The Wales team is in camp at the Vale Hotel preparing for their two-Test tour to South Africa next month and a selection of players met up with Terry, the Welsh chef who has worked alongside Marco Pierre White and Michel Roux and was Gordon Ramsay’s best man at his wedding, at the training kitchens of the nearby Llanerch Vineyards in Hensol, to sample his Michelin star menu.
Terry, chef-proprietor at the Hardwick in Abergavenny, invited players to sample his cooking as he represents Wales in the final of the ‘Great British Menu’ series on television screens this week.
“Cooking for the Welsh rugby team presents its own challenges, we have to make sure the menu is a healthy one, but it’s been a great experience and the players seem to have enjoyed the food,” said Terry.
“All my food is Welsh produce and cooking for the national team today is a great opportunity for me to highlight what can be done using the high standard of local supplies we have available to us in this country.”
Terry cooked a starter of asparagus, fresh broad beans, peas, poached eggs, dandelion leaves and pea shoots with an anchovy and garlic sauce, followed by a main course of roasted free range pork loin, lemon parmesan rissotto cake, rocket and grilled courgette with chilli and parsley – but the chef ran his menu past Wales Team Nutritionist Dan Kings before finalising it.
“A chef of Stephen’s high standards is going to understand what healthy food is and part of the experience today for the players has been to be able to meet someone like Stephen to help with their education about food,” said Kings.
“As a squad we should all know the basics about what we should and shouldn’t be eating by now, but it is part of my role to ensure that sticking to the right diet remains an interesting and rewarding experience.
“Meeting a chef with some of the obvious flare which Stephen has is really helpful for us as a squad and we intend to continue down the route of using a variety of top chefs to improve our players’ culinary skills and knowledge as they progress towards their aim of becoming the complete professional sportsman.”
After two years studying catering at Barnfield College, Luton, at the age of 18, Terry left home to learn his craft at several of London’s top restaurants.
These included Marco Pierre White’s first restaurant, Harvey’s, and Michel Roux’s Le Gavroche. He then worked with Nick Nairn in Scotland before returning to London to open Canteen with Marco Pierre White and actor Michael Caine.
It was here that he was awarded his first Michelin star, at the age of 25. He then spent some time working in France, at the Michelin two-starred Les Roches near St Tropez and L’Arpège in Paris.
When he was offered the opportunity to work as head chef at Oliver Peyton’s restaurant Coast in London’s Mayfair, he returned once again to London. After a period of travelling, Stephen was approached to purchase the Walnut Tree Inn in Abergavenny from Franco and Ann Taruschio.
He opened the Walnut Tree restaurant in 2001 and won a Michelin star the following year. After leaving the Walnut Tree, he had another stint in London and at a pub in Wiltshire, before opening The Hardwick, where his menu is based around Welsh seasonal produce.
Terry is appearing in the 2008 series Great British Menu on BBC2, representing Wales, and hopes that the nation will support him.
