He's worked in some of the top kitchens in London, and now Reece Taylor is bringing sustainable and seasonal delights to customers at The Brushmakers Arms in Upham. "Watching TV programmes with Keith Floyd and Gary Rhodes. At 14, I was washing up in a restaurant kitchen and, watching the chefs there, it seemed like magic, raw ingredients being transformed into a delicious meal!" "Pork chops for my mum and stepdad.
" "After starting out washing up in a local restaurant, a steakhouse in Maidstone, I gradually moved up to chef positions. By 24, I was working for Gary Rhodes at Rhodes 24 and then moved on to The Wolseley for a few years and then Arbutus, which had a Michelin star, and the Anchor and Hope, a gastro pub near Waterloo. I left London, moved to Hampshire and was a chef at the Thomas Lord, (in West Meon) one of the first gastropubs here.
I met my wife Nicky there, she was the manager, and we opened a cafe together in Petersfield called the Gypsy Kitchen. There we started doing secret dining once a month which we still do now at The Brushmakers. People love it, it's a six course tasting menu and they get to try exciting produce from the excellent farms and artisan products from all over Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.
I have been at the Brushmakers with Nicky now for over eight and a half years." "The menu changes day to day and from lunch to evening. At the moment, we're using a lot of guinea fowl, chalk stream trout and gurnard.
" "Elderflower restaurant in Lymington. .