A CHEF says receiving a Michelin star was a “dream come true” as the accolade is not recognised in his home nation.

Jean Delport is the executive chef at Restaurant Interlude, located in the 240-acre woodland gardens of Leonardslee Estate, near Horsham.

The restaurant retained its Michelin star last week, after being first awarded the prestigious honour under the South African chef in 2019.

With the Michelin star system not recognised in his home nation, the 33-year-old told The Argus Podcast receiving the accolade was “a massive dream come true”.   

“I had to make a move to try and do it and it was one of the goals moving to the UK,” he said.

“It’s something I’d always dreamt of when I was a kid.

“I had a strong team from South Africa working for it. It was like touching the untouchable for us.

“It’s a bit nerve wracking, but it’s a special moment when it comes. It is something that we have always worked towards.”

The Argus: Jean Delport is the executive chef at Restaurant Interlude, located in the 240-acre woodland gardens of Leonardslee Estate Jean Delport is the executive chef at Restaurant Interlude, located in the 240-acre woodland gardens of Leonardslee Estate

Restaurant Interlude is one of only three restaurants in Sussex with a Michelin star. The others are Gravetye Manor in East Grinstead and Restaurant Tristan in Horsham.

And Jean, who is only the second South African chef to ever be awarded a Michelin star after Jan Hendrik, said he has his eyes firmly set of another one.

“A second star is the dream. We’ll start pushing hard towards that, upping our levels.

“That’s why we recently expanded the team. We’ve got the addition of rooms now. It puts us in good stead now.”

As well as the nine table restaurant which serves between 18 and 22 courses depending on seasonality, the Leonardslee estate has also expanded with the introduction of a ten-bedroom accommodation facility.

“In some aspects, we’re not far off. But there are others that we will be working on for a long time to get there,” he added.

“But watch this space, and hopefully I can get there quickly.”

The Argus: Chef Jean Delport at Restaurant Interlude Chef Jean Delport at Restaurant Interlude

At Restaurant Interlude, every dish served on the ever-changing set menu features at least one component from the estate.

“Whether we’ve foraged it, grown it, whether it’s from our bees, our chickens, pigs, deer,” Jean said.

“For the next five years, our goal is to try and get more from the estate and try and keep it as close to home as possible.”

The full episode of The Argus Podcast featuring Jean is available now on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.