Feedback with Romy Gill: November 2024

FEEDBACK WITH ROMY GILL

This month we meet chef Romy Gill.

Born in East India where she learned to cook from her mother, Romy travelled to the UK in the 90's and missing family and friends she cooked food to remind her of home, this led to dinner parties for friends followed by an idea to open her own restaurant. Fast forward to 2024, she now has food writer, author and broadcaster to add to her cv.

To celebrate the publication of her latest book Romy Gill's India, she joins us to talk about her childhood, why she is championing the Bristol food scene and what her husband makes for her to eat after a long day!

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What food always reminds you of your childhood?
Paratha, they’re Indian flatbreads. My mum used to make stuffed flatbreads, and it just reminds me of my childhood because she would pack picnics for a long journey on a train, and she would make the most amazing flatbreads with me.  Sadly, she's no longer with us.  All my friends still associate parathas with my mum because she was very particular about them, they had to be cooked right, they had to be crispy, and she would make sure you ate them warm. I would take them to school and my best friend, Reshmi, used to eat my lunch, it would be all gone by 10.30! She is still a good friend and when I visit her in New York she always asks me to make parathas.

Do you have a current favourite restaurant or type of restaurant?
I do. Quite a lot in Bristol, and London. I think the restaurants that we have in Bristol are fantastic a lot are independently run. I love a restaurant called, littlefrench run by Freddie Bird, it’s just so warm and comforting. I also go to Wilson's and Root, and I've recently been to Sonny Stores, I think that's going to be my go-to restaurant now. In London I always go to an Indian restaurant called Pahli Hill in Fitzrovia, I just love the ethos, and I like the chef. Obviously, Carousel, where I do my residency, it’s a great place for people to go and eat food from different chefs. But I would really love to promote Bristol because I think there are some great restaurants, lots of critics love coming to Bristol and you get people coming from London just to go to eat.

What food or ingredient could you not do without?
Salt, because I think seasoning is so important, butter; and I think we forget that herbs and spices are what makes and breaks your dish. Having good salt and good oil can really do wonders with your dish. So that's salt, butter, herbs and good oil. Brilliant!

What was the most memorable meal you can remember eating?
I mentioned I went to Sonny Stores recently and it was just perfect, I went with a dear friend of mine. It feels like you’re in a home it's just beautiful, I think the staff are lovely, the food was presented so well, it wasn't very expensive at all, it was simple yet delicious.

You were very young when you moved to the UK, it must have been a culinary culture shock for you. How did you manage to adapt?
I think I'm very, very lucky. I always appreciate what my dad and my mum did because they were born in Punjab, which is north of India, and I was born and grew up in West Bengal, which is East India. My dad went in search of work, and he worked in one of the oldest steel plants, and like him, many people came from all over India to work there. When people travel, you take your food, you take your culture, you take your language, so I'm able to speak a lot of different Indian languages. When I came to UK, I did miss my family, friends and the food I grew up eating, but I think I was very adaptable in many things as well.  When I moved here, I'd never seen a supermarket because we were dependent on local produce, and I’d see 20 different kinds of yogurt and think ‘what's all this’? But I think because I grew up in a state where we were so multicultural, it was not so hard to adapt things, it was just that some ingredients were difficult to get.

Have you passed your cooking talents on to your daughters?
Oh my gosh, yes, they’re amazing. They both love cooking from scratch. They will never buy bottle of sauce; they'll make their own even in university no matter how busy they are. I wouldn't fault either of them they're wonderful cooks. I think it's so important to teach your kids to even just boil an egg or make an omelette. Something simple like that is very easy to teach.

When you've had a long day of recipe testing or filming, what's your quick supper when you get home?
People laugh at me because I make sure my husband makes it for me. Cheese on toast is my uttermost comforting food with chilli flakes on the top or roast harissa with a cup of chai, and a little green apple on the side. I think cheese, apple, and bread is a good combination. Little things make me happy; it doesn’t have to be lavish.

Is there something in particular you always keep in the fridge?
Always in my fridge, you will find green chilies, always. You will find good quality butter and cream.

What would be your last supper if anything was available? Where would you eat it and who would you be with?
It will have to be, with an Indian actor. My friends will just laugh. He's called Salman Khan and he's very well known. I would cook for him, and we'll just, you know, chat away and let the world go by. I’d cook him his favourite meal - not even mine. Also, Kapil Dev the cricketer, and the poet I absolutely love in India is called Amrita Pritam. I will take them back home to the fields where my dad grew up and cook food for them there.