Gary Foulkes: ‘If we all cook seasonally and responsibly, seafood will be available for a long time’

From a weekend job at 16 to executive chef at a Michelin-starred restaurant today, Angler’s Gary Foulkes has certainly risen to the challenge. He chats to Molly Codyre about sustainable seafood, Liverpudlian stew and how a failed career in football led him to food

Foulkes has travelled the world for culinary inspiration (Angler Restaurant)

Taking a role at a Michelin-starred restaurant is no mean feat, but it’s a challenge that Gary Foulkes has firmly risen to.

Foulkes began his culinary at just 17, taking on a weekend role at a local hotel after a school work experience stint. Since then, the avid traveller has worked all over the world, picking up culinary inspiration as he went, before returning to London to take up a role at The Square. Now executive chef at D&D London, his responsibilities include Michelin-starred Angler, and South Place Chop House.

How would you describe your cooking style?

Light, seasonal, and packed with flavour.

What drew you to the food industry?

My lack of ability to make it as a footballer! Cooking was never a vocation for me, and it wasn’t a big part of my childhood, either. It all started when I got sent on work experience to a hotel when I was still at school. I spent a day in each department and my final day was in the kitchen. Everyone seemed so focused on what they were doing, but while having a great time. I was 16 and thought it looked like fun. The chef offered me a weekend job and that was it.

You are an avid traveler, how have your trips influenced how you cook?

Enormously. I get so much inspiration from seeing and understanding other cultures and their food, ingredients, and way of life. Travelling gives me so much inspiration, and if one is able to travel they should jump at the chance.

What is your favourite dish to cook?

When I’m cooking at home, I enjoy cooking simple things and making fresh pasta with my son. I never get tired of making Scouse (a Liverpudlian stew), especially in the colder months.

Your menus at Angler focus on fish and seafood. What are your thoughts on the sustainability of seafood?

It’s obviously something that people need to think seriously about, not just chefs but the wider population, too. The oceans and their inhabitants are such precious things, and are the gifts that keep on giving, but there is a point where things must be given time to recover and regenerate. Everything on the menu at Angler comes from a sustainable source. It is so important to respect nature and to allow it to recalibrate. I believe that if we all cook seasonally and responsibly, seafood will be available for people to enjoy for a long time to come.

What do you do to keep up culinary inspiration?

Travel, and eating in restaurants with my family.

Does cooking in a hotel restaurant influence your style?

Not at all. Angler is situated within a hotel but is very much its own entity. We cook the food we think people will enjoy. That’s the whole point of a restaurant – to serve food that delivers pleasure, otherwise I don’t see the point.

What has been the most pivotal moment in your career?

There have been a few, but if I had to pick one, it was when I started working at The Square. The quality of the ingredients and the way they were treated had a massive effect on how I looked at food. I learnt so much there and that had a huge influence on how I cook now. The first question we always got asked when you had cooked something was, “Is it delicious?” and that appreciation of flavour has stuck with me.

Angler has a Michelin star – does this add pressure to your cooking there?

I think anywhere that has accolades feels an additional pressure, as people often come with a preconceived idea of what they are going to get. I try not to overthink it, and just focus on cooking delicious food.

What are your favourite ingredients to work with?

I’m just as happy working with fruit and vegetables as I am with fish and shellfish, but it all comes down to seasonality. If you cook seasonally, it creates variety and keeps things interesting.