Àclèaf’s head chef Scott Paton debuts book

Our visionary chef celebrates restaurant success with his first book.

Scott Paton, Head Chef of our 4-Rosette restaurant, Àclèaf in Devon, launches his first cookbook of the same name. An emulation of the restaurant itself, the Àclèaf book is a celebration of seasonality, quality produce and adorned with an essence of culinary creativity sprinkled throughout. 

After years of planning, Àclèaf the book unfolds a story of how Àclèaf began, how dishes evolved and how partnerships formed. Alongside recipes from Scott Paton and his team, Àclèaf speaks a modern narrative, encompassing the evolution of a dining space created to bring people together over simple, honest food. 

Àclèaf is presented as an imposing bespoke-sized, 239-paged work of art with restaurant-ready recipes, purposely left un-adapted for non-chefs, featuring throughout. Scott notes “I'm delighted to launch our first book which will give our guests a little insight into the journey of Àclèaf. From those day-to-day tasks in the kitchen and from sourcing the best ingredients to developing dishes for our guests to experience. This book has been a few years in the making with involvement from the whole team including our valued suppliers and A Way With Media which has resulted in a book we are all extremely proud of." 

Scott was determined to ensure the book was not just a celebration of him, as frequently seen with chefs making their book debut, but of his whole team. The importance of teamwork - which he believes is fundamental to creating a happy and inclusive working environment at Àclèaf - is apparent throughout the book; with personal project dishes from the rest of the kitchen team interspersed throughout, as well as profiling some of Àclèaf’s favourite suppliers - from Gusbourne to Highland Wagyu. “It was important to me that my team were an integral part of this journey too. Being collaborative enables individuals’ creativity and ambition to thrive and developing new dishes, regardless of position, is crucial to the running and success of Àclèaf. I am passionate about finding the right suppliers and cementing these relationships, because without exceptional produce, you’ve got nothing, so allowing space for these to be recognised was also something that I felt was important to showcase.”  

Much like the restaurant’s menus, the Àclèaf book is influenced by seasons; split into the chapters of Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter. In Spring, recipes include the likes of Lamb, haggis, allium, in Summer; Turbot, brassicas, lemon, in Autumn; Wagyu, beetroot, hibiscus and Winter; Squab, date, cinnamon. “Seasonality is at the heart of everything we do at Àclèaf. It decides what produce we use, which dishes we create, which flavour profiles we tap into. So this was an essential part of the book’s makeup.’ 

Àclèaf in many ways reads as more of a story; with Scott’s own dialogue, the history of Àclèaf, the journeys (and reincarnations) of signature dishes and some truly stunning imagery featuring alongside the recipes.

“We wanted to do something a bit different with this book. I’m really proud of its contents and what it represents and hope that it’ll be cherished amongst some of the greats.” 

Alongside the book launch, Àclèaf are now showcasing their Autumnal menu allowing diners the chance to sample seasonal dishes with an optional wine paring alongside, hand-picked by the experts, from their in-house wine cellar. Choices include Crab, curry, mango, Venison, pink pepper, pumpkin and Chocolate miso, hazelnut. 

Àclèaf by Scott Paton (A Way With Media, £50) is available to pre-order now HERE.