The Vineyard is celebrating its 20 year anniversary, and to mark this milestone they have created a culinary festival to celebrate the great talents who have been through their kitchen.
From Monday 25th June to Sunday 1st July, seven fantastic Michelin starred chefs who have previously worked at The Vineyard will be showcasing their culinary excellence which will include:
Shay Cooper, Nathan Outlaw, Matt Gillan, Richard Davies, John Campbell, Daniel Galmiche and Billy Reid.
Why did you want to get involved with Back to the Vine?
Whilst I was there, Nathan was my head chef, Matt was my junior sous chef, Richard Davies was my head chef and Shay Cooper was my head chef, so most of the chefs that are there were from my tenure at The Vineyard. I employed them and I trained them – I put them out there and they have all got Michelin stars.
Can you tell me a bit more about working as the executive chef at The Vineyard – what was this like and what did you enjoy most about your time there?
Whilst we were there, we had an annual event called ‘Chefs Table’ where we had high profile chefs being invited to cook in the kitchen with about 90 to 100 guests. We would run it for a week and it was always done in August. With Back to the Vine, they wanted to do something like celebrating the 20 years of the Vineyard. That was the inspiration behind the event.
Do you have any favourite memories from your time at The Vineyard that you are particularly fond of?
They are all good! Certainly, whilst we were doing the chefs table, that was a good week – every year it was good. It was all good memories and certainly when I was working with Nathan whilst we were there, Matt and all of the team, it was nice to see them grow. It was almost like a culinary training farm – it was good!
What are you most looking forward to about taking part in Back to the Vine?
I have spoken to them all (all of the chefs) I needed to have a chat with them and gather all their thoughts. Whether they would be involved in the first place and opened a few doors for the (Vineyard) team to approach. I spoke to them all and they are all keen to do it. They are all keen to get ‘back to the vine’ obviously.
You will be cooking with The Vineyard’s current head chef Robby Jenks and his brigade on Friday 29th June, how are you planning the menu? How will you decide what to cook?
We don’t really do it with Robby as he has his own night and we are doing our night – we tend not to plan it in conjunction with each other. I know The Vineyard – I was there for eight years and know it intimately so I know what we can do there. It’s essentially seasonal – a good representation of our current style here (Woodspeen) with a couple of the old classics that we used to do at The Vineyard.
Are you able to give us any exclusive reveals as to what to expect with regards to your collaboration?
No, it is all under wraps at the moment – there are three dishes out of the five that are classics from The Vineyard.
How beneficial do you think these chef collaborations are and what do you enjoy most about it?
Essentially it is nice to do something for the community – it’s not far from where I am now. It’s nice to be back there. I always enjoy cooking there. Why wouldn’t I want to go back there? It’s a nice place to be.
Back to the Vine eludes to having an ‘interactive dining experience’ – can you tell me a bit more this please?
It’s what I was doing before with the chef's table, but I will leave them to tell you what it is all about. It’s probably important that they share that with you, but I know exactly what is going on.
Do you think you will have the opportunity to attend any of the other chef’s evenings?
Maybe, but I don’t know at the moment, it will be nice to see Nathan but I am going down to Nathan’s this year anyway. I don’t know – we’ll see.
Find out why Shay Cooper is returning to The Vineyard
Find out why Nathan Outlaw is returning to The Vineyard
Find out why Matt Gillan is returning to The Vineyard
Find out why Richard Davies is returning to The Vineyard
Find out why Daniel Galmiche is returning to The Vineyard
Find out why Billy Reid is returning to The Vineyard
