He owns a string of top eateries in London – so what is it that keeps restaurateur, chef and food writer Mark Hix coming back to the seaside?

There’s a force 7 off the Dorset coast, and breaking waves are slamming into The Cobb in Lyme Regis. The historic, curved sea wall protects a few moored yachts, their flags flapping in the gusting wind. Tourists hold onto their hats and head into the RNLI gift shop at the corner of the harbourside lifeboat station. Inside, the volunteers are doing a roaring trade.

It was 8 miles east of here, at West Bay, that Mark Hix grew up. After heading to London to work as a chef at the age of 18, he quickly earned his catering stripes. Head chef roles led to a directorial position where he oversaw several prestigious restaurants – including The Ivy – before he struck out on his own, writing cookbooks and opening his own eateries. Four of the Hix restaurants are in the capital, but one venture has taken him back to his roots. Perching on a steep hill that overlooks The Cobb, the Hix Oyster & Fish House serves food that arrives fresh off the local boats.

‘Whenever I’ve got some spare time, I’m out there fishing myself,’ says Mark, gazing at the rolling ocean from his sheltered restaurant terrace, before grabbing a fork and tucking into one of his own dishes: crab, peas and duck egg. The award-winning chef has been championing the use of crab, hosting a themed festival over the Summer that raised more than £3,000 for the RNLI. ‘I made crab dishes down on The Cobb and sold them off in aid of the charity,’ explains Mark, who also held a crab recipe competition as part of Lyme Regis Lifeboat Week. In another fundraising venture, Mark worked with Palmers, a Dorset brewery, to sell two specially brewed ales in aid of the RNLI. The project raised £600 for the charity by the time it ended in 2011.

‘The lifeboat station is at the centre of the community here – it’s only right that people support the crew,’ says Mark, whose late father organised lifeboat fundraising events such as the West Bay Raft Race. These days, Mark spends weekends in Dorset and works in London during the week – and he is acutely aware of the charity’s lifesaving work wherever he goes. ‘I see the lifeboats racing up the Thames sometimes – people in London are taking more notice of that,’ he explains, adding that Marcus Verberne – Mark’s Executive Chef at London’s HIX at The Albemarle – was rescued by the West Mersea lifeboat in Essex in 2010. As a thank you for saving Marcus, Mark raised £2,500 at a cooking demonstration with Australian TV Chef Bill Granger. They donated the money to West Mersea Lifeboat Station, Essex.

Unlike Bill and many other high-profile chefs, Mark has kept his television appearances to a minimum. ‘There’s so much time involved in TV work. I tend to turn it down – it’s like another career altogether. I did enjoy doing the Great British Menu, though.’ Mark smiles as he recalls the BBC series in which chefs competed for the chance to cook for the Ambassadors Dinner at the British Embassy in Paris. He won the South West England heat and two of his dishes made it onto the ambassadors’ plates: a crayfish and rabbit stargazy pie and a perry jelly dessert with elderflower ice cream.

The winning recipes summed up Mark's passion for locally sourced food and a focus on simple, tasty dishes rather than fine dining. ‘It’s a tough business – you have to keep ahead of the game. My approach is to keep things simple. The minute you start messing around with fish, for example, your customers are in danger of not getting what they are expecting,’ says Mark. While he hasn’t got the time for a television career, Mark’s return train journeys to London offer plenty of writing opportunities. He has netted a host of awards for his food columns and cookbooks, including the 2011 Guild of Food Writers Cookery Journalist of the Year.

'Next I’m publishing a new book about baking – not just desserts, but anything you put in the oven,’ says Mark, who has also scooped several chef and restaurateur awards. They include a clutch of Great Taste Awards, the Tatler Restaurateur of the Year, Catey’s Chef of the Year, GQ Best Chef and an Academy Award for Outstanding Contribution to London Restaurants.

It’s time to get back to work. ‘I’ve always got something on the boil,’ grins Mark. As he heads to the kitchen, waiting staff lay tables, and the sun begins to set. Like the food served here, the restaurant looks simple and comforting. And taking pride of place on the mantel is something very close to Mark’s heart: not an award certificate, trophy or rosette, but a lifeboat collection box.