Chef Ollie Bridgwater was appointed executive chef at the one Michelin-starred, three AA Rosette restaurant, SOURCE at Gilpin Hotel, just over a year ago. Under his management the restaurant has taken a new direction with exquisite produce at its heart allowing, where possible, the incredible local produce from the region to take centre stage. His food is quietly impeccable and elegantly unpretentious.
For Ollie the detail really matters, each dish, although it may appear simple, is impeccably presented, as described by the Michelin Guide the menu is ‘precise, sophisticated’ and ‘resists the temptation for over-complication’.
“With every dish there is always a lot of technique,” Ollie explains. “It’s simple to look at on the plate but there is nothing simple about the process that it took to get it there. My training has been at three Michelin star level. The dishes here are simpler, but they are still really refined, and for me, they need to be as close to perfection as possible.”
Combining his precise and highly technical style of cooking with the incredible produce sourced locally in the Lake District has resulted in something very special emerging at this relaxed dining spot, set within miles of undulating fells and unspoilt countryside.
Ollie joined Gilpin from Heston Blumenthal’s The Fat Duck in Bray, Berkshire, possibly the most innovative and successful restaurant in the UK’s history. Prior to joining the team at Gilpin, Ollie was with Heston for over a decade, starting at the Hind’s Head and then moving to The Fat Duck, where he was sous chef for over five years.
We caught up with Ollie to find out more about his career, cooking style and where you’ll find him on days off.
Can you tell us a little bit about yourself, including where you are today, professionally, and what got you here?
My first kitchen role was a part time job pot washing in a restaurant and I just worked my way up from there. I didn’t have qualifications I just wanted to get on and learn, not in the classroom, but in the kitchen. Fresh from school, I worked for Paul Vidic, a renowned Lincolnshire chef who taught me about accountability, independent working and being proactive – it was a great foundation in the industry. After that I went overseas to Austria where I worked as a sous chef in a ski resort, combining cooking with my hobby of snowboarding – it was a great way to spend my teen years.
When I returned back to the UK I made the decision to really focus on my career. I was 19 years old and hungry to advance up the ladder, I knew I wanted to work somewhere great, so was very fortunate when an opportunity came up to work for Heston Blumenthal. I started at the Hind’s Head before moving to The Fat Duck, where I was sous chef for over five years. After a decade with Heston, the time was right for me to go out on my own and try something new. The opportunity of doing something different, in a different type of venue, in a different part of the country had massive appeal. Gilpin’s reputation is renowned, and I was excited by the challenge to apply what I had learnt at The Fat Duck to a five-star independent hotel.
What or who inspired you to become a chef?
Initially, it was something I fell into. I started off with a Saturday job in a local restaurant pot washing when I was just 14 and I remember really liking the buzzy atmosphere, camaraderie, and healthy competition.
One day when I was working, I saw one of the junior chefs grappling with a pigeon starter, and after watching, I offered to help, and it just stemmed from there. That opportunity and recognition bolstered my confidence, in fact, looking back now, it was probably the moment that cemented that becoming a chef was the right career choice for me.
Who has been your biggest influence to get you to where you are today?
I am incredibly grateful to have had a lot of help along the way, however Ashley Palmer-Watts in particular has made a real impact on my career. Ash was the group executive chef at The Fat Duck during my time there, and I was lucky to have him assigned as my mentor. He taught me to take a step back, take your head out of the kitchen and look at things differently. He asked all the right questions and got me thinking about what I wanted to achieve in my career, he completely believed in me and pushed me to do my best. Now, even though we’ve both left The Fat Duck, I chat to him regularly and he’s become a good friend who is always happy to listen and advise. He has really shaped me not only as a chef, but as a coach, manager and person too.
What has been your career highlight to date?
Securing a Michelin star for SOURCE at Gilpin Hotel within the first three months of its opening.
What’s your signature dish?
At SOURCE, our menu changes all the time to keep things fresh, so we don’t have one signature dish but more signature flavour combinations. For example, one of the first dishes we had on the menu when we launched last year was raw scallop, oyster cream, pickled radish and gazpacho of herbs, which made use of the freshest scallops from the Orkney Islands and combined them with the zingyness of pickled radish, the richness of the oyster cream and the vibrancy of the bright green gazpacho. Our guests loved how completely immersive and sensory this dish was, and that really sums up our signature style at SOURCE. We’re looking forward to bringing a version of this back to our menu in the future.
What are the most important considerations when crafting your menu?
The big thing for me is that we do not look at dishes as individual elements, but instead look at the menu, in its entirety, as a carefully curated journey. The menu is like an orchestra, and the dishes are instruments, everything plays its own part but also comes together to create our very own spectacular, SOURCE symphony.
To help with this journey, I feel it’s important for the menu to have key elements. One of which is a pre-dessert – this is both a sweet and savoury dish that bridges the gap between the main course and the dessert. It’s a similar concept to what they do in France when they serve the cheese course prior to dessert – it eases the transition for the taste buds. The matched wines we serve also must complement the dishes and have the same ebb and flow as the rest of the menu.
How would you describe your cooking style?
It’s simple in concept yet refined in execution. My style uses complex techniques to get the very best out of high-quality ingredients.
Do you have a favourite time of year or set of ingredients that you look forward to working with?
It has to be spring. As many of us will agree with, it can feel like a bit of a long slog through winter. Due to our climate, produce can be quite limited in November, December and January, although scallops, langoustines and truffles are particularly delicious this time of year, so I think seeing a bit more colour and greenery come February time is a welcome relief for most, including us chefs. Wild garlic, peas and morels are in abundance come springtime and together with Jersey Royals and our incredible, local Herdwick lamb are exceptional, seasonal ingredients that are musts for our spring menus.
What is your favourite ingredient to create with?
I love working with fish and shellfish due to their versatility. Typically, the UK doesn’t eat a lot of fish compared to other nations, however I believe we actually produce some of the best quality fish and shellfish in the world due to our cold waters – so I really enjoy having the opportunity to spotlight these ingredients. We work closely with Johnny at Flying Fish Seafoods to select the best produce, and then ensure it is cooked accurately and presented beautifully.
What would you be doing if you weren’t a chef?
That’s a tricky one, I would have to do something where I could still be creative. At school, I really enjoyed art and design, so perhaps an architect or designer where I would be able to use my creativity and eye for detail to create and build things. I love the satisfaction of seeing a project through from start to finish.
What is your favourite dish to cook at home?
At home I like to keep it simple and cook hearty dishes like a good curry. When I was at The Fat Duck, each team member was encouraged to contribute to the staff food by taking it in turns to cook a team meal that was a reflection of their culture or personal taste. This was a really lovely experience, as although one person would lead the recipe, the whole team would get involved and we would cook, serve and eat together.
One time we had a guy from Bangladesh join us for work experience and it was his turn to lead the staff meal and he decided to do his ‘Three Day Curry’, which like the name says, is a three-day process. Unfortunately, after the first two days he had a bit of a family emergency, so headed home, and none of us knew how to finish the rest of the recipe, so we ended up having it as a ‘Two Day Curry’ – but even one day early – it was so delicious. Luckily everything was okay with him and his family, but we never did find out what to do on the final day. So, this has always stuck with me, and is my go-to when in need of something nourishing and warming.
When are you happiest?
In work, I’m happiest when the team is thriving. When service is going well, the dishes are on point and the team is happy and everything is coming together and working as one, that’s when I can take a step back and watch everyone succeed – which is a lovely feeling. Outside of work, I’m happy when out walking some of the Lake District fells with my dog.
What is your favourite piece of kitchen equipment?
A really sharp knife! Chopping is the starting point of every cooking process, so it’s essential to make this element the best it can be. We have some excellent knives which make light work of a lot of preparation tasks, especially when combined with a sharpening steel. I actually sharpen my knives more than I use them!
I also love our Kasai grill, it’s a traditional Japanese charcoal grill that we use to cook meat, fish and vegetables at a consistent temperature – it’s such a versatile piece of equipment! At SOURCE, we cook the sea bass in our sea bass, white asparagus, cauliflower and sake dish on the grill for a very long time at a super low temperature, this slowly cooks the skin making it crispy and almost glass like in texture and adds a smokiness from the charcoal, plus it keeps the flesh delicate and moist.
When you’re not in the kitchen where can you be found?
I love being on the go and trying new experiences, so travelling and exploring new cultures is something I really enjoy. It’s great to try out new cuisines and experience the local dining scene. I love an adventure – whether that’s skiing in the Austrian Alps, driving around the Lake District or walking my Hungarian Vizsla, Nala, around some of the nearby lakes and fells.
What’s your favourite takeaway or comfort food?
Anything that’s comforting! Fried chicken is my guilty pleasure, there are so many exciting flavour combinations.
Where is your favourite place to dine?
On the doorstep, Rogan and Co. is a go to of mine. Sam is always attentive and makes sure guests are really looked after. When in London, I always pop into The Devonshire, it’s Ash’s (Ashley Palmer-Watts) place and does amazing steaks, plus it serves the best pint of Guinness in the city! Recently I had the pleasure of experiencing Moor Hall for the first time and the level of detail both in dishes and service was phenomenal.
What do you think is the most over-hyped food trend?
Personally, I don’t think any food trend is over-hyped. For me, our industry is all about creativity and evolution and if people are brave enough to do something different and it gets people talking, dining, cooking, then that’s great.
What differences do you find working with local produce as opposed to non-local produce in terms of what you can create and flavour?
Like our name says, our ethos is all about sourcing and finding and using the very best ingredients that we can. Where possible, we will look local and work with suppliers on our doorstep; however we do understand that due to factors such as terrain and weather, different regions have different strengths in terms of produce.
For example, up here in the Lake District, our hilly terrain and changeable climate is ideal for hardy Herdwick lamb which live and thrive on some of our highest fells. Maturing slowly on heather, bilberries and grasses, our lamb has a distinct flavour and is of incredible quality, and, in my opinion, is right up there with some of the best in the world.
Instead of importing scallops from Japan, we’re proud to source them from the Orkney Islands. The cool, clear Scottish waters create a sweet, delicate tasting scallop, and due to our proximity to Scotland, they are as fresh as we can possibly get them. We are incredibly lucky that we have so many exceptional ingredients local to us.
How do you go about menu planning? What’s the process from picking the ingredients to getting them fresh into the kitchen and into dishes?
We actually don’t like to plan too far ahead in terms of our menus and are instead led by produce seasonality and suppliers. Our experienced team are familiar with the calendar of seasonal ingredients, so this shapes our menus. Although we can get great lamb all year round, we particularly enjoy using it in springtime as it is when all the stars align in terms of complementing flavours such as asparagus, peas and wild garlic.
We also regularly meet with suppliers, for example Ryan from Caterite comes in to see us on a weekly basis and highlights the freshest ingredients at that current time, and we use these discussions to influence what dishes will appear on the menu – this keeps it really exciting for the team. A core part of what we do is talking to suppliers and nurturing relationships, and by doing so we get to access phenomenal produce.
How would you describe the food you create at SOURCE at Gilpin Hotel to someone who’s never experienced your kind of food?
Our food, like our name, is focussed on origination – and the absolute key part of that is exceptional produce.
Our menus focus on beautiful local produce and make the most of special ingredients that aren’t around all the time. We’re passionate about seasonality and sustainability and combine these elements with techniques and precision to create interesting, yet approachable, dishes. We find one hero ingredient and we pride ourselves on making it sing, everything else is a chorus.
What’s your favourite flavour combination?
As the seasons change, it changes all the time, but there are classic combinations that just work, for example, lamb and wild garlic, and beef, ale and mushroom. I particularly love contrasting flavour combinations, like our sushi rice pudding pre-dessert where a fragrant sake ice cream sits on a bed of puffed sushi rice and is drizzled in sweet, salty miso caramel and nutty sesame oil – it’s a real twist on tradition.
What is the USP of your restaurant?
The word ‘source’ is defined as a place where something originates, where development and growth are nurtured, and that completely sums up what we do. It’s the cultivation and development of our produce, our people and our passion – it’s more than just our name, it’s our ethos. Our dishes, service and ambience combine to create a fun, vibrant restaurant that provides a great place to come and have an amazing, inspiring fine dining experience.
What suppliers have you worked with to create the menu?
We hand-select who we work with and are incredibly proud of the relationships we’ve nurtured. Where possible we work with local suppliers, for example most of our meat comes from Lake District Farmers, who work on a cooperative basis with their farmers, sourcing quality, local and sustainable products. Dan, Russell and the team’s working culture values are completely aligned with ours.
We also work with local cheesemonger’s, such as The Crafty Cheeseman, where Jonathan hand selects cheeses for us based on their peak condition to ensure we’re serving the very best each season. Our fruit and vegetables are sourced via Cockermouth based Caterite, and Ryan comes into see us twice weekly. We talk about seasonality and what’s freshest at that particular time before placing our order, we change-up our menus based on this as it’s so important to us that the ingredients we use are the best they can be. Although our suppliers vary, one thing they all have in common is their passion for their produce.
How important is plating and presentation?
It’s incredibly important. It’s that first impression, so the dishes need to look as good as they taste. At SOURCE, a lot of care and time goes into our offering; from cherry-picking suppliers who carefully and consciously cultivate and rear produce to the cooking process itself where years of experience, techniques and passion come together – the plating and presentation should be no different. For me, the presentation of the dish should tell its story, if it’s been cared for and cooked correctly, it’s unlikely it will present badly on the plate.
Factbox
Located in: Gilpin Hotel
Address: Crook Road, Windermere LA23 3NF
Phone: 015394 88818
Website: thegilpin.co.uk/eat-and-drink/source/
All imagery credit: SOURCE at Gilpin Hotel
