Experts going wild for Shropshire chef James’ food
It seems everyone is wild about Shropshire, after a local restaurant was awarded restaurant of the month status.
Wild Shropshire, is a twenty cover restaurant based in Ternhill near Market Drayton, and has been crowned restaurant of the month by Love British Food.
James Sherwin, owner and chef, first entered into the pop-up restaurant arena shortly after appearing on Channel 4 The Taste alongside Nigella Lawson, Anthony Bourdain back in 2013. Since then he has grown into a fully fledged professional chef, who is not afraid to experiment.
The word 'Terroir' is regularly used when describing Jame's business and general passion for food. The French term refers to environmental factors such as the soil, climate and topography which affects the taste and appearance of certain crops. This idea is at the very heart of Wild Shropshire's ethos.
James said: "Ninety-nine per cent of our produce is from Shropshire. The great thing about working with seasonality is that dishes can change daily and it forces you to be creative and reactive to the environment. I also love that in a time where we are becoming more global this truly represents a really small part of the world.
"The tag line we like to use is that everything we serve is 'of a place'. That place may not always be Shropshire but it is representative of somewhere.
The business is completely led by the seasons, what it can grow and what can be farmed in and around Shropshire, and more precisely within the small area where James lives. This means meat is sourced from local game keepers and farmers, as well as James running his own allotment and often foraging for produce to use in his recipes.
He added: "I enjoy talking to my customers after they've eaten, about what they've eaten, It's great to talk about and discuss the ingredients. We have so many ingredients that we've forgotten about now that we have access to, its always great seeing people's reaction when they realise that some of it can be found in their garden."
Wild Shropshire opened in a permanent location in March 2018, however has also been working on the concept of offering a pop up restaurant in and around Shropshire for the last 2 years.
Love British Food, who work in partnership with Co-op Food and The Great British Food Campaign, are leading national advocates of British home-grown food. The organisation encourages companies and retailers to source their produce locally from the UK wherever possible.
