Fine dining on the seafront
AT Easter 2021, a bright yellow classic Citreon H set up shop on the picturesque seafront at Ogmore-By-Sea, its owners not quite sure what to expect.
But thanks to its fresh catch of the day dishes and restaurant-quality burgers, Jamie O’Leary and his team haven’t looked back, with some days serving from 10am until late.
For Jamie, 39, and his team it’s a world away from their pre-pandemic routine, turning out lunch and dinner services at his Merthyr restaurant JOL’s, which he opened back in 2015.
And while 2021 was about finding their feet at the Vale of Glamorgan beach, they’ve kicked off 2022 with exactly what they wanted to do from the start, bringing restaurant-quality grub to the street food make-up of Wales – their new lobster Thermidor roll is the realisation of just that.
Alongside favourites like the JOL’s burger and jalapeno poppers, the new roll is made from lobster from Ashton’s fishmonger in Cardiff and enrobed in a parmesany-lemony Thermidor sauce and topped with the most delicious lemon and garlic pangratto, aka breadcrumbs.
With Jamie, and co-workers Nicola Lawrence and Santino Murphy, flexing their cheffing muscles in the street food van, an award-winner at the British Street Food Awards 2021 for best looking, their hard work has gone down well with locals and regulars to the beach.
Jamie did his training at The Hardwick, near Abergavenny, after working on the railways previously, and that’s where he met Nicola, who has worked for Michel Roux Jr in the two Michelin-starred restaurant, Le Gavroche, in London. While Santino rejoined the team after first working for Jamie in Merthyr at JOL’s which hasn’t reopened since March 2020.
Jamie did a few street food events before opening JOL’s, but he’s in his element with the truck by the sea.
“It was completely by chance we chose Ogmore,” he explains. “I was chatting to someone who said that there was a chance it was up for tender. So we got in touch with the Vale Council literally just before we closed. I managed to get the form in quickly and then we started Easter last year.”
After a while doing lockdown takeaways, Jamie saw the truck on Instagram and got in touch with a company that revamp classic vehicles.
“I joked about going to get this big yellow food truck. And no one believed me until it was on the drive.”
Chefs have faced a stressful time in the past two years, and like many, Jamie revaluated spending all his time in a kitchen.
“I think since Covid, my perception of life in the industry has changed, and who wouldn’t want to do this, you get to come down here and look at the sea.”
Nicola interjects: “It’s not that relaxing, normally! I hadn’t worked in any sort of fine dining since having my children, so I enjoy being here, you can see out, you can talk to customers, have some banter.”
As well as mulling over getting another truck - that can cope with the undulating landscape of Wales a bit better - Jamie has plans for the summer to have paella nights on the Ogmore front as well as continue with their delicious fish and burger menu.
“The workload is still there with the van,” he says. “We still have 7am starts and some days you don’t come home until 11, half 11.
“But it’s different, you’re out on the beach, it’s nice and sunny and you’re having a laugh with people, so it’s alright then.”