In Association with Major International After being awarded 4 AA Rosettes and a Michelin star in 2011, Adam Stokes is now ready to face a new challenge as he leaves Glenapp Castle to open adam’s Restaurant in Birmingham city centre with wife and business partner, Natasha. Louise Thomas speaks to Adam about his new venture, the day after he hangs up his apron at Glenapp Castle. Why have you made the decision to leave Glenapp Castle? After five years at Glenapp it was time for us to move back to the Midlands to start our next chapter.
I feel that my culinary journey has come as far as it possibly can at Glenapp and I now I want to see how far I can take it, see how far I can go. Your restaurant in Birmingham will only be your third job since leaving college; what makes you feel ready to take on your own restaurant? I spent plenty of time at Hambleton Hall and Glenapp Castle. I was at Hambleton Hall for seven years. There I learnt my trade, I learnt how to cook and towards the end of my time there I learnt management skills, which enabled me to get the position at Glenapp. At Glenapp have implemented a standard and then enthused, excited and taught others how to maintain that standard. Throughout my time at Hambleton Hall I also did stages in kitchens including Pied à Terre and The Square, which are more focused one the city centre dining experience. Experience wise, I’ve seen a lot. Especially in the past five years I’ve dined out in most restaurants across the country and destination restaurants such as noma. noma was very good; the whole attitude, the whole style of the restaurant makes you feel very relaxed. I felt very in tune with what they were doing. If you are an open book and allow them to take you on their journey then you will enjoy it. We want guests to have that same feeling; I felt very comfortable. Sitting in that restaurant makes you feel like you’re a million dollars – just from a service element alone. Why have you chosen to open in Birmingham?
Birmingham is close to our family; I’m from Peterborough and Natasha’s from Leicester – it’s close but not too close! Birmingham has a very vibrant dining scene, second only to London. The restaurants, which are already established there are, are of a very high standard and we hope to join them. Do you feel it’s easier to be recognised in Scotland than in areas of the UK outside of London? No – there are pros and cons, as there are in all areas. Whilst Scotland is less densely populated with restaurants, it’s also less densely populated with diners. Spreading the word, building a name for yourself takes longer. At the end of the day, I hope good cooking will get a chef recognised. How will the food at your restaurant in Birmingham differ to what you offer now at Glenapp Castle? Has it been a challenge to adjust your mindset to create food in a city environment, having trained and worked in the kitchens of country retreats? The food standard will continue to improve. I have been pushing myself since the start of my career. In terms of the other elements: the plates, the service, the décor, they will be in keeping with the new surroundings. The food will still maintain the high standard. The past three years at Glenapp, the food has been in keeping with a modern, stylish, city
centre restaurant. Obviously we have to tailor the food to suit a country house, but even diners at Glenapp are very well learned and they are receptive to a more modern style of food. Maybe Glenapp, on paper, can be pigeonholed as a traditional country retreat and maybe the food that has been on offer previously was compatible to that, but now it is a very modern way of cooking that I feel can be easily translated to what I want to do in Birmingham. What has been your biggest learning curve? Just learning how to deal with everything together: the stresses and the strains of the kitchen, management, managing people and staff. When job roles change they become more challenging as you take on more responsibility; my job role will be changing by running my own business, which will present its own challenges. What has been your greatest success to date? Culinary wise, getting four AA Rosettes and a Michelin star in 2011. We got the Rosettes, then the star, and I turned 30 two days later, so it all happened within 10 days. It was a phenomenal celebration – lots of champagne! Who has been the biggest influence on your career to date? Due to spending seven years at Hambleton Hall, it has to be Aaron Patterson. He gave me a fantastic grounding and knowledge of French cuisine and how to modernise it as well. That sort of training will stay with me forever. He taught me how to cook.
Today, I take inspiration from everywhere: the media, various other chefs, cook books. There is so much more on offer now that you can have access too, so it’s so much easier to be inspired. I’ve got too many cookbooks, but I use books to be inspired, seeing different arrangements of food – not to copy recipes. There was a starter dish that was beautiful, really beautiful. At the time I was working on a strawberry dessert and I took elements of that starter and evolved it into the presentation of my dessert. My food continually evolves; it keeps getting better and becoming more and more refined. How will you source your team for the restaurant in Birmingham? How many chefs will be in the kitchen with you? How important is having a good team to you and the business? We're looking at having four chefs and I will be taking two with me from Glenapp, so we’re strong from the outset. We will be able to cook, from day one, to the same standard. With regards to sourcing other team members, people who have heard about us opening, are attracted to working with us – at this sort of level – we hope people may come to us and they are the sort of people we are interested in working with. I spend a lot of time motivating and exciting my guys in the kitchen. I try to give them as much responsibility as possible, which I believe is key in job satisfaction. You are nothing without a strong and loyal team. What are the goals for you and the business in Birmingham? Will you be aiming for a Michelin star in Birmingham? In Birmingham I want to maintain my standard of cooking. We want to cook with the best ingredients and cook the best food that we can, and everything else will follow. Our goal is happy guests, and I hope we will deliver that. Written by Louise Thomas
