Devoted dad of two boys, Phillip Bishop is the head chef across the Wilds and Co group which comprises WILDS Events (covering bespoke event services), WILDS Kitchen (a riverside dining spot in the Hampshire countryside) and Greyhound on the Test (an award-winning hotel in Stockbridge), which Phillip joined in 2016.
We sat down with the talented chef to find out a little more.
Can you tell us a little bit about yourself, including where you are today, professionally, and what got you here?
I currently work for Wilds and Co as the group executive chef, having been with the group for nearly seven years. I’ve worked around Hampshire for the last 13 years, mainly in gastro pubs.
The best thing I did was to work under really good head chefs early in my career. ‘Work hard and learn your trade’, I say that to all the young chefs who work in the group, I’m 29 and in a great position in my career.
What or who inspired you to become a chef?
I’ve always liked cooking, from a very young age with family. So when an opportunity arose to go and work at a café in Southampton run by my aunties, I jumped at it. I started by washing dishes, then making sandwiches, and I never looked back.
Who has been your biggest influence to get you to where you are today?
I always used to follow what Phil Howard was doing as a young chef, it always inspired me to see what he could create. I bought both his books, it’s been like a bible to me, and I’ve eaten in his restaurants many times.
What’s your signature dish?
It’s a dish that isn’t always on my menus, but occasionally I bring it back and people love it! Raspberry and rose baked Alaska, my ultimate dessert. Baked Alaska in general is my favourite dessert.
What are the most important considerations when crafting your menu?
Seasonal and local produce, it has to be! Knowing that something can be grown just up the road and can be on your menu the next day is just the best.
Do your personal preferences influence the menu at all?
You have to like what you cook, luckily I’m not that fussy and enjoy most things!
How would you describe your cooking style?
Good old-fashioned cookery with the best ingredients. No water baths in our kitchens!
Do you have a favourite time of year or set of ingredients that you look forward to working with?
Spring is definitely the best time of year for me. When the likes of asparagus, morels and wild garlic are available again. This coincides with when fishing starts on the River Test, Test trout is the best!
What is your favourite ingredient to create with?
English asparagus, it’s such an amazing ingredient! Always on the menu for the time it’s in season.
What would you be doing if you weren’t a chef?
I would probably be in the army, my Dad was in the Royal Engineers for 14 years, so that was always an option in my head.
What is your favourite dish to cook at home?
Spaghetti Bolognese, a good family favourite.
When are you happiest?
Playing in my garden with my wife and two boys, a bit of football and maybe a barbecue for dinner. The perfect day.
What is your favourite piece of kitchen equipment?
I do like a Kitchen Aid mixer; I love all the different attachments they do as well, the pasta attachment being my favourite.
When you’re not in the kitchen where can you be found?
I recently brought my first home with my wife, so doing different bits of DIY is my new favourite thing to do on my days off.
What’s your favourite takeaway or comfort food?
Chinese or Thai. The best takeaway in my eyes!
Where is your favourite place to dine?
The best place I’ve eaten is Core by Clare Smyth. Amazing! I went when it had two stars but I just knew it was a three-star restaurant.
What do you think is the most over-hyped food trend?
Cauliflower ‘rice’. I tried it a few times, a few different ways, but wasn’t for me.
What differences do you find working with local produce as opposed to non-local produce in terms of what you can create and flavour?
Produce always tastes better when it is fresh and ripe. I recently went on a wine trip to South Africa and I spoke to a winemaker who also owned a farm, he said that he only sells locally because a lot of the fruit and vegetables from South Africa get picked under-ripe so they last the journey when they are shipped across the world and that you lose so much flavour from the produce doing it this way. Why buy a product from miles away when you can get it from down the road? This way you also have a story to tell about the dish, it’s a great selling point.
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?
Speaking to my suppliers and seeing what’s coming in. Understanding the seasonality of produce and trying out different dishes. A dish goes through about three or four different versions before it gets to the menu.
How would you describe the food you create at Wilds to someone who’s never experienced your kind of food?
Seasonal, local and bespoke.
What’s your favourite flavour combination?
Rhubarb and custard. Burnt English custard with poached rhubarb in February/March time is perfect.
What is the USP of Wilds?
That we cater for whatever you want, we don’t have sample menus that we send out. You tell us what you like and what style of service you want, and we create a menu, especially for you. That goes for all parts of event planning as well, themes, decoration, and design. We offer bespoke events tailored to your every need.
What do your future plans entail?
Keep progressing, the group is growing fast so I want to grow with it and see where it takes me!
