Working at Purslane Restaurant

Purslane is a small, independent family-run restaurant in the heart of Cheltenham which specialises in the freshest, sustainably-caught seafood from British waters combined with the best local, seasonal produce the Cotswolds has to offer.

Our monthly changing À LA CARTE MENU and weekly changing WORKING LUNCH & EARLY SUPPER menus capture the flavour of the best of Britain’s wild larder. The fish we use is sourced from small, inshore day-boat fishermen who use handlines and nets off the coast of Cornwall. They don’t damage the seabed by trawling and they land their fish on the same day it’s caught so it can be fresh on your plate the very next day.

CHEF/PATRON, GARETH FULFORD leads a small team to bring out the best in these ingredients using every technique available from traditional salt-baking to barbecuing to sous vide. At front of house, Restaurant Manager Tegan Lodde and her team pair these beautiful meals with stunning wines and a relaxed, friendly service.

“I come from a family of butchers where, as a child, fish was seen as a rare luxury at the dinner table. The diversity of different seafood species found along the British coastline and the textures and flavours they can bring to a dish is fantastic. I try, wherever possible to put sustainable species on my menus to help preserve fish stocks for future generations – whether that be the lesser-used gurnard, silver mullet and megrim sole or cod and hake that have been caught using sustainable methods.”

“I’ve been working as a chef since my 16th birthday in various kitchens across the UK. Then, after five years working at prestigious events cooking for royalty and various A-list celebrities, I settled in the Cotswolds to work at a top-quality gastro pub before realising my dream of opening Purslane Restaurant in 2012.”

“I love sourcing fantastic seasonal produce and try to find it as close to home as possible. It’s important to me to find out exactly where all of our ingredients come from and how they are grown, reared or caught. I find the changing seasons inspiring. In the depths of Winter you can’t wait for the peas and the broad beans and the asparagus to start in the Spring. And then come the end of the Summer you can’t wait for the root veggies and the kale to start off again. I’m very passionate about food and I can’t see that diminishing.”

Chef Patron, Gareth Fulford