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 Choc Chip Cookies

So sometimes in my job I need to make something sweet in a hurry and these bad boys are a clear winner for me!! 

For the dough.

100g soft brown sugar

125g butter

1 egg

225g self raising flour

200g Choc chips

Beat the butter sugar and egg together Until fluffy then fold in the flour and chocolate.

Stick it in the fridge for half an hour until it firms up, then roll into balls a bit smaller than a ping pong ball. 

Bang them on a baking tray about 3 fingers apart because they speak.

Chuck them in a pre heated oven at 200c for 10 mins. 

They will be very soft when you first bring them out but after a few minutes you will have amazing cookies. 

Lemon Meringue Cupcakes

This is an easy one but looks good and tastes great! Makes 24.

So for the cake 

500g butter

500g sugar

500g self raising flour

8 eggs

1 lemon zest and juice

Beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy then chuck in your eggs.

Beat again then slowly fold in the flour, if you beat it at this stage the cake will become stodgy.

Spoon into muffin cases and bang them in a pre heated oven at 150c, Cook for approx 15 mins.

For the meringue

Whisk 4 egg whites until stiff peaks,

Whilst that's doing, in a pan chuck 1 cup of sugar and 1/2 cup water.

Being this up to 104c then slowly whisk into your meringue mix. 

Pipe on top of your cooled cupcake and either return to a hot oven or if you have a blowtorch use that to colour.

Best Companies 2015 Awards Night!!

Well every year for the past 4 years Connect Catering have entered in to the Sunday Times Best Companies to Work For Award.

And this year I was invited to the Ceremony at Battersea Evolution.


Hosted by Ben Shephard, the atmosphere in the Evoloution was electric.

The Champagne was flowing and I was in good company with me fellow colleagues.

It all kicked off with a starter of Treacle and Sesame Roast Salmon Fillet with Spring Onions and Roasted Beets.

Followed by

Honey and Harissa Marinated Chicken with Roasted Leek and Carrot, White Onion Purée and Smoked Potatoes

And for Dessert

Trio of Desserts

Cranberry Bread and Butter Pudding, Bacchus Jelly with Pear and Cornish Cream ice cream Treacle Tart

After all that the awards finally started, announcing the top 5 first, unbelievably we weren't called up! Then it was the top 100 countdown!

It's a bit like the chart show on a Sunday, the announcing is so fast it's hard to keep up! 

Before I knew it the run down was already at the top 10 and still Connect Catering weren't called! 

We finally ended up being number 6! 

The cheers from our tables was deafening and quite rightly so! 

An amazing company to work for with amazing people at the top and throughout. 

Well done everyone at Connect Catering and thanks for making it a special place to work!!

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!!