LOYAL TO LOCAL
Where are your favourite places in Telford to eat? My absolute favourite is the Hundred House, and I’m not just being bias because I’m friends with the owner! The quality and thought that goes into the food there is really exciting. There’s an amazing tapas in Lightmoor village called Emma’s Delicatessen that serves up really authentic food. She’s only just started out but her food is all Spanish and has real depth of flavour. I love meat I do love the vegan friendly food from the The Green wood Café in Coalbrookdale and Eighty-Six’d in Ironbridge while further afield, the Hop & Vine restaurant in Hadley serves amazing Indian vegetarian food. But! For some traditional British I love Brookside chippy – they do some amazing battered chips – about the only place that does them. They are banging so get up to Brookside for your fish and chips. Who supports you and who are your role models that have inspired you? My biggest support has to be my other half Tess, she’s been incredible in letting me get on with things. Her support has meant that I can essentially work two jobs and she’s always been really interested and supportive throughout this journey along with my mum and dad. Professionally, Hundred House chef Stuart Phillips – who I lived with for a while – is not only a really good friend but has guided me professionally about breaking into the industry – while letting me use his kitchens for all the prep work for my pop-up restaurants. I’m really lucky to have had so much support.
have miles of beautiful river running through Ironbridge and beyond – that’s my happy place. Another place that I have yet to sample is the The Walnut in Wellington, I’ve heard they do dressed oysters, chateau Briand so I’ll be checking that one out soon. A lot of ingredients go into your food, so where do you source it all from? I absolutely love our local producers, it’s no secret that I really rate Morgan’s Country butchers – I use those guys’ produce religiously as the quality is second to none. I wouldn’t go anywhere else. People forget how important it is to get to know your local shopkeepers. I’ve got such a good relationship with Morgan’s and going to the butchers is more of a bit of a social. I see people I know and have a laugh at the same time, beats the supermarket hands down. I’m a big believer in quality which doesn’t only apply to my food but also the products like charcoal. My favourite is, again fairly local, Caradoc charcoal. I know that I’m not cooking over rainforest – people don’t realise that some charcoal can come from rainforests which is not sustainable and can be sourced from non-ethical places. Free food grown wild really brings my recipes a local twist and foraging is amazing in the Ironbridge Gorge! The woodlands are stuffed with things like wild garlic, different types of mushrooms throughout the year and wood sorrel is usually out in late April/ early May. I’m sorry but my favourite spots are top secret! As temperatures rise and we look forward to another Bank Holiday, there is no one better qualified to lead our celebration of the barbecue with one of Adam’s favourite BBQ recipes. Recipe on the next page... Maple glazed hot smoked salmon
I travel a lot and take inspiration from different dishes I try, plus I’m constantly researching and playing around with new ideas for dishes – my food brain never stops really and I’m always thinking about what’s next. My work is starting to get a lot of interest, I’m quite modest so I find it a bit weird but I’m really enjoying working with different people like the team at Kadai firebowls whom I did the ‘Taste of London’ show for. They import fire bowls that are hand-made from oil drum by family run workshops in India and turn them into a barbecue/grill – after they saw my videos and saw my style of cooking was a great match for their brand. Tell us how you have gone from a young kid from Abraham Darby School to being pretty much the local celebrity chef? I didn’t really want to be a cook, I lived with Stuart (Phillips), head chef at the Hundred House and after seeing how hard he worked I never wanted to be a full time chef. I like my weekends too much! By chance, this path has worked out really well and it’s shaping up to
becoming an actual business. It really shows how the food
industry has changed, you don’t need a conventional restaurant to be a chef and serve food anymore. It’s great as it opens the doors up for young people who want to be independent and do their own thing. Can you tell us more about the man behind the grill? I work closely with Shrewsbury Town Council and young people in youth clubs. Independent Youth Service that also offers an alternative curriculum for those who are at risk of being permanently excluded from school to try and stop further exploitation of them while out of school. I’m a keen fisherman and before COVID I was quite into fitness but I’m more of a couch potato than I have ever been! I like a bit of cross fit, cycling or going to the pub – I do love a good beer. Where are your favourite places to cook in Telford? One of my favourite things is to get the barbecue out wherever I can, but on the river bank while I’m fishing is one thing I really enjoy. I take a small grill, get the food out and just cook up something up on the bank. We literally
TOTALLY TELFORD
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