NICHE FEATURE
Expect more on your plate
Food is more than something which sustains us; it’s social, it’s celebratory, and sometimes it’s joy. Speaking with Masterchef semi-finalist and restauranteur Stacey Ward, we discover the passion behind the plate WORDS BY EMILY MILLER
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estaurants providing good food to diners isn’t new, and yet reinventing the foodie wheel isn’t an easy task either. Creating good food at an OK price is the standard we should expect – but more often than not, it’s not really what we are getting. Why shouldn’t we expect more from our dining experiences here in Leicester? “What I want to do with the food I make and serve at Fourwards is to go beyond the standard,” Stacey Ward, Chef at Fourwards restaurant in Earl Shilton, told me. “To create something that surpasses what diners would expect from a
WHAT I WANT TO DO WITH THE FOOD I MAKE AND SERVE AT FOURWARDS IS TO GO BEYOND THE STANDARD
meal experience in a village in Leicestershire.” Chef Stacey has loved cooking from the tender age of ten, and for her it’s more than a job, it’s a passion. “I couldn’t do anything else. I have found joy in cooking ever since I can remember. I remember going to college and just thinking: ‘Wow! There’s so much possibility with food.’ The award winning Fourwards is owned by Stacey and her husband Adam. They are bringing daily menu changes using at least 70% of the produce grown by Adam’s grandad on his allotment. With a strong and supportive
Semi-Finalist
team behind them, Stacey remarks on their closeness after a tough year for the hospitality industry. “Our team is so close. We support one another in lots of ways and it’s so important in kitchens where things can get heated that we all come together at the end of a shift. It’s a buzz working in a kitchen, that’s for sure, and it’s a buzz which is better shared.” The setting is important too, as Stacey elaborates: “If you go for a meal, spend money on it, and perhaps get taxis to and from the restaurant, I want to feel like it was all worth it, that it was a social, special experience they savoured and will remember. If I can do that, I know I’m doing something good with my day.” Having got to the semi-finals on BBC’s Masterchef, she isn’t one to shy away from dishes and dining experiences with food that steps outside of comfort zones, but all of it is done in such a way so as not to move away from simple, good cooking in a welcoming, relaxed atmosphere. With the addition of a new private dining room serviced by its own menu and staff, and further refurbishments to the building, the rest of 2021 looks brighter. “We are raring to go, the whole team are ready now – really, really ready!” Bringing their unique, ‘London-quality’ dining to Earl Shilton and beyond, Fourwards looks set to continue to cause quite a stir across the county where a passion for what’s on your plate reigns supreme. Call 01455 841 556 to book. NICHE | 85
