Highland restaurant The Gorse Bush has had many purposes over the years, from serving as a firing range to a village hall for the Kinlochewe community.
But when Rupert Shakespeare decided to move on from his position as head chef at the Aultbea Hotel in 2018, after working there for around two and a half years, he took the venue in a completely different direction.
Rupert, who is originally from London but now resides in Gairloch, opened The Gorse Bush “on a wing and a prayer” as a relaxed, independent restaurant in March 2019.
It serves a small selection of lunch and dinner dishes, which are made to the highest standard using fresh local produce.
And Rupert, 40, says the produce is as good as you can get anywhere in the world.
Currently closed to the public, the eatery is only open seasonally and will welcome customers back through its doors from Friday April 1.
The Gorse Bush: The origins
The building currently housing The Gorse Bush was bequeathed to the village by the Army after the end of the First World War.
The premises have a lot of history – originally a firing range, and then serving as the Kinlochewe Village Hall for six decades.
Ceilidhs used to take place there and it was the social centre of the village for a long time.
“I was sick and tired of London life and wanted a complete change,” said Rupert, who has worked in hospitality since leaving school.
“I came across an ad for head chef of the Aultbea Hotel, located on the shores of Loch Ewe north-east of Gairloch, at the end of 2015, by the time I got to the hotel, I was smitten.”
Rupert spent three years at the hotel before looking for a suitable place to strike out on his own.
As soon as he spotted the Old Village Hall was available to rent, he felt it was a perfect fit.
He added: “I had some savings by that time and felt that whatever the risk, I had to try and make it on my own if I was going to have any control of my own destiny.
“By the time we were ready to open I had £3.72 in the business bank account and about £100 in my own, so there was intense pressure from day one.
“It has been a seat-of-the-pants ride ever since. We have never been able to afford two bad weeks back to back.”
Next steps
Rupert has continued to upgrade different elements of the restaurant since acquiring it, such as equipping the kitchen from scratch and stripping and painting the dining room, among other things.
The name is inspired by the colour of the paintwork on the building’s exterior, which he inherited from the previous tenant, as well as the gorse plant.
Rupert said: “The original hardwood floors are still in place. I thought about sanding them down and varnishing them, but I like them too much as they are.”
The Gorse Bush is around 1,250 square feet in total.
The dining room itself is 750 square feet and has a capacity of 36. There is also a table that seats four outside.
Food and drink
An informal restaurant with four core staff including Rupert, two sous chefs Alexander McFedries and Gabriel Laing, and front of house manager Btsiete Yosias, The Gorse Bush focuses on ensuring guests feel relaxed while enjoying the world-class produce of the area.
When the new season kicks off, there is hoped to be an additional three-to-four part-time staff joining.
“The core team that we have in place now are just a pleasure to work with and I genuinely miss the atmosphere when the season ends,” Rupert added.
“As for my cooking, it is simple and based on solid classical technique without gimmicks.
“Seafood is my personal big love. We have hand-dived scallops and creel-caught langoustines from the village, and fish from the waters around the coast as much as possible.
“We get fruit, vegetables and eggs from a local croft. All our meat comes from Morrison’s of Gairloch and we get black pudding from Ritchie’s of Aultbea.”
Previous dishes and desserts available have included:
- Smoked haddock with creamed leeks, potatoes and poached duck egg
- Stuffed loin of venison, herb dumpling and spring greens with walnut dressing
- Paris-Brest with pistachios, white chocolate and blueberries
Currently a BYOB, Rupert is in the process of getting a full alcohol license which he hopes will be in place on reopening.
We all scream for ice cream
The team diversified in a number of ways during the pandemic in order to keep serving customers.
This included delivering ready-to-cook meals from Achnasheen to Dundonell, via Red Point and Inverasdale, to enjoy at home and offering a takeaway service.
They sold around 30 main courses three days a week. However, this “still wasn’t enough” to keep them afloat.
“Salvation came in the unlikely form of a makeshift ice cream stand,” Rupert added.
“Kinlochewe is in a very rural area, with a high number of vulnerable residents. In the first wave of the pandemic, I was afraid to fully open the premises even during the summer.
“I knew we wouldn’t put diners at risk, but I was terrified of somehow being the ones to bring the virus into the village.
“2020 was an amazingly hot summer, so I bought a little ice cream machine and it ended up running from 8am to 6pm every day – we ran that machine into the ground from brand new in ten weeks.”
While the concept was simple, the business owner says it saved the business, with 50% of all restaurant sales coming from ice creams that summer.
He said: “There were days when we were cracking and separating 15 dozen eggs in the morning. I think in terms of quantity, about 25 litres of ice cream in a day was our limit.
“We physically couldn’t do more than that: we often had customers waiting and served them direct from churn to cup. The ice cream never even made it into the freezer some days.
“Even during the worst times of the pandemic, we didn’t compromise on quality.”
Looking ahead
The Gorse Bush closed its doors for the season in October and is preparing to reopen on Friday April 1 with new lunch and dinner menus.
The restaurant will be open from noon to 8pm Wednesday to Sunday.
“I’ve been planning new dishes all winter,” Rupert continued.
“I’m most excited about cooking this beautiful produce, and getting it on to plates and seeing people enjoy it.
“It’s an amazing feeling when your guests really enjoy themselves. It’s the whole point of everything we do.
“I’m hoping to extend the season this year, and I would really love to be open year round – that’s the ultimate goal.”