Chef Rob Dudley, Cheltenham Regency Hotel,

Rob Dudley

Rob Dudley

Regency Restaurant

Cheltenham Regency Hotel

Gloucester Road

Staverton

Cheltenham

GL51 0ST

Tel: 01452 713226

What is your earliest memory of food?

We were lucky enough to have a large field at the back of our house where we grew most of our own vegetables and raised a few sheep, goats and chickens for their milk eggs and of course for the meat

Tell us about your menu

We have two different dining areas at the Regency. The bar offers classics like beef burgers or sausages and mash, but using the best local produce we can find, for example middle white pork sausages, or longhorn beef for the burgers, whilst in the restaurant we are doing more refined classical fine dining, for example poached turbot with venison osso bucco

How often do you change your menu?

As well as changing seasonally, we try to use each ingredient at its best, so the a la carte menu is really just a template to be changed a regularly. We also create bespoke menus for special events, such our monthly wine club events, which will change every time.

Which dish on the menu would you recommend to a customer?

The open ravioli of crayfish and scallops is a different take on something quite simple, but tastes fantastic, while the loin of lamb with ratatouille and soubise always goes down well

What initiated your interest in cooking?

I worked as a washer upper for a while and was amazed at the happy madness of the chefs, all sweating and shouting, but with a manic gleam in their eyes.

How would you describe your approach to food?

Most of my former head chefs have been British but trained in France or by other French chefs, so this shows in my cooking. Presentation is clean and unfussy, with no flavours that detract from the main part of the dish

What advice would you give to a novice?

Write everything down, work harder than everybody else, always ask questions and push yourself to the front

Have you had any cooking disasters?

The usual problems of over stacked plate stacks falling over and fridges and freezers breaking down at all the wrong moments

What has been your most memorable (or unusual) meal?

A ten course grazing menu at 1837 @ Browns in London

Which chef has been your greatest inspiration?

Andrew Turner, the executive chef from my time at 1837