My arrival at The Dorchester in London in 2006 as head chef was an enormous privilege and I achieved so much with the help and support of an immensely talented and dedicated team of chefs. The facilities were incredible and enabled me to grow, distil and concentrate my ideas further as a chef.
In 2009 I had an amazing opportunity to take the next big step and become the chef/proprietor of The Church Green in Lymm, Cheshire. I could see it was a pub with masses of potential but it was turning out the kind of pub food that no-one should have to eat – freezer-to-microwave meals and greasy chips with everything. It was a big task but the main priority was getting the business up and running. The kitchen has had a complete refit, I’ve established a kitchen garden and obviously created some fantastic new dishes for both the pub food menu and the fine dining menu. The food is still British but simpler than the Dorchester fare and the focus, as ever, is on locally sourced, seasonal produce. I still insist of the best quality ingredients, whether I’m cooking Fish and Chips or Roasted Sea Bass with Crab, Basil Gnocchi and Tomato Confit.
Cooking at home
I consider myself extremely lucky because not only is cooking my passion but it is also my job – it’s what I get to do every day. Running a professional kitchen means that I have access to some of the best ingredients this country has to offer. It’s a privilege to work with some of my regular suppliers and I know that it is easy for me to source the best seasonal produce around. I also have a team of chefs on hand, as well as all the equipment a professional kitchen has to offer.
I do realise that you won’t have all this at your fingertips but this doesn’t mean that these recipes can’t be attempted by any domestic cook with a love of good food and a willingness to experiment. The recipes in this book are by no means set in stone and although I have included them in all their glory, there is no reason why you shouldn’t adapt, add or remove elements as you wish. The recipes should be used as a guideline and it is down to the individual to use their own taste buds and initiative when making a dish. When seasoning dishes the aim is to let the main ingredient shine through, with other flavours coming through and complementing it. Seasonings such as salt, pepper, sugar and lemon juice are as useful and necessary as a good set of knives and a good cook will learn how to use them to best effect.
This dish is a great summer starter. A gazpacho is meant to have some acidity, but you also need to taste the earthiness of the beetroot, which is why the recipe includes some raw beetroot. However, you also want to taste the natural sweetness of the beetroot, which is why some of the beetroot is baked. The idea is to have the perfect balance of acidity with sweetness and saltiness coming through.
Chilled Beetroot Gazpacho with Vodka Jelly and Avocado Sorbet
SERVES 4
2 kg fresh beetroot
2 large golden beetroot
1 vanilla pod
50 ml olive oil
300 ml fresh apple juice
500 ml beetroot juice
125 ml sherry vinegar
juice of 2 lemons
2 whole avocados
100 g caster sugar, plus extra for seasoning
juice and rind of 2 limes
juice of 1 lemon
2 leaves gelatine, softened
200 ml Belvedere vodka
salt
fresh coriander, to garnish
WRAP HALF THE BEETROOT and the golden beetroot in foil, place on a tray lined with rock salt and cooked in a preheated oven at 160°C/ 310°F/gas 2½ for 1–1½ hours. Leave them to sweat in the foil for 10 minutes – this will make them easier to peel. Peel the golden beetroot and use a small cutter (1.5 cm in diameter) to cut four pieces of beetroot. Peel the other cooked beetroot, cut four more pieces and chop the rest up into small pieces. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla pod and mix with the olive oil. Store the beetroot fondants in this oil.
PEEL THE REMAINING raw beetroot, chop the flesh into small pieces and place them in a blender with the cooked beetroot, the apple juice and the beetroot juice. Blend until smooth, then pass the liquid through a fine sieve by tapping the sieve; don’t try to push the pulp through the sieve, because you only want the juice. Put the liquid in a bowl over a bowl of iced water.
SEASON THE SOUP WITH SALT, gradually adding more and more until it tastes right. Then add the sherry vinegar, which will almost accentuate the salt. Then add some sugar, which should balance both the flavours. Pass again through a fine sieve and refrigerate. You will probably need to test the seasoning again once the gazpacho is fully chilled.
PEEL THE AVOCADOS and use the same cutter to cut four shapes out. Coat in lemon juice and set aside. Add the sugar to 100 ml water and bring to a boil. Blend the rest of the avocado in the blender and add the syrup. Pass through a fine sieve and add the lime juice and rind and the lemon juice. Transfer to an ice cream machine and churn until frozen.
HEAT A COUPLE of tablespoons of water in a small saucepan, add the gelatine and a small amount of the vodka and leave the gelatine to dissolve slowly. Remove the pan from the heat and add the remaining vodka. Pass the jelly through a fine sieve into a small container and set in the refrigerator for a couple of hours. It will go cloudy; do not worry.
TO SERVE, recheck the seasoning of the soup and pour it into four chilled bowls. Add the fondants, spoon in some vodka jelly and avocado sorbet and garnish with a few coriander leaves.
This is a perfect winter soup that I think is a lot easier to make than the classic French onion soup. I like to serve it with veal shin ravioli or a crisp crouton spread with some chicken liver and foie gras parfait. Remember: the younger the onions, the sweeter the soup.
White Onion and Parmesan Soup
SERVES 4
3 kg new season white onions
3 large sprigs of thyme
25 g butter
2 litres boiling white chicken stock (see page 199)
200 ml double cream
50 g very finely grated Parmesan
juice of 1 lemon
PEEL AND SLICE the onions as finely as possible, ideally using a mandolin. (The thinner you slice the onions, the quicker they will cook and the fresher the soup will taste.)
IN A WARM, covered pan slowly sweat the onions and thyme in the butter for 20–30 minutes until the onions are transparent and very soft. If you cook them too quickly they will not taste as sweet as they could, and if you cook them too slowly they will taste stewed. The idea of sweating is to cook them as quickly as possible to retain the freshness. So keep tasting every 5 minutes or so. Add the boiling chicken stock, bring back to the boil and add the cream. Return to the boil again and then blend in a blender.
WHILE THE SOUP is in the blender add the Parmesan. Be careful when you reheat the soup because the cheese tends to catch on the bottom of the pan. I add the Parmesan as if I’m