 Ian Bates - chef
Ian started cooking at Bath College in 1985 leaving in 1987 to work in London. He went to work for Michel Geurard in Les Pres d'Eugenie in south west France in 1989 before coming back to London to work with Simon Hopkinson at Bibendum in early 1990. He stayed for 5 years before leaving to set up The Chiswick for Adam Robinson in his first head chef's position.
The Chiswick was Time Out magazine's best Modern British restauarant in 1995 and was an Eros award winner from Fay Maschler the Evening Standard's restaurant critic in 1997. In 1997 Ian left The Chiswick to open the private member's club at Bluebird for Sir Terence Conran and in 1999 left to work for various restaurants including Chez Bruce, the Oxo Tower and Ransome's Dock. Ian left London in 2000 to move to Bristol and met his wife Clare at the Walnut Tree Inn in Abergavenny on the one of the last nights of Franco Taruschio's reign at the stoves.
They opened the Old Spot in June 2006.
Clare Bates
 Clare started in the restaurant trade as a restaurant manager after training at the Tante Marie cookery school. Her passion for wine began after a lengthy trip to Australia in 1991, and she decided that her future was in the wine trade, she started in the wine shop at Harrods in 1993 and worked her way up, gaining her Wine and Spirit Education Trust diploma in 1995 and becoming head of the department in 1997.
Clare moved to Reid Wines in 1998 to work with Bill Baker and David Boobbyer concentrating mainly on the restaurant side of the business. Clare compiles the list for the Old Spot as well as continuing to work for Reid Wines.
Thierry Lacassin- restaurant manager
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