SETTLING down to a delicious meal at The Rising sun, Knapp, I couldn’t help but notice the quirky features scattered around this old 15th century pub.

We are unsure of the purpose of the original building – it is thought that it was possibly a longhouse with animal byre or built as an Open Hall house.

Vincent Adeline, 41, is the head chef (and the only chef) at The Rising Sun. He trained in La Rochelle, France, from the age of 15 but admits he was passionate about food from a young age.

“Since I was seven or eight years old, I have been passionate about food” Vincent said. “I used to help my auntie who had a restaurant.

“The boss I had at the start of my career was very particular – everything had to be his way. It is hard but if you love your job then it is worth it. You need to love cooking. I love cooking and I love my job.”

Vincent then moved to England in 2002 and Somerset in 2005. He started at The Rising Sun in January of this year – ready to help Tim Hill, owner, revamp this beautifully historical pub.

Looking at the menu, I was surprised. I had expected traditional pub food but what I found was delicious gastro-pub meals and was excited to try something new. My partner and I shared the smoked haddock and spinach pot with herb soldiers to start.

The fish was soft, and the sauce had an unusual kick (we found out later that this was paprika) and the crunchy herby bread sticks were a great way to soak up the sauce.

“Our menu is a bit different and I think my cooking is quite different, as I was French trained but am working with some English products” Vincent added.

Vincent explained that he loves cooking fish, so I decided to go for the pan-fried cod loin with herb crust with ratatouille and crushed new potatoes. The fish was very well cooked and the combination of flavours on the plate complemented the fish beautifully.

Around 20 years ago, The Rising Sun was one of the most popular fish restaurants in Somerset – people would even travel from London to visit. Although Tim said that he did not want to recreate this, he believes it is important to keep a few fish dishes on the menu.

“I love cooking fish” Vincent explains. “We are always working with fresh food, we don’t really have anything that’s frozen. If you know where food has come from, the dishes always seem to be nicer.”

He is not afraid to add more fish dishes to the menu, especially as the fish they use is always fresh and locally sourced from Kingfisher Brixham.

The meat is also locally sourced, from Bonners of Ilminster. My partner decided to try this locally sourced meat and had the slow braised lamb shank with garlic mash, and, despite not being a huge fan of lamb, he enjoyed every mouthful.

Yet, The Rising Sun does cater for vegans and vegetarians too. Vincent explains: “You are always learning when fashions and tastes change. Vegan and vegetarian dishes are becoming more and more popular.”

For desert, I had Baileys cheesecake and my partner went for the traditional sticky toffee pudding. These were the perfect sweet dishes to finish off a lovely meal. I never expect the dessert to as good as the main meals, but the bailey’s cheesecake was pretty perfect – light and fluffy with a crunchy base.

After chatting to Vincent, I realised he has worked hard to create food this delicious. As Tim explained: “Vincent and I work well together. I have faith that Vincent does a decent job which gives me time to focus on front of house.”

For more information visit risingsunknapp.co.uk