

'We know we are at that level now, we just need to stay at that level and enjoy it now.

Vraic is the first local restaurant to hold the prestigious award since Christophe at Fermain closed in 2009.
Vraic is the first local restaurant to hold the prestigious award since Christophe at Fermain closed in 2009. / Sophie Rabey/Guernsey Press

‘We came here with a clear goal that we were going to come to get one of these. And now to see it on the wall, it feels good. We put it somewhere where we can see it while we work.

‘We did six months between opening and achieving the star – that was a big six months. A lot of work went into making this possible.’

Vraic offers a multi-course tasting menu built around ingredients from Guernsey and its surrounding waters, with seaweed a recurring motif throughout, including in the name of the restaurant itself.

It is the first local restaurant to hold the prestigious award since Christophe at Fermain closed in 2009.

The star confirms Vraic’s ascent into the upper echelons of the food world, and helps to put Guernsey’s excellent, thriving food scene on the map.

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