Big School Bake Off 2016 Finalist!!!!!

A while back I entered in to the Big School Bake Off, not thinking anything of it I was quite surprised my paper entry made it through to the semi finals!! 

So yesterday ( 7th July ) off we trotted to the LACA Main Event at the Birmingham NEC. 

Now I haven't cooked in competition for years so was a bit apprehensive but everyone there was great to get along with and made me feel at ease.

We had an hour and a half to recreate our paper entries and plate the finished product!!!

After the stressful 90 mins the judging for my heat took place with bake off legend Jo Wheatly Great British Bake Off Winner 2011!!!!

Unfortunately we couldn't stay for the results and I'm notgoing to lie, the wait had me on tenterhooks all day.

But finally at around 4pm I got the call saying I'd made it through to the finals in September!!! 

So here it is... My Pina Colada Sandwich!!!

Huge thanks to everyone involved at LACA and knorr taste!! 

See you in September!!!

Recipe to follow!!

Chilli Cheese Bites

Ok so quick post today.

I needed a quick starter and everyone here loves a bit of chilli and cheese.

So a bit like a beignet (fritter),

In a mixing bowl chuck in a good few handfuls of self raising flour, some chopped chilli (up to you on this one but I like mine hot) and a few good handfuls of mature cheddar cheese.

Bond it all together with some cold water until you get a really thick batter, thick enough to hold on a spoon but not so thick it won't drop off, then spoon them into the fryer. Fry until golden, drain and serve.

I servers mine with some mixed leaves and a tomato and balsamic chutney. 

Walk Eat Talk Eat

Well it's been a while since my last post but things have been manic lately!!

Just wanted to give a massive thanks to the wonderful Charli for our Walk Eat Talk Eat food tour as part of our area meeting, full of interesting knowledge and facts not to mention showing and treating us to some delicious samples of some fantastic (not so well known) places to eat, If you ever get chance to book one of these tours I can guarantee you won't be disappointed!

I won't give away exactly where we went, I'll let you book up a tour for yourself!

Here's some pics and one of a dodgy bloke brandishing what seems to be a courgette for no apparent reason!

See what all the fuss is about here

Easy White Sugar Cake

I know I know!!! Its been a while but in my defence it has been super busy lack of staff amongst other things!!

So Ive been mucking about in preperation for Chinese New Year, I hate the usual dessert idea of banana fritters so after extensive research (google) came up with this!

Take

1 cup rice flour

1/2 cup sugar

2 cups water

5 tsp dried yeast

Chuck the rice flour sugar and water in a pan and continuously stir on a medium heat for around 10 mins until it starts to thicken up.

Allow to cool for about 20 mins then lob in the yeast and give it another mix.

Set aside for an hour or so until it starts to bubble and double in size.

To cook

Pour mix into a steaming pan lined with parchment and cover.

Steam for around 20 mins.

Let it cool before cutting it up. If you are impatient like me it just sticks to your knife!!!

Food For Life

 Ok so the company I work for thought it would be great to get involved in all this Food For Life business, truth be told I didn't really understand it at first and if I really tell the truth thought it would just be more paperwork to follow.

But we pressed on, went on courses and attended work groups with other chef managers. We even had a training session with a lovely lady from The Soil Association.

After going through all the different aspects of the Catering Mark that you need to reach I quickly realised I might not be as far off as I first thought. Inspection day came and the auditor was due in at 9 30am, with all the evidence I needed to gather at hand we started going through old menus and invoices to show that I am actually doing what I say I do.

Its a bit nerve wracking at first but the auditor was a really nice guy and very supportive in the things that we were missing ( certain declarations to say that our meat is farm assured and our fish is not from the at risk list),

When the audit was complete we waited a couple of days to hear back from the certification officer to tell us what extra info we needed to submit. And after a couple more days of chasing suppliers were finally awarded the Bronze Award.

One of the criteria for the award is at least 75% of food must be freshly prepared and after talking to the auditor we came out at 100% freshly made, usually 75% to 80% according to the powers that be at The Soil Association, with 100% being quite a rare thing!!!

Although it seems like a lot of hard work its definitely worth applying for, it might be a good tool for your companies marketing team to use but it also shows that you actually care about where our food comes from, how we prepare it and  the health benefits for everyone!

Check out what its all about at The Soil Association and make sure you apply for your award too.
 

How to make creamy Spinach and Mushroom Pasta

I used to make this in a restaurant I used to work in and recently got asked for the recipe, and as it has been remembered from seven years ago it must be a good one!!

So you need:

2 cloves crushed garlic

1 large banana shallot/medium onion finely chopped

6 sliced button mushrooms

A couple of handfuls of baby spinach

200g penne pasta

400g fresh thick cream

Drizzle of olive oil

Salt and pepper

Bring a pan of water to the boil and chuck in your pasta with a good pinch of salt.

While that's cooking in a frying pan lightly fry your onion and garlic until soft, then chuck in your sliced mushrooms.
Cook for a few minutes stirring occasionly then lob in your cream.
Simmer for a few more minutes but keep stirring so the cream doesn't burn.
Turn the heat down and throw in your spinach, cook for 2 more minutes.
Season with saslt and pepper.
Drain your pasta and add it to the sauce.

This serves 2 so if you need someone to share it with give me a shout!!

How to make Chip Shop Curry Sauce

Everyone loves a bit of chip shop curry sauce right?? If im honest I've "borrowed" this recipe. I didnt think.it would work but how wrong was I?? Its wicked and super easy!!

So

Obviously depends on how much you want to make but all you need is....

2 cups boiling water
4 table spoons of curry powder
1 vegetable stock cube
A good splodge of mango chutney
Cornflour to thicken

Add the curry powder, stock cube and mango chutney to the water. Let it cook for a bit. (5 mins) at this point give it a taste and decide if you need more curry or mango.

Add a dash of water to your cornflour and lob it in the sauce. Thicken untill it's sauce like.

Sorted

Ps thanks Kay!!

BBQ Pork Belly and Asian Noodle Salad

It's been a while since my last post and with all the heat we have been having lately I thought i'd give you this little number!!

It's a nice, light little lunch packed with plenty of flavour.

For the Pork

I would normally slow cook a whole belly, but I cook for around 90 so get your butcher to cut a few 6oz slices.

Lay your Pork slices in a roasting tin and smother with your favourite BBQ sauce or knock up your own. I do 2 parts ketchup to 1 part brown sauce, some mixed herbs and a Tbs honey.

Cover with foil and whack it in a pre heated oven on around 150c. We need it to slow cook so the fat melts into the meat making it really tender. A 1 1/2 inch slice should be done in about an hour.

While all that's going on, fill a bowl with just boiled water and chuck some rice noodles in. Leave them to soak for around 10 minutes then run the cold tap over them to stop the cooking process.

For the Salad you need

2 Sliced peppers
3 Cloves chopped garlic
2 Sliced onions
3 chopped Spring onions
2 Chopped chilli (more if you like spice)
2 Pak Choi
1 small bunch Coriander
1 bag Salad leaves
Soy sauce
Tbs sugar
2 Tbs Sesame oil (veg oil will do)

Heat 2 Tbs oil in a wok and chuck in your peppers garlic sliced onions and chilli.

When they start to soften add the spring onion and Pak Choi. Now's the time to lob in your sugar and a few dashes of soy sauce. Check.for seasoning and allow to cool.

Mix all the cooked ingredients with the chilled drained noodles and chuck in your salad leaves and coriander.

Dress your plate with the noodle salad and Pork, drizzling some of the Porks cooking sauce around the outside.

Sorted

Back to the Food!!!

So im guessing you are probably bored of hearing about awards and nights out, so heres todays lunch.

Slow Roasted Belly Pork

Ok so I took 12 kilos of boned belly pork and slapped it in the oven on 150c for a good 4 hrs.

Because the belly is fatty it needs time to render out the fat making the meat more tender.

After it was cooked I squashed it flat with another tin and a very large can of beans and let it cool. We have a blast chill so its cold in less than 90 mins. This makes the belly more even.

I then cut it up to about 85 decent portions. 45 mins before service I smacked the oven up to 200c to crisp up the skin and heat up the meat. It only takes about 30 mins but I wanted 15 mins resting time.

All that was left to do was slice potatoes and onions and cook off some veggies.

Job done and less than £1 a plate

Enjoy!!

Food Service Cateys

So when I found out I was nominated for a Caterer and Hotelkeeper Food Service Catey for chef manager of the year award I was chuffed to bits!!!! Just to be nominated is something, but to actually be selected for the shortlist is amazing!

So off we trotted to The Park Plaza Hotel in Westminster for a champagne reception with the cream of the crop from the catering world. Did I feel out of place at all?? Just a bit!!

After our superb 3 course meal with several glasses of fine wine the awards began, and soon enough the chef manager of the year award (now i'm a bit nervous!!). Sadly though the award wasn't mine to be had this time.

Massive congratulations though to everyone that did pick up an award and a big thanks to Mark Lewis and everyone involved in making the night so special.

As for me? One of the top 3 in the country!!!

I'll take that!!!!

leavers dinner

As its nearing the last day of school for the year 13 boarders we thought it would be good to give them a special meal, historically its been a BBQ, but with the weather being terrible I thought it would be nice to give a proper 3 course meal. So with my starter inspired by my love of Indian food, the main a poshed up steak and chips and every chef pudding nemesis the chocolate fondant the night went better than expected!!

Here's the menu and pics.

Starter

Tandoori chicken ravioli with Dahl mint yoghurt, micro coriander and truffle oil

Massive thanks to Nisha Katona my new twitter buddy for inspiring the pasta!!!

Main

Sous vide steak with pomme neuf balsamic roasted cherry tomatoes and a horse radish cream.

Dessert

Chocolate fondant with cardamom infused ice cream.

Again massive thanks to all the staff involved in making it a night to remember.

I'd also just like thank you all for helping make our state run boarding school "outstanding" by ofsted standards, the food we produce on our budget and the standards we set ourselves are nothing short of amazing and the hard work you all put in doesn't go unnoticed. 

Lobster Thermidore Pizza

So as part of our street food week I thought it would be a good idea to make a gourmet pizza, little did I know that I would be acquiring a couple of beautiful lobsters from Kingfisher in Brixham. So as I only got 2 lobster to serve 85 I made a really nice cheese and lobster sauce to top my pizza and garnished with a slice of their amazing smoked salmon. Classic street food! Take something that shouldn't be there and make it work!! Have a go!!

Thai Style Duck Salad

OK so during the half term holiday I've been in deep thought about what I can do different next and came up with this! Sounds expensive and looks a bit cheffy but really easy and surprisingly cheap.

Here's what I did.

For the duck.

To prepare the legs I got a roasting tin and chucked in about 8 sticks of lemon grass, on top of that stick your legs, its best to stab them a few times with a fork this let's the fat out and makes the duck more tender. Bang it in the oven on 200c for 30 mins. When its done let it cool and take off as much meat as humanly possible.

The salad

I used French mixed salad but use whatever floats your boat, I also roasted off some yellow cherry tomatoes with spring onion, grated carrot and chilli flakes with dark soy sauce and sweet chilli.
I really wanted to give a bit of crunch and at one point considered knocking up some croutons but that's pretty standard and not really out there enough for me so then my thoughts turned to prawn crackers, now do I chuck them on the side or lightly crunch them up and bang them on?? Neither! I found a pack of spring roll pastry sheets in the freezer chopped them into strips and fried them off. Top those off with a sprinkle of micro beetroot shoots and a squirt of sweet chilli sauce and you've got yourself a posh looking plate of really tasty food. 30 duck legs got me just over 100 portions loads came back for seconds and a few thirds!

Gulab Jamun

OK so we are having an indian special night on Friday but I wanted to post the recipe for this amazing pud!! Its basically a doughnut in syrup.

So the recipe

1 cup plain flour
2 cups milk powder
1 knob melted butter
Splash of milk
1 cup sugar
1 cup water

All you need to do is mix the dry ingredients and the butter then slowly add some milk until it gets to a dough you can shape. Roll in to small balls a bit smaller than ping pong balls, chuck them in a deep fat fryer about 170c until golden then let them cool. Whilst they are cooling put your sugar and water in a pan and boil until it becomes a syrup ( about 10 mins ) when cooled to room temp glug it over your little doughnuts cover and leave for 30 mins. Job done. Try it!!!

Sweet and Sour Sauce

So its that time again! Lazy Sunday! And chinese takeaway for dinner which reminded me to post the best sweet and sour sauce base I know. So I use equal vinegar sugar and water. Reduce them in a pan with some tomato puree. Job done! You can chuck in what vegetables and fruit you like now. Enjoy.