Adrian Gagea spent his youth playing for the Romanian national volleyball team before being drawn back to his first love, the kitchen. Inspired by his mother, grandmother and great-grandmother’s joy of the kitchen, Adrian found his own passion for food and moved to the UK in 2011. Working under renowned chef Raymond Blanc it didn’t take long for Adrian to work his way to sous-chef. He moved back to Romania for a head chef position before returning to England in 2018 where he met Rob Hattersley, managing director of Longbow Venues. Now he is executive chef for the award-winning hospitality business who run The Maynard, The Ashford Arms and The George, which recently reopened following after flooding and storm damage meant it had to close for eight months. Here, Adrian shares his food loves. longbowvenues.com
How does it feel to be back in the kitchen at The George?
The first week back felt like we had never been closed, just like it had all been a bad dream. I am so happy the nightmare is over, we are back, and stronger than before.
The team have stayed together through good and bad, now we have our doors back open, and we are thrilled to welcome everyone back.
What was it like when the flood first happened and what work has been done over the past several months to reopen.
The hardest part was to keep everyone motivated, and the wait for The George to be back open. On the day of the flood, the water was all the way up to our knees and we all did our very best to try and stop it, but it took over and we had to step away.
It was then a very long wait to dry the venue out before we could then start to refurbish.
There was a lot of uncertainty as this is something we had never experienced. But we were very fortunate to have such an incredible team with great patience and dedication.
What are you enjoying most about being open again?
I have loved seeing everyone back home again, where they belong and producing great food and great service. Happy staff make our days happier and pushes us all to bring more to the table and give everyone the chance to progress and develop their careers.
First dish you learned to cook?
Stir-fried rice in a Chinese restaurant, this was my first step into the culinary world, hence the Asian flavours found across our menus.
Most vivid childhood food memory?
My grandmother's beef and potato stew, and the fact that from a very early age she taught me how to cook breakfast. In fact, at seven years old I was cooking my own fried eggs for my breakfast before school.
Most memorable meal out?
I have one in particular… a delicious beef carpaccio in a small piazzetta in Rome.
Favourite ingredient?
Rice is such a great ingredient, suitable for any diet, healthy and so easy to use and get creative with, it goes well with almost anything, takes a lot of flavour combination and is very versatile, by means of how it is cooked and served.
Your go-to snack?
Whenever I feel the need for sugar or junk food, I grab an apple! However sometimes I will reach for a biscuit, I love them! Any type pretty much goes well with a cup of English breakfast tea. Even as a Romanian I love a good cup of tea with biscuits.
If you weren't a chef, what would you be doing?
Before becoming a chef, I played volleyball for several clubs and the national team in Romania, so I would probably be a volleyball player or a teacher/coach.
Your dream dinner guest?
Rob and Steve (MD & Operations Director at Longbow Venues) they are the guys who critique my food, review and challenge me, and make me a better chef. It is good to work alongside people with good knowledge about food, and also have the ability to be completely honest about the dishes I create.
What's your guilty food pleasure?
Chocolate brownie. Whenever I’m working in the kitchen I will go into the pastry section and grab a piece of brownie, I refer to it as quality control.
What is the flavour of the moment in your kitchen?
As I mentioned earlier, I have a lot of Asian influence, so at the moment you can find lots of soy, wasabi, stir fry, sweet chilli and rice.
Who are your Derbyshire food and drink heroes?
A great place I like to go for food and drink is The Horseshoes on Long Lane, near Ashbourne, a little restaurant with a great chef. Also Chatsworth Kitchen and the Chatsworth farm shop café, they have great history and use their own produce.
A hospitality industry person who inspires?
Marco Pierre White and Raymond Blanc, who I worked for when I began my career.
They are like the gods from Olympus. They set the trend and have taught so many great chefs in the industry.
A place you love to eat?
Usually, I tend to go for smaller more established restaurants with lots of tradition, character and history. Restaurants that have done something unique and inspiring, where I can gain inspiration for my own dishes. But one of the greatest places I like to eat is in our own kitchens at Longbow when we host our ‘chef school’.
Our chefs are free to create delicious and inspiring dishes from all around the world. It is amazing to see what each person expresses through food and how amazing it is to have the freedom of presenting that dish on the plate without any pressure from the other chefs demands, just good creative cooking. It is one of my greatest achievements and helps us to develop our menus with the input of everyone in the kitchen team.
A career highlight?
Becoming an executive chef and being part of this great family at Longbow and having so many people around sharing the same passion and vision for good food.
What's next?
There is a great quote from Kung Fu Panda which sounds something like,
"Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a present”
We enjoy the present but at the same time we are working to keep the mystery and excitement, striving for new challenges and new ventures.
We are currently in the planning stages of opening a new restaurant within the old RBS Bank in Bakewell town centre. Currently this is a mystery, but hopefully it will become a reality.
Adrian’s favourite dish
Our venison ravioli with chorizo and sage sauce and fresh grated parmesan. This is one of my signature dishes from The Maynard and has been a firm favourite on the menu since 2020, everyone loves it. Great locally sourced ingredients and the team of talented chefs make the ravioli so delicious. I will be demonstrating this dish at Chatsworth Country Fair in the Cookery Theatre on Sunday 1st September from 3:30pm, so come down if you would like to see how it’s done. Or head to the Maynard, in Grindleford to try it for yourself.
