Year: 2017

Duck (or not) with Carrots

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A colourful and delicious dish which can easily be adjusted for vegetarians without losing any of the fun Really this is more about the carrot rather than the duck so, like much of my cooking (which I often need to adapt for my vegetarian wife), it works perfectly well either way just by adjusting quantities of pasta, substituting goats cheese for the protein, and of course adding a flower! The underlying sweet and buttery carrot puree gives a solid base on which the toasted crunch of hazelnut and the beetroot tuile sit, with sharpness from the pickled ribbons of carrot, earthiness from the burnt leek, and rich umami from the duck (or cheese if substituting). This is the first time I’ve tried to make this little biscuit, which is really for decoration as much as anything else, but is perfectly delicious too! Ingredients (Meaty/Vegetarian) As usual I forgo exact quantities – use what feels right to you, have fun, and see what happens! Duck breast / Fresh goats cheese Carrots Leak Beetroot, flour and oil …

De Librije

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Zwolle, The Netherlands 3 Michelin stars since 2004 38 on World’s 50 Best Restaurants 3rd Visit: Lunch Saturday 14th Jan 2017 Restaurants rarely get better than this : 19.5/20 Monkfish, fermented peppers and aubergine It was with some considerable joy that we returned, almost exactly a year after our last visit, to the temple of modern Dutch gastronomy in Zwolle, Northern Holland. The restaurant is housed in an impressive 18th century pile, an old prison building, and cohabits the space with its own boutique hotel. Many guest who book for dinner take the option to roll happily up the stairs into the luxurious accommodation above, or indeed as we had done last year, make a whole glorious weekend of it, enjoying the heady heights of dinner, breakfast and lunch with 3 Michelin stars. This is truly a labour of love; The celebrated power-couple of Dutch fine dining, Jonnie and Thérèsa Boer, still work every day in the restaurant which they founded together some 20 years ago and which rightfully commands an almost mythical status in Dutch …

Mushrooms en croute

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A satisfying and relatively straight-forward vegetarian dish of mushrooms and pastry, with a rich chive cream balanced by the tart earthy kick of lightly pickled beetroot. Perfect for an autumnal lunch, and easy to both scale-up and pre-prepare, so ideal for stress-free entertaining. Ingredients Chanterelles of similar seasonal mushroom Goats cheese Chives, garlic and capers Pre-rolled puff pastry Beetroot Salad leaves for garnish Method Really the most challenging part of this dish is the construction of the pastry box, but mastering this itself only really requires a quick measurement. Once you have decided how long you would like the base (I recommend 4 inches or so), it is simply a matter of cutting two thin ends of the same length as the short edge of the box, and two further longer sides which should be slightly shorter than the long edge to account for the corner overlap. (I originally planned to have a top to the box so you also see two lids in the picture). Bake in a pre-warmed oven at 200c/392f for around 20 mins or …

Introduction

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I would love to be able to say that my fascination with fine dining has always been with me, or that I can identify one Eureka moment when a single mouthful changed my life. But in truth the interest started slowly in my early twenties and has grown steadily over many years. a true passion for good food develops through the dedication of time – time focused on the contemplation of pleasure itself Certainly a trip around that time just outside of my hometown of London to the already world famous restaurant The Fat Duck, may have helped tip what had previously been a passing interest in dining over into something decidedly more focused. However, a true passion for good food, a deeply held love for both the cooking and eating of fine things, is something that grows within you and that must be nurtured. Learning to eat well is a skill like any other. It develops through the dedication of time – time focused on the contemplation of pleasure itself. With experience comes a …