“There’s no comparison.”

That is the response from Riviera Hotel head chef Simon Fennell when I ask how things have changed in the kitchen in the last 14 months.

Since Simon came out of retirement to “give them a hand” in October 2012, the menu at this popular three-star hotel idyllically located in Alum Chine has had a complete turnaround.

“Everything here was frozen,” he says.“Now ten per cent of it is frozen – we really don’t like holding stock. The normal, run-of-the-mill menu is really traditional, but the menu changes every day, which is good for seasons and it’s good for fresh food, which we like.”

It’s a concept Simon, who previously spent 11 years as head chef at the Montague Arms in Beaulieu, is keen to promote.

“A lot of the food we cook has to be quick,” he said.“It’s quite fast and furious. But on the odd occasion that the leash is let off, then we do go to town a little bit. We do enjoy those days.”

Simon and his brother David Dunn, who spent seven years at the Chewton Glen alongside executive chef Luke Matthews and is now sous chef at the Riviera, clearly relish the opportunity to be more creative with the menu on special occasions.

“It just makes for interesting food,” smiles Simon.

“If we don’t have parties and we have a few more private diners, wine dinners, then David and I can have a bit more of a play.

“It’s totally experimental. I’m no Heston Blumenthal, but we do like to play a little bit with just ideas and textures and flavours and things. I think the people who come and eat here are pleasantly surprised. In the past it’s not been known for cuisine – it’s got a fantastic reputation for hospitality. But I think when people come they think ‘wow, this is really different’.”

The key, Simon says, to making the food look impressive, is actually to keep it simple.

“Things look difficult, but they’re really not, they’re really simple,” he explained.

“We can always make something look pretty, but if it doesn’t taste good, you can’t do that.

“I’ve eaten at most of the restaurants in Bournemouth and the New Forest, I tend to eat out quite a lot. Some of the food that we do here now is comparable to what I see there.”