Restaurant has chef on the run
Diners at a Shropshire hotel should not be alarmed if the chef walks out after taking their order – he is probably going into the garden to forage for the ingredients.
Gavin Allan, head chef at The Old Vicarage at Worfield, near Bridgnorth, is taking the concept of fresh food a new a new level by going out to pick the fruit and vegetables to order, while diners watch.
One of the dishes on the menu at the hotel's Orange Brasserie is named Watch The Chef Run, a tomato and buffalo mozzarella salad where Gavin can be seen rifling through the basil and tomatoes in the garden for the freshest ingredients.
Gavin said: “I wanted to introduce a menu that not only explored summer combinations and show that British produce can be dynamic while also offering food that has been consciously thought about.
“It may seem like a simple concept, but actually, when you take into account the growing itself and the consideration of which ingredients are ready to pick, it’s actually a bit of a science.”
He adds that there’s very little waste from the garden, with the excess tomatoes not used in season picked and fermented at the end and used to create a tomato salt.
