THEIR grandparents ran one of Cowes’s best known hotels and restaurants in the 1960s and 70s and now two brothers are hoping to carve out their own reputation in the business.
Jack and Ben Cooke opened The Little Gloster Restaurant and Bar in April, naming it after The Gloster Hotel, run by their grandparents, Robin and Lillian Bateman, on Cowes seafront.
The hotel attracted the likes of Sir Max Aitken and former British prime minister and regular Island visitor Sir Ted Heath.
The Little Gloster has opened minutes away in what was formerly the Outlook Bar and Restaurant in Gurnard, following extensive refurbishment.
"We were very young when the Gloster was going but it was around us when we were growing up. My mum used to work there and now she is helping us with our books.
"Our grandmother was the bedrock of the business, while my granddad was the Champagne Charlie at front of house," said Ben, a former chef to the Qatari royal family. "She was Danish and used to make a lot of Danish food and that has influenced some of the things we are doing here."
For the past five years, Ben has worked on megayachts and he opened his Island business with the financial support of a former employer, with whom he sailed around the world.
"Working on boats, it was sometimes a challenge trying to get hold of good ingredients, we would sometimes fly them in.
"On the Island there are some great ingredients available. We have been working with Fish in Cowes particularly," said Ben.
The pair are now preparing for what they hope will be a busy Cowes week.
Reporter: ross.findon@iwcp.co.uk