You’ve probably have seen the stupendous six course feast menu that Josh Eggleton (Michelin Starred Chef and owner of Pony & Trap) and Rob Howell (Head Chef of Root in Bristol and winner of a Bib Gourmand award) will be serving up on Saturday night.  Here we catch up with Rob and get his view on a few things…

What are your top 3 favourite ingredients at the moment and why?

How can I choose with such an abundance at the moment?! Ok, asparagus, peas, jersey royals. Or morels, maybe morels as well because they’re delicious. Please can I have four?!

What is the tastiest thing you’ve eaten recently?

We had a guest chef at Root at the end of April, John Chantarasak who cooks/tours under the name Anglo Thai – he’s also known for Som Saa in London, and he trained under the Sanchez brothers for years at Casamia, what a small world ! Anyway, he did this extremely simple dish of fresh apple sprinkled with chilli, salt & sugar. It’s a Thai tradition/dish, they have it before a meal to heighten your taste buds. It blew my mind. I’m going to ‘steal’ it and make an English version. When I was young my gran used to peel and cut loads of apples and roll them in demerara – it reminded me of that, nostalgia is a great thing when it comes to food, I try to use the power of nostalgia in my cooking often.

What are you most looking forward to about Valley Fest?

RH: Cooking some good food in an amazing venue and location. And just having a bloody good time with everyone.

Who are you most looking forward to seeing at Valley Fest?

RH: Razorlight, obvs. They’re the one. 

Bookings for the Saturday feasts are open.  You can book for a group of people and sit together and tell us about any dietary requirements as part of the booking process.