The owners of a thriving Michelin-starred restaurant have revealed why they are leaving the county after eight years of serving up culinary excellence.

It has become notoriously difficult to book a table at Stark in Broadstairs due to it having just 16 seats and offering one of the county’s finest dining experiences.

Headed by husband-and-wife team Ben and Sophie Crittenden, it launched in 2016 and gained its first Michelin star just three years later.

It is an accolade the couple claim they never strived to achieve despite them retaining it ever since.

So it is no surprise aspiring guests have to dash to try to book two months in advance when slots are released.

Speaking to KentOnline this week, Sophie confirmed May 31 will be the Oscar Road restaurant’s last day in Broadstairs.

“We are going to move to East Road in Mersea Island, Essex,” the 34-year-old said. “I am from there and it is my turn to live near my family.

“I have not been serving for a couple of years as I had a baby who is now four.

“I took a step back and we have had waitresses.

“Ben and I miss working together and what the business was like when it was a husband-and-wife team.

“Working nights, you do not have nursery options and we do not have family members here who can look after the kids for us.”

Just two people work in the restaurant at one time, so Ben heads up the kitchen by himself.

It has a strict policy of not being able to cater for dietary requirements or allergies due to this adding extra costs and pressure on the head chef.

Originally occupying the site at 1 Oscar Road, they moved to number 15 as it had more space, but it is still a very intimate affair.

Painted black inside and with a rusting effect on some of the decor, the couple admit it might not be the traditional set-up many associate with a Michelin-starred restaurant.

Ben offers a tasting menu of six mystery courses with one of the dishes changing each week.

“The menu itself is not trying to be wacky and we are not trying to compete with Heston and his flavours or ingredients,” Sophie said.

“But most people like the mystery and it has become an unintentional part of our concept.

“People are like, ‘If you are lucky to get a seat, you get what you are given.’

“That has become part of the experience.”

Sophie says they have already started renovating their new site in Mersea Island.

But she admits moving to Essex to be near her family will be “bittersweet” for the pair.

“It will be unusual as it is all we have ever known Stark as,” she added.

“But that is fairly clouded by the fact we are quite excited to be near family we have had to travel to see until now.

“I do not think the moving process will be difficult as it is a nice site and there is a nice reason behind the move.”

However, as they still own the original 1 Oscar Road site, they plan to return every few months to offer a pop-up restaurant to some of their regulars.

When they leave the town, they will automatically lose their Michelin star, which they have held for more than four years.

“It was never Ben’s mission to get a Michelin star,” Sophie said.

“Now he has, it is lovely and exciting to see each year we have kept it.

“If we were not to keep it, it would take an enormous amount of pressure off.

“It brings a whole different category of customers who have categorised Michelin-star restaurants as fancy and Stark does not fit many people’s interpretations of one.

“They can be shocked by it being a different restaurant and sometimes you get an odd vibe if they are expecting white tablecloths and not loud music and dark walls.

“It would be lovely to keep the Michelin star but it would be interesting to see any changes in the customer base if we do not.”

Stark serves a six-course tasting menu for £85 and an optional wine flight for £45.

It is the only Michelin-starred restaurant in Thanet and one of five in the whole of Kent.

The eatery launched in 2016 to secure a better work/life balance for Ben so he could spend more time with their three young children: Ivy, Rosa and Arlo.

While other businesses in the hospitality sector have struggled or closed down, Stark has continued to thrive in a notoriously difficult industry. But how?

“We are so small we do not have many staff members,” Sophie said.

“The one waitress we have now is Ben’s sister.

“Restaurants employ a whole team of servers and chefs but our costs are as low as can be for a restaurant.

“It is a really tough industry to make money out of and stay true to the concept you tried to open it with.”

Stark’s customer base includes many highly-regarded chefs and the occasional celebrity.

“We had Dermot O’Leary come in to eat,” Sophie said.

“He is from Colchester, which is where I am from, so we were super excited about seeing him.

“I was bending his ear about where he had been in Colchester and where he went to school.

“He was doing a book signing at the college and the lady who organised it had been into us a couple of times before so she contacted to say she was taking Dermot, his wife and the team out and asked to come to Stark.”

Ben is certainly showing no signs of slowing down as he continues to serve up tasty meals, which he describes as “modern British cuisine”.

But Sophie disputes this, and describes the food as “what he can get hold of, mess around with and fancies trying”.

“For Ben and the menu ideas, without blowing smoke up his bum too much, he is just really good at what he does,” she said.

“He is like one of the kids at school who never revised for exams and does well.

“He never struggles for ideas for new dishes which is why something changes each week.”