1972 - 1979 The Steakhouse - Ken Pagdin, Bertie Gaitan
Known
Ken had previously he owned the Chuckwagon on the Whirl, and the Bunkhouse?, then bought Bodfa afterwards. He was a carpenter by trade.
Bertie Gaitan was half Mexican, half Native American. They met in the States and moved to Bodfa together. They both lived there during the steakhouse days, but separated and she moved back to the States before the care home began.
He installed stainless steal industrial kitchen in the back of the house.
American / Mexican feel to the restaurant downstairs. Upstairs was private. He opened up the archways after opening. It was decorated with flocked wall paper and had timber windows at this time. There were 1910 style pictures of women in the nude.
Ken worked with David Bowey, starting when he was 11 years old, to tend all the gardens and serve over 30 and 40 settings a night at the restaurant. Prepared all the starters, plating up, cleaning up. Helen Jones worked as a server. Ken cooked the steaks.
The meat was sourced at the meat market in Liverpool, he’d would purchase a few half cows and cut them in the back of the kitchen with a bandsaw.
On the menu : T-bone steaks, other cuts of steak, lobster tail, knickerbocker glory, banana split, apple pie, corn on the cob, chips, jacket potatoes. You had to book ahead with a set menu.
Popular drinks were bottled beer, spirits and Blue Nun wine
There were three different varieties of tomatoes, nectarines and grapes in the greenhouse
Dog named Rebel.
Thank you to Monique Konovalov for sharing these images. Monique is Bertie’s (Bertha’s) granddaughter.
