PRIDE OF
Kami Soroush has been a chef for over 25 years and his previous restaurant was the highest ranked Michelin Guide entry in Wales. Kami and his wife Azi have recently refurbished the New Red Lion, Pendoylan, creating a delightful setting to match the excellent cuisine. What can people expect from The New Red Lion restaurant? We have tried to create the sort of place I would love to visit when my wife, Azi and I go out. Somewhere beautiful in the countryside, away from the hustle and bustle of the busy city with no parking problem but with good surroundings, ambience and friendly staff who provide relaxed but efficient service. Most importantly, on offer is an excellent choice of menu and a wonderful wine list. What dishes are most popular? You see a lot of restaurants these days using too many flavours (more than four can be confusing to the palate) and a lot of fancy names in their menus. This can end up being too complicated and some customers may feel uncomfortable ordering or might feel the need to ask someone to explain it to them which can be embarrassing. Because of this all of the dishes that we create are kept simple but with a little twist which are presented beautifully with emphasis on freshness. One of the most popular dishes we find, for example, is the Red Snapper with fresh Pomegranate, Saffron, Walnuts and Tarragon.
Where else have you worked and how has it influenced you? I am a self taught chef and have always worked for myself having owned my own restaurants, but of course I was not a chef to begin with. At my last restaurant, Trillium, I had a good team in my kitchen but the problem was my chefs knew more than me so I felt that I had to learn fast. I soon started to work in the kitchen as a Sous Chef and within six months I took over the role as Head Chef where, not long after, I was presented with the award for the highest recommended restaurant of the year in Wales. I received this award for four years running and was included in seven different good food guides including The Michelin. I also had the pleasure of training the winner of the Wales Future Cook of the Year who became one of the top five in Britain. I was also runner-up in the awards for Welsh Lamb Dish of the Year. What has been your proudest career moment to date? Without doubt it was when Azi and I were introduced to Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall when they stopped at the New Red Lion Gastro Pub in 2005.
Where do you think your talent for cooking comes from? My mum had a lot of influence on my love for cooking. I think to be a good chef, as I say in my cookery courses, you need to have a lot of patience, never cut corners whilst cooking and always imagine the food you are about to cook by smelling and tasting it in your mind so you have an idea of how you intend the dish to look and taste. Has anyone inspired you? My philosophy is ‘simple but nice’ and it comes from one of the greatest chefs, Anton Mosimann. I remember when I was cooking on the TV show Get Going in 1993 I was often asked why I never wore a chef jacket but instead I would wear a shirt, bow tie and apron and the answer was always the same... “It’s a tribute to Mr Mosimann,” as he always wore a bow tie on his programmes.
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