10 Years of Cambium: How the New Forest Restaurant Started To Now
Our flagship New Forest restaurant, Cambium is celebrating its ten year anniversary this year! Take a step back in time with us and find out how our culinary love letter to the New Forest first started.
A Grand Opening with Forest-Chic Finery
A decade ago, Cambium sprouted from an idea: a restaurant grown entirely from the forest’s spirit. Named after the living rings that fuel a tree’s growth, it was designed to evolve each season, showcasing the very best of the New Forest’s natural larder. Its soft palette of mossy greens, golden oak-leaf screens, and hand-painted tree murals—crafted by the local mother-and-daughter duo Sue and Bonnie Stowell—brought the outdoors in, transforming the space into a living homage to its surroundings.
Chapter One: Paul Peters – The Inaugural Visionary
At the helm of Cambium’s opening was Chef Paul Peters, formerly of The Black Swan in North Yorkshire and a former colleague of Marco Pierre White and John Burton-Race. Under his guidance, the New Forest restaurant Cambium launched with a refined six-course tasting menu. The menu featured dishes like pan-seared scallops with celeriac, pear, candied hazelnuts, and celery cress, and a sumptuous dark chocolate pavé with caramelised banana and thyme-honey ice cream—both emblematic of the restaurant’s early creative flair.
Chapter Two: Alistair Craig – Rooted in Forest Flavours
Stepping into the kitchen after its launch, Head Chef Alistair Craig brought a new lens to the menu—simple, sensory, season-led cooking with deep local roots. Having returned to the New Forest in 2016, Craig’s menus celebrated regional produce, often sourced from Careys Manor’s very own garden. Think grilled mackerel with Isle of Wight tomatoes and Jasmin jelly, beef sirloin from the local Pondhead Farm paired with oxtail ravioli, and earthy tarragon gnocchi studded with courgettes. Under his command, Cambium earned Hotel Restaurant of the Year – South at the Food Awards England in 2017.
Today: A New Forest Restaurant with A Decade of Evolving Elegance
Now, ten years on, Cambium remains rooted yet ever-renewing. Its kitchen continues to be guided by Dylan James, whose culinary philosophy blends classical French techniques with clean British simplicity. His seasonal menus still rotate with the forest’s rhythms. We’re talking New Forest asparagus in spring, wild venison in autumn, and shellfish from the surrounding coastlines.
Celebrated Dishes Through the Years
Some standout plates have become part of Cambium’s story:
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Early Signature:
A delicate amuse of sea bass tartare on squid-ink rye, and a tuna tataki with yuzu, nori crisp, and wasabi for the bold.
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Guest Favourites under Craig:
Local New Forest asparagus with truffle emulsion, duck egg, and hazelnut pesto; smoked chalk-stream trout in a vibrant velouté; and a show-stopping salted caramel mousse with popcorn brittle and macerated raspberries that made the summer menu unforgettable.
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A Celebrated Dish by Dylan James:
One of his summer highlights is “Grilled monkfish, masala sauce, pickled red cabbage, puffed wild rice,” showcased on Cambium’s Spring/Summer menu. This dish is a perfect example of James’s approach—clean, classical flavours infused with a creative twist and quality ingredients. The succulent monkfish pairs beautifully with a warming, lightly spiced masala sauce. Sharp, pickled red cabbage adds a tangy contrast. While puffed wild rice brings texture and visual flair—a harmonious celebration of flavour, season, and craft.
A Toast to the New Forest, and English Wine
Cambium’s walls may evoke the forest, but its wine list became a vineyard of English pride. With some of the largest collections of homegrown English wines—from Marlings to Ridgeview—paired perfectly with region-focused tasting menus, Cambium has elevated dining in the New Forest into local storytelling, glass by glass.
Why Book Your Table At This New Forest Restaurant Now?
To put it simply, each visit to Cambium is a journey through years of care, creativity, and community. From Paul Peters’ original tasting menus to Alistair Craig’s soulful seasonal plates and Dylan James’s refined touch. What hasn’t changed is the emotion—the forest that courses through everything on the plate. Whether it’s an artfully plated beetroot panna cotta that makes you pause, or creamy rhubarb frangipane that tastes like a New Forest summer, every dish is a memory waiting to be made.
So, here’s to ten years of Cambium—still growing, always inviting, and forever tempting you to dine with the forest.
