A recipe for autumn: Meet the chef bringing seasonal flavours to Leeds restaurant Galleria

From warming spices to a homemade bouillabaisse, Galleria’s head chef Andy Castle reveals the inspiration behind the restaurant’s latest seasonal menu.

For Andy, there is always something new to learn in the kitchen, and his latest autumn menu is a chance to experiment with seasonal flavours while putting his own spin on familiar favourites.

The Leeds restaurant, based at Project House, has unveiled a new autumn menu featuring warming spices, handmade pasta and a fresh vegan dish as the leaves turn orange and autumn flavours take root.

When Andy joined the team behind Project House almost three years ago, opening Galleria presented an unusual challenge.

He told the Yorkshire Evening Post: “I literally started in the car park, just me and a wood oven while Galleria was still a construction site.”

One of his proudest moments since then was receiving a fantastic review from Guardian food critic Grace Dent.

Now, his attention is on the new autumn menu, which features dishes such as a salt and pepper chicken served with curry sauce, following a tandoori version on the previous menu.

There is also a new vegan smoked beetroot laab, while handmade pasta, introduced earlier this year, is expected to become a permanent fixture.

But Andy’s favourite dish on the menu is the bouillabaisse, a seafood dish that requires plenty of TLC.

He said: “It’s a pleasure to cook, and you have to put a lot of love into it.

“There’s never a point in the recipe where you’re not adding something, which I love.”

For dessert, however, his choice is a classic.

He said: “Tiramisu is my favourite dessert of all time, and we pride ourselves on making a good one.

“Unusually for me, as a nerdy chef, there’s nothing weird about it. I haven’t subbed something out, or smoked part of it, it’s just a good, classic tiramisu.”

Galleria operated primarily as a café during the day before opening for dinner a couple of nights a week. Andy said he enjoys bridging the gap between the two, turning familiar café favourites into something more suited to an evening meal.

One example is the brioche tart, inspired by the pastries customers might find in a daytime café, but reimagined for dinner service.

For Andy, the appeal of being a chef goes beyond creating new dishes. He said he loves working with fresh ingredients, particularly when the fish arrives each morning, and is constantly looking for new ways to improve.

“In food, you can almost never learn everything,” he said, describing how he would spend his days off in his early career visiting cafes with a cookbook to continue learning.

And with Leeds offering plenty of independent restaurants to take inspiration from, Andy is proud to be part of the city’s food scene.

“Leeds has a great food scene,” he added.

“There are tons of cool independents, and it’s such a great community to be a part of.”