Frozen in at the Fish House
The hotel is located on the outskirts of Chichester close to Goodwood racecourse.
“The only vehicles travelling down the road were four-wheel drive Landrovers,” says Head Chef Alan Gleeson. “We ran on a skeleton team. Power was also down but as we have our own generator, we went around the houses locally to let them know we were open. On the first night, the police brought stranded drivers here so they could warm up and get something to eat and drink. We put them up for free – that was the spirit of the occasion.”
Opened in April 2009 and owned by Catey* award-winning operator David Barnard, in excess of £4m was spent converting and shaping the former Chilgrove White Horse in West Sussex into his latest masterpiece. *(Caterer & Hotelkeeper award) www.thefishhouse.co.uk
Formerly the pastry chef at Barnard’s Crab at Chieveley, Alan Gleeson and Barnard originally worked together at Lindsay House under Richard Corrigan. Before that, Gleeson was Head Chef at Hart’s Restaurant, Nottingham. He started with Robbie Macrae at the Royal Oak, Yattenden and has also worked with John Burton Race and at Michelin-starred Hambleton Hall.
“This is where I want to be now, I have been working with David for five years and my parents live nearby. “We spent £350-400,000 re-doing the kitchen. The idea for the Adande units (five two-drawer) came from Steve Fear at Space Catering, who did the design. They take some getting used to; but they do work very well and hold their temperature.”
An Adande blast-chiller was included in the spec, which Gleeson uses chiefly for stocks and organic sauces. “When you are working in a high-end fresh food establishment food safety is paramount,” he says. “I like that there is one big tray and you can take the whole thing out for cleaning; it’s easy. The weighting of the drawer is right; they do not get slammed like conventional fridges.” Find out more about the benefits of Adande refrigeration here:
Temperature settings
“One drawer in the pastry section is set for frozen sorbet and ice cream at -14degC (Pacojet); the other sits as a service fridge at 3degC. All the others are set between 1.5degC and 2.5degC, primarily for seafood. We do not use ice to keep the fish in prime condition. We are off to a good start in any case as we have a very good fishmonger who buys off the boats, mostly from Portsmouth and Southampton.”
The kitchen has a staff of eight and caters for up to 120 covers and there is seating outside for 150. “We had a fantastic first 10 months,” says Gleeson, “but were then walloped by the weather. We did over 1000 covers during the Goodwood week, not bad considering we had only been open three months. Rolls Royce at Goodwood launched the new drophead version of the Ghost here. We had six of them outside and journalists from the US, Japan and China staying. “We are competitive on price; in January we are offering three-course lunch at £14.95 and double rooms from £90.”
The Fish House features 15 guest rooms, all with bespoke Asian themes and each named after a famous fishing port. No corners have been cut either in creating the restaurant. “A central island with a Bonnet cooking range was top of Alan’s priorities, as were the refrigerated units to keep fish and seafood in perfect condition,” says Steve Fear, Project Manager at Space Catering. More information: www.spacecatering.co.uk Its design also included a stunning open chilled oyster display and crustacean counter. Set out on crushed ice and illuminated from below with a brilliant white LED lighting, the counter offers an amazing sight to guests.
Adande Refrigeration
Hotelympia Stand No: N2438
Website: www.adande.com
Email: Sales@adande.com
Tel: 01502-537135
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