All roads lead here

Long before I thought about a restaurant, I was in my nan Betty Bush’s kitchen making ginger snaps and lemon meringue pies. She worked at Birds Bakery in Nottingham, and baking was something we did together. Later, I brought friends home from school and made hot sandwiches with whatever we had. I liked feeding people before I had a name for the idea.

Childhood holidays in Alcúdia, Mallorca, opened another door. I wanted the tomatoes, seafood and food the locals ate. Cooking programmes helped that curiosity grow: Ken Hom, Rick Stein, the Hairy Bikers, James Martin and Matt Tebbutt. Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations brought the people, places and food together in a way I loved. Dave Myers and Anthony Bourdain remain part of that inspiration.

In 2008, Jippy and I spent four months working at the Fox’s Arms in Mallorca. I was in the kitchen; she worked the bar and terrace. The operation served up to 180 covers a day. We enjoyed the life outside work, but we also learned what a busy service asks of the people delivering it.

Travel kept adding to the picture: a generous breakfast skillet in Canada, peppery black pork curry and hoppers in Sri Lanka, and a whole fish cooked with garlic, lemon and parsley on a rooftop barbecue in Tavira. Back in Nottingham, I wanted to cook those memories again. Kushi-ya has been a lasting food inspiration; Junkyard helped me fall in love with craft beer.

The music was never a phase. From the Guns N’ Roses tape I borrowed from Uncle Dean to Queens of the Stone Age and Clutch, guitars have always been there. Blårock in Tromsø and Lebowski Bar in Reykjavík showed me how much character a bar can have. Lebrewski brings that spirit together with food worth making a journey for.

I have wanted to live abroad for more than twenty years and talked about a bar and restaurant of my own for around ten. A friend’s recommendation brought me to the Algarve, and Tavira’s food, market, people and easy rhythm kept bringing me back. The search for the right venue is part of bringing that long-held idea to life.

This is my creative vision, with Jippy helping me make it happen. A thoughtful burger should get the same care as an adventurous special. A familiar lager, an interesting wine or an alcohol-free drink should all feel at home at the table. You do not need to recognise the band to belong here.

My dad had a way of putting things: ‘If you’re going to do it, do it proper.’ That is the standard I want to carry into Lebrewski: generous food, real character and the care that makes people want to return.