For the first time, one of Britain's most exciting restaurants includes a Welsh address. That's where Gareth Ward, the first chef to win a second Star, is. And he is about to open two new locations to put the country on the food map.
The story
Wales. It had always remained on the fringes of the British gastronomic scene. Until Gareth Ward came along, the first to win Two MICHELIN Stars, followed by back-to-back awards from critics, who listed Ynyshir as one of the most exciting places to dine in the UK.
The location helps. In an old country cottage, formerly the hiding place of Queen Victoria, Gareth’s partner Amelia Eiriksson, an architect by profession, has built a dark stage that is the perfect backdrop to the daring dishes coming out of the kitchen (dishes that the chef refuses to alter, even for allergies). And the success may soon be replicated with an upscale coffee shop and wine bar in Machynlleth titled Gwen in honor of his mother. Followed by a pub concept based on the food boxes Gareth was churning out during the pandemic. The icing on the cake is the MICHELIN Star granted to his former second-in-command, Nathan Davies, for SY23, another restaurant making Wales an even more irresistible destination.
Credits Richard Swingler
Nothing about his success was given. "Initially, I wanted to join the army, but they didn't take me because of vision problems. Then I wanted to join the fire department, but they didn't take me because of strikes." Resigned, Gareth ended up working at a pub in Shincliffe. It was not there, however, that the cooking spark was struck; rather when, on the advice of a friend who had seen his talent, he joined the brigade of a Starred restaurant Hambleton Hall in Rutland. "Everything in that place literally blew me away – the standards, the atmosphere, the ingredients. It was a whole other planet.
At Hambleton Hall, Chef Aaron Patterson passed on classic cooking from the ground up. Such as making sauces and processing whole animals, promoting him from commis to sous. "Eventually, I knew how to cook. My mind was very classical, but I could have prepared anything." From there he moved on to Seaham Hall with Steve Smith, himself a student of Marco Pierre White then converted to the Iberian avant-garde, followed by Sat Bains in Nottingham.
"Everything comes from the food I like to eat," Gareth says about Ynyshir, where he has since settled. "I love Thai green curry, so why not cook it with the best langoustines in the world, the ones from our sea, cull them so they can be shucked raw and served tender, fatty, delicious, and sweet, and then make a green curry with the shells? That's the flavor you love but on another level. Japan, China, it's all there. I love soy, miso, fish sauce, and sake. I love the intensity and that balance between salty and sweet in the same dish." Another passion is technology, with his use of laboratory equipment, hyper-freezers and centrifuges allowing him new modulations of flavors and textures.
"Every person in the room would probably want to eat something completely different, so I do as I please. I like to come to the restaurant in the morning and have a great time. I work with the best people in the world because I hire who I want, I would want them as family. People maybe see it on social media and decide to eat with us. You need to surround yourself with people you love, who believe in what you do and want to be a part of it. Never give up, never stop."
Credits Richard Swingler
Source: walesonline.co.uk
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