Star struck

Celebrated chef Clare Smyth MBE is as passionate about Porsche as she is food – the 911 Targa 4 GTS pictured is both Clare’s fourth Porsche and the car she drives to work at Core by Clare Smyth, her three-Michelin-starred restaurant in Notting Hill, London.

Growing up in Northern Ireland, Clare combined innate creativity with an early interest in cooking, but a part-time restaurant job during secondary school truly inspired her. ‘They happened to have chefs who’d worked in Michelin-starred restaurants. I got the bug from that and saw a real career path in it,’ she says.

Clare moved to England in the mid-1990s, aged just 16, to pursue her dream career. Mentored by both Gordon Ramsay and Alain Ducasse, she branched out on her own in 2017. ‘I’m a British chef and I really wanted to reflect that and drive forward British gastronomy,’ she enthuses. ‘Earning three Michelin stars is wonderful, but the ultimate recognition is a full restaurant every day.’

Clare describes the 911 as the ultimate sports car, with the Targa’s retro style and open-air versatility particularly appealing to her. ‘I love the look, how it feels to sit in, the speed, the handling, and how it’s so perfectly sized and solid on the road,’ she elaborates. ‘I see myself always owning a 911.’

Appropriately for a Michelin-starred 911 owner, Clare enjoys gastronomic driving trips to France. ‘That’s what the Michelin Guide was originally all about – restaurants with three stars that were worth that special drive,’ she explains.

This summer, she hopes to embark on another culinary adventure in her much-loved Targa.