The Floating Feast ; (1)Travel Special 2007(2) When Simon Woodhouse Turned a Rickety Old Boat Into an Eatery That Even the French Approved of, He Showed That You Can Make Your Wildest Dreams Come True, Says Tessa Boase

Daily Mail › January 07, 2007

Linked as:

Summary

Halfway across the Channel, with the sea pouring in through the bows and the pumps struggling in vain, Simon Woodhouse made the brave decision not to turn round and head for home. It was France or bust for the 38-year-old chef and his rickety old fishing trawler, Water Lily. His extraordinary adventure, being featured in a new TV series this month, began last June in a boatyard in Littlehampton, West Sussex.

Woodhouse, a landscape architect-turned-chef and boat fanatic, was poking around the junk when he saw her. 'The owner of the yard wanted it off his hands,' he says. 'It had sunk twice already; you could walk through the hull.

See the full content of this document

Extract

The Floating Feast ; (1)Travel Special 2007(2) When Simon Woodhouse Turned a Rickety Old Boat Into an Eatery That Even the French Approved of, He Showed That You Can Make Your Wildest Dreams Come True, Says Tessa Boase

He said I could have it for Pounds 1.' Mad or inspired, he bought the 48-foot trawler, and in just four weeks made it seaworthy with the help of friends and a pile of scaffolding planks.

'I had this dream,' he explains. 'I imagined Water Lily painted blue, covered in flowers, her tables set with sparkling glassware. I imagined her moored on the Seine by Notre Dame - making it the most romantic 16-seater restaurant in Paris. I wanted to create this for just one night.' So Woodhouse set out in his leaky vess...

See the full content of this document