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CHEF NICK EDGAR
Restaurant/Café:
The Ryebeck
Location:
Bowness-on-Windermere, Cumbria, UK
Instagram:
@nicoginger82
Chef Nick Edgar has a kitchen resume to die for! Surrounded by his father’s baking as a child, Nick grew with the ambition to become a chef. He spent a fantastic five years at Le Manoir under the tutelage of @ChefGaryJones. Here he learned how to really taste food as his cooking grew in confidence. From Le Manoir he moved to the North of England, where he won a Michelin Star at The Samling after only 8 months in situ’. Remaining in beautiful Cumbria he is cooking phenomenal dishes at The Ryebeck where he continues to evolve his recipes. Welcome Chef Nick as our latest Chef of Chef Works…
Chef Nick outside The Ryebeck in the Chef Works Madrid Premium Chef Coat.
1. Your restaurant/role:
Head Chef at The Ryebeck.
2. Describe your kitchen:
Organised, tiny, well-worn and disciplined.
3. Favourite Chef Works item and why?
I like my Chef Works chef jackets because they are hard-wearing and comfortable with a strong collar.
4. First job:
Pot washer while studying to be a chef at Aylesbury College.
5. Favourite cookbook:
Would have to be Le Manoir aux Quat’ Saisons by Chef Raymond Blanc. Both the original and new version.
Chef Nick adding finishing touches.
Delicious Venison with Pear, Chocolate, Sprouts and Parsley Root.
6. Your awards:
To date 1 Michelin star; 3 AA rosettes; The William Heptinstall Award 2005; Chef of the Year 2017 Cumbria Life. The UK Craft Guild of Chefs National Chef of the Year finalist 2109.
7. Your cooking inspiration:
A mix of ingredients, young enthusiastic chefs and the Executive Head Chef at Le Manoir, Gary Jones.
8. Your speciality dish:
My take on Gazpacho that was originally created for NCOTY back in 2014. I have evolved the recipe every year since as it starts as one dish and evolves into a completely different flavour as you eat it. It’s a small Bell Pepper confit then filled with a red pepper sorbet, a clear tomato essence is then poured into the bowl, so as you eat, it forms gazpacho in front of you.
9. Favourite dish to eat:
My mums Lasagne and Pork Tenderloin with Mustard Greens from Tom Kerridge at The Hands and Flowers.
10. Weirdest thing you ever ate:
Simply Snail Caviar!
Rhubarb with White Chocolate and Saffron.
11. Favourite ice cream flavour:
Ben & Jerry’s Chocolate ice cream, but my Sweet Curry ice cream with Coconut Rice Pudding is pretty special too.
12. Favourite drink:
Dr Pepper or a good old cuppa of PG Tips tea.
13. Favourite wine:
A Crianza Rioja 2005, this reminds me of a great holiday in Valencia, Spain.
14. Who would you most like to cook for?
Former US President, Barack Obama – inspirational on so many levels.
15. And who would you least like to cook for?
Anyone that doesn’t understand the hard work and thought that goes into cooking.
16. Favourite things to do when not cooking:
Sleeping and watching football, my team being the Arsenal.
Chef Nicks take on Gazpacho.
17. Your latest project:
I am a finalist for the NCOTY 2019 which will be announced in October and pushing The Ryebeck to the next level.
18. Favourite city and why?
New York. I have memories of working at the former wd50 on the Lower East Side of Manhattan – the city that never sleeps.
19. Your greatest indulgence?
Any supermarket Chocolate mousse and sleep on days off.
20. And finally, your all-time best culinary tip?
When cooking Risotto, NEVER stop stirring until it is properly cooked
Chef Photography:
David Lindsay
Food Photography:
@bacononthebeach