Shaun Hill @ the Walnut Tree, Abergavenny – Working with a Kitchen Great

Shaun Hill @ the Walnut Tree, Abergavenny

Working with a Kitchen Great

                       Shaun chatting to Fionnoula.

When I was a commis I was given a book by a fellow chef. It was called ‘Cooking at Merchant House’, which is a fantastic book about the creations of Shaun Hill from his time in Ludlow. Roll on a few years and I’m reading ‘Tough cookies’. It’s a short informative read for any young aspiring chef. It has a brief bio and the four chefs talk about their kitchen tales. It shines light on the industry: the highs and more importantly lows. The book illustrates how the industry really is and in a gritty light it tells hardworking chefs tales.

 

The Walnut Tree

Roll on a few more years and my boss, Kit Chapman, who is close friends with Shaun, ate at the Walnut tree a few weeks back. On his return he described to me the food and his experience. I listened closely and when he suggested the idea of doing a stage I jumped at it.

The View from the kitchen window

I stayed at Ivy cottage beside the restaurant which is available as a holiday let as an extension of the Walnut tree. The restaurant and houses are surrounded by breath taking countryside and it is a very special destination. I worked for a day and half in the kitchen. If you’re serious about learning how to cook, the Walnut Tree is the place. No vac-pac machine, no water baths, no chemicals. It’s 100% cooking, passion, knowledge and execution. I was in awe of the cooking style and basic layout of the kitchen. It’s a small brigade comprised of 6 chefs, led by Shaun and head chef Roger. The whole team work very hard to create that special dining experience and the passion/pride is in every member of staff. The youngest person in the kitchen is 30 which made me feel young!

Our lunch was one of the best I’ve ever had- the flavours and cooking were spot on and it’s pretty amazing that Shaun is still cooking on the stove. His gentle manner comes across in the kitchen as it’s a great atmosphere to work in. I sometimes have chefs and waiters complain about long hours and here’s a man who smashes in lunch and dinner service, doing minimum 12 hour days. Shaun Hill, I for one take my hat off – for what you’ve done for the industry and what you continue to do at the Walnut Tree.

Veal Kidneys with Saffron Risotto

 

Veal Sweetbreads with Pork Cromesqui and Caper Cream – This and the Scallops were my favourites

 

Pistachio Tart with Apricot and Vanilla Ice Cream

Longmans Dairy and Montgomery Cheddar

Longmans Dairy and Montgomery Cheddar

Last Wednesday we headed to Cadbury to visit two suppliers, both of which are massively respected in the Dairy / Cheese industry – Sarai Longman and Jamie Montgomery. We met at Longmans farm and Sarai brought us to meet Jamie Montgomery- http://www.montgomerycheese.co.uk .

Jamie Montgomery explaining the maturing process

We were shown the many processes that contribute to undoubtedly the worlds finest Cheddar. Everything is controlled from the grazing pastures to the storing. It’s amazing to see and smell. One of my first experiences of eating Montgomery was the smell and taste, and the balance between the two. Once we stepped out of the car onto the farm, you were hit by the smell straight away – the closet way of describing it is like a cheese lovers heaven. The cheese is made daily to ensure the freshness of the milk and the tags are proof to this. Every batch of cheese made has a sample log so during the aging process they’re continuously monitored and tasted.

We tried a few samples from 12 months through to 24 months. We could really taste the difference in the maturing process both texturally and flavour.

We then headed for Longmans Dairy – http://www.longmancheese.co.uk/ . Sarai Longman told us about their family farm the history and pushing the business on. She has an amazing amount of knowledge and knows the ins and outs of every aspect of the business. She told us of her first job in packaging and has a huge care for all the employees. You get a real family feel around Longmans, one of great care and teamwork. Its great meeting with a passionate and knowledgeable supplier like this.

Longmans Unsalted Butter hand rolled.

Bottoms up!

Masters Brewery

@ Unit 8 Greenham Business Park, Wellington, Somerset

Recently I have developed an interest in the marriage of beer/ ale and Stout with food.

My main reasons being:

– The tradition and pride in the industry and wanting to show that passion.

– In Ireland we have generic beers in most pubs like Heineken, Carlsberg and Guinness etc. In England every county, in fact almost every pub has a different selection of beers.

– It’s local!

I heard about Masters Brewery through one of the lads in the kitchen – John (Gluten Free). He’s friends with Dean Masters (hence the name Masters Brewery) who is the son of Richard. Richard set the company up 4/5 years back, it’s a father and son team and both have bags of passion about what they’re doing.

We set off from Taunton after Richard’s invitation out to his “Micro Pub”. It only took a 20 minute drive and when we got there I was expecting a pub. I thought ‘bloody hell, why has the sat-nav brought us to an industrial estate?’ After asking 2 people where it was we finally found it. We felt a little disappointed at the exterior as we couldn’t see a hint of anything remotely ‘pubbish’. We walked in through the front door and instantly we were blown away. I’m a keen advocate on underselling and over delivering and the lads at the micro brewery definitely over deliver. The bar is only new, maybe over a year old. It is assembled from reclaimed parts of old pubs from auctions. For instance the fireplace is from Chard, the floorboards are from Richards Family home, the panelling is from a shut down pub in Plymouth and the speakers are from Edgware theatre in London. Everything about the pub has a story.

Richard showed us around the Brewery and filled us in with some facts about what they do. He explained the many processes in creating what we happily drink on a night out, but don’t take notice of the skill and passion that goes into it. Richard is part of a movement of micro breweries trying new flavours and techniques – I liken it to wine; old world wine versus new world. The guys like the challenge of introducing women to beer and said it has been very positive. They don’t agree with the stereotype that it’s a mans drink. They have a range of beers on tap to trick and tempt the pallet; Blackcurrant, Aniseed, Cherry are just a few examples and are all amazing . Some of their best creations are not bottled and are just on sale at the pub.

After leaving the Masters’ we’re well on the road to matching beer and food and are hoping to host an event pairing the 2: Watch this space!

 

Purchasing and Filleting a Round Fish

Purchasing and Filleting a Round Fish

 

When purchasing fish there are a few small pointers to follow:

– Use a reputable supplier. We use Phil Bowditch in Taunton who’s known for his superb, fresh fish and has been trading with the hotel for years. He buys in person direct from Brixham market.

– Use all your senses when buying fish.

– Smell it. The fish should not be strong it should be fresh like the sea. You know what smells good and bad, so if in doubt don’t entertain the thought of buying it.

– Eyes and gills – The eyes should look bright and clear not dull / misty and sunken. The gills should look a fresh red, not dark and sticky.

– Touch it. Some suppliers might be a bit iffy about this, but if the other 2 are good generally you shouldn’t have to do this. The fish should be slippery, firm at the tail and shiny as opposed to slimy and sticky.

– The guts should be generally taken out as they discolour and taint the flesh within 1 – 2 days.

We buy most of our fish on the bone as you can look and judge the freshness more easily. When buying fillets from a supermarket you never really know how old or fresh they are. A fishmonger will generally fillet your fish in front of you if asked. Fish will last up to 12 days when looked after and kept on Ice. It is best fresh for me and that is for 3 days after being caught.

Fish preparation and cooking for me is an art. The filleting takes precision, delicate hands, skill, speed and accuracy. One small tweak of a knife and you can ruin a fillet of fish. At markets today fish can attract much bigger prices than meat and is much more sought after. Fish is healthy to eat, fresh and natural.

Meat is much tougher and can be handled, where as fish releases ammonia the more you touch / handle it, causing it to spoil; hence the reason for speed – you can always wear disposable gloves to eliminate this. The cooking of fish requires a lot of skill; each fish generally requires a different method. Over cooked fish is not good and it only takes one minute too long in the oven or pan and it is ruined.

Below I have pictures of a whole Pollock breakdown and salting process. We apply the salting process to Hake, Cod and Pollock – fish that is generally flaky when being cooked. The salt tightens the protein ever so slightly which means it’s much less temperamental during cooking. Traditionally salting was a means of preserving meat and fish, drawing out the moisture over a period of days; we do this for 20 minutes only.

image013

image014

The fish is Pollock and is around 6kg. Start by removing all fins and gills, run the knife along the back spinal cord from head to tail in 3 strokes.

We always use the scissors to cut off the rib bones above the cut to get the entire fillet free.

Follow the same procedure on the other side of the fish. Remove pins and rib cage.

Remove the skin always angling the blade to the board and away from you as in picture

.

Adrian and Nigel @ West Country Foods and Teign Valley Micro Herbs

Fruit and vegetables are the staple for any decent meal. If you source great meat and Fish your fruit and veg must follow the same ethos. I’ve always been an admirer of Charlie Hicks’ veg but he has firm competition in Somerset by none other than Adrian Ellis and Nigel Hooper of West Country Produce.

For weeks I’ve been asked by Nigel to visit their new premises and have a brew with himself and Adrian. He also lured us over by telling us about Teign Valley micro herbs – They’re a very small micro herb grower and don’t use any pesticides or herbicides. So we decided to take him up on the offer. John, Dan, Sam and Myself headed over (we thought we might as well take advantage of the free brew!) to the shop for a look.

West Country Produce has really fresh produce and the guys work bloody hard through the night to get the best produce out to local establishments. They have an amazing selection of fresh vegetables and fruit – For a food lover it’s like Willie Wonka’s chocolate factory. A lot of the fruit and Vegetables come from the Bristol and London veg markets which are fantastic and the guys have a lot of contacts with farmers in the West Country, so they have access to loads of fresh, organic vegetables. I think we’ll be dealing a lot more with them in the future. We had our nice brew and set off for Teign Valley with Nigel. It’s set in 30 acres of what was once tomato growing glasshouses. The English tomato industry struggles massively due to weather and fierce competition from Holland, Spain and Italy. It’s an amazing setting: 30 acres of just empty glasshouses (we all agreed it would be a great place to throw a party) and the micro herbs take up just a tiny patch.

Micro herbs are a funny subject to touch on. In certain ways they are used as a little bit of a gimmick. Many people put them on a plate for colour or decoration – there’s nothing wrong with that but the flavour I find, is the most exciting thing. I was always told there should be a reason for ingredients on the plate other wise leave it off. Micro herbs have a use in flavour and balance there not just a trend.

The process is quite simple the seeds are germinated then set in an underlay they’re covered in polystyrene and left for a few days. Once they shoot the sheet is removed and voila they grow. They are very temperamental and the slightest change in temperature and moisture can have a disastrous effect. There are huge fans circulating and controlling air around the herbs – much like cannabis production which made us all laugh. The herbs are spayed by hand and also cut by hand. Truly fascinating to see and even better to taste with the right dish.

Below is a dish we’re working on at the minute using West Country’s parsnips and chard and the micro coriander and lemon balm from Teign Valley.

Pan Fried Fillet of Pollock with Tempura of Carlingford Lough Oyster, Chard, Ginger, Parsnip and Lemon Balm Veloute

 

The Castle Hotel Orchard

The Chapman Family Orchard @ Charlton Orchard

Living and working in an area that’s surrounded by great produce and passionate suppliers is the biggest support for any kitchen and its chefs. The last thing any restaurant wants to worry about is getting sub standard produce, it really is a massive disappointment. I compare it to unwrapping a Christmas present that you didn’t want from your dear old grandma. At the Castle we have extremely high standards set in place, to match your high expectations as a diner. We check and sign for each delivery and anything that looks below par is sent back. We have great relationships with all of our suppliers and visit them regularly. Most of our suppliers are local and know our standards.

I recently put a Pork dish on the menu from Pitney Farm using the beautiful Saddlebacks I wrote about a couple of blogs back. The dish consists of pork chop, slow cooked belly, potato puree, bramley apple, kale and roasting juices. Mr. Chapman asked to try it (as he does with all dishes new to the menu) to give his seal of approval or sometimes constructive criticism. After he ate it he asked me where I sourced the pork and apples from. He then asked why I didn’t use the Castle Orchard, initially I thought it was a joke, but realised by the stern face it wasn’t. So Sam and I headed off to have a look and learn a little from the friendly folk at Charlton Orchard.

The Castle Orchard was set up in 2010 by Mr. Chapman to celebrate the hotel being in the family for 60 years. There are 10 different apple varieties producing from August to November. The Orleans Reinette and Pippins were ready to pick so we took some back and served them in the hotel that day.

It’s only 10 mins outside of Taunton and when we walked into the shop we were greeted by the beautiful perfume of quince. I think the easiest way I can describe quince is that it is a cross between an apple and a pear. When it’s ripe it has the most amazing perfume; it’s truly fantastic, sweet and floral. We’re using quince with partridge and kohlrabi on the menu at the minute. We then introduced ourselves and met Sally who gave us a tour of the shop and then got Barry to show us the orchard and the Castle orchard, set in over 30 acres of land.

Barry was very informative told us everything about the trees, the history of the place and types of apples grown there. Any apples that fall on the ground at Charlton are left to decompose and fertilise the ground surrounding the trees. They would cloud the apple juice if they were used for pressing, so all around the orchard there are apples scattered on the ground. Most apple trees are grown on root stumps to stunt their growth as apple trees can grow to over 40-50 feet- these heights would make life that little bit more difficult for the pickers. The main threats to the trees and their fruit are wind and hail stones. If there is a strong hail storm it can pierce the apples and the wind can blow them off. The other threats are rabbits and deer. The rabbits and deer, even though being surrounded by apples and green grass, prefer the bark of the trees and particularly love saplings so most of the trees are covered with mesh in the early stages and for the deer there’s a hut for stalkers to keep the numbers down.

Pitney Farm Whole Lamb and Hanging

Pitney Farm Whole Lamb

3 months done and I’m settling into my new surroundings. We’re slowly changing things around and most recently we’ve been buying in whole animals for 3 reasons:

1. The Hang – You have to really trust your butcher when asking for nicely hung meat. Hanging takes time which means money, so lots of people cut the hanging process by a few days. Hanging also incurs loss in size and weight of the animal. There’s a massive difference between giant supermarket meat and meat from a good butcher – you just have to use your eyes. Most of the butchers we use at the Castle know all of the animals and work really closely with the farmer. In Rob’s case he is the Farmer; he rears and looks after the lambs himself – 100% organic, so we know the flavour and hang are top notch. When I lived on the Isle of Wight I worked closely with a farmer called Jackie Charder of Mottistone Farm. One week I told Jackie there was a complaint about the Sunday Roast sirloin beef being tough, not thinking she’d take offence. She stood back and looked at me then told me that “Rosie” (naming and knowing each of her own animals) was not stressed and was a beautiful Angus Cross and that it must have been my cooking that made the meat tough! Working with Butchers who are as passionate as you are is key.

2. The Knowledge – passing on tips and showing young chefs the breakdown and process. Utilising each cut of meat and explaining the process and possibilities on the menu. Lots of places buy in meat that is portioned and ready to go mainly due to the lower cost of the product and ease.

3. Respecting the whole Animal- So many people like eating loin or fillet and overlook the other cuts. With it being autumn / winter it’s the season for braises, slow roasts and stews. Most of the time the shoulder/ leg/ shins etc have far more flavour, they just need more time, but the wait is worth it. These other cuts are also cost effective so anyone on a budget should look to them.

So armed with a cup of tea and our trusted knives me and John a.k.a Mixi set to work on Rob’s Lamb.

I got to show him each cut and the breakdown and what processes goes into the cooking of each piece of the animal.

We use a salt rub with garlic and thyme for our slow cooked Lamb. The salting brings so much flavour out when cooked and we always have the trims for staff tea.

Beef is best from 20 – 30 days and we go for the latter end. I think the minimum required is 9 days.

Pork is generally 2-3 days. It’s better fresh as the more it hangs the stickier it gets.

Lamb benefits from a hang also, so around 8 days +.

Venison benefits from a hang of 3 weeks +.

It is all dependent on the fat content and type of meat being hung for how long you give it: the longer you hang the stronger the flavour.

Pan Fried Brixham Scallops with Pitney Farm Roast Red Pepper, Pancetta and Basil Oil

RECIPE:  Pan Fried Brixham Scallops
with Pitney Farm Roast Red Pepper, Pancetta and Basil

Our Pitney Farm Visit 3 weeks ago was amazing; this is the scallop dish we have developed, inspired by Rob and his amazing produce. This is running on our current lunch, dinner and tasting menu, fantastic value at £9.95.

The recipe is below and if you’re not into the scallops you can substitute them for chicken or a nice piece of cod. The secret to the dish is to balance out the bold flavours with lemon juice to pull the dish together. This is a simple, tasty dish for a dinner party and all the hard work can be done in advance by preparing the puree and cooking the pork belly/ liquor. All you will need to worry about is the last minute cooking of the scallops.

 Pork Belly (pancetta) and Cooking Liquor

1 halved onion studded 3 cloves each half
Bouquet Garni
Garlic bulb
4 Carrots
1 Star anise
4 Cardamom pods
20 Coriander Seeds
20 White Peppercorns
Orange peel / zest

Choose a large pot and submerge the pork belly in the water with all the other ingredients then pour in 500ml of chicken stock. Bring up to the boil then reduce to a slow simmer, it will cook in 3-4 hours. Check the meat carefully at intervals making sure it’s not becoming overcooked- it should be soft to the touch even when cooked through. Allow to cool in the liquor, once it has cooled, remove the meat and press between 2 trays for slicing into portions, coating with flour and pan frying.

Chefs tip: Keep the stock for a sauce base we use the stock for many things. The  most important use is for our sauce for the Homemade Pies in Brazz with Ham Hock, Mustard, Leek and Pea and a real crisp short crust pastry . You can use the stock for many sauces – roux based / béchamel, corn flour or cream based.

Red Pepper Pure

8 Red peppers
10 sprigs of Thyme
2 bulbs of Garlic
Pinch of Smoked Paprika
Pinch of Cayenne
Rapeseed oil

Place the Red Peppers in a foil Cartouche (a foil parcel) with the herbs and spices and cook in an oven @ 180c for 30-40 mins. Checking that the peppers are cooked, cover them in cling film in a bowl to release the skin. Deseed all the peppers and set aside a few pepper cheeks for garnish. Puree the rest and let it out, if needed, with the belly liquor

Chefs tip: Any Puree left over can be thinned out and used as a soup for the next day a simple red pepper soup or add Tomatoes for a Gazpacho.

Basil Oil

400g Vegetable oil
40g fresh Basil

Bring the oil and basil up to the heat together to 80c, or if you don’t have a thermometer watch the oil until small bubbles appear, but do not allow it to boil. When the bubbles appear remove it from the heat immediately and pour into a blender. For a smooth finish pass the oil through a muslin cloth. To maintain the colour, ice the oil as quickly as you can by pouring into a container and placing it into ice/cold water.

Chefs Tip: Basil oil Makes a cracking pesto also if you make a big batch of oil freeze it immediately and take out as you need it – freezing it straight away keeps its vibrant colour always keep refrigerated. After 1-2 days discard

24 August, 2012 21:00

Rosie’s Chocolate Memories

This week we’re faced with the mammoth task of changing the Brazz Menu. Our aim is to make it more affordable to the everyday shopper / customer and generally more appealing as an all round menu. We have played around with the format making it more sexy and easy to read and have also changed lots of the dishes and reintroducing “classic Brazz dishes” like:

Salmon fish cakes with creamed leeks and Lemon Butter Sauce

Creamed Garlic Button Mushrooms on Toast

Bangers and Mash with Red Onion and Thyme Gravy

We had fun changing the starters and when it came to Pastry we made the decision to tweak “Rosie’s Chocolate memories”. I was told by Mr. Chapman to familiarise myself with the charity as Louise and Kit are patrons. For those who don’t know about the charity the link is below, but to summarise; it offers a support network to bereaved parents. It provides a confidential ‘listening ear’ service where trained, volunteer bereaved parents answer the phone to other bereaved parents who need someone to talk to and need some advice. They also have two drop in centres in Taunton. The Rosie Crane Trust was set up in October 2006, two years after the death of Rosie Crane at 23 as a result of developing leukaemia.

We contacted Carol (Rosie’s Mum) with our ideas and created the new chocolate Brownie mixture. We add chocolate revels to the mix (in keeping with the old dessert) cook it and serve it warm. We have a pouring chocolate sauce, raspberry compote and Crème Chantilly. See the picture below.

We had a morning with Carol handing over the proceeds from last month. We made a few samples of the brownie for Carol and co to try. She approved and everyone loved it so happy days. More importantly, it’s selling a lot more than the old dessert which is great for the trust. It truly is a chocolate lover’s heaven, you can find it on our current Brazz menu along with lots of other new treats, so please come in and try it out and support the charity.

www.rosiecranetrust.org

 

Pyne’s of Somerset

So, my second week in the West Country is drawing to an end and I get a call from Mr. Chapman telling me about local butcher – Malcolm Pyne. He asked me to call out to the shop, see the setup and meet the man himself. Mr Chapman spoke highly of the business, explained that it was a new premises and that Malcolm was a very enthusiastic Butcher. So once again armed with our Sat nav; half an hour down the motor way and we were there.

We were greeted by Malcolm who was behind the counter. He had a big, beaming smile and a “hello, what can I get for you’’? We introduced ourselves and he was delighted we had called out to him and said “bloody hell, I didn’t think you would be out this fast”! The display of meats and food at Pynes is hard to explain as it really is one of the best set up butchers I’ve ever been to. You have every cut of meat known to man, marinated pork chops, pressed ox tongue, slow cooked cheeks and the classic Kiev and it goes on and on. There’s a fish mongers, cider stall, vegetables and local produce – truly a heaven for any food lover. I’m not too often caught for words, but on this occasion I was. I was astounded at the choice and more importantly the effort and passion that created the display. Malcolm walked us through all the produce he sells to the public; everything locally sourced and fresh. The smells throughout the shop were amazing. Malcolm showed us his ‘meltdown burger’ telling us it was a national champion and one of his pride and glory – we said we’d put it to the test for staff lunch in the kitchen. I’m sorry there’s no photo of the shops display, but take me at my word and call out for a look.

Malcolm explaining his hanging Process

Malcolm brought us through to his back of house set up at Pyne’s, which is also visible to the public: a truly immaculate place. He showed us the hanging process, meat origins and his curing techniques. I’m always dubious of using someone who’s secretive or evades questions- Malcolm is straight up, no bull. He explains anything you ask and shows you everything he does. Malcolm showed us his beef which is reared a stone’s throw from the shop by family friend Bob Hall. Malcolm’s father hand picks the animals for the shop

Whole Rib eye 3 week hung

Malcolm then talked us through the breed and quality of his pigs. He does a lot of hog roasts and claims to do a cracking Prosciutto. He talked of his curing methods and of his own pigs which he rears as a pastime- clearly an animal and a meat he knows intimately.

Malcolm and the hog roast prep

We got back to the kitchen armed with samples from Malcolm. His meltdown burger is a thing of beauty; it has a cheese centre which is delicious. Malcolm Pyne, we look forward to working with you in the future.