FOOD + DRINK in THE KITCHEN WITH
PHIL HARRISON
BEARS ICE CREAM IMAGINARIUM, WHITSTABLE.
Tell us about your culinary journey, so far! I grew up in West Yorkshire and got my first job in a hotel at just 15. I’ d known I wanted to cook since my teenage years – I’ m not sure why, I just knew. I worked at the hotel through high school before starting an apprenticeship.
At 18, I joined an amazing little restaurant called Bentleys. It had a small team, was in every guidebook, and everything was made from scratch – including the ice cream. It was the first time I’ d ever tasted real ice cream: packed with vanilla pods, thick, slightly chewy, and unforgettable. The recipe was by Nico Ladenis, a 3-Michelinstar chef in the’ 90s. What an ice cream.
After a year at Bentleys, I found myself moonlighting back at the hotel. When the head chef announced he was leaving for a job in Cornwall, he invited me to join him as a senior CDP. It was a beautiful location, the food nothing groundbreaking, but a great experience.
Eighteen months later, I travelled a little and ended up in Reykjavik, Iceland. What a place! After meeting Vera there, I stayed for two years. In our last summer, we opened a pop-up hotel in the remote Westfjords and launched a restaurant where I made ice cream again for the first time in far too long. The stand-out dessert? Poached peach, fried pastry cream, and basil ice cream – delicious.
From Iceland, we moved to the Alps, then back to Cornwall, and finally to West London, where I became sous chef at the Anglesea Arms, W6, one of the original gastro pubs. We made almost everything in-house, including ice cream, and worked with incredible seasonal produce: whole animals, massive fish, game. The ever-changing blackboard menu kept things exciting.
After four years, we returned to Reykjavik, where I became head chef at a fine dining restaurant downtown. The kitchen had a Pacojet, a different kind of ice cream machine, and I had a great time experimenting.
Eighteen months later, we moved back to London, returning to the Anglesea Arms, this time with me as head chef. In 2013, the pub was voted one of the top 20 in the country by The Times and the Harden’ s Guide.
Then came 2016, a big year. I reached the semi-finals of the National Chef of the Year, won the Great Sausage Roll-off with a pheasant, apple and lardo sausage roll served with black pudding purée, and, most importantly, we opened Bears in W6 – the real start of our ice cream journey.
We bounced around London until 2022, when we moved to Whitstable as a family. In 2023, we opened Bears here – Bears 5.0 – the first to have a scoop counter. Bears may have been born in London, but it has truly grown up in Whitstable.
What’ s the concept of Bears Ice Cream Imaginarium? Bears is all about creativity and bringing joy through ice cream. We make imaginative ice creams, sorbets and plant-based treats, using the bounty of Kent and showcasing it in ways that are both unusual but strangely familiar. We work with fruit and vegetables from local farms and milk from Hinxden Dairy, crafting flavours designed to surprise, delight and excite. Life is too short for boring ice cream!
What is your signature / favourite dish? My personal favourites are the miso, banana and butterscotch pudding ice cream, made using waste bananas to create something truly incredible. Then there’ s‘ The Dark and Salty’, a menu staple since day one: thick, decadent soft serve studded with brownie, dipped in dark chocolate, rolled in popcorn and finished with a sprinkle of Maldon sea salt. And, of course, our brown butter popcorn ice cream, which recently scooped up two stars at the Great Taste Awards.
Tell us about the recipe we’ re showcasing? The recipe is cheesecake dumplings with a sea buckthorn sorbet. Sea buckthorn has a very short season, but it brings this wonderful sourness. At the end of the day, it’ s about what you like, if you want a different flavour of sorbet, go for it. Bears has a great selection to choose from. The beauty of this dish is that it’ s super easy to make, tastes insane and comes together quickly. It works just as well as a dinner party dessert as it does something fun to make with the kids.
At Bears, the menu is very seasonal. That’ s what makes it fun, that’ s what makes it interesting, and that’ s what makes it delicious. And being delicious is always the number one reason behind a flavour.
What ingredient could you not live without? Bread! I could not live without it, it does everything. It’ s lunch, it’ s dinner, it’ s dessert … and it even makes a great ice cream. Toasted sourdough and marmalade ice cream this autumn? Perhaps it will be back!
Which chef, past or present would you love to work in the kitchen with? I think David Chang of Momofuku would be awesome. He’ s a bit mad, he loves food, and it’ s not just about the high-end, he’ s also all about deep-down, dirty food. He just gets it.
Aside from your own restaurant, where’ s your go-to place to dine in Kent? There are a few. For a great sandwich, there’ s Stacks, Juniors, or Macknade. If I’ m in the harbour, I’ ll head to Stern Slices for a slice. Lazy Lobster and Samphire are my gotos for something delicious in the evening. A little further afield, Tallow in Tunbridge Wells is very, very special.
What is your guilty pleasure? Haribos, doughnuts, ice cream for breakfast, I love food and I’ ve always had a sweet tooth. And fried chicken … I really love fried chicken.
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