❤ LOVE LOCAL ❤
A hodgepodge of humble INGREDIENTS
HEAD CHEF IAN CLARK EXPLAINS HOW THE FOOD AT BRISTOL’S THE GALLIMAUFRY HAS COME TO MATCH ITS HOME
an Clark has been cooking since leav- ing school. He started washing pots to earn some pocket money while at school, before moving on to a two-year
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apprenticeship. He clearly had a knack for it though, for at the tender age of 17, his men- tor off ered him a job at her restaurant, the renowned The Pear Tree at Pruton. “They scrapped everything I knew and started again. Butchery courses, everything, it was a whole diff erent world to me,” laughs Ian. But after a year, it was time to get back to his friends and family in Swin- don, where Ian and his cousin took over the kitchen of a local eatery. It’s not often that chefs are handed the reins at such a young age, but once again it seems that Ian’s knack for cooking shone through. From there Ian went on to take over the kitchen of a country pub, where his fond- ness of Mediterranean food began to show, thanks to the pub’s vast outdoor dining area. It was then that he decided he wanted to learn the ropes in a Spanish kitchen, so off he went, adding to his melting pot of culinary experience. While Spain didn’t quite work out as intended, it did cement Ian’s love of Mediterranean food, which still infl uences his menus to this day. On his return from Spain, Ian made the move to Bristol thanks to its vibrant music and food scene and secured himself a gig as head chef at The Olive Shed. “It’s an awesome little place and what a great venue to replicate a Mediterranean feel,” says Ian. After fi ve years of building up his reputa- tion in Bristol it was time to move on, and fortunately Gloucester Rd’s The Gallimaufry happened to be looking for a head chef. Literally translated, Gallimaufry means a jumble or medley of things. The venue was transformed in just 5 days back in 2012, with much of the furniture either up cycled or
48 | THE WEST COUNTRY FOODLOVER
belonging to the local reclamation yard and for sale. To this day, the hodgepodge feel remains, accented by curios and art, while its reputation for both live music and food has steadily gathered pace. Does the food refl ect the venue’s ethos? “Absolutely, yes,” says Ian. “We use unusual cuts and make dishes out of ingredients that people wouldn’t normally use, but people are wowed and talk about it.”
Since joining, Ian has put his stamp on the menu of this eclectic space in the form of small plates infl uenced by the Basque region of France and Spain as well as Italy and Mo- rocco. “They’re almost miniature a la carte,” Ian explains, “but not poncey. I want people to feel comfortable whether they pop in for half a beer and a snack or stay for the whole evening and go through the whole menu.” The menu is inspired by Ian’s experience and travels, “I don’t read cookbooks, I pluck recipe ideas out of the air,” Ian laughs. “We bounce ideas off each other in the kitchen and I have always been taught to write everything down. I’ve lost a few notebooks along the way, which is gutting, but it’s the way I work.”
The Gallimaufry sits proudly along Gloucester Rd’s main strip and is a commu- nity hub for locals. It goes without saying, then, that supporting local producers is par- amount. “We get some of the best produce in the south west here,” Ian says proudly. They even get their eggs from a local farmer who only delivers to them. The menu changes regularly, thanks to Ian’s inability to stop working. Even when he isn’t at work he is cooking larger dishes for himself at home that he will then transform into small dishes on the menu. What would he order on the menu, I asked? “Right now it would be the Basque fi sh stew, but we’re also concentrating on our vegetar- ian dishes, which is important to us. We’ve noticed a lot of our customers are vegetarian and we want them to be able to enjoy a good selection of dishes.”
That doesn’t mean that you won’t get a ro-
bust roast here on a Sunday though. I highly recommend the pork – so tender it melts in the mouth. I asked for his secret, but he gave a wry smile and promised it was just cooked for 24 hours, but I’m pretty sure there was more to it than that!
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