Called Ardor, the restaurant is inspired by the food cultures of the Iberian peninsula and Mediterranean and will open in the heart of St Ives on 8 July.
Originating from the words ‘heat’ and ‘passion’ in Latin, Ardor is described as a casual dining restaurant that will pay homage to Janmaat’s love of the Mediterranean coast and Cornwall, where he spent much of his upbringing.
Open for lunch and dinner, it will serve a small plates menu featuring flavours from both Cornwall and Andalusia. Many of the dishes will be nostalgic for Janmaat, bringing back memories of summer lunches with his family on the Spanish coast and will include plates such as fritto misto: Calabrian chilli aioli with burnt lemon; and rotisserie chicken, on show at the face of the kitchen.
The restaurant will also have a Josper grill on which dishes such as monkfish tail, nduja and samphire sauce; and chistorra sausage, lentil and pimentón stew will be prepared as well as an Iberico pork tomahawk served with a choice of salsas.
Other plates will include croquetas of the day; gambas al ajillo; and moules provençal along with daily specials and a fresh fish counter with the daily catch from family-run St Ives fishmonger Matthew Stevens Fish.
Janmaat was born in Amsterdam but spent much of his childhood in Spain, where he fell in love with Mediterranean cooking before moving to Cornwall as a teenager. At the age of 22 he joined Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons, working his way up from commis chef to head chef, a role he held for five years. In 2020 he returned to Cornwall and took the role as executive head chef of The Idle Rocks and St Mawes Hotel.
“It has been a lifelong dream of mine to open a restaurant, and I can’t wait to throw open Ardor’s doors and welcome visitors, locals, friends and family in the best way we know how – with beautiful food and wine. Ardor’s aim is to offer delicious plates using the best produce, selected for its quality and flavour, enhanced by cooking with care and simplicity,” he says.
“We want Ardor to be high energy and lively, somewhere you’re welcome and at ease for a friendly counter lunch or evening pintxos, or as a larger group wanting to get stuck in to a melt-in-the-mouth Galician Côte de boeuf, catch of the day, and all of the small plates, washed down with the finest wines and cocktails.”
Located on Fore Street, 60-cover Ardor will have upstairs and lower dining areas, a bar area, and a chef’s counter, with diners given the choice to sit in one of four areas. The upstairs restaurant will have larger tables and a chef’s counter, with views of chefs working at the rotisserie and Josper grill, while the lower restaurant will provide views directly into the kitchen.