As Bristol-born chef Martin Burge celebrates gaining his second Michelin star, he tells David Clensy how he loves working at Wiltshire's Whatley Manor

A s a boy growing up in Kingswood in the early 1980s, Martin Burge was out of step with all the other lads. They enjoyed kicking a football around the streets and comparing their Top Trumps cards. But Martin dreamed of being in the kitchen.

"It's where I was happiest," he recalls. "I think the other lads were a bit baffled by that, but I wanted to be a chef from a very early age – I just loved cooking. I was one of only two lads that took home economics lessons, and I was constantly trying to beat all the girls.

"While other kids would cook one dish, I would always ask if I could do two at the same time, because I loved being able to take one home for my family's evening meal."

Martin has come a long way since his early culinary passions blossomed for the first time in the HE department at The Grange School in Warmley. For the past six years, the 37-year-old has worked as head chef at the distinguished Whatley Manor country house hotel near Malmesbury, in Wiltshire.

He's been on board at the hotel since it was opened in 2003 by Swiss owner Christian Landolt, who lives locally. From the very beginning, he says, the aim was to get two Michelin stars for the hotel's fine dining restaurant, the Dining Room – and now they've achieved their long-term goal.

The award recognises Martin's acclaimed dishes in the Dining Room, where guests are treated to a gastronomic experience of classical French cuisine with a modern twist.

"Getting my first Michelin star in 2005 was one of the proudest moments of my career and to have now gone on to achieve the second star is further testament to the quality of the food and overall dining experience, as well as the commitment of my brigade," he says.

Martin admits his first response to the news was to be "over the moon", but within days that joy had edged into an unpredicted unease.

"When we had the first star, we were on top of the world, because we knew we were chasing the second star," he explains, as he sips a cup of tea in the hotel's elegant sitting room.

"But once you have that second star, the pressure is really on. The task then is to consolidate it – to make sure you maintain the high standards – so that you don't lose the second star the following year.

"Rather than chasing something, you're working to protect something, and that's always more stressful.

"When you consider that there are only 16 restaurants in the whole country with two stars, you realise just how high the quality has to be. It really is about as good as it gets for us.

"I know there are three restaurants in the country with three stars – but they are stand-alone restaurants, which aren't connected to a hotel, and don't have those extra layers of responsibility.

"But I do think the second star will make a huge difference to our reputation, and there's no doubt it will mean an increase in custom.

"This award will help to place Wiltshire firmly on the culinary map, and justifiably so, with its wealth of local suppliers producing such high-quality ingredients – that's one of the reasons we are so well placed to offer both local residents and visitors to the area a varied menu of dining options. The first Michelin star tends to be about getting the quality to a high standard. But the second star is much more than that.

"It's about demonstrating creativity with the dishes you produce – having a real identity in your cuisine, and being able to maintain a high level of consistency."

In the Dining Room, which has 40 covers and is open for dinner Wednesday to Sunday, Martin serves an á la carte and a tasting menu showcasing dishes such as Scottish langoustine tails served with bacon glazed in soy, cauliflower puree and topped with Thai foam, followed by a "taste of veal prepared several ways, served with hazelnut puree and its juices enriched with Madeira".

Then there's a choice of desserts including roasted black figs with pistachio and yoghurt cream, mandarin sorbet and red wine reduction.

For Martin's team of 16 chefs, all this work comes on top of running the hotel's brasserie, Le Mazot, which serves 70 covers, with daily lunch and dinner menus.

But during his school days in Warmley, for a while it looked unlikely that Martin would ever become a chef, despite his passion for home economics lessons.

"We had to organise a week's work experience when we were at school and the placements were just handed out," he laughs. "I was given a placement at a bakery, which I wasn't overly enthusiastic about.

"The one I wanted was the week helping out in the store rooms at Brunel Technical College, because I thought I might get to learn something – that was where all the trainee chefs went.

"I can remember my heart sinking when I saw that the college placement had been given to one of the girls. But when I spoke to her, I discovered she was disappointed to get the college, and had been more keen on the bakery. I can remember thinking – 'result!' – so we did a straight swap."

It wasn't the last that Martin would see of the Brunel Technical College kitchens.

"When I finished school, I managed to get a place as a trainee chef at the college, and I was absolutely thrilled to be there," he says.

"I can remember there being kids at the college who didn't seem at all interested in becoming a chef – they'd just ended up on the course by default somehow.

"That baffled me, because I was so desperate to work in a professional kitchen. "The passion was always there in me because my mother had cooked everything from scratch at home.

"I'd been surrounded by cookery for as long as I could remember – even my grandfather was a cook in the army. It seemed quite natural for me to choose it as an occupation."

The training he received at the Bristol college set him in good stead. After graduating with distinction, his first job saw him working under Michael Croft at the Royal Crescent Hotel, in Bath.

"That was a good way into the industry for me," he says. "Michael introduced me to a wealth of amazing ingredients that gave me the perfect foundation to my career."

When Michael moved to London to run the kitchen at Mirabelle, 21-year-old Martin went with him, before later moving on to Pied a Terre in London, under Richard Neat.

"Neat was a fantastic chef, but he was a tough guy to work under. That job felt like a nightmare at times, but I still learnt a hell of a lot there," he says.

It was Neat who got Martin his next position, working under Raymond Blanc at the renowned Le Manoir aux Quat' Saisons, in Oxfordshire, where he worked his way up to junior sous chef.

After three years he had the opportunity to go to Raffles in Singapore to help John Burton Race with a food promotion. On returning to the UK, he went to work with Burton Race at L'Ortolan, as senior sous chef.

Soon after, at the age of 27, he became head chef and moved with John to his eponymous restaurant at the Landmark, in London. For the last year that they worked together, Martin was running the restaurant while John was away in France.

But when the opportunity came up to make his own mark at Whatley Manor, he couldn't resist. It proved to be a good move for Martin, who has settled in nearby Tetbury.

It has given him the chance to raise his two children, Oliver, aged nine, and Madeleine, six, in this beautiful part of Wiltshire. Sadly, though, he is also in the process of going through a divorce, albeit an amicable one.

"It's sad, but I'm afraid it is the kind of job that has a high divorce rate, because you have to put an awful lot of hours into your work to get to this level," he explains, with a resigned shrug of his shoulders.

"I'm afraid, as far as the marriage goes, I've become another statistic." So what of the future? Is the world of celebrity chefdom rearing its head for Martin? Or does he have his heart set on launching his own restaurant?

"At the moment, my number one priority is to consolidate on our success at Whatley Manor, and make sure we're able to keep hold of our all-important second Michelin star next year," he says.

"I'm very grounded, and I'm not particularly drawn to the celebrity chef stuff. If something came up that I could do, which I was sure wouldn't interfere with my work here at the hotel, then maybe I'd consider it. But otherwise, I'm not too bothered.

"And as for setting up my own restaurant?" He pauses, thoughtfully. "Maybe one day in the future.

"Everyone has the idea at the back of their mind about setting up their own business. But if it happened, it would be a long way away.

"For now, and for the foreseeable future, I'm devoted to my work here at Whatley Manor."

He gives a momentary smile, and glances around him at the opulent surroundings, before adding: "After all, who wouldn't be happy here?"

For more information about Whatley Manor, visit the website at www.whatleymanor.com