Cuisine
I
f you do your research or are
lucky, you may come across the
well-known country manor house
hotel, Ellenborough Park, located
in England’s Cotswolds. In addition
to this memorable hotel,
Ellenborough Park has a three AA
Rosette restaurant with 3200
bottles in their wine cellar and a
wine list of 530.
The restaurant’s Chef David is
fortunate in working with Head
Sommelier, Clio Gildici,who has an
“Advanced Sommelier” certification
from the Court of Master
Sommeliers. He is happy to share
his knowledge with guests.
Let’s get to know David a little
better.
David Kelman, executive head chef,
respects quality food, and makes a
point of buying locally and cooking
according to the seasons. His
favorite ingredients include quail
and lamb, but his idea of a perfect
meal is a good glass of wine with
cheese, ham and pickles and some
fresh crusty bread.
David was inspired to become a chef
at the age of 13 and spent more
than four years training at Llandrillo
College in North Wales.
Since then, David’s career has
rocketed. He became a member of
the Welsh National Culinary Team in
1999, was recently promoted to team
leader and captained the Wales squad
in the 2012 Culinary Olympics,
winning the Silver and Bronze awards.
David has cooked for Wales in other
competitions around the world. This
includes winning silver at the
American Culinary Classic in Chicago
in 2003 and again in 2007, as part of
a team of 12 top Welsh chefs, where
he headed-up the pastry section.
As an avid fundraiser for children,
family man David was involved in
Chefs’ Night Out in 2011, an event
to raise money for the South Wales
Children’s Hospice, Tŷ Hafan. David’s
contribution to the auction was to
cook a meal for someone in their own
home and he raised an impressive
£4,700. He also cooked for the
Sunrise Walk, which was arranged
by the bereaved children’s charity,
Winston’s Wish.
David has been fortunate enough
to cook for the Queen twice; once
at the state opening of the Welsh
Assembly in 2007 and another time
at the fourth Welsh Assembly in
2011. David has also cooked for the
Prime Minister, David Cameron, in
March 2012 at Number 10, as part
of St. David’s Day celebrations.
David has played a big role in
obtaining Three AA Rosettes for
The Beaufort Dining Room at
Ellenborough Park, Gloucestershire’s
first ever and only Five Star hotel.
The chef is also a finalist for
Cotswold Life’s ‘Chef of The Year’
and The Beaufort Dining Room is
a finalist for ‘Best Restaurant’.
David lives in the Cotswolds
and when not in the kitchen at
Ellenborough Park, he can be found
catching-up with his wife and
two children.
Maralyn: When did you start
showing an interest in cooking and
how did you get started?
Chef David: It all started when
I was 13 and started work as a plate
washer in a local hotel, I used to
prep fruit salad and other things and
really enjoyed working with food.
Maralyn: What was your families’
reaction to your career choice?
Chef David: My family were really
supportive in what I wanted to do;
they encouraged me to better myself
and never tried to push me into
a different direction.
Maralyn: Did you do an
apprenticeship or go to a culinary
school? If so, could you tell us
about it?
Chef David: After I had finished
school at the age of 16, I went to
Coleg Llandrillo, which at the time,
was in the top 5 catering colleges
in the UK. I spent 4 1/2 years there,
learning hotel management, kitchen
and then specializing in pastry. It
was a great time.
Maralyn: Which is your favorite
station in the kitchen, the hotline,
pastry, etc.?
Chef David: I love pastry, but I can’t
work in there, as I need to manage
the kitchen; you will find me on the
hot plate, calling checks, cooking
and checking dishes.
Maralyn: What is your favorite
comfort food and is there a
particular reason?
Chef David: I would have to say
that bread is the one thing I love,
whether it is toast, to freshly baked
bread, to a door stop sandwich with
ham pickles, cheese