Strictly Fine Dining

Terrines

2011-01-03T11:37:00.000-08:00

I have always been fascinated by terrines. From the tender age of 19 working as a commis at Claridge's to working in the Cote D'Azur as a demi chef de partie I have always deemed terrines as the ultimate show off plate. That view hasn't wavered today. Now it is time to install that passion into my team of eager cooks. I remember walking through Harrods in Knightsbridge once on my day off to look at the terrines, ballontines and gallantines. Dazzled by the display of chaud froie charcuterie and layered meat terrines, I was inspired to learn this craft to the best of my ability.

Today, in modern kitchens there are so many areas to cover, from classical to contemporary, to international. I try to keep classical elements in my cooking with a modern twist. Over the festive period we made a couple of terrines from my early days. We have a spinach, ricotta terrine lined with smoked salmon, and a traditional pate en croute.

Eggs and cheese on toast

2010-12-31T00:39:00.000-08:00

Here is a free range duck egg cooked in a waterbath for 1 hour at 63C. It is paired with almond toast, parmesan custard and shaved truffle.

The duck egg cooked in this method cooks the white so delicately, almost transclucent. The yolk though remains thickly runny and rich.

I got a bone to pick with you..........

2010-12-15T16:46:00.000-08:00

Pardon the pun, but i couldn't help it. This is a random shot of a garnish for a beef dish that was being prepared the other weekend. I paired it as a duo. The bone has been completely cleaned out and hollowed. There is saute spinach in the bottom and sticky braised brisket on top. it is to be re - heated and topped with a local beer froth.

Beef and beer.....they love it here in the countryside. Damn right too!! ; ))

Kicking off

2010-12-07T18:05:00.001-08:00

December is here and the streets are hustling and bustling full of shoppers trying to buy that special gift for their loved ones.........................Did that in November!!

Heres some plates...

Pan roasted loin of venison, Valrhona chocolate and raspberry ganache, warm leek terrine, poached salsify, port sauce

Loch Duart salmon and Jon Dory mosaic, pink grapefruit, fennel, ginger, Bormano olive oil

Merry Christmas everyone : ))

Valrhona and raspberry vinegar ganache

200ml good quality raspberry vinegar (reduced to 50ml)

60g butter

50g 70% chocolate

Over a double boiler, add the vinegar. Melt the butter into the vinegar reduction until fully incorperated. gradually add the chocolate until fully incorperated. Control the heat to make sure it does not get too hot. Pour into a container and chill.

French onion soup??

2010-12-03T16:38:00.000-08:00

To recreate a classic bistro dish and give it a little VIP treatment for 2010,you need to re-think the elements and refine them a little. Heres my cheeky French Onion soup.

Roasted onion consomme, Waterloo cheese tortellini, crisp bread

Crisp potato galette, roasted vegetables, Eldren cheese, pesto cream, balsamic

2010-11-22T02:04:00.000-08:00

Here is a vegetarian dish i have recently designed for the bistro menu. It is an easy pick up for that service demand and is also very tasty and hits the mark for a non meat eater as it is non of the usual suspect dishes that you find everywhere you go.

So far great respaonce from the vegetable massive!

Some recent plates

2010-11-22T01:22:00.000-08:00

Hi,

Here are some pictures of dishes from the past couple of weeks.

Warm cranberry and goats cheese sphere with crisp ham

Wild partridge wrapped in potato, seared foie gras, slow cooked leg, salami jus, garlic milk

Lasagna of seafood, squid ink pasta, langoustine nage, fresh dill

Wild New Forest mallard, le puy lentils, pancetta, roasted baby beets,

Pedro Ximinez vinegar butter emulsion

Cherwell cheese with fig carpaccio and fruit bread

Bursting with flavour

2010-11-11T00:53:00.000-08:00

Here is a dish recently from a du jour menu when i was covering in the restaurant. It is a fun cool, colourul presentation with a twist. The vinaigrette is inside the orb! I saw this dressing idea a while ago(although i cant remember where), and wanted to try it. I do like the fact that the guest will observe the plate and think "WTF" and then burst the ball and season the dish.

The dish is a New forest partridge salad with French beans, beetroot dusted with beetroot, smoked maple syrup, pickled apple vinaigrette.

This is me plating the main course from that week. Beef fillet en croute, roasted vegetables, and trio of red wine sauces.

Selling like hock cakes!!

2010-10-14T14:41:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple of dishes iv'e done recently. The dish above is a buttermilk and thyme poached torchon of organic Hyden farm chicken (63C for 35 mins). It is glazed with a foie gras butter. There is a royale of Trompette and Girolle mushrooms. simple glazed seasonal vegetables and a gremolata of sorts made from dried trompette mushroom, parsley, malden sea salt and roasted chicken skin. The chicken skin is not there for show, it is there to add a roasted flavour element to the dish without taking away from the delicate poached chicken.

The plate below is a ham hock dish just released on our bistro menu. The ham hock is soaked for 24 hours to remove the salty taste from

the brine. I touch of butter and a sage leaf and re heated for service in hot water. The garnish is a saute hash of butternut squash, apple and leek which sits underneath. The sauce is made by reducing the cooking stock until you reach the desired flavour. Making a veloute with this and finishing with fresh sage and grain mustard. Further enhance,ents are crisp sage leaves, candied walnut and grilled spring onion.

The dish below is a buttermilk and thyme poached torchon of organic Hyden farm chicken (63C for 35 mins). It is glazed with a foie gras butter. There is a royale of Trompette and Girolle mushrooms. simple glazed seasonal vegetables and a gremolata of sorts made from dried trompette mushroom, parsley, malden sea salt and roasted chicken skin. The chicken skin is not there for show, it is there to add a roasted flavour element to the dish without taking away from the delicate poached chicken.

Finding the time

2010-07-24T17:43:00.000-07:00

Hi all,

My time as restaurant chef has ended. My replacement started this week. Welcome Matt and Cinthia from New York!! Here's a couple of dishes i managed to squeeze in.

Roasted loin and confit belly of pork,

multiple potato preperations, blackcurrants, light foie gras sauce

( gauphrette, mousseline, aligot beignet, potato agnolotti)

Sous vide wild sea trout (12 mins @ 50C)

horseradish sour cream, red beetroot caviar

Summer time

2010-06-26T01:47:00.001-07:00

Hi guys,

I dont know about you, but i have been enjoying the world cup and the start of Wimbledon. Summer is here and fortunately so is the sun in England at the moment. Everyone is running around sunburnt, but happy!

Here are a couple of dishes using seasonal produce which are tasting great right now.

Boneless roasted quail lined with foie gras,

glazed black cherries, warm bulgar wheat, sherry vinegar sauce

Breast of organic Hyden Farm guinea fowl sous vide on the crown, poached guinea fowl egg,

leg stuffed agnolotti, beetroot fondant, summer vegetables, light tarragon jus

Enjoy the sunshine!!

New dishes up

2010-06-02T12:16:00.000-07:00

Strawberry jam consomme

wild strawberry salad, garden mint ice cream

Trio of organic chicken

breast sous vide with apricot bread stuffing, leg wrapped in cepe pasta, chicken Holstein

Spring vegetable salad,

creamed Eldren cow cheese, potato spiral, apple curry vinaigrette

Assiette of French rabbit,

shoulder tortelloni, roasted cutlet, poached and roasted saddle, pickled morels, sugarsnap peas

Promotion

2010-04-29T15:50:00.000-07:00

Hi all,

My apologies for lack of movement on this blog. I have recently been promoted to Executive sous chef in my hotel and have found my role extended to other areas of the hotel and priorities have kept me away from blogging and focusing more on my new role. It is a fresh challenge for me and i am relishing the tasks that lie ahead. I am also thrilled that Spring vegetables have arrived over the past few weeks, winter is too long!

Here are 3 dishes that i have done over the past few weeks. Leading up to a busy bank holiday weekend in the hotel so will keep my camera with me and snap what i can, when i can

Cheers,

Craig

Noisettes of lamb

Provencale cherry tomatoes, saffron cous cous with sumac, smoked yoghurt

Slow poached Devonshire cod

mustard and Serrano ham crust, calamari, balsamic

Foie gras pave

apple poached beetroot, Pinot noir gelee, milk jam

Recent dishes

2010-03-28T16:21:00.000-07:00

My apologies for lack of regular posting recently. Due to a number of projects taking up my time at work and out at the moment i will post when i can. Here is a consolidation of some dishes wev'e done recently.

Tenderloin of beef

beef and goose liver spring roll, vegetable galette, caramelised parsnips, sauce Bordelaise

Pan seared sea bream

ricotta gnocchi, citrus and chickpea shoot salad, Jerusalem artichoke, hibiscus foam

Amuse bouche

Razor clam ceviche

Poached lemon sole roularde

steamed mussels, bok choy, morels, sweetcorn veloute

Sous vide Hyden Farm duck breast

confit leg, fresh orange, carrot and spinach, medjool date sauce

Pomme souffle

2010-03-20T02:52:00.000-07:00

Pomme souffle takes me back to a time working at Claridges on the banqueting section. We used to fill lilly fold napkins to the brim and serve for 200 people. Not one of my favourite jobs as you could be there for hours sorting through the potatoes that will rise sufficiently and the ones that will not. I was taught to slice them to a certain thickness to know by feel rather than measurement. The potatoes had to be the natural potato shape where the line inside the potato which is a few millimetres inside the border would allow the middle of the potato to souffle up. We did small batches as placing them in water would rinse off the starch. We had a big oval skillet with vegetable oil and had to bring it to approximately 150C - 160C. Once we had dropped them into the oil we had to vigourously swirl the oil around the pan so the oil would blister the potato and suddenly pop up. Once the potato had filled wiith air in the middle, we would take them out and rest on a tray with parchement paper. During service on the main course pick we would drop them into a hot frier and drain on paper towels and seasons and serve.

Recently i wanted to revisit this on one of the tasting menus. What i wanted was a nice shape that looked appealing. Cutting the potatoes in a square or a rectangle just didnt work. My thinking cap went on and i came up with this.

Slice the potato to about 1 mm thick, try two or three types of potato and different starch levels may alter the final result.

Blanch the potato slices in a frier at 155C for about 10seconds to release the starch and make the potato gluey. Press the two potato slices together and iron down to release any air inside. the cut to desired shape. Place into a shallow frier and flip some oil over the top with a ladel. The potato will pop up. The difference with this is that you need to leave it in the frier until golden and crisp and serve immediately.

This weeks tasting menu

2010-03-09T16:13:00.000-08:00

Gently fried duck egg

seared foie gras, truffled brioche, truffle madeira jus

Butter poached halibut

potato wrapped tiger prawn, red and golden beet puree, balsamic essence

Sous vide chicken breast rolled in lemon and rosemary crumble(chix skin, panko, malden, rosemary, lemon zest), braised leg tortellini, tinkerbell pepper, warm potato espuma, Basque jus

Barkham blue cheese

roasted grape puree, onion bread

Caramel poached pineapple

Acacia honey jelly, coriander puree

Mugaritz kitchen fire

2010-02-22T14:03:00.000-08:00

Early last Monday fire severely damaged the kitchens at Mugaritz, the world-famous restaurant in Spain's Basque Country. Luckily, no-one was hurt. For the management and staff of Mugaritz, the destruction of their workplace was a tragedy. But for three other young people, this was also a calamity.

When the dust settled on Mugaritz after last Monday's inflagration, Mattias from Sweden, Diego from Guatemala and Greg from the US found themselves without their most valued possessions. Their precious knife sets, not covered by the restaurant's insurance, had been incinerated.

Many of you will be familiar with John Sconzo of Docsconz - The Blog. John is a food blogger widely known across the world of hospitality and he has kindly volunteered to set up and administer a fund to recoup what these young chefs have lost. Can you please help with a personal pledge? Donations will be so welcome, no matter how large or small. Email John at docsconz[at]gmail[dot]com with your pledge and he will get back to you as soon as possible with details of exactly how you can contribute to the fund.

Febuary 9th du jour menu

2010-02-09T15:53:00.000-08:00

Scallop and rosemary brochette

orange scented crosnes, rye crumble, Jerusalem artichoke veloute

Pressed leeks "a la ficelle" and king prawn

saffron marinated mussels, razor clam, mussel vinaigrette

Sous vide pork loin

cipollini and roscoff onion, french beans, chestnut tuille, sloe gin sauce, smoked bacon froth

Trio of English cheese

Winchester with its rind jelly, Cerney and beetroot, Tunworth with dried fruit and whiskey

Crab preparation 101

2010-01-24T01:22:00.000-08:00

I promised my team quite a while ago that i would post the preparation of a crab. After finding the photos that we took, i am now posting what i promised. Thanks to Budi and Jason for their modelling hands, good work gents!

(raw)

Firstly the type of crab used here is the brown crab. It is a European crab and has a good amount of brown and white meat.

The humane way to cook the crab is to insert a skewer through the eyes and out through the tail. When the crab is dead, plunge into heavily salted boiling water. Cooking times vary according to the weight of the crab.

1 1/4 pound 15 mins

2 pound 20 mins

3 1/4 pound 25 mins

Anything larger cook for 30 mins

Once cooked, remove the crab from the water and allow to cool.

Once the crab is cool break off the claws, then remove the legs taking off the knuckle as well.

Break off the tail flap, then push the body section up and away from the head shell.

Pull the dead mans fingers off (the fat thumblike gills, you cant miss them).

(cooked)
Remove the brown meat from the headshell nto a container over ice and keep this separate.
Remove the brown meat from the centre of the body and add to the other brown meat. Then cut in half and using the back of a small teaspoon remove all of the white meat into a container over ice. The body should be quite hollow and much lighter after this process.
Crack the claws and the shells of the legs with the back of a knife and remove the meat without taking too much shell with it.
Using a tray over ice and wearing a pair of gloves. Pick through the crab in small handfuls by pressing the crab onto the tray and feeling any stray pieces of shell and membrane. Removing these pieces and dipping fingers in cold water to make sure it is gone.

Keep the crab in the fridge and serve that same day for best results.

Enjoy!!

Back from my break

2010-01-15T16:26:00.000-08:00

Merry Xmas and a happy new year to everyone. I took a little posting break for a few weeks. These are some of my recent dishes

Gratinated tian of confit salmon and crab,

cauliflower, beetroot, thai basil

Duo of fallow deer

Roasted tenderloin, cherry brandy froth, walnut and horserasish legere;

Spiced carpaccio, pomegranite vinaigrette, pomme souffle

Seared gurnard fillet

Scottish mussels, papperdelle of pasta and salsify, saffron and orange mussel broth

Roasted tenderloin of Longhorn beef

oxtail marmalade, celeriac, wild mushroom duxelle, Chasseur sauce

New Forest Nanny goats cheese

thyme and black pepper honey poached pineapple, dried fig

This weeks plates............

2009-11-24T15:34:00.000-08:00

Warm Vacherin on a bed of walnut, apple and raisin

Marinated Secretts farm vegetables

wild mushroom, herb crumbs, argan oil

Roasted medallion of cod

creamed fennel, warm beef tomatoes, cockle vinaigrette

Searing the beef on the salt stone

Rare salt stone seared organic beef skirt steak

gherkins, horseradish infused sour cream, trio of potato, spicy paprika sauce

Napoleon of Double Gloucester cheese and Autumn fruits

fresh clementine, Sicilian pistachio sable biscuit

This weeks du jour menu

2009-11-18T16:42:00.000-08:00

New Forest venison carpaccio

pickled mousserons, pine nuts,smoked Lyburn cheese, sorrel, smoked pepper,

juniper sour cream

This is a very delicate starter. It is a dish that needs a balance of flavours and good seasoning. The oak smoked pepper works well with the venison and the smoky tones of the cheese help it along. The mushrooms lift the acidity of the dish as venison is quite rich. The juniper sour cream refreshes the palate with an aromatic twist.

Wild seabass poached in vanilla oil

crispy black lobster, honey wine sauce spiked with chervil

This is a light course with sweet flavours. The bass is poached at 55C in a grapeseed oil infused with Madagascan vanilla bean, for about 7 minutes. The lobster tail is coated in a tempura batter coloured with squid ink. The sauce is a cream sauce which is made with Riesling and honey wine, fresh chopped chervil is added just before saucing.

Beef three ways, seared fillet, braised short rib, crisp tongue

roasted root vegetables, liquid cepe gnocchi

This dish is strong with an Autumn feel to it. It showcases the different textures and flavours that come from one animal. The fillet is seared, roasted and sliced. The shortrib is braised through beef jus for 3-4 hours until falling off the bone. The tongue is poached in a court bouillion for approx 3.5 hours until tender, chilled, diced, brushed with dijon mustard an coate in herb breadcrumbs. The gnocchi are made using a cepe gnocchi dough, rolled and cut out, then filled with a cepe veloute set with gelatine and folded over, poached and fried in nut brown butter.

Espuma of Cerney goats cheese

dried fruit compote, oak ash

For this course i wanted a light tasty cheese mousse. I chose Cerney goats cheese for its fromage frais style texture and slightly citric notes from being so young. It is normally dusted in oak ash, which i find is a shame if ever its creamed or whipped because you have to scrape off the ash or the colour is very unappealing. So here we took 1 cup double cream and 1 cup whipping cream and 130g cerney. Boil the creams and add the cerney and blend in until smooth. Season lightly and add to an espuma gun charging it twice. Rest in the fridge for a good couple of hours and shake well before use. I made some oak ash to dust the top of the mousse to finish the dish and give the cheese back some of its identity of how it comes and should be served. It worked nicely and tasted great!

Taste of Hampshire menu

2009-11-04T17:07:00.000-08:00

This weeks menu is started off with a sloe berry infused gin braised New Forest venison leg, topped with a root vegetable puree and then a potato mousseline espuma.

Sprinkled on top is root veg powder, rosemary, pine nuts and toasted cocoa nibs.

Followed by a wild Lymington seabass "en croute" with fennel, tomato,

grilled pink fir potatoes and saffron and orange veloute

Next up is a poached,then caramelised sirloin of organic Laverstoke park Hereford beef,

pied de mouton mushroom, braised bulgur wheat, purple mustard and port sauce

Cheese course is a delectable smoked Lyburn from the New Forest with red and white pear tartare, 40 second cinnamon cake and smoking cinnamon.

Who's playing with my camera??

2009-11-04T17:03:00.001-08:00

Me, Ben and Larry on the line in full effect

This weeks new plates

2009-10-31T18:47:00.000-07:00

Here is a slow poached seabass torchon with glazed vegetables and red wine fish jus

Laverstoke park beef fillet wrapped in smoked Alsace bacon, braised beef brisket, violet sprout leaves, aligot, seared foie gras, jus gras(foie fat)

Apple and blackberry gnocchi, oatmeal crumble, walnut custard, nice one Sam!

Ballontine of Loch Duart salmon, seasonal vegetables, pink grapefruit, fromage blanc and fresh herbs

2009-10-31T18:44:00.000-07:00

New Forest game

2009-10-31T18:38:00.000-07:00

Once again the game season is upon us. Time to get your game on i say. Here is a warm partridge salad with rolled and poached leg, pink fir potatoes, baked fig, pistachio oil and cracker, fig juice, partridge jus vinaigrette

Seared Shetland Island scallops, butternut, salsify, walnuts and smoked Alsace bacon

2009-10-30T02:36:00.000-07:00

Hello, this is a dish that has just gone onto the a la carte menu. Proving to be a popular dish already. There is a butternut puree hinted with a touch of anise, salsify, Perigaux walnuts, smoked lsace bacon lardons, Tinkerbell pumpkin wedge, squash cracker, brown butter sauce and butternut juice.

Slow roasted pork belly, honeymead soaked apricots, cepe mushroom, pecan jus

2009-10-22T16:17:00.000-07:00

Here is a dish iv'e just finished. Very simple and very seasonal. The apricots are soaked in a home made honey mead. Im loving this old English honey wine and have been using it to sweeten things up in certain dishes. Its been used for pickling, marinating, ice cream, sauces, glazing, jelly, cocktails.

Ingredients

6 to 8 kilograms of grade-A honey
20 lt of tap or bottled water
8 grams (1/4 ounce) of freeze-dried wine, champagne, or dedicated mead yeast

Method

Making mead requires essentially the same basic kit necessary to brew beer at home: primary and secondary plastic-bucket fermenters with air locks and spigots, transfer hosing, a bottle-filler tube, heavy bottles, bottle caps, bottle capper, and a bottle brush and washer.

Bring the water to a boil. Boiling should remove harsh chlorine from municipal tap water. If you don't own a pot large enough to hold five gallons of water, boil as much as possible. You will add the remaining water to the fermenter later.

Once the water reaches a boil, remove it from the heat and stir in all of the honey. Do not boil the honey, as it reduces the aromatic quality of the finished mead.

While the honey dissolves in the water, put a cup of lukewarm water into a clean bowl. Sprinkle in the yeast and cover the bowl with plastic wrap. When the honey has been fully dissolved in the water and the pot is cool to the touch , pour the honey-water into the fermentation bucket and stir in the yeast mixture. Note: Cooling the honey-water could take quite a while. This process can be accelerated with a so-called sink bath, that is, repeatedly immersing the pot in cold water in a sink or basin.

If you have not already added the full 4 1/2 gallons of water, top it off with the balance in bottled water .

Seal the bucket and allow the mixture to ferment for two weeks to one month. The progress of fermentation can judged by monitoring the carbon-dioxide bubbles escaping from the air lock: When they drop to one bubble every sixty seconds, fermentation has nearly concluded. Note that is only an issue during this primary fermentation; secondary fermentation has more to do with aging and mellowing and hence is more flexible. When primary fermentation has subsided, siphon the mead over to your secondary fermentation bucket and seal it. Allow one to four months aging time. Do not open the fermenter, as this risks contaminating the mead.

When you decide it has matured enough (and the mead has cleared), you will want to siphon it into sterilized bottles and cap them. Follow the same procedure as you would for home-brewed beer.

This recipe is a basic mead. You can add different spices or play with elderflowers or add fruit flavours to your mead. It all depends what you want to use it for.

Monkfish roasted on the bone, glazed pork belly, Roscoff onions, violet artichoke, Le Puy lentils, broken red wine vinaigrette

2009-10-21T17:41:00.000-07:00

This is another finished article for the a la carte. Ingredient quality is the main attribute to any dish. This dish is no exception. Wild monkfish caught off the Hampshire/Dorset border, local Greenfield pork belly, pigs free to roam their Hampshire countryside, Le Puy lentils, noted for their slight peppery taste and failure to lose shape when cooking, Roscoff onions, originating from the town of Roscoff in Brittany, delivered door to door back in the French hey day by onion Johnny's with striped shirts and onions around their necks. Pink in colour and sweet in taste. Violet artichokes, these are originated from the Southern French region of Var nearby Cavaillon. This is a precious variety which is known for its superb taste and aroma and tenderness. This artichoke variety is characterized by two external aspects:The violet color over the green leaves.The shape of the fruit bottom is conical. The red wine vinaigrette is made by reducing red wine with toasted anise, cinnamon, sugar and fennel seeds. Reducing to a syrup consistency, then topping the reduction with grapeseed oil (without mixing).

Lamb noisettes with glazed sweetbreads, wild mushrooms, molten potato croquette, sherry vinegar caramel, thyme emulsion and a mushroom froth

2009-10-15T01:52:00.000-07:00

This is another completed dish for the a la carte. Very simple, just 4 ingredients on the plate, lamb, sweetbread, mushroom and potato. The potatoes are made by setting a creamy potato mousseline with gelatine and rolling it into small cylinders. Then they are rolled in potato flour, eggs and instant potato pearls, then egg and potato pearls twice more. They are a suprising element to this dish and gluten free, which i try to avoid certain allergys when writing my menus so they cater for all........that is unless you are allergic to lamb, mushroom, potato.

Terrine of Greenfield ham hock, smoked pigeon and foie gras, sultana puree and Jerusalem artichoke

2009-10-08T14:43:00.000-07:00

This is the terrine which will go on the a la carte menu. The ham hocks are from Greenfield pork products which are based in Andover, Hampshire. The breed is Saddleback and they are cooked for four hours in a court bouillion. The pigeons are soaked in a brine for 2 hours, then the breasts are hot smoked on the boneuntil pink. The legs are smoked then confit sous vide and cooked in a waterbath until tender. The foie gras is confit in duck fat at 60C for 15 - 20 mins. The terrine is set by reducing down the pork stock and pouring over the built terrine. Some roasted pearl onions are placed in the terrine to add a slight crunch and bring a sweetness.

New menu dish

2009-10-06T01:15:00.001-07:00

Hello,

This is another finalised dish for my new a la carte menu. It is a dish that has been working well for the pick up and also for the mis en place. There is a cube of braised brisket to add richness to the dish. The potatoes are made by mixing potato puree and choux paste together and combining sour cream and freshly chopped tarragon.

Tenderloin of Casterbridge beef and brisket,

baby turnips, chestnuts, pickled radishes and sour cream and tarragon potato beignets

New a la carte

2009-10-03T15:59:00.000-07:00

I am currently working hard on my new a la carte menu to start in a couple of weeks. I have done a number of dishes already and have had them on du jour menus gaining feedback and seeing how they sell. The results so far have been positive. Over the coming days i shall post my a la carte menu dish by dish. Here is the first dish which is a

Wild halibut fillet

spiced pumpkin, Autumn cabbage ravioli, cockles and a kumquat sauce

Dogmersfield in Autumn

2009-09-29T17:44:00.000-07:00

Good day to you all,

I apologies for the lengthy delay in posts. This is due to a much needed vacation in the United States. I took my family to visit Boston and Conneticut where we had a great time hooking up with friends and family.

After getting back to work and ploughing through my e mails i was set a task of creating an edible young vegetable patch for a VIP function which was taking place. "This sounds like fun" i remember telling myself and it was indeed fun!

I decided to create a patch of earth inspired by the ground which surrounds us at the hotel. Walking through the early Autumn woods i felt a crunch underfoot from the dead leaves. I noticed fallen branches peppered with moss, wild mushrooms growing around the trees and throughout the woodland. Auburn, burgandy and yellow leaves scattered around. Dead branches, fern leaves and small logs all took my attention as i tried to take in as much as possible and make an edible patch of earth. Below is one picture i took of the ground plus the photos i took of the room that the guests had dinner in, and also the edible remake of the Dogmersfield grounds.........

My apologies for poor picture quality in places...

mushroom duxelle

balsamic

parsley and parmesan breadcrumbs

mushrooms

poppy seeds

salsify

beetroot crisps

parsnip crisps

carrot crisps

celery leaves

red amaranth

deep fried carrot tops

Jerusalem artichoke

carrot

purple potato filled with truffle creme fraiche

Some dishes from this week.........

2009-09-06T01:51:00.001-07:00

Strawberry gazpacho, seared scallop, crayfish and sushi rice

This was an amuse bouche, that was very refrshing and light.

Duck egg souffle, grilled puffa mushroom, tomato fondue, soya cream

With the egg we whipped the whites and placed the egg yolk into the centre. Wrapped in climg film, then steamed. The puffa mushrooms grow wild on the estate, they are like a huge ball, have a mild taste and soft texture. The soya cream is reduced soy sauce, sugar and double cream.

Cured mackerel, pink grapefruit, spiced bread, basil cous cous, red veined sorrel

We had some top quailty mackerel this week. Lightly cured in sugar and salt, baked with olive oil.

Assiette of Saddle back pork, caramelised Dogmersfield orchard apples, potato mousseline

The assiette is crispy ears, roasted loin, apple jelly glazed belly, braised cheek croquette.

Beet em up

2009-08-31T16:11:00.000-07:00

I did this this as a vegetarian option recently and it went down very well. It is a tartare of red and golden beetroot with quail egg, sheeps milk curd, Pantelleria capers, and a poached egg mayonnaise flavoured with walnut. The red beetroot is cooked and then chopped finely with a knife and flavoured with cassis puree, banyuls vinegar, chopped shallot, chopped caper, chopped gherkin, olive oil and salt and pepper. The golden beetroot is chopped and flavoured with shallot, moscatel vinegar, capers, chopped chive, olive oil and pickled mouli.

Wild blackberries

2009-08-27T01:50:00.000-07:00

Now is the perfect time to start picking wild blackberries. My family and I love this time of year. Blackberries grow just about everywhere in England. Any where you see a hedgerow, there ususally are wild blackberries amongst the brambles. We have loads growing behind our house and in the woods nearby. Foraging for wild ingredients is the ultimate method of cutting down those food miles and lightening your carbon footprint. Sourcing high quality local ingredients adds to the appeal of a dish and usually tastes better than using similar ingredients that have been brought in from elsewhere.

The most delicious blackberries are found growing in direct sunlight. Choose berries that have fully ripened, with no red or purple on them. The best berries come off the plant easily with very little resistance.

Recent dishes

2009-08-25T17:40:00.000-07:00

Here are a few dishes from last week and this week.

Parsley and garlic stuffed saddle of lamb with parsley fregola, glazed summer vegetables and duo of red wine sauces

Confit of guinea fowl and foie gras with a sherry vinegar jelly and a black cherry jam

this is a poached torchon of foie gras with textures of apple and black cherry. The textures are a mini toffee apple, pickled, vinaigrette with honey and yuzu and fluid gel. Cherries are served as they are with a cherry syrup.

this is a musterd crusted brill fillet with creme fraiche potatoes, cured cherry tomato and a lemon coulis

Roasted pork belly with anise scented butternut, and a pea pesto

Foie gras, smoked eel and green apple pave lightly flavoured with cinnamon, eel teriyaki and a brioche espuma

2009-08-09T01:49:00.001-07:00

Here is a starter which featured on my du jour menu this Saturday night. The terrine is built up with smoked eel being set with apple wine infused with cinnamon stick, confit foie gras and a green apple puree. The teriyaki is brulee just before serving.The espuma is made by toasting and drying out brioche. Pouring on some boiling milk and cream and letting it infuse. The mix is then puree very smooth, seasoned with a little nutmeg and ginger and thinned out with milk. It is then poured into the gun and charged with one cartridge.

I loved the smokyness of the eel against the foiegras, but felt that another element was needed. The teriyaki gives a tangy sweetness that cuts the richness of the foie gras and adds the which acidity balances nicely.

Caprese

2009-08-07T17:38:00.000-07:00

This week was our Italian wine dinner. Here is the starter from the evening. We got our hands on some Alpine plum tomatoes which were marinated with EVOO, garlic, thyme and shallot. The cherry tomatoes were also marinated in EVOO. The mozzarella is a fantastic product from Laverstoke Park. I would say the best fresh mozz in the South of England. Garnish is balsamic which has been misted onto the plate, black olive dust, and a smoke filled mozzarella baloon. Terre Bormano olive oil is drizzled around.

Fresh, tasty and Italian which matched our wine.

TGRWT #18 Plum and blue cheese

2009-08-06T02:19:00.000-07:00

Roulade of Mirabelle plum and Barkham Blue cheese with plum wine, plum chips and Acacia honey

Hi all,

Here is an entry to this months They Go Really Well Together. Hosted by Trig over at Aidan Brooks: Trainee chef. Plum and blue cheese is the order of the day. The plums used are French and the cheese is an unpasturised blue cheese from Too Hoots farm in Wokingham made by a woman named Sandy Rose.

For this I wanted to make the cheese and plum the stars of the show. The plums are sliced thinly and the blue cheese blended with a little sour cream and rolled into a roulade. Underneath is a salad of plum and almond marinaded in plum wine. There are slices of plum carpaccio and dried plum crisps. The dish is finished with a touch of long pepper and Acacia honey.

For me, plums and red skin fruit in general go well with blue cheese. Although I felt after the first tasting that the two components needed a push in gelling together. A floral note is welcome from the long pepper and the honey tones down the strength of the blue cheese and glazes the plums to highlight their sweetness. A little micro celery adds a slight bitter note also which compliments the blue cheese.

Here's my version, it was fun. Thanks to Martin at blog.khymos.org and of course Trig for hosting.

Laters

Working with suppliers

2009-08-02T15:59:00.000-07:00

Hyden Farms guinea fowl and foie gras terrine set in its consomme,

Muscat grapes, bourban spiced almonds and butterscotch

At the hotel, we have just started working with a new farm named Hyden Organics(http://www.hydenorganics.co.uk/). They have fantastic produce such as Longhorn beef, Hampshire Down lamb, saddleback pigs, Indian game chickens, Aylesbury ducks and guinea fowl, plus guinea fowl eggs when we're lucky. After visting the farm and meeting Richard Jones and his team we were very impressed. They farm in traditional methods which means slower breeding. We have tried their chickens, guinea fowl, lamb and pork so far and the quality is fantastic. So good in fact was the guinea fowl that i wasted no time in getting a terrine ready to go onto the a la carte menu. Here's the dish explanation;

The guinea fowl legs are confit in duck fat, along with the breasts which are kept on the crown. The foie gras is cleaned, wrapped in cheese cloth and confit in the duck fat also for about 15 minutes at 60C. The trimmings from the fowl are used to make the consomme. The almonds are boiled with bourban, bitters and sugar and left to marinade. They are then roasted through the oven and then tossed in a spice mix of salt, cumin, cayenne. The Muscat grapes have just arrived at our doorstep(first of the season), so i peeled them and kept the skin. I dried both the grapes and the skin for two days. I removed the pips from the dried grapes, then roughly chopped the skin and rolled the grapes through the skin. A kind of deconstructed - reconstructed (god i hate those words) grape. The butterscotch is just sugar, dry caramelised, then monte with butter and cream, then i add lemon juice to unsweeten slightly.

This weeks du jour........

2009-07-28T17:22:00.000-07:00

Secretts farm beetroot salad with pickled coleslaw and bourban spiced almonds

River trout "muit cuit", poached red onion, baby sorrel leaves and a broad bean veloute

Loin of Hampshire Down lamb with roasted garlic panisse,

braised chickpea beignet and ras el hanout

Nanny Williams blue goats cheese with apricot chutney and black pepper croquant

For those who love to bake

2009-07-26T01:56:00.000-07:00

I got sent this e mail the other day........interesting reading......apparent true story

A little background:

Neiman-Marcus, if you don't know already, is a very expensive boutique
shop (they sell a typical $8.00 T-shirt for $50.00)

My daughter and I had just finished lunch at a Neiman-Marcus Cafe in
Dallas , USA . Because both of us are such biscuit lovers, we decided to
try the 'Neiman-Marcus cookie'. It was so excellent that I asked if they
would give me the recipe. The waitress said with a small frown, 'I'm
afraid not, but you can buy the recipe.'

I asked how much, and she responded; 'Only two fifty - it's a great
deal'

I agreed to that, and told her to add it to my bill.

Thirty days later, I got my Visa statement, and the Neiman-Marcus charge
was $285. I looked at it again, and I remembered I had only spent $9.95
for two sandwiches and about $20 for a scarf. At the bottom of the
statement, it said, 'Cookie Recipe - $250.00'. That was outrageous!

I called Neiman's Accounting Department and told them the waitress had
said it was 'two fifty', which clearly does not mean 'two hundred and
fifty dollars' by any reasonable interpretation of the phrase.
Neiman-Marcus refused to budge. They would not refund my money because
according to them; 'What the waitress told you is not our problem. You
have already seen the recipe. We absolutely will not refund your money.

I explained to the Accounting Department lady the criminal statutes
which govern fraud in the state of Texas . I threatened to report them to
the Better Business Bureau and The Texas Attorney General's office. I
was basically told: Do what you want. Don't bother thinking of how you
can get even, and don't bother trying to get any of your money back'

I said, OK, you've got my $250, and now I'm going to have $250 worth of
fun. I told her that I was going to see to it that every cookie lover in
the world with an e-mail account gets a $250 cookie recipe from
Neiman-Marcus for free. She replied, 'I wish you wouldn't do that.' I
said, 'Well, perhaps you should have thought of that before you RIPPED
ME OFF!' and slammed down the phone.

So here it is! Please pass it on to everyone you can possibly think of.
I paid $250 for this, and I don't want Neiman-Marcus to EVER make
another penny from this recipe!


NEIMAN-MARCUS COOKIES (Recipe may be halved as this makes heaps)

2 (500 ml) cups butter
680 g chocolate chips
4 (1000 ml) cups flour
2 (500 ml) cups brown sugar
2 tsp. (10 ml) Bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp. (5 ml) salt
2 (500 ml) cups sugar
500 g Grated Cadbury chocolate
5 (1250 ml) cups blended oatmeal
4 eggs
2 tsp. (10 ml) baking powder
2 tsp. (10 ml) vanilla
3 cups (375 ml) chopped nuts (optional)

Measure oatmeal, and blend in a blender to a fine powder. Cream the
butter and both sugars. Add eggs and vanilla, mix together with flour,
oatmeal, salt, baking powder, and bicarbonate of soda. Add chocolate
chips, grated Chocolate and nuts. Roll into balls, and place two inches
apart on a cookie sheet. Bake for 10 minutes at 375 degrees (180 C).

The above quantities make 112 cookies. Enjoy!

Taste of Hampshire menu

2009-07-21T17:23:00.001-07:00

This is a poached Haines farm duck egg wrapped in potato sitting on duck leg confit, cauliflower puree and shavings of fresh truffle.

Pan seared Lymington seabream with braised bulgar wheat, caramelised carrot

and a cumin and coriander yoghurt sauce

Organic fillet of Laverstoke Park beef, summer bean canneloni, roasted onion knodel and a fresh pea froth

Warm Tornegus cheese cake with poached grapes and candied walnut

Pork trio

2009-07-21T17:19:00.000-07:00

This is a trio of pork that i had on the menu last week. There is a roasted and glazed belly sitting on puy lentils, sous vide poached loin topped with a grated red beetroot ball, braised shoulder with pan roasted apricot, candy beet and crackling.

Feeling cheesey

2009-07-15T16:48:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple of cheese courses ive tried recently. Both dishes worked well in their own right with the garnishes given.

This is a light goats cheese which is creamed and dipped in a fresh sweetened peach puree with the addition of kappa. It is sitting on a hazlenut sponge cake. The cheese is studded with lemon thyme blossoms. There is a peach jelly dice, fresh peach and a chamomile fluid gel as a garnish and it is finished with some drizzles of Acacia honey.

This is a more robust offering with a strong blue cheese rolled in cherry granola and served with spiced cherry juice.

Here is the recipe for the hazlenut sponge:

Hazlenut sponge

375g Eggs

200g Sugar

250g Milk

325g Cake flour

150g Ground hazlenuts

40g Baking powder

150g Olive oil

150g Hazlenut oil

200g Warm vegetable stock

1) Pre- heat an oven to 325F(160C).

2) Cream together the eggs and sugar until light and fluffy.

3) Add the oils and mix well.

4) Add half of the milk and then half of the cake flour, almond flour and baking powder mix, then the rest of the milk, then the rest of the flour mix and lightly whisk out any lumps.

5) Grease the bottom of a half hotel pan and line it with parchment paper.

6) Add the cake mix and bake in the oven for 30 mins.

7) After the 30 mins is up turn the heat down to 300F and bake for a further 5 mins.

8) Remove the cake from the oven and prick the cake with holes, and slowly pour on the chicken stock covering the cake.

10) Leave out for 45 mins to allow the cake to absorb the chicken stock.

11) Wrap the cake and chill until needed.

Bacon, egg and chips

2009-07-08T15:52:00.000-07:00

This is the starter on my du jour menu this week. The duck egg is cooked in a small shot glass and gently steamed until the egg white has set and the yolk is still runny. The flavours here work well together with the salty bacon, sweet syrup, rich duck egg, bitter micro celery and earthy asparagus compote. Received good comments from the restaurasnt so far. It is playful and suprising when the egg is cut into.

Croustillant of Golden Cross goats cheese with candied tomato, fennel and pickled watermelon rind

2009-07-02T17:50:00.000-07:00

Here is a dish i have had my du jour menu this week. The cheese is an unpasteuriesd goats cheese from Sussex, which is rolled in oak ash and then matured. It is whipped with a little creme fraiche. The tube is made with rice papper which is deep fried to make it crisp. The cheese itself has hints of macadamia nut and burnt caramel on the palette. It eats nicely with the sweetness of the tomato being tempered by the tartness of the watermelon rind, leaving an aroma from the fennel to round it off. Garnish is some small fennel fronds.

This weeks du jour menu

2009-06-23T17:22:00.001-07:00

Chilled white gazpacho with compressed melon, cucumber and white grape

Wild halibut fillet poached in a tumeric and lime leaf nage, curry cured duck egg yolk, mango vinegar froth and thai basil

Herefordshire beef fillet glazed with brioche and morels, Cheltenham beetroot, foie gras veloute

Barkham blue cheese mousse, balsamic caramel, red grape curd

Presentations of smoked duck

2009-06-14T16:26:00.001-07:00

This is a work in progress for my a la carte menu. Im testing flavours, presentations and recipes to see what works the best. This evening i plated two versions of the dish. The top picture is...

Smoked Gressingham duck breast, balsamic jelly, glazed cherry, Marcona almond, foie gras and cherry terrine

and the bottom plate is ....

Smoked Gressigham duck breast, glazed cherrys filled with foie gras,

balsamic jelly, Marcona almond, orange syrup

Smoked duck breast

Cure:

400g Sel de Guerand

1 whole Orange peel

1 Anise star (crushed)

2 Clove (crushed)

half a Vanilla pod (chopped)

2 Black pepper corns (crushed)

4 x Gressingham duck breast

Hickory wood chips

Cure the duck breasts for 90 minutes in the salt mixture. Rub off the cure, rinse and dry the breasts. Leave un wrapped on a tray for 2 hours to dry.

Set up a smoker on the stove by lining a hotel pan with tin foil. Adding your wood chips and gently toast on the stove. Once the wood chips are smoking nicely Place a steamer tray on top of the hotel pan, lightly brush your duck breasts with olive oil and place onto the steamer tray, covering with another hotel pan.

Smoke slowly until the duck breasts are medium. Remove the duck and chill. Air dry the breasts whole for 4 hours, then slice to order.

Chicken liver and foie gras parfait, pineapple and vanilla compote, 5 spice cracker

2009-06-11T17:16:00.001-07:00

This an amuse bouche from a few days ago. Great feedback from guests which is what counts!

Here is the recipe for the parfait:

Chicken Liver and Foie Gras Parfait

Fresh foie gras	g	250
Fresh chicken livers	g	250
Ruby port	ml	125
Madeira	ml	125
Brandy	ml	60
Shallots(peeled and sliced)	g	150
Garlic(peeled and sliced)	clove	2
Tyhme	sprig	2
Eggs	ea	5
Unsalted butter	g	500
Pink salt(nitrate)	tspn	1
Salt
Ground white pepper

Preheat a low oven to 250°F, or a Rational oven to 90ºC. Chop the foie gras and chicken livers(season the livers with pink salt) into small pieces and place them in a large pan and bring them up to room temperature. Crack the eggs into a large pan and also bring them up to room temperature. Melt the butter in a pan and keep warm.
Reduce all of the alcohol with the shallots, garlic, and thyme until almost dry and remove the thyme.
Liquidize the foie gras, chicken livers and eggs until smooth, then add the butter slowly but steadily and correct the seasoning. You will need to do this in batches. For a smoother parfait, leave the blender running for a few minutes. Pass the mixture through a fine chinois.
Line the bottom of the terrine (1-1/2 qt capacity) with parchment paper. Pour the mixture into the terrine molds just below the lip and cover with foil. Place the parfaits into a bain-marie with the water level with the parfait mix. Cook in the preheated oven for 1 hour 30 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches 60- 65C. Remove from the bain-marie, leave to cool to room temperature then refridgerate for 24 hours.
If not using immediately, cover the parfait with clarified butter. This will stop the parfait from oxidizing.

This weeks du jour menu

2009-06-10T14:22:00.001-07:00

Warm beetroot soup with sour cream and saffron floating island

Hampshire Brown crab cocktail, roasted seeds and nuts, marie rose sorbet

Teriyaki glazed pork belly, seared scallop, poached mushrooms, shallot and ginger confit

Elderflower parfait, frozen olive oil emulsion

(Dessert courtesy of Dale over at http://thecomponents.wordpress.com/)

Teriyaki marinade

100ml Mirin

100ml Kikoman soy sauce

100g Sugar

500ml Water

Grilled mirepoix

25g Carrot

25g Celery

25g Onion

5g Ginger

20g Pineapple

50g Beef trimming

In a hot pan, add the mirin and flambé. Once the alcohol has burned off, add the soy sauce, sugar and water. Bring to a boil and add the mierpoix. Simmer until reduced by half. Strain through a fine chinois and thicken with corn starch.

Tomato sorbet

Water 292g

Dextrose 153g

Peeled tomato flesh(good quality) 1093g

Salt 6g

Stab (neutrose) 8g

Tabasco 1g

Basil 4g

Tomato paste 110g

Mix together the dextrose, and stabiliser. Boil the water and add the two powders, mix well and boil for 1 minute. Transfer to a container and rest overnight.

Blend the fresh tomato, tabasco, basil, tomato paste and salt into the syrup until completely smooth. Pass through a conical strainer and pour into paco jet containers and freeze completely.

Puree when needed.

Parfait of Brown Hampshire crab, mary rose sorbet and crisp

2009-06-07T17:44:00.000-07:00

This week we had some beautiful Brown crabs from Solent in Hampshire. I've wanted to get live crabs in for a while to teach my team how to cook, break and clean them. The flavour of the meat is sweet, fresh, and delicious. With a product this good, there is not much that i want to do to it apart from showcase its superb flavour. Therefore, i did not do much to it.

The parfait is layered up of...........

Crab jelly made from the shells

White crabmeat mayonaisse scented with preserved lemon zest

Brown crab meat(seasoned with tabasco, lea and perrins, and lemon)

Lemon and basil curd

Chiffonade baby gem

Crab jelly

White crab mayonnaise

Roasted nuts and seeds

Marie rose sorbet

Marie rose crisp

An important aspect is that i got extremely good feedback from our guests on this starter and will consider putting it on the A La Carte menu through the summer.

Marinated red, candy and golden beetroot, jambon Iberico de Belotta, walnut vinaigrette

2009-06-04T16:14:00.000-07:00

This weeks starter on the tasting menu. The beetroots are from Secretts farm which is located in Milford, Surrey.

The Secrett family company was founded in 1908 by Frederick Augustus Secrett, a highly respected horticulturalist of considerable standing. Currently we are receiving asparagus, beetroot, pink fir potatoes, turnips, organic baby greens( of very high quality), parsnips, and chick pea shoots.

They have a farm shop as well and are well worth a visit.

http://www.shopcreator.com/mall/Secretts/

Good luck

2009-05-28T17:40:00.000-07:00

I would like to say good luck to my freind Stefan over at the food lab. He is leaving our place of work and venturing on in Stuttgart to pastures new. I wish you all the best and good luck at the new venue. check his blog out also, its contempary and cool, www.thefoodlab.net

Hereford beef fillet, green asparagus, truffled potato canneloni

2009-05-28T17:35:00.000-07:00

This dish is on the du jour menu this week. The potato tube is string potato wrapped around a copper tube which is lined with parchement paper and deep fried on a low heat until golden. A cool crispy casing.

Childhood memories

2009-05-28T17:23:00.000-07:00

This week, i took the family, on recommondation to The Little Chef to experience first hand what Heston Blumenthal has done to a trademark British eatery. I vividly remember the show and the frustrations he faced trying to get food onto the menus there. Well let me tell you all something. He has suceeded in making the Popham branch of Little Chef a success. My wife had a vegetable stew cooked in beer with mustard dumplings. My first thought on this dish was that beer and vegetables are not the ideal combination. After trying my wifes meal, i was pleasently suprised. I myself went for the braised ox cheeks in red wine which were coooked to perfection,served with mash potatoes and a crystal clear red wine sauce which for me was divine and only £9. A great stop if your'e on the road or a great stop if you want to take the kids for a meal. Either way, a nostalgic destination.

Gressingham duck breast with crisp confit leg and pickled blackberries

2009-05-24T01:15:00.000-07:00

Hi all,

This is a reworking of a dish that i did a few weeks ago. Inside the cabbage ball is a chicken liver and foie gras mousse, wrapped in confit duck leg and then wrapped in savoy cabbage. The drumstick is confit, then the bone is removed. It is wrapped in cling film and chilled. Wound with potato string and fried until crisp. The blackberries are soaked in rice wine vinegar and sugar.

2009-05-19T16:38:00.000-07:00

These are a couple of dishes from my weekly du jour menu which starts today.

Underneath which was my cheese course is Cerney goats cheese wrapped in wild garlic leaf with a walnut and date chutney. The cheese is an unpastuerised cheese from the village of north Cerney in Cirencester, Cotswolds. It has a texture similar to that of fromage frais and has a pleasant citric taste. It is pyramid shaped and is covered in oak ash. This kind of cheese does need a sweet garnish, which pairs well with the sweet garlic aroma of the leaves.

To the left is my main which is a Saddleback pork loin, which is cleaned and cooked sous vide for 4 hours at 50C. It is then chilled, portioned and vacuum packed individually with garlic, butter and thyme, reheated and caramelised in foamy butter. The sausage is shallot, garlic, pancetta, black pudding and red wine cooked down in a pan to a paste. Rolled into log shape and chilled. Once it has been chilled it is cut to size and reheated through the oven. Garnishes are, crisp onion rings, spinach, pork fat pin wheels and an apple balsamic reduction

Variations of foie gras

2009-05-19T01:23:00.000-07:00

Having some foie gras trimmings that needed using up, i set to work on my latest project of an amuse bouche folder with pick up charts for my team. This is a great way to use up any trimmings from making terrines.

Foie gras mousse, rhubarb jam, pink pepper

Foie dusted with blackberry, apple and brandy chutney, brioche crumbs

Foie gras and gingerbread lollipop

Foie gras and gingerbread, crisp yoghurt, honey, matcha green tea, chocolate, sour apricot

Frozen air

2009-05-17T17:13:00.000-07:00

In a previous post i have used a whipped cucumber juice for a small canape. With these whipped foams you tend to have alot left over. With the left over foam i froze it and have used it here in an amuse bouche for the restaurant.

The flavour of the frozen air is quite mild on the palate so ive marinated some cucumber in a little rice wine and sugar to strengthen the cucumber flavour. Next is creme fraiche flavoured with grapefruit zest, orange zest, lemon and lime zest, then a reduced orange juice. Next is some orange jelly pearls, then chunks of the frozen cucumber. On top of that is smoked salmon roe which has been brined in an un-oaked Chardonnay and smoked with hickory. A little candied orange zest is finished on top with a couple micro celery shoots.

Beetroot carpaccio, smoked feta cheese, toasted pine nuts, candy soaked raspberrys

2009-05-16T16:34:00.000-07:00

This was the first course on my tasting menu this week. Very light and refreshing. Simple with Spring in mind, and perhaps a nice glass of Pinot Gris to accompany.

Roasted Herefordshire beef fillet, bone marrow dumplings, morels and shiitake mushrooms, horseradish broth

2009-05-16T01:26:00.000-07:00

This dish was on my tasting menu this week. The dumplings are made by high temperature roasting some bone marrow until it has a nice brown colour. It is then chilled , then chopped and mixed through a very light chicken mousse and poached in the broth.

It was a nice light dish to eat and packed with flavour. Keeping the horseradish as a broth style sauce also lightened the flavour in the mouth without overpowering. Also poaching the mushrooms in the broth bring an earthiness which pairs well.

Wild turbot, preserved lemon and crab gnocchi, brown crab butter, wild garlic oil

2009-05-12T18:21:00.000-07:00

Love this dish. Using only the freshest Turbot here with an interesting gnocchi which is stuffed. This is done by rolling out the dough and punching out rounds. Filling your disc with your filling, folding over and crimping the ends. Much more texture and flavour can be acquired here, and its fun to eat for the guest too.

Mushrooms and madeira

2009-05-10T06:50:00.000-07:00

One of my weak spots is beef tartare. We get a superb quality Herefordshire beef from Laverstoke Park once every two weeks, so it is always a pleasure to use it on the weekly tasting menu. Morels this year have been terrific. This has been due to the frost we had in Febuary/March.

I decided that i wanted to do a tartare but change the ingredients up to include the morels. I also wanted to incorperate madeira as a classic pairing with the mushrooms and the beef respectively.

The dish is Laverstoke Park beef tartare, pickled morels, mushroom gel, glazed vegetables.

I seasoned the beef with:

shallot

parsley

madeira

pickled morels

salt

pepper

egg yolk

The vegetables are slowly cooked under vacuum with butter and thyme.

The mushroom gel is a very concentrated mushroom stock. 800ml to 12g gellan F.

Addleston cider

2009-05-07T17:09:00.000-07:00

This is a cheese course which was served during one of our first Tuesday wine dinners. We mixed iot up a bit this month and used local beers, ciders, sparkling wines and honeymead (which i will get my hands on soon as i have a pork dish marinated in honeymead on my mind). the cheese featured here is called Waterloo which is an unpasteurised cows milk cheese and is made by Anne Wigmore at her farm in Risely, near Reading.
The cheese is sitting on freshly baked gingerbread which is cooked to more of a sticky cake texture. The jelly is made with Addlestone cider. the cider is from Somerset and has a cloudy appearence due to is not being filtered. The cider is quite sweetwith sour notes.
This was nice to eat, and made me think about when i was young, as i have not really had gingerbread for years.

Here is the recipe:

1 kg honey

560g milk

1 lemon, zested

1 orange, zested

40g baking powder

480g plain flour

480g rye flour

60g ginger

15g nutmeg, freshly grated

30g star anise

200g caster sugar

12 eggs

METHOD

Gently warm the milk, honey and zests, just enough to melt the honey.

Sieve all the dry ingredients except the sugar into a large bowl.

Whisk the sugar and eggs in a food mixer until they reach a light and fluffy sabayon; this will take about 20 minutes.

Mix the milk and flour together to form a smooth paste, then fold in the sabayon. Don't be too gentle with the sabayon, as the end product doesn't want to be too light.

Split the mixture between 6 lined square tins about 20cm x 20cm and bake at 120C for 4 hours until a deep golden brown. The longer you leave them in the oven at this stage, the easier they will be to slice.

Remove from the tins and allow to go almost cold, then peel off the baking parchment.

Slurpee

2009-05-07T16:53:00.000-07:00

I made this little shot for a pimms canape party recently. It was served with a short straw. It is a strawberry and black pepper soup with a light cucumber foam.
Recipe for the foam:
1 kg cucumber juice
12.5g versawhip
5g xantham gum

Take 400g of the cucumber juice and using a hand blender blend in the two powders. Leave to sit and hydrate for 10 minutes. Add the rest of the juice and blend once again. Place into a small hobart mixer and whisk on high speed for approximately 20 minutes until light and fluffy.
Thanks to Dale at the components for guidance with this. Check out his blog by clicking here http://thecomponents.wordpress.com/

Assiette of corn fed chicken, asparagus oatmeal, stuffed morels

2009-05-04T02:22:00.000-07:00

This dishcontains 4 different chicken preperations. There is roasted breast, poached thigh, confit and honey glazed wing, and braised drumstick. The asparagus oatmeal is made by sweating shallots and garlic in butter, then adding the oatmeal and chicken stock. Once the oatmeal is cooked, asparagus puree is added, with a little butter and salt and pepper. The morels are stuffed with asparagus puree and chicken mousse.

Scallop ceviche with ginger, lime, spearmint and black sesame

2009-05-01T17:55:00.000-07:00

Roaming around the herb garden at work the other day i came across spearmint and immediately thought Wrigleys chewing gum. Now thats what i associate spearmint with, sad i know. I pondered where i could use the mint to showcase its unique flavour.
This is a ceviche which i have been working on. The scallops are sliced raw and put onto the plate. The ceviche marinade went as follows.
Lime juice
Lime leaf
Ginger
Lemongrass
Thai fish sauce
Soy sauce
Spearmint stalks
Sugar
Infused over heat for 30mins, then chilled.

The marinade is brushed genorously over the scallops and drizzled onto the plate. Spearmint is strong so i added just one jullienne of spearmint per scallop.
The plate is garnished with confit baby tomatoes and scallop meat tuilles which are made with...
Scallop meat
Egg white
Flour
Soft butter
Black sesame

sprinkled around the plate is sesame and scallop roe crumbles, which in another crack at this great tasting ceviche i would like to put a finer scallop roe powder onto the scallops.

Canneloni of Dorset snails, parsley and nut crumble, garlic veloute

2009-04-28T05:06:00.000-07:00

We got 1 kg of snails which are farmed in Dorset the other day. I have known of this product for a littlewhile. finally we got some in and what a treat they were, although very expensive. Snails traditionally pair well with parsley, garlic, bacon, almond, red wine, shallot. The snails are purged and then blanched when they come in so they just have to be finished slowly in a court bouillion for approimately 2 hours until tender.

For the canneloni we made a light chicken mousse, enriched with creme fraiche and flavoured with parmesan, parsley, snails, sweated shallot and garlic and white wine. Then the mousse is rolled and poached. The pasta sheets are blanched and cut to size. Brushed with becamel, the mousse is layed down and then rolled up. They are reheated in the steamer and brushed with clarified butter and sprinkled with the crumble. The garlic veloute is served at the table as you can see and ....Voila!

Beetroot cured salmon, scallop tar tare and cracker, citrus salad

2009-04-26T17:19:00.000-07:00

With this dish i cured the salmon with salt, sugar, beetroot, apple, horseradish and thyme leaves, for 24 hours. It is then wrapped in leek. The scallops are seasoned with lemon, olive oil and topped with a pickled apple juice. The tuille is made with scallop, egg white, butter and flour and dusted with roasted orange powder. The tubular gel is beetroot and apple and the citrus segments are marinated with olive oil and Malden sea salt. The herb is budding chives picked fresh from our herb garden. It also has some horseradish cream and marinated Cheltenam beetroot as a garnish.

Potato, vanilla, asparagus, parsley and truffle granola, Compte

2009-04-25T16:23:00.000-07:00

Here is a vegetarian amuse bouche from the other evening. On the bottom is a potato mousseline flavoured with Madagascar vanilla and Compte cheese. Next an asparagus puree. Then a granola made with walnuts, pistachio nuts, hazlenuts, pine nuts, linseed, pumpkin seed, sunflower seed, truffle, parsley, black sesame seed, malden sea salt and honey. The crisp garnish is a thin slice of Compte baked through the oven until caramelised.

Duck with blackberries

2009-04-20T02:42:00.000-07:00

Here is a Gressingham duck breast which is slowly pan cooked. The blackberries are lightly pickled in grape juice and red wine vinegar. The vegetables are glazed with orange butter. The roulade at the back is a feuille de bric roll filled with a chicken liver and foie gras mousse, confit duck leg, orange scented carrots and caramelised roscoff onions. The jus is flavoured with the pickle juices.

Fillet of organic Angus beef from Laverstoke Park, watercress oatmeal, pine nut and bacon vinaigrette

2009-04-12T17:35:00.000-07:00

Pan seared Jon Dory, English clams, herbed potatoes, baby leeks

2009-04-12T17:19:00.000-07:00

Just launched this dish on the a la carte.

Marinated sardines, semolina cake, crunchy fennel salad, red pepper fool

2009-04-12T17:11:00.000-07:00

A mordern twist on a mediteranean classic!

Happy Easter

2009-04-12T17:01:00.000-07:00

And thank god its over. It must be nice if you are off like most of my neighbours. At the hotel, we are ram jammed for 3 days solid. Everybody hauling ass getting the food out on time. Went well though, all organisation really!
This is a pan roasted fillet of Gurnard, sitting atop squid ink tagliolini, confit tomatoes and a trio of mussels. The mussels are steamed, wrapped in potato and breaded.

Flower Marie cheese with grape and almond

2009-04-07T18:21:00.000-07:00

Flower Marie cheese is a lovely, soft, creamy, slightly acidic cheese from Greenacres farm near Sussex. It is unpasteurised with a soft unobtrusive rind. The garnish here is in three textures.
Honey poached grapes rolled in almond, grape jelly, grape espuma, small pieces of cracker are present on the plate as i didn't want to serve crackers with the dish as sometimes cheese doesn't need biscuits when there is much more to explore on the plate.

Amuse bouche

2009-04-07T18:19:00.000-07:00

This is an amuse bouche from this evening. Liquid salt cod bon bon, crushed and creamed peas, smoked milk

Raw is good!!

2009-04-07T18:11:00.000-07:00

Here we have a sashimi of organic Scottish salmon and shetland Island scallops. It is finished with, fresh and fried scallions, black sesame, chilli, croutons, micro coriander, ginger, lime jelly.
The fish is brushed with a lime and lemongrass dressing before adding the garnish.

Red Mullet and Calamari

2009-04-02T18:03:00.000-07:00

This dish is a gently cooked red mullet fillet topped with slowly olive oil poached calamari flavoured with guinea pepper. Jerusalem artichoke puree and blood orange syrup.

Line caught Seabass, plum tomato fondue, stuffed courgette blossom, candied black olive, basil puree

2009-03-31T03:51:00.000-07:00

Foie gras and rhubarb

2009-03-31T03:46:00.000-07:00

Another finished dish here. Played around with it in previous weeks but was never a finished article. I have added a poached rhubarb as well as the rhubarb jelly. there is a freshly baked ginger scented brioche a tete served on the side.

Finished dish

2009-03-31T03:41:00.000-07:00

I have been working on this beef dish for some time. I started looking at it for the Spring menu a few months back and have tried it in different guises as shown in previous posts. This is a finished dish and is now on the a la carte menu.
Grilled Casterbridge beef fillet, braised shank dauphine, pickled red onion compote, broad beans, smoked potato puree.

Last week

2009-03-31T03:21:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple of dishes from last week.

At the top is a Spring pea soup with morels and coconut froth. I wanted to get a striking pea flavour and to bring out its sweetness with an acidic garnish. The soup is made by blanching peas in their pods for 1 minute, then shocking in ice water and putting through the juices. This gives you a bright green pea juice. We then add peas and potato to the juice and boil until tender. Blitz and pass through a chicois. The froth is coconut milk flavoured with a little rice wine vinegar and lime juice and salt. The morels are lightly saute with shallot and garlic and mixed with some popped peas and added to the soup. The result is a velvety soup which has sweet and earthy flavours.

Tthe dish beneath is a duck egg baked at 160C for 7mins. There is a cucumber and dill creme fraiche, smoked salmon foam and frozen grated smoked salmon. It is seasoned with freshly milled black pepper and smoked Malden sea salt. With the richness of the duck egg yolk, the smokyness and freshness of the salmon and cucumber give playful elements to the dish without overpowering.

Wild Spring garlic

2009-03-31T03:03:00.000-07:00

At last, wild spring garlic is upon us. At my Mothers house a few weeks ago, my daughter came into the house and threw some grass on the floor. Whilst picking up my daughters mess, i caught the mildly sweet aroma of garlic and found myself grinning from ear to ear. She had foraged earlt wild garlic shoots (thats my girl!). I am currently using it where i can. We are bringing it from our nearby woods, close to the hotel. It is only around for about 2 months, if that! The shoots blossom also which make a great garnish to a seasonal sald or soup.

Assiette of organic lamb

2009-03-31T02:55:00.000-07:00

Here is a tastingof lamb featuring the loin poached in mint oil, braised neck croquette, ice filtered lamb consomme jelly with sweetbread, wild garlic and creme fraiche potatoes.
This was on the Taste of Hampshire menu last week. It was very popular!

Cerney goats cheese glazed with Setley Ridge red wine, honey sponge, candied pine nuts

2009-03-24T08:38:00.000-07:00

Here is my cheese course from this weeks du jour menu. On the right is the goats cheese, which is creamed with greek yoghurt and candied pine nuts and set with gelatin. The red wine is slightly sweetened and glazed over the top. On the left is the honey sponge. For this i took 250g honey and 50g cider vinegar. Mixed it together and put 200g of the mix into the freezer and got it as cold as possible. With the rest i melted 3 gelatin leaves into and then combined the cold and the hot together in a small hobart and whisk on high speed for about 25 mins. Then it is piped into demi sphere moulds, and placed into the freezer. Once firm after being in the freezer over night. I scooped out a little from the inside and filled with honey. Putting two together to form a ball. Next it is rolled in grated pine nuts.

The Cerney is quite citric so the honey really numbs that down. I really like the flavours here.

Red Mullet, poached apple jelly, celeriac and grains of paradise, hazlenut crumb

2009-03-21T18:27:00.000-07:00

We had some faboulous red mullet in this weekend. I had it on my du jour menu as a starter.
It is layed head to toe and seasoned and then rolled tight in cling film. It is poached in barely simmering water for about 9 mins. It is sitting on a celeriac remoulade which is mixed with some toasted grains of paradise. A little poached apple is resting in its jelly. The crumb is hazlenut, breadcrumb and malden salt, toasted through the oven.

Line caught seabass fillet, plum tomato fondue, steamed courgette blossom, candied black olive, basil puree, lemon oil

2009-03-11T01:30:00.000-07:00

Here is a dish i have been working on for the new Spring a la carte menu. The flavours work here very easily. I will be doing the dish with fantastic line caught wild seabass caught off the Lymington shoreline. Seabass is such a popular choice on our menu that you have to do it justice by not going to crazy on flavour pairings, as the guests in our restaurant are not always that adventurous. But at the end of the day it just has to taste and look good and have the best possible ingredients. I like the colours, taste and freshness of this dish and cant wait to launch it.
I will look at the presentation again.

Saddleback pork belly

2009-03-08T01:19:00.000-08:00

Hi all,

We obtained this great half Saddleback breed pig last week. Here the belly has been cured and confit really slowly until practically falling apart. Served with baby leeks and spring onions in a clam glaze, Palourde clams, fresh corn bread in rock and puree form. The sauces are a parsley and clam foam and a rich truffle sauce. The fat is shaved off and crisped up into a galette. The pork belly is lastly seasoned with a BBQ spiced Maldon sea salt.

Goats cheese curd, red wine and apple

2009-03-06T17:26:00.001-08:00

This is a small terrine made with red wine, Granny smith apple juice and goats cheese curd. Served with a tomato syrup.

Home smoked organic salmon, sweet peppers, watercress croustillant, candied lime

2009-03-04T16:23:00.000-08:00

This is smoked salmon sitting on some marinated sweet peppers, which are peeled and diced and marinated in a gastrique of wine vinegar and sugar. The croustillant is filled with a watercress espuma. The sauces are red pepper syrup and watercress coulis.

Flavour pairings

2009-03-01T17:13:00.001-08:00

This is something i was working on this evening. I love butterscotch and have wanted to use it for some time. My thought process led me to foie gras terrine, as you have a more creamy richness to a terrine than when you sear. With the deep caramel note in butterscotch i thought it would pair well. I was wrong! For me the butterscotch was to sweet to match. I then added a little cider vinegar, lemon juice and fig puree to freshen the taste and lighten at the same time.

I was not dissapointed. the fruit puree and slight acidity did wonders to balance out the rich, cloying sweetness of the sauce and it paired very well with the foie.

I garnished the dish with blackberry set in its own jelly, truffled marshmallows, poached grapes and rosemary blossoms.

The only thing i would change on this dish is having more sauce on the plate, possibly sitting under the foie pave.

Working the new a la carte

2009-03-01T16:48:00.000-08:00

The past couple of weeks i have been working on the first draft of my new a la carte menu. Its a long thought process as you have to take onboard everyones feedback, and its all different!! It is a very important part of the buisness and feedback is welcome. It makes me think, seasonal, fresh and uncomplicated. Looking at colours and design on the plate. Some like it simple and others want to be wowed. Some want to eat fast and some want a dining experience. the first dishes are tested out on the du jour menus, using the ingredients to hand which are so overused that i cant wait for Spring to start. I want the waiters to communicate to me with guest comments, so that i can guage reactions from senses. Hows the presentation?, Taste?, Did the guest clean the plate?

These are two of the dishes that im working on. The salad i am happy with. The terrine needs a couple of tweaks.

Seasonal vegetable salad, shallot dressing, spinach mousse, lemon thyme gel
Foie gras and rhubarb mosaic, candied ginger brioche, rhubarb and long pepper sheets

Roasted lamb saddle, vegetables in season, preserved lemon polenta

2009-02-17T17:59:00.000-08:00

Beetroot glazed Sea trout

2009-02-08T15:20:00.000-08:00

This is a warm beetroot glazed sea trout fillet with marinated cucumber ravioli, watercress emulsion and sauce Jacqueline.

The glaze for the beetroot is adapted from The Fat duck cookbook.

Here is the recipe.

1.6 kg of red beetroot juice

12g gellan F

2.9g gellan LT

Salt and pepper to taste

Cut the seatrout and place into the fridge to firm up. Have a tray with a cooling rack on top for the glazing. Boil the beetroot juice and gellans together for 1 minute and whizz with a hand blender. Place the seatrout onto the rack and with a 4oz ladle spoon the beetroot juice over the seatrout. Try to cover in one go or you will end up with an uneven glaze. Place into the fridge to firm up for a few minutes. Carefully place the fish into vaccum pack bags and vacuum at 60M bars. On pick up cook the fish in a water bath at 42 - 45C for 25 - 30 mins.

The cucumber is sliced thinly and lightly pickled in white wine vinegar, sugar and dill. Inside is a cucumber and watercress salad.

Sauce Jacqueline is lots of grated carrot, a little onion, coriander seeds, ginger, sweated down in lots of butter for a long time. Adding a little Chardonnay and some orange juice and reduce by half, then add fish stock and cook for 30 minutes. Pass off the stock and finish with double cream and salt and pepper. In this dish i have made a light air out of the stock and a sauce.

Congratulations Mr Hulstone

2009-02-06T18:30:00.000-08:00

Congrats to Simon Hulstone for flying the flag for Great Britain at the Bocuse D'or. The chef-patron of the Michelin-starred Elephant Restaurant in Torquay remained calm and focused in a 'pressure cooker environment', under the scrutiny of 20 judges, hundreds of spectators and several TV crews at the contest in the French city of Lyon. A massive achievement. Finishing in 10th place but scoring the highest marks for an English chef speaks volumes.
Scottish beef was used throughout the competition to raise awareness of the fantastic quality produced there.

Here are Simons dishes............

Hulstone's DishesMaritime BritainLoin Of Cod – Loin Of Cod With Scottish Smoked Salmon And Coral MousseRack Of Scallops – Rack Of Scallops Encased In Prawn And Lime With A Cornish Sea Salt And Herb Crumb
Compression Of Welsh Leek – Pressed Terrine Of Leek And Truffle With A Cucumber And Apple Turnover
Fish And Chips – Crisp Wrapped Cod With A Smoked Colchester Oyster Tartar SauceMushy Peas – Light Pea Mousse With A Salted Cod Mash and Fennel Pollen
Rope Grown Mussels – Cream Of Mussel And Fennel With Caviar And Chives
The Beef Of Old EnglandFillet Of Beef 'Henry V' – Fillet Of Beef Stuffed With Braised Ox Cheeks And Marrow Bone, Truffle Crust
Scottish Rib Of Beef – Thyme Roasted Traditional Scottish Fore Rib Of Beef
Yorkshire Finest Pudding – Yorkshire Pudding Filled With Watercress And Celeriac Puree And Garden Vegetables
Somerset Snail Tart – Snail and Onion Tartlet With Roasted Crosnes
Penny Bun and Jerusalem Artichokes – Penny Bun And Duck Liver Mousse On Jerusalem Artichokes And Horseradish Cream
Gravy – Juices Of Roasted Beef With Truffle And Mushrooms
Tea With The Queen – Beef Tea With Oxtail And Mustard Sugar Cubes

Nice one mate!!