Since being named as runner up in The Observer FoodMonthly Awards ‘Best Sunday Lunch’ category, the phone at The Gun Inn, in Findon,West Sussex, has “been ringing off the hook”. We caught-up with Head Chef Lewis Harris, to learnmore about his robust classic British,Spanish, French & Italian cooking,why local produce is over hyped, plus we get the inside track on the perfectSunday Lunch.
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What is your culinary experience to date and how long have you been at The Gun?
A. I worked for my parents when they opened their first pub in london when I was nineteen,helping in the kitchen making sandwiches & washing up, we went our seperate ways a year & I continued to work in kitchens in London.
The pressure of starting a family made me move to Brighton, where I reluctantly took a job with a noodle chain 'Wok Wok', where a brilliant lady called Mae Lee kicked my butt from morning to night until offering me the head chefs job, running a kitchen with 10 chefs. I then spent six years as head chef at the Tin Drum In Kemptown, before opening my own deli called Pestle & Mortar in Worthing. I sold the business three years and have now been at The Gun Inn for nearly 2 years and are really enjoying it!
Talk me through the style of food on offer...any signature/popular dishes readers should look out for?
A. robust is a term I use alot when it comes to our food, classic British, Spanish, French & Italian can be found on our menu at the same time, not in a fusion way but classsic family staples like pappardelle with rabbit sauce, osso bucco, ox cheeks, chicken with chorizo & butterbeans but by far our best selling dish is slow roasted pork belly, we cook about 8 whole bellies a week!
How often do you change the menus and do you offer daily specials?
A. our menu is always changing, not drastically but with the seasons & produce availible it keeps the kitchen & customers happy but core menu items like pork belly & lamb shoulder will always remain. We normally have daily specials unless the main menu has been wiped out due to a busy service the day before.
How much does local produce play a role in your menu and which suppliers could you not live without?
A. I think it is a term way over used these days even the toby cavery uses it! it is important but some products have to be imported & that will never change, any descent chef will have been using local produce for years like I have before Jamie & Hugh got the bandwaggon rolling, but again its a good thing for people to question where their food comes from. its inportant to have suppliers who are preparared to go the extra mile for you, I have a great trade butcher & a local lad that shoots rabbit, pheasant & pidgeon.
The Observer Food Monthly recently named the Sunday lunch at The Gun as one of the best in UK, what's on the menu and why do you think it's such a hit with the media and punters alike?
A. Sunday lunch service is the most important of the week & wherever I have worked its always been a busy one, you must have quality & value,we have all been out & been dissapointed on more than one occasion with Sunday lunch so when you find a good one you tend to stick with it, its a great family day so when meeting up friends & relatives in a place with great food, every one can relax & enjoy themselves with out fretting about the quality of what arrives on your plate, my family & staff all sit down to lunch after service & enjoy a roast and a few well desrved glasses of wine. To gain national interest & credit is amazing, our phone has been off the hook with enquires about sunday but we always make a few table availible for walk-ins as we are a pub but even the locals know its best to book
If you weren't working - what would constitute your perfect Sunday/Sunday lunch?
A. just me, sally & the kids at home although I do enjoy the work & family lunch & the look of relief on peoples faces that we made it through another Sunday unscaved!
Which is Best for a Sunday roast - Chicken, beef, pork or lamb?
A. I tend to have a slice of beef with a bit of pork belly! I always roast a couple of chickens if one of the staff have had a birthday that week but traditionally it has to be beef
Walk me trough a typical Sunday in your kitchen, from prep to service to close. How many covers, kitchen staff, etc
A. All the meat is cooked the day before with potatoes being par-boiled also, this may suprise some people but is common practice, pork belly & lamb shoulder are impossible to portion hot, we warm the turkey & beef in a bain marie.
9.00 am get the ovens pre-heated, put on a large pan of water.
9.30 4 trays of potatoes & the first 16 yorkies in. start reducing beef stock.
10.00 start blanching swede, brocolli, green beans, cauliflower & spring greens.
11.00 front of house & kitchen staff arrive, start slicing beef & turkey
12.00 first customers arrive, kitchen should now be ready for service
3.00 all final orders should be in.
4.00 all orders completed, last Sunday we did 108 covers.
5.00 staff food about 15 of us normally sit down.
we do not serve food in the evening!!
Do you offer a children's menu?
A. We offer smaller portions of what is on our menu, followed by a complimentary icecream
Which places in Sussex do you love to eat at and which excite you the most?
A. We like Whites in Steyning, I had the best oxtail madras in chilli pickle Brighton, the ginger pig, due south we quite like the chain Cote its really good value classic french bistro food I could go on for ever & I guess thats a good thing, we are really looking forward to going to south lodge for a night with dinner at the pass restaurant I hear there doing great things
The Good Food Guide recently denounced the use of the term gastropub on account of it being dated and misleading. Would you agree with this decision?
A. it is a bit old hat but how else could you phrase it? all food operations in pubs really have to be in top form in the current climate, customers are far more knowlegable about food these days
It seems that Marco Pierre White is set to turn The Rainbow in Cuckfield/Lewes into his third Sussex Wheelers of st.james pub. Do you think this is think this is a positive thing for the flagging community pub, or do you think that chain pubs in the country is a bad thing?
A. I think its a good thing, chain operations on all levels have there place, I would recommend any chef thinking of starting a restaurant to get a pub, breweries are crying out for good operaters, its a no brainer, small ingoing investment, accommodation, pubs also tend to have large kitchens & gardens, you will have a wet trade to fall back on in quieter times which you dont have with restaurants.
For more information or to book please contact:
Food between 12-3pm & 6-9pm
Sunday lunch 12-3pm.
(Food is not served on Monday or Sunday evenings)
High Street,
Findon,
BN140TA
Telephone 01903873206