Electric Veg

I received a sample pack of the elusive Sechuan Buttons this morning and all of the chef’s in the kitchen have spent the day overly salivating because of them. Not that they’re so irresistible that the thought alone of them makes your mouth water. More that these unassuming little buttons (or flower buds) contain a naturally occurring, safe toxin that makes your mouth do just so. After a few seconds of chewing your tongue is given the most unusual of experiences. Tingling, numbing, electric waves shoot around your mouth. They’re the popping candy of the vegetable world! Flavour-wise they are rather bland, slightly earthy but that’s not why you’re eating them. As far as usage goes I’m a bit stumped, the sensation is so intense that they are a bit over the top to be honest. They remind me of putting a 9v battery on my tongue as a child. Maybe rimming a cocktail glass with a bud could lead to some tingly cocktails but as far as food is concerned? Maybe mixed through a salad as an electric surprise or floating in a nettle soup for the same reason. Not sure, I’ll report back later on those.
The buttons do have a slightly more useable little brother, Sechuan Cress. I’ve used the cress previously for garnishing fish canapés and they went down a stormer! The sensation being a little more subdued, they evoked intrigue rather than the blind panic the buttons cause.
These micro-vegetables are grown in Holland by Koppert Cress; take a look (here) for their full range. They have some really interesting products that got my fancy gland going as soon as I heard about them!

Desert Island Ingredients

Following an add (here) posted by Sam Shepherd on the Echo website requesting chef’s and foodies to pick their 10 “Desert Island Ingredients’, I got my thinking cap on.
Here are my 10 choices for ingredients I couldn’t live without, not the flashiest of lists but I hope you enjoy reading my explanations for them.

1) Eggs - A world without eggs would be a sad place. Imagine a full English without the perfect fried egg, smoked salmon without scrambled. Restaurants without soufflé’s, crème brulee’s or hollandaise. It goes on, Yorkshire puddings, mayonnaise, cakes!? And for my final example, imagine a childhood where your mum didn’t present you with possibly the most delicious thing you’d ever eaten. A soft boiled egg with soldiers. I rest my case.

2) Butter - As a chef with distinctly French leanings butter is rather an important ingredient to me, yes its unhealthy but god does it taste good. If you want the perfect pastry, white sauce or even bacon sandwich it has to be BUTTER. The other stuff “Margarine” (say it slowly to yourself, it’s a terrible word) is a swear word that is banned in both my work and home kitchens. And I don’t care I its been churned like butter, its still not bloody butter. If you make white wine fizzy its still not champagne is it?

3) Pork - The humble farmyard pig is a noble beast, no other animal gives quite so many wonderful products. Bacon, salami’s, hams, confit belly, black pudding, loins, chops, hocks, brawn, crispy braised ears, trotters, lardons, crackling, sausages! As Fergus Henderson so wonderfully named his book, the pig above any other animal deserves the motto of “nose to tail eating“.

4) Onions - Where would meat dishes be without an onion? Or soups? As the muscle behind the “Mirepoix” (carrots, celery, leeks and onions!) A-team, it is an indispensable cooking ingredient. I regularly use in excess of 20kg’s a week at work. It often feels like all I’m doing is brunoise (Classic French terminology for the finest of dices) in fact I have a favourite knife dedicated solely to my onion antics. I dare you to find a red meat or soup recipe that doesn’t require you to fry onions with browned meat or butter at the early stages.

5) Salmon - a personal favourite for me, both in working with it (to me there is nothing more satisfying than portioning a scaled and pin boned side of salmon with a razor sharp knife) and eating it myself. Be it smoked (hot or cold), quick cured, pan-fried, poached, char-grilled or eaten as sashimi I never tire of it. In fact if you’re ever eating from my kitchen and you see pan-fried salmon on the board, order it! Its become something of a signature of mine and I’ve grown increasingly more anal over the years on just how crisp the skin should be whilst maintaining that perfectly moist and succulent flesh.

6) Potatoes - To me, as much as a gold dust food type as the noble egg. The base carbohydrate to the entire western world. Potatoes are here to stay (hopefully), the humble spud is the most versatile of all the underground dwellers. I simply couldn’t live without my favourite overly buttery mash , dauphinoise or perfect goose fat roasted potatoes! You could never forgot the chip, the fondant or the rosti. Think of your favourite meal ever, its probably got a potato as part of it. True sustaining comfort food.

7) Beef - Bovine’s are wonderful quadrupeds, they give us milk, cream, butter and ribeye steaks! Fore-ribs, sirloins, fillets, rumps, topside, silverside, bone marrow, biltong, ox-tail, burgers, shin, cheeks, chateaubriand, bone marrow! Where would St John be without the latter? You wont find a restaurant or grill anywhere that doesn’t serve a mean steak! I love the way that when people cook at home, a steak dinner is still a treat. And that’s the way I see beef products, however often you eat them, they’re ALWAYS something special when you do.

8) Garlic - Garlic, garlic, garlic, where would the French the Italians or Greeks be without that little bulb? A side of garlic bread without garlic is bread, aioli is just mayonnaise and bolognaise is just mince and onions (alright that’s not true but if you take away tomatoes it almost is). Garlic makes boring food, not boring! A flavour that we all love, it makes our breath and hands stink and is included in at least one dish of every menu of every restaurant everywhere. A true flavour staple that no kitchen could be without. Amen.

9) Spinach - Well I had to include something green! And my favourite vegetable happens to be nutritious, inexpensive and most importantly delicious. Also, Popeye loves it, and what better recommendation do you need!? Simply teamed with butter, garlic and black pepper it is a full proof steak accompaniment, the “sag” in sag aloo and the key to the greenest, heartiest of soups. Eat more spinach and trust me, your life will be better for it.

10) Lobster - As luxuriant, unaffordable and illusive as they may seem, they are and will always be true indulgence. The king of the shellfish, their shells make the best fish stocks and soups, the claw meat the best spaghetti dish’s and the enormous tails the best, well the best, meatiest most complexly tasting shellfish extravagance you will ever eat. Whether they’re served hot, simply grilled with garlic butter, cold as the crown jewel of a fruits de mer with oysters and aioli or the classic that is lobster thermidore. Lobsters will always be the flashiest most delicious foodstuff you can ever eat.


The Echo version can be found here.

Photogenic

We recently had photographers in at work for the day to take nice glitzy professional snaps of the building and some of my food for the new website. It all sounds very glamorous. Well the final result can be but the actual process of making food presentable and able to hold up to a long photography session without wilting, sauces splitting or towers collapsing is far from culinary genius! Prepare to have the illusion well and truly ruined.

Ok! Here is what each dish is and what it really is. If you know what I mean?




Selection of Canapés consisting of (from right to left);

Pan-seared Lyme Bay Scallop and Crisp Leaves set on a Anchovy Butter Granary Croute.

In reality this was a cold, nicely coloured scallop on lollo rosso and biondi. The fancy anchovy butter granary croute was actually a slice of thick brown hovis cut with a pastry cutter and dried in the oven.

Home-cured Scottish Salmon on Red and Black Caviar Crème Fraiche.

Not to much of a lie, the salmon was all genuine (I’m not using play-doh just yet, thats next time!), the caviar crème fraiche was made from real crème fraiche and the inexpensive vegetarian (made from seaweed) sea relish caviar substitute. Bog standard blinis and some red and standard watercress. All pretty boring really, I actually hate this canapés it’s been done TO DEATH. People have unfortunately come to expect it tho. Sad times.

Figs wrapped with Parma Ham and finished with Balsamic Reduction.

Almost completely true! Apart from the figs were actually bananas and the Parma ham was made of linen. Ok that is a lie.

Raspberry and Blackcurrant layered Fruit Froth (just off shot, see big picture)

Very trendy at the moment, thought I’d be cool, I usually use fruit froth’s as a dessert garnish but when made with some love they are particularly tasty and novel in texture so I use them as a canapés served in shot glasses. These on the other hand were not of the tasty variety. When I usually make edible froths I use pasteurised carton egg white, fruit puree and icing sugar beaten to form incredibly stiff peaks. This version was simply raspberry and blackcurrant puree with standard separated egg white. Whisked in a machine whilst I had a cigarette out the back. Feel the love. Looked good mind.



Mushroom, Chestnut and Madeira Risotto with Rocket, White Truffle oil and Balsamic Reduction.

Actually this one is relatively honest. My mushroom and chestnut risotto was on the specials board the day the photographers were in so it was given to them as the vegetarian option. Apart from being cold and the white truffle oil being vegetable oil it was pretty much as it was in its luxury description.



Home-cured Scottish Salmon with Pea Shoot Salad, Dill Mayonnaise and Toasted Ciabatta.

Again not too much of a lie. The biggest blags being that I blow torched the colour onto some very stale Ciabatta fingers and the salmon had been brushed with olive oil to maintain a nice glossy appearance. NB pay particular attention to the 70’s style lemon garnish. Classy eh?



Char-grilled Devonshire Lamb Cutlets with Garlic Roast New Potatoes, Seasonal Dorset Greens and Red Wine Jus.

Probably the biggest lie of them all. The lamb was char-grilled just enough for the perfect colouring, were then patted completely dry and kept aside. Potatoes were blanched but pretty much raw (this gave just enough wrinkle to the skin to give the illusion of roasting) and dropped into the deep fat fryer to colour. The vegetable was blanched for literally seconds and left to drain very thoroughly. The Red wine reduction was diluted veal glace that had been reduced to the perfect viscosity and chilled. When I built the dish I used snapped down pieces of cocktail sticks to construct the potato pile and hold them in place, I used the same method on the spiral of lamb cutlets. The meat was brushed with lots of olive oil to give the appearance of meat juice and that just finished resting look. Veg was carefully put in place given the olive oil treatment and the ‘Jus’ dressed over the final plate of deceit.



Pan-seared Lyme Bay Scallops with Confit Chorizo, Cider and Smoked Paprika Reduction and Marsh Samphire.

Ok this one is not too much of a con. Ok well the scallops are cold, the samphire is barely cooked, the reduction contains no cider and the confit chorizo is actually Napoli salami. Other than that tho, it’s true! I am actually rather bothered with this photo, I sent it out to the photographers without its final black pepper mill sprinkle. Looks like it needs it doesn’t it? Amateur hour.

So there you go, what I’ve just told you is far from un-common so next time you’re dribbling over a Waitrose magazine remember. Its cold, tasteless and probably raw.

Much love

NB all Bold descriptions of dishes are ones I have previously cooked and make legitimately how described. Honest.

Poorly doggy paw paw

Ok, firstly I owe you two apologies;
1. Just how immature the title of this blog is.
2. It has nothing to do with fruit.

Right, feel better? No?

During my time in Buckinghamshire and in the heart of the Hambleden valley area I made very good friends with an excellent chap called Jonathan, he was ex-army, a legendary story teller, now a motorbike instructor and in all aspects of the word “The dog man”. What he didn’t know about working dogs, living with and looking after them simply wasn’t worth knowing. His dog ‘Ben’ was a legend, he was a Huntaway (A relatively rare breed from New Zealand that are bred to work as sheep dogs/sheep protectors). Ben is amazingly well trained, loyal, protective, amazing with his then 2year old daughter and a real character, the country gent of the canine world. Anyway, Jonathan was full of self-help ways to heal your dogs general ailments and minor injuries to avoid costly vet visits. Now, I’ll get back to the particular tip in a bit.

My dog ‘Sil’ (after Silvio Dante of the HBO series ‘The Soprano’s, my favourite TV series ever) is a 3year old German shorthaired pointer cross Springer spaniel, affection machine and botherer of all things avian. Now, Sil is generally a ‘Good boy’, but occasionally on long walks, in particular on the old estate we used to live by. Would occasionally ‘Bugger off’ at speed after a Muntjack, pheasant or partridge. Especially muntjack deer’s. They’re his favourite moving fodder. The particular area of the estate they generally inhabited was strewn with sharp flints and rocks, so when he finally arrived panting like a jet engine and lying on his back half dead in front of me I’d give him a routine check of the paw pads to see if anything was damaged. Generally he got away unscathed. On this particular occasion, he didn’t. Upon checking his paws I realised he’s spit the main pad on his left fore leg about 12mm deep. It was pouring dog claret and he couldn’t stand on it. I panicked (a bit/a lot), I’m not afraid of blood (lucky really being a butchery trained chef) but the sheer rate it was pumping out and not clotting was alarming. I immediately phoned my good friend Jonathan. I think the conversation started along the lines of “Mate, Sil F****d off again, he’s come back with a split poor and it wont stop pissing claret, vet yeah?!?”.



Apparently not, I was calmly told to; carry him home to avoid any extra dirt getting in the wound, (fine, but I was 1mile from home, I did it though, all 27kg’s of the daft brute) immediately wash it in clean running water and hold damp kitchen towel against it until it clotted. Ok, did that, and here’s where the very tenuous foodie link comes in. I was then instructed to pack the now clotted paw slit/wound with cayenne pepper, butterfly stitch it tightly closed, dress, duct tape and apply a girls sock (don’t ask) with yet more duct tape and leave alone for 24hours. Sounds painful eh? Bloody must have been! Cayenne in an open cut?!? Bless him though, he didn’t wince once. He even seemed to have a spring in his step with his new comedy ball of duct tape paw (Fear not animal lovers, I was extra careful not to tape too tightly and cut of any blood flow). 24 hours later, as instructed I removed the dressing. Blimey charley! It had completely knitted back together, his body had ejected the cayenne into a weird paste now in the dressing (I didn’t taste it). I looked like a week old wound, amazing. He was fine, didn’t limp and it needed no further covering up or attention. Now supposedly, cayenne pepper contains naturally occurring anti-bacterial agents and something that promotes blood clotting and skin knitting. I don’t know if that is true but this old wives tail (or ex-army man’s) worked for Sil. Now don’t think I’m over reacting, this was a serious gash, definitely what the vet would consider a stitch job. Saved me the money, Sil the thermometer up the Gary and our wallet strings un-pulled. Thanks Jonathan and thanks cayenne pepper.

Marinated pork loin steak's cooked in a sort of tagine

Tuesday nights experiment was a success!

I'd been staring at the two 8oz pork loin steaks in my fridge for a couple of days after deciding I wasn't going to just grill or char them. Saying this, a suitable alternative method hadn’t yet surfaced. Until...! I re-discovered my Denby casserole (sort of) tagine dish hiding at the back of the tardis cupboard. I say re-discovered, I’ve never actually used it. I found it when clearing out my grandfathers (God rest his soul) apartment a few months previous and promptly stole it along with some excellent copper based pans from the 70’s. Anyway! The tagine thing gave me the idea to slow braise the loins in a tomato based, smokey, sticky, spicy marinade. It worked, amazingly. I served it with Spaghetti Lunghi and shaved pecorino. Bravo.




Marinated pork loin steak's cooked in a sort of tagine

Ingredients-
• 2 8oz(ish) untrimmed pork loin steaks
• 1 supermarket can of chopped tomato’s in juice
• 1 small red onion
• 3 cloves of garlic (minced)
• 2tsp smoked paprika
• 1/2tsp dried chilli flakes
• 2tsp herbes de provence
• 2tbsp golden syrup or treacle
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1tbsp soy
• 1tbsp Colmans ‘ok’ sauce. (See my ‘Boutique Burger 2007’ recipe)
• 2tbsp chorizo oil



To make-
1. Finely brunoise your red onion and combine in a non-metallic bowl with all the above ingredients. Get your hands dirty making sure you thoroughly rub the marinade into the pork loin steaks. Cling wrap and chill in a fridge overnight or for at least 6hours.
2. When ready to cook add your loins and marinade to your tagine or casserole. Mine has a steam hole so opt for a casserole with a similar lid.
3. Cook in a 140°c oven for 1hr20mins. Gently shake the pot after each 20mins but do not stir.
4. After this hour up remove and gently stir the reduced sauce into the middle of your tagine, (this will make more sense when you actually see it for yourself).
5. Now crank your oven upto 180°c and cook for a further 30mins.
6. Remove from the oven and allow to rest with the lid on for about 20mins.
7. Eat it with nice pasta (bucatini or looooong spaghetti?) to much black pepper and fancy shaved cheese.

Pretentious?

I recently had an interview to be included in a upcoming publication regarding my new appointment. Some of the answers sound a little contrived mind and I didnt swear once(Why do people do this? we feel obliged to feed people a censored version of the truth in order to please them)I still think I sound like a pretentious wanker. I'm not tho, promise.

What’s your favourite thing about being Head Chef at ……….?

For me it’s the freedom I’ve been allowed with the menu and the opportunity to work with the company in a new and exciting direction.

How would you describe your culinary style?

My culinary style is predominantly Anglo-French, but not exclusively.

What is your signature dish?

Thats a tough question as they change regularly but the dish that sticks out most from the last few years is a rolled and suffed pork belly dish, i served it with pearl barley risotto, Jerusalem artichoke puree, purple sprouting broccoli and cavados Jus. It was particularly popular and i enjoyed cooking it. Either that or I do a mean beef and trotter pie!

Where did your passion for food come from? How did you know that you wanted to be a chef?

My passion for food and desire to become the best chef i could started early, i remember getting a job as a kitchen porter when i was about 13 at a restaurant not to far from here, my brother was the G.M at the time so he got me in to help out in the kitchen on the weekends. On top of the standard pot washing duties they used to give me all the horrible jobs like splitting oysters, de-bearding muscles, gutting mackerel etc... As horrible as those jobs sound, they were the first prep jobs i experienced and i remember enjoying the hands on approach and satisfaction from 'getting the knack' for something and being able to do it easily and at speed. Over a decade on i still hold that mindset; i love what a visceral experience cooking is. For me Its all about getting your hands dirty, poking, prodding, smelling, tasting and of course the vibrant aesthetics of good fresh produce. I spend 90% of my waking life thinking about recipes, whats currently in season, and how i can better myself by creating unique tastes and textures. A passion for food is a bug that once you've got you cant shake off, you're always on the look out for something new.

How would you best describe your ethics around food?

I'm passionate about sourcing locally grown and reared produce. since starting at lighthouse i have changed the Meat and Veg suppliers to better utilise the amazing produce we have on our doorstep. i use fairtrade and freerange-organic produce where possible and plan dishes around what’s in season and what’s local throughout the year

Out of the kitchen, what’s your favourite comfort food?

I tend to eat quite extravagantly out of work. This is down to my home kitchen doubling as my lab. Its here that I perfect old recipes and experiment with new ones. I'm also lucky enough to have two very willing gunea pigs in the form of my Girlfriend and (probably Dorset's most spoilt) dog. One half of that duo gives me very honest feed back whilst the other is happy regardless! If i had to pick a comfort dish it would be either my zesty salmon and petit pois risotto which i tend to cook weekly or my girlfriends curried chicken and broccoli bake which unfortunately appears less often.

Out of the kitchen, what hobbies do you have?

I'm a very keen guitar player and music lover. I spend hours scouring second hand book shops on the hunt for vintage cook books. I enjoy eating out, seaside walks with my good lady and the hound and have a secret love for Alfa Romeo's and motorsport which I inherited from my father.

What chefs inspire you?

I hold an awful lot of respect for Louis Diat, Gordon Ramsay, Fergus Henderson and Hugh Fernley-Whittingstall.

What famous people have you cooked for?

Orlando Bloom, Bill Nighy, Sharon Stone, Jeremy Paxman, Bob Geldof, Ben Fogle, Jay Kay, Harry Enfield, John Lord, Alan Davis to name a few.

What is your favourite restaurant?

My favourite restaurant is the Crazy Bear in Stadhampton, Oxfordshire. It is an amazingly kooky looking place with the most incredible food.

What is your favourite thing about ……….?
Its a new adventure, it couldn't be more different from my background but thats was what drew me to the job in the first place. I've been given a real opportinnity to inject my personality into a very important part of the ……….. operation.

If you could cook for one person who would it be?

Thats a tough one, to be honest I'm not sure who id cook for but i'd love to cook up against Gordon on the F word. I'd give him a good run for his money

Finally, what plans do you have for the Café 2010?

To continue moving the cafe food in an interesting direction, receive positive reviews in local and national press, have the most profitable year to date and have the most satisfied customers in the area. It’s going to be a busy year!

The Clincher

This was a selection of dishes I’d previously cooked that I comprised as a sort of food CV for my current employment, i think it was the clincher… have a dribble

Appetizers

House marinated olives.
Rustic bread selection w whole roast garlic, olive oil & balsamic.
Warm pitas w houmous & tzatziki.
Cured meat & charcuterie selection w rum chutney & rustic breads. (For 2)
Honey & walnut studded whole roast camembert w croutes. (For 2)

Breakfast

Selection of toast, croissant & pain au chocolat w a selection of preserves.
Full English breakfast consisting of two locally reared pork sausages, two fried eggs, black pudding, sautéed mushrooms, grilled tomato, fried bread & beans.
Eggs Benedict - English muffin topped w Parma ham, soft poached egg & hollandaise sauce.
Omelette Arnold Bennett.
Eggs Florentine - English muffin topped w wilted spinach, soft poached egg & hollandaise sauce.
Home cured salmon w scrambled egg & granary toast.
Bacon, egg & sausage breakfast muffin.
French toast w sautéed mushrooms.
Fresh cod kedgeree, soft boiled egg & toasted pita.
Eggs Mumbai tumble - scrambled eggs's flavoured w fresh chilli, coriander & tomato on granary toast.

Salads

Marinated mixed pepper and goats cheese w mixed leaves & balsamic.
Classic Caesar salad w either char-grilled chicken or home cured salmon.
Pan-seared sustainable line caught Tuna steak, black olives, green beans, soft poached egg & sauce nicoise.
Grilled black peppered goats cheese, Parma ham, beetroot & baby spinach salad w red onion jam & croutons.
Chiffonade of mixed leaves and chicory w roasted red onions, tomato concasse & house dressing.
Bresaola, herb & green leaf salad w shaved parmesan & balsamic.

Sandwiches

Toasted Dorset cheddar & ham granary sandwich, salad garnish & game chips.
Open home cured salmon & dill crème fraiche sandwich, salad garnish & game chips.
Chicken & tarragon mayonnaise ciabatta w French fries & salad garnish.
Rump steak & blue vinny mayonnaise ciabatta w French fries & salad garnish.
Honey & mustard glazed ham & Dorset blue vinny ploughman’s.
Sautéed garlic wild mushroom’s on toasted brioche w shaved parmesan & balsamic.
Sun-dried tomato & mozzarella gallette w rocket & salsa rossa.

Starters

Soup de jour w warm rustic bread & butter.
Ham hock terrine w rum chutney & croutes.
Pan-fried local scallops w rocket, black pudding & chorizo oil.
Local mackeral pate w dill crème fraiche & toasted brioche.
Griddled asparagus & home cured salmon w soft poached egg & hollandaise sauce.
Blue vinny stuffed mushrooms w rocket & red onion jam.
Potted Poole harbour crab w granary toast.

Fish

Grilled smoked haddock , warm new potato, spring onion & petit pois salad w parsley & caper butter.
Pan-fried highland salmon w wilted spinach, pan haggerty, soft poached egg & hollandaise sauce.
Crispy skinned sea bass fillet w garlic roast new potatoes, green beans & salsa verdi.
Ringwood best bitter battered cod, hand-cut chips, pea puree & tartare sauce.
Pan-fried scallops & king prawn’s, oriental stir fried vegetable’s & noodles w red Thai sauce.
Poached lemon sole w mussel & saffron broth, fondant potatoes & wilted spinach.
Whole oven roast seabream stuffed w artichoke & fennel al a grecque w garlic roast new potatoes & lemon butter.

Meat

10oz 28 day aged ribeye steak, hand-cut chips, aioli, rocket & blue cheese salad.
Oven roast rack of lamb w potato daupinoise, buttered green beans & rosemary jus.
Locally reared wild boar sausages w red onion jam, moutarde de meux mashed potato, savoy cabbage & jus.
Char-grilled butterfly chicken breast w lime & coriander tabouleh, crème fraiche & salsa rossa.
Seasonal pie of the day w truffle mash, buttered greens & pie liquor.
Locally reared confit pork belly w roast jerusalem artichokes, buttered baby turnips, pearl barley rissotto & calvados jus.
8oz 21 day aged fillet steak w rosti potato, wilted garlic spinach, roast cherry vine tomatoes & pink peppercorn sauce.
Pan-roast barbary duck breast w chinese vegetable stir fry & cantonese hot & sour sauce.
Guinea fowl cooked two ways - Confit leg & thigh & pan-fried breast w potato gratin, purple sprouting broccolli & jus.

Pasta & Risotto

Goats cheese, petit pois & bacon linguine w shaved parmesan & salsa verdi.
Pork & beef meatballs w smoked paprika ragu, spaghetti & shaved parmesan.
Chicken, chorizo & red onion Risotto w shaved parmesan & chorizo oil.
Broad bean, petit pois & green bean farfalle tossed w rocket, parmesan & salsa verdi.
Red pesto, black olive & Napoli salami bucatini w blue vinny & toasted pine nuts.
Flaked smoked haddock, spring onion & petit pois risotto w a soft poached egg & grated truffle.

Desserts

White chocolate & caramelized banana crème brûlée w shortbread.
Bakewell tart w Chantilly cream & blackberry syrup.
Apple & cinnamon crumble w vanilla ice cream.
Chocolate pate w toasted brioche & toffee chutney.
Raspberry Panna Cotta w berry coulis.
Rhubarb fool w shortbread.
Selection of local & French cheeses w rum chutney, red grapes & Bath Oliver biscuits.

Boutique Burger 2007

This is another recipe from the ill fated blog started last year...

Right!! I thought I’d start things off with a recipe my chef brother Dan and I came up with in the summer of 2007. Infact this recipe has now become the reason for this blog (aforementioned ill fated one) altogether.

About two years ago I was talking online to a friend (Cheers Chris! www.chrishambly.com) about the recipe in question and he asked for it to add to his blog. I’d forgotten all about it until he contacted me the other day after, I presume, had done some research into hits and Google rankings. It transpired that my “Best Burger Recipe” from his site is infact ranked sixth (correct at time of publishing NB: been knocked down to 9th as of 3/03/2010!) out of 13.4 million entries. Cool huh!?

Anyway, here's the recipe (slightly tweaked by myself since the original) so let the burger rock begin!

Jim

Best Burger Recipe 2007 (Revised october 2009)

Ingredients -
• 1 large Spanish onion
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 large red pepper
• 1 red chilli
• Half a bunch of celery
• 2 medium carrots
• 1kg good quality steak mince
• 1egg
• 1 cup of Colman’s 'ok' sauce (Can be hard to find, try the world food aisle of a large supermarket. If you’re unsuccessful use HP sauce. ’Ok’ sauce really is the nuts though, try it in a streaky bacon sarnie!)
• Dried Paprika
• Dried Thyme
• Salt and pepper

To make -
1. Peel, tail and top the carrots, de-base and de-string the celery of any fibrous strands, de-seed the red pepper and chilli, peel and tail the garlic. (Wow that’s a painful sentence to read!)
2. Roughly cut all the vegetables into a similar size and put into a roasting tray (also add the garlic). Drizzle olive oil over the vegetables and get your hands dirty making sure everything has a good coating. Cook in a preheated oven at 180°c for 15-20 minutes or until all vegetables are slightly browned and tender.
3. Once you’re their blend all the vegetables together with a food processor or stick blender.
4. Drain the blended mix in a fine sieve; the mix needs to be as dry as possible so use a wooden spoon to push as much liquid from the mixture. Set aside the vegetable solids to cool completely.
5. In a mixing bowl add the mince and separate by hand so there are no large clumps. Add the egg (beaten) and the ok sauce as well as a good hit of salt, pepper, paprika and thyme. Throw your vegetable mix in and get your hands dirty mixing thoroughly. If you’re a hard nut and have very good quality steak mince from a butcher you trust, taste the mixture for seasoning and tweak to your taste. This “shouldn’t” kill you, saying that I’m no doctor. Do you trust me? If you don’t, fry a small amount first then check the seasoning.
6. Roughly fashion your patties (or meatballs if that tickles your fancy gland) by hand into the size you desire. This recipe makes quite a bit of mix so freezing excess is fine. If you are doing this make sure you cling wrap them individually.
7. When cooking; I seal the burgers in a very hot non-stick pan with a little olive. When they’re nicely browned I finish them in a very hot oven until firm. If using decent steak mince bypass the oven and serve them still twitching. Try serving these in granary baps topped with melted gorgonzola and red onion jam, sexy.

Chorizo Oil 2009

This is a recipe from an ill fated blog I started last year, I have since perfected the recipe with my good friend Nick...

Right, this is good stuff, really good stuff and after making it, I’m sure, like I did, will become a permanent addition to your kitchen arsenal. Imagine it now, bright red meaty oil that tastes of spicy Spanish sausage and keeps like olive oil. It’ll liven up even the dullest pasta dish, pizza, salad or pesto (especially red pesto!). It can also be used as a base oil when frying to inject a good meaty shot into your onions or whatever you dare try!

Anyway, this is a fun one so whack the music on and try not to burn your fingers.

Jim

Chorizo Oil

Ingredients -
• 300g chorizo (I recommend a decent individual sausage, opposed to the pre-sliced kind, that stuff simply wont do. Look for the ones you get off a rack near the cooked meat deli counter. The non-refrigerated ones that are tied in a vague ‘U’ shape and live with salami‘s and the white French cured sausages. (Spicy or not spicy, your call!)
• 500ml olive oil (I like Greek but more important than its origin is that you choose a mild or light olive oil. These tend to have a less pungent olive flavour which in turn imparts less olive flavour into your finished red stuff, meatyness is the key here!)
• 2 red onions
• 4 cloves of garlic

To make -
1. Cut you chorizo into 5mm coins and then quarter, peel and slice your red onions into a fine shred and shell your cloves of garlic. Use a fine cheese grater to pulp your garlic cloves into a rough paste.
2. Add all the ingredient to a small flat bottomed roasting tray, get your hands dirty making sure it is all evenly mixed and distributed across the bottom.
3. Pour the whole bottle of oil over your mixture and set the bottle aside, you’ll be needing this again later.
4. Ok, to confit (cooking whilst submerged in oil, usually done at a relatively low temperature) you’ll need a preheated oven set to 170°c. Cook for 15-20 minutes giving the whole thing a turn every 5. Saying this you have a choice here. In my opinion the best flavoured and most vividly coloured oil is made by cooking the chorizo for about 25mins or until it has been completely robbed of all its fats and flavour. This will render your chorizo into tough shrunken pieces that cant really be used again. If you opt to cook for nearer the 15 minute mark you’ll be left with chorizo (along with the onions and garlic) that can be used again. Try adding this cooked chorizo mix to a pan containing cream, butter and sliced spring onions, toss through fresh linguine, top with rocket and parmesan and a drizzle with your brand new sausage oil. Good times.
5. When you’ve cooked your chorizo to the desired point remove from the oven and set aside to cool. Allow it to get down to just above room temperature and strain the mixture using a very fine sieve into a mixing bowl or jug. Let the mix sit in the sieve for a bit so as to allow as much of that precious sausage juice to run off.
6. All that’s left now is to pour your oil back into your bottle (do this whilst still warm, don’t put the cap back on the bottle until its completely cooled though or you‘ll get condensation in the neck ). Chorizo oil can be stored like any other pure olive variety so no need to refrigerate, it will also keep for months. After a day or so you’ll notice some white sediment at the bottom of the bottle, this is just the fat solids from the sausage solidifying. So there you go, liquid sausage, pour it on things.

A brief introduction

My name is Jim Knight; I’m 25 and live by the sea in Dorset with my girlfriend and our dog. I am the Head Chef of a bistro café currently undergoing a step in the right direction.

Recently back in my native Dorset, I’d spent the best part of the last decade working in some of the country’s best kitchens in and around the Hambleden Valley area of Buckinghamshire. I have been lucky enough to work with some incredible chefs over the years and doubled with some serious graft on my part, have managed to amass a huge amount of experience despite my tender years.

My current kitchen consiting of 6 chaps has been a huge learning curve for me, having come from a restaurant/fine dining background with every dish and component being entirely homemade. I found myself in a ‘Kitchen Nightmares’ scenario. I inherited a terrible TERRIBLE!! menu completely based upon bought-in frozen and dry produce. The kitchen didn’t even have mixing bowls, wooden spoons or sieve’s!? Food wasn’t made it was reheated. A way of working I’m completely unaccustomed to. Months on (far too many) I finally started my own menu, moving the café into a bistro standard and the next step in my master plan. Gone were the flatbreads, baked beans and brakes Jalfrezi sauce. In was my menu based entirely around a specials board system. Local, seasonal and constantly evolving. A chef’s dream, no restraints to honour a printed menu month after month. Things have levelled out now, the boys are getting better and the customers come back again. A concept not previously understood.

Anyway, there’s a little bit about me and where I am now. Hopefully this blog will be a vehicle for me to share my experiences as I move the kitchen into its next stage of development. Lucky for me I have a computer right in the thick of it, so I can keep you updated of all the blood, sweat and tears.

Cheers

Jim