PAUL AINSWORTH, CAFFE ROJANO, PADSTOW

“When the Government first shut us down my one request to my team was to go and do something to help the community, and they’ve blown me away,” says Paul Ainsworth. “Baking bread, cutting lawns – one of my chefs de partie, Charlie, helped set up a kitchen in north London that has cooked over 12,000 meals for those in need.” Ainsworth runs his eponymous Michelinstarred restaurant at No6 in Padstow as well as Caffè Rojano, Padstow Townhouse, and The Mariners in Rock. “I’ve had a chance to take a hard look at my business and change things I might not have had the chance to otherwise,” he explains. “When we first closed we cooked all the perishable ingredients and delivered food around the community; we’ve done it every Friday since, partnering with the WI in Wadebridge, Padstow and Rock to provide 100 meals for each area. Our suppliers have been phenomenal; one of them, True Foods, messaged us to say it had a load of pies sitting in its freezer, so they supplied the pies, and [my wife, Emma, my staff and I] provided the chips and mushy peas.”

Ainsworth employs over 140 people, so preparing to reopen Caffè Rojano today and his other restaurants this week has required “a lot of socially distanced meetings”, he says, “talking, planning, and working backwards from the two most important factors: protecting my team, and our customers.” All his restaurants will be cashless and he has stripped out tables. The menus have been scaled back, too, and wine lists at No6 will be sent to customer’s phones. “We received our beautifullymade masks from Oliver Harvey, who provides our chef whites,” he says, but customers won’t be asked to wear gloves; “they are not as hygienic as washing hands.” With PPE, screens and sanitiser in place, Ainsworth is excited to be back – as are his customers: “We received over 3,000 bookings within two days of announcing our opening!” he says. “There’s only so long you can be at home occupying yourself with a Joe Wicks workout, and I cannot wait to see my team. We do what we do because we want to see the joy on people’s faces.”

Paul and Emma Ainsworth in Caffè Rojano, top; alongside staff members in Padstow, above; some tables have been taken out from No6, middle