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Singing for their Supper

Each year, we’ll be putting some Welsh Rarebits chefs on the spot. Here’s question time 2011, as posed by Roger Thomas.

BRYAN WEBB - Tyddyn Llan, near Corwen

Your cooking style in a word (or two)?
Simple, seasonal, tasty.

Biggest influence?
Simon Hopkinson (former Bibendum chef).

Favourite local produce?
The lambs that graze in the fields around my home.

Favourite dish?
Sea bass with laverbread when I’m cooking. Cassoulet when I’m eating.

Gordon Ramsay or Jamie Oliver?
Ramsay when he cooked in the 1990s.

Welsh rarebit or cheese sandwich?
Welsh rarebit.

Who would you like to cook for and why?
I’m lucky enough to have cooked for my greatest hero, DJ Johnnie Walker, on my 50th, so it’s mission accomplished.

Favourite Welsh Rarebits restaurant (apart from your own, obviously)?
Fairyhill, Gower.

We’re paying, where in the world do you want to eat?
Brasserie Lipp, Paris.

Any other passions apart from cooking?
Radio.

JIM HAMILTON - Fairyhill, Gower

Your cooking style in a word (or two)?
Modern British.

Biggest influence?
Moving to Wales in 2000.

Favourite local produce?
Asparagus from Beynon’s Farm just down the road.

Favourite dish?
Seared fillet of Welsh beef, braised brisket, shin pie, Bourguignon sauce.

Gordon Ramsay or Jamie Oliver?
Gordon.

Welsh rarebit or cheese sandwich?
Sandwich with Hafod Welsh organic cheddar cheese.

Who would you like to cook for and why?
Prince Charles because of his views on sustainability and letting the produce speak for itself.

Favourite Welsh Rarebits restaurant (apart from your own, obviously)?
The Harbourmaster, Aberaeron.

We’re paying, where in the world do you want to eat?
The Waterside Inn at Bray.

Any other passions apart from cooking?
Eating and drinking.

JAMES SOMMERIN - The Crown at Whitebrook, near Monmouth

Your cooking style in a word (or two)?
Modern, with depths of flavour.

Biggest influence?
Richard Lyth, the chef I worked for when training. He now works in Glasgow.

Favourite local produce?
Lamb, beef and Caws Mynydd Du cheese from Talgarth.

Favourite dish?
Assiette of lamb, tomato, salt-baked celeriac and Madeira sauce.

Gordon Ramsay or Jamie Oliver?
Gordon Ramsay.

Welsh rarebit or cheese sandwich?
Welsh rarebit.

Who would you like to cook for and why?
My late grandmother, one of my biggest influences at the start of my career.

Favourite Welsh Rarebits restaurant (apart from your own, obviously)?
The Harbourmaster, Aberaeron.

We’re paying, where in the world do you want to eat?
Noma, Copenhagen.

Any other passions apart from cooking?
Music (and eating!).

JUSTIN PILKINGTON - Penmaenuchaf Hall, near Dolgellau

Your cooking style in a word (or two)?
Modern British.

Biggest influence?
David McLoughlin (Head Chef at Holbeck Ghyll Country House Hotel, Windermere).

Favourite local produce?
Chanterelle mushrooms from Coed y Brenin Forest.

Favourite dish?
In Penmaenuchaf, roasted best end of rhiwaedog lamb in a herb crumb with boulanger potatoes, aubergine caviar and a tomato and olive jus. Plain and simple at home – homemade chips, egg, bread and butter.

Gordon Ramsay or Jamie Oliver?
Gordon.

Welsh rarebit or cheese sandwich?
Welsh rarebit.

Who would you like to cook for and why?
Rowan Atkinson and Tony Robinson from Blackadder, the funniest comedy ever.

Favourite Welsh Rarebits restaurant (apart from your own, obviously)?
Bodysgallen Hall, Llandudno.

We’re paying, where in the world do you want to eat?
Cabbages and Condoms Restaurant, Bangkok (I love Thai food. Don’t be put off by the name, it’s a great place).

Any other passions apart from cooking?
Travelling to exotic places.

SIMON POTTER - Felin Fach Griffin, near Brecon

Your cooking style in a word (or two)?
Modern rustic.

Biggest influence?
Franco Taruschio (former chef/proprietor of The Walnut Tree, Abergavenny, one of Wales’s first foodie restaurants).

Favourite local produce?
Oxford Sandy Black pigs reared by Duncan Tomkinson on the hill behind us in Llandefalle.

Favourite dish?
Oxtail stew and cheese cobblers.

Gordon Ramsay or Jamie Oliver?
Gordon Ramsay.

Welsh rarebit or cheese sandwich?
Welsh rarebit.

Who would you like to cook for and why?
Sir Alex Ferguson, boyhood hero!

Favourite Welsh Rarebits restaurant (apart from your own, obviously)?
Tyddyn Llan, near Corwen.

We’re paying, where in the world do you want to eat?
Noma, Copenhagen.

Any other passions apart from cooking?
Cycling, fantasy football and supporting my favourite team (you can guess what that is!).

GARETH JONES - Bodysgallen Hall & Spa, Llandudno

Your cooking style in a word (or two)?
Modern British (focusing on excellent Welsh produce).

Biggest influence?
Simon Radley at the Chester Grosvenor Hotel.

Favourite local produce?
Belly pork from Oakwood Park Farm near Conwy.

Favourite dish?
For my guests, peppered fillet of mackerel, chilled mackerel tartare, smoked tomato sorbet and basil cream.

Gordon Ramsay or Jamie Oliver?
Ramsay.

Welsh rarebit or cheese sandwich?
Welsh rarebit.

Who would you like to cook for and why?
Nelson Mandela. He’s an icon of this generation.

Favourite Welsh Rarebits restaurant (apart from your own, obviously)?
Tyddyn Llan, near Corwen.

We’re paying, where in the world do you want to eat?
elBulli restaurant, northern Spain.

Any other passions apart from cooking?
It’s still about food, I’m afraid. When travelling in the UK and abroad, trying different styles of restaurants and ingredients.