We’ve all seen busy restaurant kitchens on TV where head chefs bark orders in a loud and sweaty, frenetic environment.

Now forget that, because when things get stressful in Ellina Smith’s kitchen, everything goes quiet.

Ellina worked for nine years at the Ebury Restaurant and Wine Bar in Belgravia, but the mum of two chose to work closer to home 10 years ago and came to the Wharf that sits in the shadows of the QEII Bridge at Crossways, as head chef.

Originally from Russia, she said: “I really liked the pub. It’s got a nice little lake with swans and its nice and friendly.”

Going from an a la carte menu to pub grub was a transition for Ellina, and she came in well armed with many suggestions for menus.

Now with nine staff under her, Ellina is also chef mentor for Shepherd Neame, helping train up new starters and walking them through their start with the company. However, she manages to take it all in her stride.

“There’s not a lot of shouting in the kitchen,” she said.

“Maybe it is partly because I am a woman. Sometimes it’s stressful with the service. It’s hot and fast-paced but there’s no need to shout. I occasionally raise my voice but only if I’ve asked for something to be done a couple of times and it hasn’t been.

“I go a bit quiet actually to concentrate. The radio goes off and everyone just needs to focus. You have to soldier through and work hard and work as a team. We look after our guys – we start together and we finish together.”

“I always say to people when they start you cannot take on too many things at once. Take three tickets and work on those. You’re just going to get confused if you take more.”

A violin player in her spare time, Ellina sees cooking as creative, and particularly enjoys cooking fish and pasta fishes. She said: “I love Thai food, as I met my husband in Thailand, but I don’t cook it very often – to be honest I hardly ever cook at home. People say to my husband ‘it must be great being married to a chef’ but no, he does all the cooking!”

DETAILS

The Wharf is at Cotton Lake, Galleon Boulevard, Crossways, Dartford
For details call 01322 229939 or visit www.shepherdneame.co.uk/pubs/dartford/wharf

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THE WHARF'S FISH AND CHIPS SUPPER

Who doesn’t love fish and chips? You can use any white fish, haddock, cod, pollock, river cobbler – just so long as it is fresh and your batter is crisp and tasty. Brilliant Ale makes the perfect beer batter. Pair it with hand cut or chunky chips, tartar sauce and homemade mushy peas. And there’s an obvious choice to serve it up with: a glass of Brilliant Ale on the side!

(Preparation time is 10 minutes; cooking time is also 10 minutes. Serves four)
Ingredients:
300g self raising flour
1 tsp Salt
½ tsp baking powder
1 bottle Sheheard Neame Brilliant Ale
50ml white wine vinegar
Black pepper
4 x 175g MCS certified fish fillets, skin removed.

1. Heat a deep fat fryer to 170°c
2. Season 100g of the flour with salt and pepper and dust the fish fillets liberally.
3. Sieve the remaining flour into a bowl, adding the remaining salt and baking powder. Make a well, slowly add the beer and vinegar, whisking in. The consistency should be that of thick double cream. You may not need all the beer. Leave the batter to rest in the fridge for 30 minutes. The mixture will bubble up a little. Whisk it again until smooth and coat the fish fillets.
4. Deep fry the fish one at a time, lowering them in gradually to prevent them sticking to the basket, for six to seven minutes each side, until the batter is golden and the fish is cooked. Cooking time will depend on the thickness of the fish fillet. Leave the fish fillets to rest in the oven on a greaseproof lined tray while you cook the rest.