BRIGHTON'S FOODIES FESTIVAL

I will be doing a cooking demo at the Brighton Foodies Festival on Sunday the 1st of May at 1pm and I can't wait!

 Duck breast and liver, marinated tomato and cucumber, rhubarb.

I love this dish, whenever you think of duck most people would think of winter- confit, cassoulet hearty, not this little number. It's fresh, clean with summer just around the corner it's a winner.

Also an interesting dish lots going on if you break it down, a breast stuffed with its own liver and sealed using activa (protein glue) and then cooked in a water bath, spherification of tomato water and a heatproof rhubarb jelly using gellan.

So if you can come on down and show your support that would be great. We are giving away some free tickets on the Due South website.

http://www.duesouth.co.uk/news_and_events.html

See you there.

Asparagus

Asparagus in my world is the Jolene of vegetables. The season for British asparagus is so short, so we have to enjoy it as much as we can whilst it lasts.

I get my asparagus from David Douglas from South Brockwells farm. David has a high personal standard in what he produces, game included- making it the best I have ever used, truly.

I keep it simple when I am cooking asparagus so steamed is the way I go or straight up raw.

An interesting fact about asparagus is that it is high in folic acid which is great for pregnant woman, who needs flowers?!

Sad fact the big stores out there are using asparagus from Mexico with British as there finest range at a higher price.

This dish will be on the specials for the rest of the season:

Steamed South Brockwells farm asparagus, 64 degree poached egg, butter powder and chardonnay vinegar. 

Photographs by Carla Grassy

BREAD

"I remember growing up with the smell of freshly baked bread all through the house"- this is a phrase I would love to be able to use, but I can't.

I see bread as one of those things that if you make it you are always proud of it, even now. But it is also one of those things that you can always make cheaper yourself at home than if you bought it, even organic. It is fun to make with kids or on your own to relax.

I learnt how to make bread by the chef that trained me Mr Bob Ovington, alongside a good old kitchen kickin Bob also taught me how to cook with my heart, respect and understand ingredients, books aren't always right he would say, any muppet can read a recipe but it takes skill to make it good.

Bread was the first thing I learnt to make and flour can be a tricky beast to understand, depending on how it was milled where,when and so on can all make a difference  in how much liquid it takes.

You need to use all your senses to make bread-    

      Touch-  a dough should be tacky but not sticky
      Sight -  common sense will tell you if the bread is to wet or dry
      Sound- there is a certain sound that dough has while kneading
      Smell - the longer you ferment the starter the better the dough
      Taste - enough salt, proving and baking time will all make the bread taste better

 Here's a recipe I use at Due South:

750ml Water

500g Flour

30g Yeast

Mix together and prove overnight.

2kg Flour

750ml Water

25g Yeast

30g Salt
100ml Olive Oil

Mix all together, work for 10 minutes, put in a bowl cover with clingfilm and prove until it is double in size.  Next cut into loaf shapes or rolls and prove again until it again doubles in size. Bake in a hot oven for 25-45 minutes depending on size.

Photography by Carla Grassy

Textures Of Green

A successful night done for the Brighton food festival and pushed the dream forward for a monthly shindig.

This is one of the many parts of my job that I love. The thought, research and effort put into this one night of new and forward cooking that people could love or slate.

It is a scary time for a chef standing at the helm just before service starts. Some people running late, you feel like anything could go wrong and then "what if they don't like it" pops in to your head. The adrenaline and stress was all worth it.

I tried to keep the menu hush hush just for the surprise element.  It is amazing that people came to eat through the curiosity of what could be done with green textures.

When I first started the menu all I could think of was how many textures I could incorporate per course and still make sense. Solid, liquid, frozen, hot, powder, dried, foam, jelly and so on.

I didn't just see the green as a colour but also the ethos- sustainable, organic, wild. There was also the thought of going over board on the combinations, so with comfort in mind and a little thought i did this.

Textures Of Green

Tasting Menu - April 4th 2011 

  
New season peashoot, bacon, rocket  

~
Cured seabass, gravalax jelly, mustard, bread
~
Golden Cross goats cheese, salsa verde,
smoked tomato, pickled fennel
~
Court Gardens Farm assiette of lamb
spinach, wild garlic, minted new potatoes
~
Sussex rhubarb & custard
~
Apple, olive oil, coriander

'Textures of Green'