Meet the chef behind the 30-course menu that blends Welsh cuisine with Asian flair

Head chef Gareth Ward doesn’t mess about: forget any dietary requirements — at his restaurant Ynyshir, there’s just the one menu, dinner is bang on 5pm (because you’ll need five hours to eat it) and you sure as hell had better book months in advance. You don’t rise to these heights without some ground rules.

And what giddy heights: two Michelin stars since 2022 (and brazenly angling for a third), a ‘World Class’ rating in the Good Food Guide, and ‘Best Restaurant’ in the National Restaurant Awards in 2023. Not bad for a self-confessed dropout from County Durham.

“I hated school and left at 16 with no GCSEs,” reflects Gareth. “I had nothing to show for myself. No interest in food. My mam worked like a dog to keep the family alive, bless her, but she didn’t have much time to cook. When she did it wasn’t great, but her egg and chips, spaghetti bolognese and curry were unbelievable. I can still taste them now. 

“One day my uncle suggested I become a chef as everyone needs feeding and I’d always have a job. And I thought, let’s do it. I started out as pot wash at the Seven Stars in Shincliffe, then I moved on to cooking pub food. It was a bit of a fluke, to be honest.”

Gareth swiftly climbed the culinary ranks. “I worked for five years at Hambleton Hall in Rutland under Aaron Patterson. There I became passionate about ingredients and learned to cook to Michelin-star standard. I liked the military discipline. And it’s important to do a stint in a classical kitchen — making stocks, butchering, filleting fish. You’ve got to make the wheel before you can reinvent it.”

A couple of years later, Gareth moved on to two-Michelin-star Restaurant Sat Bains in Nottingham, where he got to fully unleash his creativity as sous-chef. But after three years at the stove, his feet were itchy. He wanted to make his own rules, create his own menus, be his own boss. 

And so Ynyshir was born. It’s an unlikely spot for one of Britain’s most-feted chefs to land: a remote country house, embosomed in woods that taper into the swirling sands of the Dyfi Estuary. It was once a beloved retreat of  Queen Victoria. To the north, the dark peaks of Eryri (Snowdonia) pucker up. To the south, the vast, empty wilds of Mid Wales unfurl. Why here?

“Because it’s beautiful,” shrugs Gareth. “I didn’t choose it — it chose me. I was at a crossroads in life and ready for the challenge. It’s great being out here in the middle of nowhere. Nothing holds you back. There’s total freedom. We don’t compare ourselves to others or jump on the latest food trends. We’re fortunate to be located in a part of Wales that pumps out extremely high-quality produce,” he enthuses. “The epic landscapes, fertile soil and awesome local producers here haven’t let me down yet.”

When Gareth started to carve out a name for Ynyshir, his tasting menus sizzled with meat. But these days he is diving into lighter, brighter waters, with an increased focus on the fish and shellfish brought in on local boats. 

“I love using all the local stuff we get. One of my favourite dishes is lobster tail, frozen then served raw in a Thai-style nam jim dressing with loads of chilli. It’s explosive in flavour — a party in the mouth. The shrimp — which I do a little green curry with — is amazing, too, as is the local crab. I went to Singapore for 10 days and ate chilli crab every day. It blew my mind, so we replicate that.”

A meal in several acts

As Ynyshir’s star has risen, the restaurant has gained a reputation for embracing meat — on its website, it famously describes itself as ‘fat fuelled, protein obsessed’. But, as Gareth explains, the outlook of the kitchen is always evolving. “I’ve moved away from meat a bit. A lot of the menu is now fish and much of it raw. But I love the quality, taste and texture of Welsh lamb, which we serve as a spare rib. And some of the beef is terrific. Then there’s our veal sweetbread with N25 caviar. This dish is absolutely filthy, with a deep-fried, double-cream consistency and texture coming from the panko.”

The £375 menu reads like an opera in several acts, allowing each ingredient to shine. The prelude is ‘Not French Onion Soup’, a delicious umami bath of dashi, slow-cooked onions and miso. 

Then the real fun begins. Lobster claw satay. Scampi with sweet chilli. Prawn with wild garlic. Lightly poached Orkney scallop seared in beef fat. Miso-cured black cod. Peking duck served three ways. Welsh Wagyu beef, shabu-shabu hotpot-style, served three ways: as a sirloin, rump cap with black bean and a burger called ‘That First Bite’. 

The cooking is precise, flawless, ingenious. It’s hard to nail the style — there are whispers of Wales, murmurs of Asia, even gourmet takes on McDonald’s (the burger, the kaffir lime soft serve). “Ynyshir food isn’t just Welsh — our style is unique. It’s off the cuff. We don’t copy. I cook the food I like to eat. And I love big flavours: soy sauce, chilli, coriander, lemongrass, garlic, ginger,” admits Gareth. 

Even so, a 30-course menu is ballsy — and surely a lot of hard work. Why so many courses? “I’m northern. I’m a feeder. I’m too generous,” confesses Gareth. “I don’t like taking things off the menu. I try to talk myself into it, but that would mean getting rid of something I love. It’s a constant battle!” 

Gareth is serious about putting Wales on the gastro map. “There was nothing when I came to this area. Now there’s Ynyshir. And our former sous-chef, Nathan Davies, opened SY23 in Aberystwyth, which won a Michelin star in its first year. This area is becoming a bit of a Ludlow. It has gone from unknown backwater to food mecca.” Nor is Gareth resting on his laurels, with his newly opened restaurant Gwen in Machynlleth and plans for a pizzeria and pub simmering away nicely. “You’ve got to keep pushing. Never give up. Surround yourself with people you love with the same drive as you,” he says. 

And, for all the accolades that Ynyshir has received, Gareth is adamant that fine dining doesn’t need to be buttoned up. Anyone who comes all this way should have fun. The atmosphere is more house party than haute cuisine, with a DJ spinning vinyl and the soundtrack skipping from techno to the Arctic Monkeys in the Nordic-cool, moodily rustic dining room. 

While Gareth’s menus are meticulously composed, the man himself confesses that he’s partial to comfort food. “Toast, obviously, with butter and Marmite, or a crumpet if I’m feeling a bit saucy,” he chuckles. “And I love pimping up a Pot Noodle with brilliant soy sauce and rice vinegar.”

“Food means everything,” says Gareth, suddenly more earnest. “There’s nothing better or more important than having a meal with the people you love. We should spend more time around the table and less in front of the TV. If I could bring my mam back, we’d have her spaghetti bolognese and raspberry fluff with crushed flakes on top. We’d eat it together, listening to Phil Collins and Tina Turner.”