Hairy Biker Simon King has gushed over Wales’ top chef and his restaurant, saying it was “wonderful” to cook alongside him. The chef and television presenter appeared on James Martin’s Saturday Morning on ITV alongside Welsh chef Gareth Ward who owns Ynyshir in Powys.
Simon was clearly impressed by Gareth and said it had been a “wonderful experience watching Gareth cook” and appearing alongside him on the show. While one of Wales’ top chefs praised Simon’s meal, he was clearly in awe as he said “what you are doing is amazing” and joked that he felt under pressure cooking in front of him.
The pair appeared on the Saturday morning cooking show on Saturday, November 30, alongside forager Alysia Vasey and singers Michael Ball and Alfie Boe. The television appearance came just days before Ynyshir was once again voted one of the top 100 restaurants in the UK.
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Harden’s Restaurant Guide named their top 100 restaurants in the UK and this year three Welsh restaurants have made the list. The former top-rated restaurant in Wales is no longer the best in Wales, according to the list.
Ynyshir Restaurant and Rooms, Eglwys Fach, Machynlleth -Credit:Richard Swingler
Ynyshir, in Powys and run by top chef Gareth Ward, is Wales’ first and only two Michelin-starred restaurant and now ranks 93rd in a fall from 17th place on last year’s list. It is in fact the chef’s new small and personal spin-off, Gwen in Machynlleth, which ranks the highest on the list at number 64.
Once used as Queen Victoria’s hidden retreat on the Dyfi Estuary, Ynyshir is Wales’ only double Michelin starred restaurant and offers dining experiences at £395 per person. Speaking about Ynyshir, Harden’s guide says: “For some diners ‘it’s good but ludicrously expensive’ (‘there is a lot of hype about how wonderful it is at Ynyshir…BUT we found it to be no better than many other places and therefore the fact it seems to be priced on reputation rather than actual quality means it is overpriced for what you get as an overall experience).”
Harden’s continued: “And then there are a one or two for whom it’s become a ‘ludicrously macho, long-winded and pretentious experience’ (‘Once, this was one of our favourite restaurants in the UK, but now the owner seems to firmly believe that it’s his way or no way. Extremely loud and very monotonous music is played for four hours by a DJ)’… Overall in our annual diners’ poll though, the ‘ayes’ still carry the vote… just…perhaps it’s fairest to say you either love it or hate it.”
-Credit:Heather Birnie
Ynyshir, near Machynlleth, has possessed one Michelin star since 2014 and broke Welsh ground with its second in 2022, making it just one of 22 restaurants in the UK to get the prestigious accolade. Ynyshir is a true destination restaurant for foodies who are prepared to splash out for the best ingredients, with their 30-course taster menu which takes up to four or five hours to enjoy.
The dining experience is interactive as you can touch and ask about the ingredients while watching them being cooked over the fire and depending on which experience you pick, Ffwrnais Kitchen or The Pass Bench, you will be given two chefs to look after you or it’s cooked by Gareth himself.
Gareth grew up County Durham and initially fell into hospitality by accident. “I wanted to go in the army first, but I couldn’t get in because I had bad eyes. Then I thought I’d join the fire brigade, and I couldn’t get in because of all the strikes,” he said.
Instead, by “a fluke”, he found himself working at a pub called the Seven Stars in Shincliffe in County Durham. He took to it, but it wasn’t until a friend called Alan O’Kane introduced him to the concept of Michelin stars that the real lightbulb moment came.
He took a job at the Michelin-starred Hambledon Hall in Rutland and from that moment he was truly hooked. “It was the first Michelin-starred kitchen I walked into, and I was just blown away by everything about it – the standard, the atmosphere, the ingredients – everything was at a different level.”
When he arrived at Ynyshir several years later it looked very different to how it is now – a pretty, traditional country hotel under the stewardship of the magnificent Joan Reen, who sadly died a few years into Gareth’s tenure. The new owner wanted to keep Gareth on and gave him the nod to reinvent the hotel as a restaurant with rooms. The rest, as they say, is history.
The menu Gareth has developed in the last decade is like no other – a gleeful riff on all his favourite ever dishes, reimagined as elevated, perfect versions; the very best that they can be.
“It’s just come from the food I love to eat,” he says. “I love Thai green curry, so why not cook it with the best shrimps that you get in the world, from our local waters, and hyper freeze them down so you can peel the skins off when they’re raw and serve them when they’re super tender, fatty, delicious and sweet – and make a Thai green curry with the shells? It’s all that flavour you love, but just on a different level.”
Anyone who has eaten at Ynyshir will know how palpable that atmosphere of fun and enjoyment really is. “The vibe is amazing – it’s on fire all the time,” he says. “I work with the best people in the world because I employ people I want to work with. I have people I would have as my family, and we all have a brilliant time. Hopefully, the customers will catch on to that on social media and decide they want to come and eat with us.” Read our latest interview with Gareth in 2023 here.
Alongside this week’s announcement of Wales’s best restaurants, Peter Harden, co-founder of Harden’s, spoke about the restaurants in Wales. He said: “There is no doubting Gareth Ward’s talents as a chef, his new establishment Gwen seems to be a big hit amongst our diners. Ynyshir continues to divide opinion and it’s hard not to think that its falling position is a result of diners simply becoming sick and tired of the incredibly high prices this restaurant demands, especially when they can seek out what many would perceive to be as good – if not better – value experiences elsewhere. It certainly provokes some of the stronger opinions we see in our feedback and always makes for interesting reading.” Join our WhatsApp news community here for the latest breaking news. You will receive updates from us daily.