insideKENT Magazine Issue 63 - June 2017 | Page 70

FOOD+DRINK
KENT PUB PROFILE:
THE WHEATSHEAF
and THE CASTLE INN
DAVID FULLER IS THE HEAD CHEF OF TWO
HISTORIC PUB RESTAURANTS, THE WHEATSHEAF
AT BOUGH BEECH AND THE CASTLE INN AT
CHIDDINGSTONE. THIS MONTH, insideKENT PUT
HIM IN THE HOT SEAT.
What is your earliest food memory?
My mum is a really good cook and always
used fresh ingredients, but one day she was
in such a rush and served me a ready meal of
fish in a sauce. I remember being really upset
– I was only about 10 at the time.
How did you get started in the industry?
How important is locally sourced food
to you?
I started right on the bottom rung as a kitchen
porter at The Grand Hotel in Brighton at the
age of 16. I was very lucky as the hotel paid
for my college tuition. It gave me a great start
and throughout my 20-year career I have
worked with some amazing chefs. It is very important to use the best ingredients
and if they happen to be on our doorstep all
the better. Our kitchen garden is in the DNA
of The Wheatsheaf menu – during the
summer, our customers will be eating
tomatoes that have travelled a few metres to
the plate.
What brought you to Chiddingstone? Do you have a signature dish?
Becoming a dad (I have two children aged
two and six) meant I wanted to find a balance
between being a head chef and a father. What
attracted me to The Wheatsheaf was the
amount of land behind the pub – I could
envisage it as the perfect kitchen garden for
the pub’s dishes. I have recently perfected a chocolate orange
mousse, but I wouldn’t say I have a signature
dish because I am always tweaking recipes as
it makes the dining experience more exciting
for our customers – the evolution of food is
a wonderful thing.
Are the menus for the two pubs very
different?
In one way, yes they are – The Castle Inn is
very classic British pub food and The
Wheatsheaf is modern European. But both
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pubs use the best ingredients and we are big
on locally sourced food. For example, our
Ploughman’s uses Charcott cheddar, a gold
medal winner made just eight miles away.
Has becoming a dad changed your attitude
to children’s menus?
I’m now a firm believer that children should
eat freshly cooked food so that all the nutrients
are retained. None of our children’s dishes are
pre-cooked – we even make our own pasta
and my daughter can’t get enough of our
homemade vanilla ice cream. I also think it is
important to be flexible when it comes to
serving families – if they want a child’s portion
of an adult dish rather than eat from the
children’s menu then I am happy to
accommodate.
THE CASTLE INN HAS JUST LAUNCHED ITS
KIDS’ CLUB MENU FOR THE SCHOOL RUN.
FRESHLY COOKED, CHILD-FRIENDLY DISHES
WITH FREE HOMEMADE ICE CREAM IF
ORDERED BEFORE 5PM WEEKDAYS.
CHILDREN AGED UNDER SEVEN CAN EAT
FREE* UP UNTIL 7PM, WEEKDAYS, AT THE
WHEATSHEAF (*MAXIMUM TWO CHILDREN
PER ONE ADULT WHO IS ALSO DINING).
www.castleinnchiddingstone.co.uk
www.wheatsheafboughbeech.co.uk