A Taste For Elegance

For any chef, receiving an award from the restaurant world’s famous Michelin Guide is a career-defining moment. Clare Smyth reached that milestone in 2021 when the august culinary institution awarded her no less than her third star, for ‘Core by Clare Smyth’ establishment that she’d opened just five years earlier.

The following year Clare fulfilled a promise she’d made to her teenage self, if she could ever afford to do so: she bought a Ferrari. “A Portofino,” she says, a broad smile spreading across her face. “I’ve always loved cars from a very young age. And I’ve always bought the best car that I can afford at any particular time.”

Her career story reveals an astonishingly single-minded character. Growing up in County Antrim she crossed the Irish Sea to study in England aged just sixteen and by her mid-twenties had worked in a string of top kitchens, then spent fifteen years with Gordon Ramsay – ten as his Head Chef - before opening her own restaurant in London’s Notting Hill.

“I am kind of headstrong,” she admits, matter-of-factly. “And incredibly competitive.”

With its elegant style, potent twin-turbocharged V8 and daily driveablity, the Roma Spider has taken Clare from the London commute to a gastronomic French adventure

The 47-year-old multi-award-winning chef maps out the route that connects her world of fine dining to the world of luxury sports cars: “I always thought one day I’d own a Ferrari because it was always the ultimate thing to have.”

It is all said with her characteristically unerringly calm expression, sitting uncommonly still, with her elegant straight-backed posture. It’s easy to understand her ‘Zen’ reputation in the kitchen, contrasting with an environment that was for a long time notoriously wild and aggressive.

As a teenager, the farmer’s daughter Clare worked in local restaurants at weekends and during school holidays. And fell in love with cooking. At fifteen, she was collecting Swiss chef Anton Mosimman’s popular cookbooks of the time. “It became like an obsession,” Clare says. “That’s where I first found out about the Michelin Guides.”

Effectively the Guide, and the coveted stars it awards, has been a bridge connecting Clare’s two great interests – food and cars. Her exceptional talent with the former has allowed her to pursue her love of the latter.

So this year when she was offered a Roma Spider she didn’t hesitate. The “sheer look” of it captivated her. “It’s the way things look, the shape, the beauty,” she reflects.

Clare Smyth's elegant style is a perfect fit for the Roma's timeless beauty

These are also perhaps the defining characteristics of her cuisine. Dishes that utilise the very best of local ingredients, yet are often presented in an incredibly intricate way. It contributes to the whole dining experience.

She sees close parallels with the similarly artisanal dedication of her favourite car brand, and even falls into using the very same lexicon. “It’s about the inside, and out,” she says. “For me it’s the form and the shape. It’s about the finish. The detail. Yes, of course the sound is incredible. It’s everything about the car, and the heritage.”

Of her new Roma Spider, she professes she could not be more pleased. She has already toured France in it, following a driving itinerary that called in at various Michelin-starred restaurants along the way.

But her Roma Spider is not something reserved for vacations. “I can drive it in London, I can really use it,” she insists. “It’s comfortable to drive. It’s user friendly. You can park it easily.” Indeed, the beautiful Roma Spider in Rosso Fuoco livery can often be found parked right outside her discreetly elegant Notting Hill restaurant. “The reception to the car is phenomenal,” she says. “I park it in front of the restaurant, people stop in the street to take photos. People love a Ferrari. It’s beautiful. And it’s timeless.”

And, as all good chefs know, timing is everything.