IT’S not until the boat comes in that local chef Jamie Gray knows what will be on the menu at The Cruel Sea in Poole.

Jamie, 40, who has worked at a number of local restaurants, joined the popular tapas restaurant at Penn Hill last October.

“We don’t have a head chef – it is more of a team effort. I am one of two full-time chefs,” he explains.

Jamie, pictured right, has also worked on yachts in the Mediterranean and for private chalets in the Alps.

But although he has more than 18 years of experience in the industry, it is the first time he has cooked tapas.

“I really enjoy it,” he says. “I like the fact there is no set menu and it just depends what is in season and what comes off the boat that day so you never know what’s coming in which keeps it interesting for me and the customers.”

Jamie adds: “Tapas is a very popular way of eating – we usually have around five different meat dishes, six or seven fish dishes and half a dozen vegetarian dishes.”

Owner Pete Miles, who also owns Storm, an established fish restaurant in Poole, added: “After running Storm for seven years which was a la carte and about as formal as it gets, I liked the idea of a place where you could have a drink, a bite to eat and then going on for a few more drinks.

“Sharing food is a very sociable and pleasant way to eat – it can be as little as you want or as much as you want.”

See Monday’s Taste for the Echo’s Mystery Diner review of the restaurant.