FOOD
PHOTO BY PHILIP FIELD
OUR EXPEDITIONS INVOLVED
a not-for-profit pop-up stall in Box to raise money for earthquake victims, and we also set up the YYY Foundation. Our foundation has now grown into a registered charity with four completed projects and a further two schools currently being built in Nepal. Our hope is for Phat Yaks to become successful enough to allow one of us to work voluntarily for the foundation.
SPENDING DAYS AWAY FROM ROADS, SO WE BECAME
ADEPT AT FINDING WILD INGREDIENTS IN NEPAL
C U LT U R E
Opening a Bath restaurant has always been a dream of mine... I specialised in seafood at FishWorks under the guidance of acclaimed chef and author Mitch Tonks, I then set up my own business. We’ve recently opened a newly extended upstairs restaurant… The tin bath up there showcases seafood and shellfish – from prawns to razor clams – which customers can pick their own seafood feast from. At a dinner party I’d cook... Roasted shellfish, such as whole crab, lobsters and scallops, all cooked in their natural juices. www.thescallopshell.co.uk
THE BIG FREEZE
Christophe Lacroix and Brigitte Touret own Ma Cuisine in Larkhall, Bath, which specialises in French gourmet ‘ready meals’. Brigitte tells us more about growing up in France and Christophe’s Michelin-starred background
THE SPICE KING
Ever since we were children, growing up in different regions of France, we shared an obsession with food… In La Rochelle, Christophe grew up fishing for eels and frog-catching with his older brother. Meanwhile, in Rheims, I was investing my pocket money in cheese, cured meat or a pot of honey. It is perhaps no surprise that we wound up marrying each other.
Our offering is influenced by Gujarat, India... My mum spent her childhood there and grew up in Tanzania. We’ve cooked Indian food all our lives and even though I was born in Bath I still feel connected to my roots.
Christophe began his career aged 14, at a Michelin-starred restaurant in France… He worked with famous chefs in French restaurants and chateaux, then travelled the world as a private chef to Hollywood stars. He was a private chef for Nicolas Cage and his family when they lived in Bath, and he cooked for Demi Moore on a boat during her Caribbean holiday. w
www.yakyetiyak.co.uk
Niraj Gadher owns Indian street food-style café Chai Walla on Monmouth Street, Bath. Here he explains where his inspirations come from Above: Niraj Gadher at his Indian street-food café Chai Walla; below: discover an English-meetsMediterranean style at The Scallop Shell restaurant
Authentic dishes on our menu include… Samosa chaat – samosas immersed into a chickpea curry, drizzled with tamarind yogurt and sprinkled with onions and rice noodles. At a dinner party, I would make… Bombay aloo – potato curry – and anything made with turmeric, the king of all spices.
THE TRADITIONAL BRITS
PHOTO BY PAOLO FERLA
Having worked with acclaimed restaurateur Mitch Tonks, Garry Rosser opened The Scallop Shell fish and seafood restaurant and takeaway on Monmouth Place, Bath. Here he tells us how he blends his traditionally English style with inspiration from the Mediterranean Our catch of the day is from UK shores and we cook it with influences from the Med… There is an abundance of seafood in UK waters and we absolutely want to celebrate that. We prepare 800 kilos of cod fillet alone every week. www.mediaclash.co.uk I BATH LIFE I 33