Ahead of our Gusbourne Chef Series dinner at Michelin-star gem Whatley Manor, we speak with Executive Chef Ricki Weston about the energy of the kitchen, the joy of British seasonality and the way food and wine can tell a story together.
What was the first experience with food that made you want to become a chef?
I remember the first time I went into a proper kitchen. I was doing work experience and it was a very small, open-plan kitchen. There was fire going, the kitchen was buzzing and there was just such a big energy around it.
I remember looking around 360 and thinking, “This is it. This is what I want to do.” I think it was the adrenaline of the situation. I just got hooked on it straight away.
That energy must still be part of the appeal?
Yes. When you watch chefs and professional kitchens on television, it’s edge-of-the-seat stuff. Here, we’re very methodical about how we work. But the thing I love about the industry is that there’s always something different going on.
It’s a theatre production every night with no script. We just essentially cook the best food we can, in an environment that feels incredibly luxurious for our guests.
Can you paint a picture of what it’s like to eat at Whatley Manor?
We’ve got two restaurants, and The Dining Room is our Michelin-star flagship. We cook with round-the-world influences, different styles of cooking and different flavours – but what we really focus on is what’s around the hotel, the kitchen garden and the estate. There’s storytelling involved in what we do. It’s not just the menu anymore; it’s the whole experience.
My food isn’t about crazy combinations. I want people to look at a plate and think, “OK, cool, there’s asparagus.” They know the ingredients and the ingredients taste as they look. That’s the most important thing for me: not to overcomplicate it.
Do you have a favourite British season to work in?
Pretty much where we are now. Coming out of April and going into May, you’ve still got wild garlic kicking around, cherry blossom, elderflower coming out, baby veg starting to come through. Everything starts looking alive again.
There’s vibrancy to the garden. The flowers are coming out, the first crops are coming up, lambing is going on and the cows are back out. All that grass-fed flavour comes back through. Our food is literally everything around us. That’s where the inspiration comes from.
Is there a dish on the menu that feels especially important to you?
There’s one dish that’s never changed, which one of our desserts: our Preserved Plum.
It means we hero British plums when they’re in season, then using fermentation so we can use them year-round. It’s an intricate, pretty dish, dressed with a vinaigrette, which is a little bit different. All the flavours come from the ferment and the plum. It symbolises what we do here: balance, provenance, preservation.
How do you think about food and wine pairing?
I’ve always thought the sommelier’s job is harder than mine. With food, you rely on texture so much to distinguish flavour. With wine, it’s a liquid palate. It’s harder to identify those flavour notes.
When it comes to pairing, I always want to be involved in the tastings and the discussion. Wine is an extension of the dish. The skill is in bringing those flavour profiles together.
With Gusbourne, we’ve become very accustomed to the flavour of the wines, and it still amazes me how you can have the same vineyards, different grapes, different vintages and the smallest things can shift the entire end flavour. The more you taste, the more you realise there is texture to wine too – how fine the bubbles are, for example.
Which chefs or restaurants have shaped the way you cook?
My three years at Sat Bains shaped my career more than I could ever explain. How I approach food, how I look at food, how I respect food.
I’m also inspired by restaurants that really understand their environment. Places where it’s all about relationships, the landscape and what’s around them – Paz in the Faroe Islands is a great example of this. Chef Poul Andrias Ziska’s food is all about the relationships he builds around him.
What keeps you excited and forward-looking?
As chefs, we continuously evolve. As I get older, I see things in a different light. Every year, every season is like a new starting line.
I love bringing chefs through, not just into the kitchen, but seeing them progress. And food changes too. Things come into fashion and go out of fashion. Products become available that weren’t before. That evolution is exciting.
And finally, what do you cook once you clock off?
I absolutely love good pizza. We’ve got a little oven in the back garden at home and one of the nicest things is getting my little boys to make it, stretch it, roll it out, sprinkle it all on and cook it together. Big family pizza night. I’ve always loved it; always will.
Just 16 places are available at our Gusbourne x Whatley Manor dinner, presented by Ricki, on 1 July. Members can access advance ticket sales here.
