A top Bristol restaurant which shut its doors due to the coronavirus is reopening this Friday to serve takeaway food for free.
Like many restaurants, Wilson’s in Redland closed on Tuesday but owner/chef Jan Ostle wants to cook for the community and people who turn up at the door will only have to pay a voluntary donation.
Jan said closing the restaurant was ‘the darkest day’ of his life but he wants to turn it into a positive by giving something back to the people of Bristol who have supported him over the past few years.
At 5pm on Friday (March 20), Wilson’s will open on a ‘one in, one out’ basis and serve a range of dishes cooked by Jan and his chefs, including soup, braised pork and fennel and freshly baked bread.
From next week, he will also sell fresh venison from Wraxall-based game business Grove Farm.
Jan said: “I’ve been through alcohol and drug addictions over the years but having to close the restaurant because of the pandemic was the lowest day of my life but I wanted it to have a positive outcome for local people.
“We are situated in a part of Bristol with a lot of students but also very rich people, but this virus has been a great leveller and we want to help everyone.
“We are lucky to have a farm on the outskirts of Bristol so we grow a lot of our own vegetables and I didn’t want that to go to waste but use it in dishes for people who need it.”
The takeaway dishes served on Friday will be served in vac-pacs so people just need to reheat them in boiling water at home.
Jan added: “I’m not charging for the food because some people have just lost their incomes this week, but if people want to make a donation they can, although anybody working for the NHS won’t need to make one.
“A lot of local restaurants have turned to deliveries but we couldn’t really do our food by courier, it just wouldn’t work.
“Instead, I want to help people. Being a chef isn’t about getting Michelin stars and rave reviews, it’s about feeding people and we just want to help people who need it at this worrying time.
“I would love it if we had queues out of the door on Friday.”
