A trio of chefs who have been making names for themselves in the Bristol gastro dining scene have re-opened the Star and Dove pub in Totterdown and are all set to enter the next round of the local foodie event ‘An Evening With The Chefs’…
The gastropub, once run by Jamie Oliver’s ex head-chef, has a colourful past and closed its doors amid rumour and controversy at the beginning of this year.
The trio’s vision for the Star and Dove is matched by an impressive set of credentials. Tim Denny, head chef at the Robin Hood’s Retreat on Gloucester road, Venue magazine’s ‘Best roast in the South West 2011’ said:
“We put absolutely everything into the food we cook, wherever we are, our passion is the food and we use local, seasonal, top-quality ingredients as a matter of course but we left our hearts in The Star and Dove and we just know that this is where we belong. We’ve been working all the hours under the sun since we got the go ahead and have no intentions of slowing down, we can’t wait to get involved in An Evening With The Ches.”
Leigh Pascoe took part in the last round of ‘An Evening with the Chefs’ alongside The New Inn’s Nathan Muir. This friendly competition amongst Bristol’s top chefs includes; the Sanchez-Iglesias Brothers from Michelin starred restaurant and winner of Ramsay’s Best Restaurant Casamia, and Josh Eggleton – also a Michelin starred chef and proprietor of the Pony and Trap. Nathan Muir of the New Inn in Backwell and Toby Gritten of the Pump House have also taken part in the event which sees all of the chefs spending an evening cooking one course of four in each others’ kitchens. The Star and Dove will be the new restaurant in the next round.
The Star and Dove’s eagerly anticipated launch night will be a summer highlight in the social calendar of this established group of top local chefs; as well as Star and Dove suppliers, such as Strawberry Hill wines, who supply the River Cottage Canteen in Bath. Local media and local businessmen such as George Ferguson are also looking forward to the event in June.
Toby Gritten and the BBC’s wild food expert Andy Hamilton demonstrated the friendly nature of relations amongst Bristol top chefs and foodies by leading a foraging day in mid April. Around a hundred top chefs, suppliers and foodies went on a wild food hunt and produced treats with the treasures found.
Matt Duggan, the third leg of the tripod, has been making waves in the kitchen of the Harbourside Bistro and summed up the feelings of the chefs saying: “The food scene in Bristol is just brilliant. Shared visions, passion and collective ideals come together in typically laid-back Bristol fashion. It just works and we’re very happy to be part of it.”
Downstairs in the pub will be a very comfortable tavern style bar and casual lounge, serving real ales and wholesome food. Upstairs will be the restaurant and there are plans for a function area in the coming months. Though the emphasis will be on food, the Star and Dove is a very popular community pub with a relaxed atmosphere that is very important to the chefs: ‘fine dining meets taverns and tankards’. The Star will also host live music in the newly built music room.
This is great news… Its just down the road from me and I had good times there last year! See you at the relaunch?
It is so important to support our local pubs. Lovely article.
Having lived within 200 yards for the last six years I have longed for this place to finally get it right. Despite the praise people heaped on its two previous incarnations it has never got close to the likes of the Windmill or more recently the Victoria Park. The food might have been good in the past but the service and range of ale has been continually woeful. BUT, the new owners seem really switched on and friendly and there are regularly six real ales to choose from. Oh, and they've finally spent more than a tenner on the toilets too. Maybe memories of the Cumberland have been banished forever!