take stock magazine - issue 7

CHAMPIONING INDEPENDENT BRITISH CATERING

JULY

/AU

GU

ST -

£3.0

0

Bloomin Menus

Tapping into Tourism

Perfect Patisserie

Feed YourEyes Awards

JULY/AUGUST

2013

YOUR TAKE STOCKMAGAzINE

Summer’s finally here (although someone should mention that to the weather!) and Wimbledon is in full swing; as a consequence, I shall keep this brief.

TAKE STOCK

This issue is packed with fabulous recipes, thoughtful features and stunning photography. We have our inaugural Feed Your Eyes Awards and have launched a brand new Perfect Patisserie section to give you your just desserts every issue.

In May, we attended Allegra’s Foodservice Marketing Forum and on the facing page we’ve shared some of the key insights we took away from the day.

Take Stock is supporting the Skills for Chefs Conference in July. If you’ve not already signed up to visit, make sure you do. We’ll be there and to give you an early taste of the conference theme, Gordon Cartwright, whose long career has included being head chef at the Sharrow Bay and an AA inspector, shares his views on training in our ‘ask the experts’ article.

And finally, I had the pleasure of meeting the very charming Colin McGurran at Nigel Haworth’s Fantastic Food Show and he very kindly allowed me to grill him.

So with plenty to get your teeth in, tuck in - I’m off to watch the tennis!

Enjoy the read...

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TAKE STOCK MAGAzINE 03

How do people cHoose wHere to eat?Search • Social • google • trip adviSor

Sources: Allegra Foodservice marketing forum May 2013

Which meal occaSion?

Snacking iS enjoying high

groWth

WhilSt dinner...

doWn1.5%

up18.9%

at march 2013AGAINST SAME qUARTER 2012

cuStomer prioritieS

Low priceSGood offerSopeninG hoUrS

noTe: peopLe TAke qUALiTY for GrAnTed UnTiL iT’S noT There

choice of drinkS AvAiLAbLe

wHat do cuStomerS

Want?

• Value does not mean cheap• Value means worth it

>50%

hiGh end And Low end Are benefiTinG MoST froM vALUe Trend:

PEOPLE STILL SPEND ON TREATS AND special occasions but not on eVery

DAY EATING OUT AND NOT KIDS

Want better value

in independent hoSpitality Sector:

top reaSonS for chooSing a particular place to eat5

beenbefore

Quality & taste cHeap convenient friendly

SMALLER 'TASTING' DISHES, LOWER CALORIE COUNTS FROM SMALLER PORTION SIzES

published by the fabl.Nesfield House, Broughton Hall

Skipton BD23 3AEwww.thefabl.com

[email protected]

editor Mags Walker

news and features Sarah HardyRebecca CooperJulie FranklandKat Weatherill Victoria mcneill

photographyKat Weatherill

Art directorRichard Smith

digital directorMartin Kersey

brand LiaisonDavid Jackson

Social MediaMiles Sharples

Cover shot courtesy of our very own Kat Weatherill

foodService inSightS

04 TAKE STOCK MAGAzINE TAKE STOCK MAGAzINE 05

ContentsFood and DrinkRise and Shine - Side Oven Bakery 10Edible Flowers 15 - 16Fishy Business 20 - 22Perfect Patisserie 29 - 31

FeaturesFeed Your Eyes 25 - 27Tapping into Tourism 37 - 39 Child's Play 40 - 43

Family BusinessBadgering the Brigade - The Badger Inn 11Midsummer Night's Dream 12Catering to a Tee 13

Every IssueHospitiality Fact Sheet 2Calendar 6 - 7The Stock Market - What's New for Jul/Aug 8 - 9We Grill - Colin McGurran 18 - 19 The Stock Exchange - Carry on Training 49 - 50Big Boys Toys - Blenders 51 - 53Food for Thought 54

RecipesGranola Snack Bar 10BBq Lamb Rump 17Shetland Scallops with Crispy Haggis 22 Scallop, Chorizo & Laverbread Sandwich 23Roasted Strawberry, Coconut & Lime Lollies 24Ernst's Lemon Meringue Pie 32Sarah’s Poached Apple Cannelloni 33

37

51 25

12

20

23

18

15

11

35

24 2213

40

JUL - AUGCalendar


3-7Jul Ends7Jul

10-11Jul

30-31Jul

13Jul -25Aug

26-28Jul

HENLEY ROYAL REGATTAwww.hrr.co.uk

27Jul -2Aug

WHITSTABLE OYSTER FestiValwww.whitstableoysterfestival.com

WIMBLEDONwww.wimbledon.com

SKILLS FOR CHEFS CONFERENCE- Sheffield

www.skillsforchefs.org.uk@skillsforchefs

INTERNATIONAL CHEESE AWARDS- Nantwichwww.internationalcheeseawards.co.uk

CHILLI FEST UK- Nationwidewww.chillifest.net

the big cheese FestiVal- Caerphillywww.visitcaerphilly.com

26Aug

ISLE OF WIGHT garlic FestiValwww.garlic-festival.co.uk

BANK HOLIDAY

Know of an event which should be in our calendar? Get in touch by emailing [email protected]

13-14Jul10Jul-25Aug

3-10Aug

13-17Aug

DORSET SEAFOOD FestiVal 2013

www.dorsetseafood.co.uk

THE ASHES10th - 14th July - Trent Bridge18th - 22nd July - Lords1st - 5th August - Old Trafford9th - 13th August - Durham21st - 25th August - Ovalwww.ecb.co.uk

COWES WEEK

www.aamcowesweek.co.uk

GREAT BRITISH BEER FestiVal

www.gbbf.org.uk

17-18Aug

4Aug

CHOCOLATE CHIP DAYwww.daysoftheyear.com/days/chocolate-chip-day

TAKE STOCK MAGAzINE 09TAKE STOCK MAGAzINE 09

The Stock Market: What’s new for July & August

Heinz sauces have long been the nation's favourite brand of condiments. Over the summer when the demand

for salads and BBqs soar, everyone wants Heinz Mayonnaise, Heinz Salad Cream, Heinz Tomato Ketchup and Heinz Mustard as their key table-top condiments. So stock up now and your customers will return to thank you!To recognise your loyalty to Heinz, the first 3000 chefs or business owners to call the Heinz customer careline will be eligible to claim The Summer Sauce promotional kit.

The kit includes a caddy filled with the Heinz range of sauces and for fun, Heinz has also added competition scratch cards. Prizes available include 200 picnic and party sets, 200 Heinz paring knives, more than 220 Sabatier carving sets and in homage to our British summer, four fabulous Big Green Egg™ barbecues. The campaign will run until August. Just call 0800 57 57 55 and remember to tell them that you read about it in Take Stock. or visit www.heinzfoodservice.co.uk

Add a unique touch to your summer dessert menu with exotic Rosewater flavoured ice cream from the zafran

Food Company.After the success of the company's original Saffron and Rosewater flavour, the ice cream makers are offering Rosewater as a lighter dessert option, or standalone flavour. With the demand for Persian food growing, zafran believes there is a gap in the market for it to fill.Rose water has been used as a flavouring for centuries. Rich in antioxidants and vitamins, it has many health benefits. zafran’s Rosewater ice cream is created using an authentic Persian recipe and is being made here in Britain by New Forest Ice Cream.The creamy flavour goes well with spicy fruits or chocolate, and topped with crushed nuts. Its palette cleansing properties make it the perfect end to a heavy or spicy meal.Rosewater ice cream is milk-based and made from all natural ingredients with no eggs or egg by-products. It is available in 4 litre tubs for £24 and can be purchased directly from the zafran Food Company. for more information, visit: www.zafranfoodcompany.com

Outdoor cooking is high on the agenda during the summer months, but should our

temperamental British summers leave you cooking in the dark, ETI has a new food thermometer to keep service safe. The Backlit Thermapen has a sensor that monitors light levels and automatically switches on a back-light when you need to read the display in low light or darkness. The new thermometer is a redesign of the

highly popular Superfast Thermapen and also offers high accuracy levels and speed - gauging temperatures in 3 seconds.The Backlit Thermapen is approved to HACCP temperature standards measuring temperatures between -49.9 to 299.9°C so it can also be used for safely testing reheated and chilled foods. for more information visit: www.thermapen.co.uk

With school holidays upon us and domestic tourism on the up, families are flocking to cafes

and restaurants. Having quick and efficient cleaning products are a must in the constant battle to keep your hygiene standards as high as your summer turnover. Help is at hand from Proctor & Gamble Professional which has brought together two of its top brands, the degreasing agent Deepio and Hederal detergent, to create the most effective grease dissolving washing-up liquid yet.

A 5 litre container of Deepio washing up liquid can wash up to 7000 plates. It can also be used as a multi-purpose detergent for pre-soaking soiled tableware, kitchen utensils, pots and pans. As a degreaser, it can also be used to clean surfaces like windows, mirrors, and seating - perfect for cleaning up after all those sticky little fingers.

deepio is available now from your wholesaler. for more information visit: www.pgpro.co.uk

Yorvale Real Dairy Ice Cream is launching a new frozen yoghurt range called Yoryog with four introductory

flavours: Ravishing Raspberry, Heavenly Honey, Blissful Blueberry and Marvellous Mango and Lime.Yoryog has been designed in response to customer demand for healthy, tasty desserts and could be the perfect addition to your summer dessert menu.

Made on the Yorvale Farm from Yorkshire milk and all natural ingredients and flavours, it is a deliciously low fat dessert that can be served with nuts and chopped fruit.

With 17 per cent market share, frozen yoghurt is the fastest growing category in the ice cream market and is popular amongst young, health conscious consumers. Yorvale’s Development Director Lesley Buxton says, “It’s been very well received by health conscious consumers who don’t want to compromise on taste. We have high hopes for this new brand.”Yoryog is available in 500ml and 5 litre scooping tubs.

for more information get in touch with JMp wholesalers, www.jmpfoodservice.co.uk or visit www.yorvale.co.uk

Frozen Goodness

Light Up Your BBQ

Eastern Flower Power

Keep Calm and Squeaky Clean

A Heinz Summer

08 TAKE STOCK MAGAzINE

Looking to expand with an outdoor seating area this summer? Furniture design company GO IN have created

a range ideal for individual businesses and the British summer in an array of colours to suit your style.With over 30 years experience in designing furniture for hospitality, the company understands the need for practicality and style. Keeping in mind high turn-overs and unpredictable British summers, the furniture is made from a dense laminate so that it is waterproof and easy to clean.An outdoor eating experience will both tick boxes with consumers ensuring their return this summer and will maximise your capacity which will help drive your sales up.

for more information, visit: www.go-in.co.uk

Go outdoors with GO IN

TAKE STOCK MAGAzINE 1110 TAKE STOCK MAGAzINE

PRODUCT NEWS

Yorkshire-based food producer, Side Oven Bakery has added three new varieties to its Organic Honey Roasted

range of healthy breakfast cereals - and scooped the Best Baked Produce award at the 2012/2013 Deliciously Yorkshire Awards. The award-winning new flavours are Granola with Nuts, Granola with Seeds and Cereal, and Granola with Hazelnut and Mixed Berry - a tasty trio that could help you extend your breakfast offering and consumer reach.The breakfast granola uses homegrown oats and spelt combined with seeds, nuts, fruit and honey, and is baked in the farm's outdoor side oven. Nutritious, high in fibre and free of pesticides, the range will tick all the right boxes with health conscious customers - and has an additional environmental appeal.Side Oven Bakery’s range is completely organic and fully traceable. Owner Caroline Seller says, “We passionately believe in using our own ingredients grown here on the farm.” The granola is cooked in sunflower oil and is

baked in a wood-burning oven using timber from the estate that provides instant, sustainable energy.Caroline adds, “The process is lengthy but the depth and combination of flavours speak for themselves”.Due to its health benefits, granola has become a highly popular choice for breakfast as well as with snackers, so adding granola to your offer could boost day-long sales. Granola is easy to serve as both a sit-in meal or as food to go. Try offering granola with milk, yoghurts, jams, purees and fresh fruit in a take-away pot or as a baked snack bar for customers in a hurry.

Side oven bakery’s new organic honey roasted range of granola cereals are available from your wholesaler and come in catering packs of 1 kg and 1.5 kg. contact Total foodservice on:01484 53 66 88 - Yorkshire01254 82 83 30 - north west

Rise and Shine with Side Oven

Side Oven Bakery's Granola snack-bar recipeSide oven Granola 500gbutter 100ghoney 75gdemerara Sugar 75g

n Dissolve the honey, butter and sugar in a pan over a low heatn Add the granola and mix well togethern Line a baking tray, 200mm x 300mm, with parchment and pour in mixture. n Smooth with a knifen Bake in a moderate oven 170°c until golden brown, for about 20 minutesn Remove and allow to cool for about 10 minutes. Cut into slices and leave to cool completely before removing from the tinwww.sideoven.com

8.4% 64% Out of home breakfasting has increased by

Healthy snacks make up

of the snacking market

But now that chef Mark Fletcher, of the appropriately named Badger Inn, has enlisted an ally in the Essential Cuisine

range of stocks and sauces, he believes he can meet any challenge!Back in 2006, The Badger Inn was closed only to be renovated and re-opened by experienced landlord David Hughes in August 2011. David’s mission was to return the oak-beamed, 18th century pub in Church Minshull, Cheshire to its former glory. A major factor in determining whether or not he would succeed rested on Mark’s shoulders.Recruited from Nunsmere Hall, twice voted County Restaurant of the Year by the Good Food Guide, Mark’s brief was to overhaul the menu to include favourites like home-made fish and chips as well as highlight fine dining choices such as braised beef bourguignon and slow-cooked rolled shoulder of pork wrapped in black pudding with an apple sauce and cider jus - dishes that rely heavily on an excellent stock to make them work. Says Mark, who works only with seasonal ingredients: “Historically, I have always made my own stocks, but in a pub, the traditional method of reducing stocks by boiling them overnight is no longer sustainable.

Basically I needed a solution to allow me to create amazing stocks without the time constraints and financial implications.” Mark discovered the Essential Cuisine stocks shortly after. He explains, “It halves the time it takes to make a classic veal, beef or chicken stock or jus, while giving me just the right depth of flavour. They have the taste and performance of a finished, kitchen-made jus, with a clean flavour, mirror-like sheen and viscous texture, which is exactly what I want from my sauces.”Mark, who now serves around 100 covers a day rising to 150 at weekends, is also impressed by the stocks’ versatility.

Mark explains, “I’ve discovered that because the stocks are powdered they are easy to add at any stage of the cooking process, so they make great flavour enhancers. I sprinkle some of the mushroom stock when making my mushroom risotto and use the chicken stock to season roast chicken. When I’m doing steamed cous cous, I add some of the veg stock and I also use it to directly season vegetables. It is far more forgiving than salt and is the best range of ready-made stocks I’ve found.”The product has a 12 month shelf life and offers a superior yield of 50 litres per 800g tub (approximately £15). There is no need to refrigerate after opening and each tub is colour coded for easy recognition. New Halal Society-approved versions have just been added to the range.

for more information on the essential cuisine range and samples, call 01606 541 490, email [email protected] or visit www.essentialcuisine.com. for more on The badger inn, visit www.badgerinn.co.uk.

Badgering the Brigade

SponSored bY

Everyday can be a battle for survival for rural pubs. Kitchen brigades are badgered by stringent new health and safety rules, efficiency plans and budget drives while under pressure to produce the best food to keep the customers coming.

46 TAKE STOCK MAGAzINE TAKE STOCK MAGAzINE 1312 TAKE STOCK MAGAzINE

Long, balmy summer nights promise so much and for chef Henrietta Clancy, they delivered.

Henrietta has just celebrated the first anniversary of the launch of her London-based Peruvian pop up, The Last Days of Pisco. While the tongue-in-cheek name is a play on the title of the cult comedy film 'The Last Days of Disco', the ceviche (a South American marinated raw fish dish) and Pisco cocktails (Pisco is a South American un-aged brandy), served to a background of South American music make the experience of dining there into a fiesta. For Henrietta, who left the kitchen after training to work as a food writer and food stylist, the pop up has enabled her to return to her first love of cooking while at the same time and without any real financial investment, trial whether or not running a restaurant might be a career option for the future. Explains Henrietta: “A pop up is something you can do with very little money but a restaurant isn’t.“A pop up teaches you a lot. I’m enjoying it at the moment and running a restaurant may be a direction I go in later on but I wouldn’t want to be limited to Peruvian food. I’ve holidayed in Peru and I’ve written about Pisco so I themed the pop up to what I know is currently

a big food and drink trend. People around where I’ve held ‘The Last Days of Pisco’ events are very receptive to trying new things so it’s worked really well.”Henrietta made it work by trawling local cafes run as a Monday to Friday daytime business and then asking proprietors if she could rent their premises in the evenings from Friday to Sunday. This gave her an instant certified kitchen. She then applied to the local council for a temporary events licence. Once granted, her friend Jennifer organised marketing and publicity, initially offering invites to friends through word-of-mouth, Facebook and Twitter. This then progressed to advertising on websites promoting pop ups and handing out flyers by the local Tube station.Henrietta says: “As The Last Days of Pisco’s reputation has grown, we have amassed a lot of followers, who are watching for our events. We managed to keep going through the winter, adapting recipes to serve warm food such as lamb stews. We’re increasingly being invited to attend food and music festivals. It’s good.”

for further info on The Last days of pisco, visit www.tldopisco.com or see @tldopisco.

Midsummer Night’s DreamIf your dream is to have your own restaurant, high summer might be the best time to make it come true by venturing into a pop up!

henrietta’s Tips for pop Up Successn piggy-back on a food trend

n consider local cafes as venues but be careful on location - choose areas with receptive audiences i.e. in cities or university campus towns where you have a potentially young clientele eager to experience a new food trend

n Apply for a temporary events licence at least a week in advance of your pop up event (there’s a charge of approximately £100 per licence depending where you are in the country)

n Use friends to spread the word as well as your facebook page and Twitter account to keep marketing costs down. printed flyers are also a cheaper option than advertising in newspapers or magazines

n Attend food festivals - you’ll have to pay a pitch fee but they are a way of getting you known by the local foodie crowd

Photography: Simon J Evans www.simonjevans.co.uk & Caro Hutchings www.carohutchingsphotography.com

When catering manager Stuart Wood arrived at Frilford Heath Golf Club in Oxfordshire over

thirteen years ago, the club served a basic snack menu with limited service. Today, Stuart’s team of three chefs and two porters can do up to 300 covers a day, teeing off with breakfast at 7.45am followed by lunch, afternoon tea and a main menu up to 5.30pm.The transformation of the club’s catering to a full daily service has been due to understanding the needs of the silver market and a conservative clientele. With an average age of 68, Stuart realised quality traditional favourites were what the members wanted. The club’s revised menu has been key in raising Frilford’s game and Stuart began by looking carefully at the club’s regular patrons when selecting dishes. One of his best-selling dishes is steak and kidney pudding made with an onion suet crust. Frilford Chicken is also a firm favourite, consisting of a chicken breast stuffed and wrapped in parma ham and served with a brandy sauce. Traditional

puddings are hugely popular with fruity crumbles and pies being constant menu winners. Since members are regular diners, variety is important too, so weekly specials are set which include a soup and pie of the week and simple fast food like sandwiches are always available. The trick, says Stuart, is doing the basics well. “By offering a well-thought out breakfast menu for example, the golfing fraternity now know that they can get a good breakfast at Frilford. Locally, we are renowned for our bacon bap.”Frilford’s reputation for consistency and quality has also allowed the club to move into the lucrative wedding business. It has developed a wedding menu that offers guests a choice of nine starters, main courses and desserts.With regular diners and a demanding number of daily covers over a long service period, Stuart and his team would struggle without the dedicated service and support of their long-term supplier, Holdsworth. At Frilford, Stuart has to plan his menus every

October for the year ahead and stick to a set budget. To make this work, Stuart finds it essential to have a good supplier. Holdsworth, he says, are “absolutely brilliant - really helpful with constant support and ideas”. He has particular praise for his account manager Sue Caley who he says manages the account superbly and ensures there are never any supply issues. “With Holdsworth, we are made aware of any supply issues at the point of order meaning there are no nasty surprises when the order comes. Any availability issues are immediately nipped in the bud which is essential for us,” explains Stuart.With catering that now matches its championship standard golf course status, Frilford has seen its society visitor numbers grow. Today, its carefully targeted and well-planned menu is a real draw for golfers who want to play an excellent course and enjoy hospitality that’s always above par.

To contact holdsworth visit www.holdsworthfoods.co.uk

Catering to a tee

Extended service and a traditional menu of members’ favourites have given Frilford Heath Golf Club a reputation for food that’s always above par.

IN PROFILE


Bloomin’menusEdible flowers add a simple summery touch to any dish and a range of exotic flavours

The range of edible flowers is vast and their visual impact in a dish is memorable. However, many chefs remain reluctant to make their menus blossom. Scan your stores and you’ll probably find you

are already cooking with flowers. Many edible flowers are used daily in professional kitchens in one form or another; courgette blooms in savoury dishes, orange blossom and rose water in desserts and crystallised rose petals in patisserie.

Please order from your localNestlé Account Manageror Nestlé Order Capture

Tel 0800 603 1979visit www.maggi.co.uk/professional

For more recipe ideas using the products below visit www.maggi.co.uk/professional

® Reg. Trademark of Société des Produits Nestlé S.A. All rights reserved.

FREEGLUTEN

CoconutMilkPowder

ChickenBeefMushroomVegetableAsian

6 x 1kg 5 litres ofcoconut milkor 3 litresof cream

VegetarianNo added �avoursor preservatives

LiquidFondsConcentrate

4 x 1 litre 34 litresof stock

No added MSGNo arti�cial coloursConcentrated �avourboost

Rich & RusticTomato Sauce

6 x 3kg12 x 800g

N/AN/A

MashedPotatoFlakes

2 x 4kg4 x 1kg

400 x 120g portions200 x 120g portions

No arti�cial coloursor �avoursMeets ResponsibilityDeal salt targetNo added MSG

No added MSGNo arti�cial colours

Pack Shot Product Variants Case size Yield per pack NHW claims

Wild Mushroom Risotto Method:

1) 1800ml of vegetable stock made up using 35g ofVegetable Fond

2)

In a large pan add the olive oil and saute the shallots for

5 minutes without colour

3)

Add the Arborio rice to the pan and stir well

4)

Add the dry white wine and reduce for 3 minutes

5) Add the stock, ladle at a time allowing each ladle to

reduce before adding the next. This will take 15 minutes. Keep Stirring

6)

Towards the end add the sliced mushrooms and

cook through

7)

When ready to serve stir in the light cream cheese,

liquid mushroom fond and 100grams of the Parmesan

8)

To serve, top with chopped chives and extra

Parmesan cheese

Ingredients Weight, Preparation,Measurement (for 10 portions)

MAGGI® Vegetable Liquid Fond Concentrate 60 ml, made up

Olive Oil 50ml

Shallots 250g, �nely chopped

Arborio Rice 650g, uncooked

Dry White Wine 100ml

Wild Mushrooms 100g, sliced

Parmesan Cheese 150g, grated

Light Cream Cheese 150g

MAGGI® Mushroom Liquid Fond 2tbsp

Chives 30g, �nely chopped

Calories355

Sugars3.8g

Fat11.3g

Each serving typically contains

of an adults Guideline Daily Amount (GDA)**GDAs are guidelines. Personal requirements vary depending

on age, gender, weight and activity levels

Saturates4.8g

Salt1.71g

18% 4% 16% 24% 28%

TAKE STOCK MAGAzINE 3534 TAKE STOCK MAGAzINE16 TAKE STOCK MAGAzINE TAKE STOCK MAGAzINE 17

Flower Powern Summer salads - scatter with nasturtium blossoms or chive flowers to serve

n Use marigold petals to replace saffron in curries or paella

n Add a citrus zing to tall drinks with lemon gem marigolds

n pretty up puds with a sprinkle of pink rose geranium petals or dainty violas

Uk suppliers of fresh edible flowers:www.firstleaf.co.ukwww.maddocksfarmorganics.co.ukwww.themodernsaladgrower.co.ukwww.greensofdevon.com

Seeds suppliers to grow your own:www.thompson-morgan.comwww.chilternseeds.co.uk

British edible flower season is from April to late September

One high-profile chef to use flowers is René Redzepi of Noam in Copenhagen. His dishes include

beetroot with thyme flowers, nasturtium flowers with snails, and broad beans with cucumber and mustard flowers. Closer to home, Simon Rogan of L’Enclume in the Lake District village of Cartmel, forages locally and owns a six acre farm that grows edible flowers, vegetables and fruit. In summer, his menu is scattered with references to sweet cicely, bergamot, hyssop and woodruff.

The important thing to remember is that not every flower is edible, some can be poisonous. Do sufficient research to ensure your customers’ safety or buy from one of the specialist UK growers like Derek Lewis. Derek owns Firstleaf, an edible flower farm based in Brynberian, Pembrokeshire. Established in 2004, Derek began growing micro salad leaves; as the business developed and demand increased, he focused on growing a large range of edible flowers and decorative garnishes. The range includes dainty violas, vibrant

orange calendula, blue cornflower, delicate rose pink geranium, elderflowers, primrose, dianthus and colorful mixed snapdragons with borage, nasturtiums and viola topping the popularity stakes with current chefs. His tip is to experiment to see what works on your menu and always make sure blossoms are fresh.

Edible flowers add colour and delicate flavours to your food and drinks menu. Grow your own and have the added delight of a garden of beautiful flowers throughout the summer months! Nasturtium blossoms have a peppery flavour similar to watercress and the tiny flowers of signet marigolds, such as Lemon Gem and Tangerine Gem, have a citrus taste. Most herb flowers are edible too, and offer a milder flavour of the herb. Flowers from soft annual herbs are best eaten raw, as cooking tends to kill their taste, whereas those from woody perennials, such as rosemary, are usually better when their flavour is allowed to infuse. Remember if you do grow your own do not use any insecticide, fungicide or herbicide in the garden and ensure the flowers are clean, fresh and free from pests and disease.

Mark Diacono, food writer and owner of Otter farm, an organic smallholding in Devon, shares a great tip for lovers of pricey saffron. “Marigold (Calendula officinalis) makes a fine substitute. Easy and prolific from seed, the petals of this ‘poor man's saffron’ can be sprinkled over salads or made into a paste using half a handful of petals with two tablespoons of oil - add it to paella for the final simmer, in place of the usual saffron.”

BBQ Lamb Rump with Mediterranean Salad by Colin McGurran

MethodLamb (rump/leg)n Prep lamb rump or leg and salt for 6 hoursn Wash and cook in the oven for 1 hour at 62°C on steamn Cool in the fridgen From room temperature cook in a Big Green Egg™ BBq on 250°C for 3 mins

Basil puréen Vac pac all ingredients and cook in 100°c oven steam for 15 minsn Blitz for 1-2 mins in a blender and return to vac pac bag

Confit tomatoesn Prep the plum tomato to petalsn Mix all ingredients together and cook in the oven for 2 hours at 80°C, 0% humidity n Keep turning them every 30 minsn Keep them in oil in a jar until needed

Confit Lambn Salt belly for 6 hours. Wash and pat dryn Bond the 2 bellies together by pressingn Vac pac and cook in the oven for 12 hours at 90°C on steamn Press flat between 2 trays

Shepherd's Pie Mixn Slice 100g of the cooked lamb belly and BBq in Big Green Egg™ for 5 minsn Chop into small dice and mix with crème fraiche

Pommes puréen Mix all ingredients together and boil for 20 minsn Strain potatoes and then pass through a drum sieven Mix passed potato with milk and cream and keep in a piping bag

Courgette Shepherd's Pien Stuff courgette flowers with mix and fold the flowers inside. Rest in the fridge to setn Slice courgette in half. Pan fry until goldenn Pipe warm pommes purée on top and blow torch until golden

Potato Crispsn Using Japanese mandolin, make potato strips. Blanch for 10 seconds in boiling water and cool down in ice cold water. Strain.n Bake in the oven on 160°C, roast for 6-7 mins until golden

IngredientsLambLamb rump or leg 1kgherb Salt 70g

For the Basil pureecourgette skin 300g (Peel courgettes twice)basil 30gbutter 30gcream 30gSalt 1g

For the Confit tomatoesplum tomatoes 10Salt mix 2gvegetable oil 50mlicing Sugar 25gwhite wine vinegar 10g

For the Confit lamb bellyLamb belly 1kgherb salt 70g

For the Shepherd's Pie Mixcooked lamb belly 100gcrème fraiche 20g

For the Pommes pureeMaris pipers 1kgSea Salt 20gbutter 100gMilk 100g

Courgette Shepherd's Piecourgette flowers 10Shepherd's pie mixpommes puree

For the Potato Crispschippers potatoes As required

FEATURE


We Grill

At Nigel Haworth’s Fantastic Food Show last month we had the pleasure of meeting the very charming

Colin McGurran, Great British Menu 2012 winner with his ‘quail in the Woods’ dish for the Olympic banquet. Colin, renowned for his passion for provenance, is no stranger to success. At the age of 20, he was cooking at the Michelin starred Domaines des Haut de Loire in France; five years later found him working for the UAE royal family. His first business venture was the award-winning Woolpack Country Inn, West Yorkshire in 2001; he bought Winteringham Fields in 2005. Tucked away in one of Lincolnshire’s prettiest villages, Winteringham Fields is recognised as one of the best restaurants in Britain.

Tell us about Winteringham FieldsIt’s an old 16th century farmhouse and we grow our own produce, everything from shallots to broccoli. Wherever possible we use foods in season and all our seasonal vegetables and fruit are picked from the surrounding orchards and fields or foraged. On our farm, we have our own pigs, lambs, ducks and chicken and consequently the freshest eggs. The chefs bottle-feed our lambs and look after them right up to slaughter. We named one Michael Jackson because of its white sock. When it’s their time they are treated with care and cooked with real love and passion. The chefs feel proud to see them on the plate in a beautiful dish - it’s the circle of life. I see things together in nature and it will inspire a recipe - woodpigeons nesting in the elderberry bush inspired a recipe for woodpigeon and elderberry jam. I love beautiful things; beautiful plates and gorgeous edible flowers; pea flowers and bean blossoms are coming into season now with their juicy bursts of flavour.

You have a young family and three gorgeous daughters, what do you like to cook for them?My daughters like me to cook with them and I involve them as much as possible. On Sundays we work together to create lunch; one daughter will do the carrots, one the Yorkshires and one roast the beef so when we sit down we’ve all contributed. If you involve kids in the cooking you’ll never have fussy eaters.

You’re known as an experimental chef with a trial and error approach. Has this ever backfired on you?Every day. I have never worked for Gordon Ramsay, Marco Pierre White or Thomas Keller so I have no fixed views on how things should be done. I make most of my errors during the recipe development phase but that’s all part of the learning process. A new dish can be two weeks in development. We start with an ingredient and test everything about it, sourcing, producing, usage, cooking technique and partner ingredients. In the second week, we work on presentation and ease of creation in the kitchen until the recipe is perfect. Then we take a picture of the finished dish, write up the recipe and pass to the chefs. To create the best veal stock, I looked at millions of different recipes, chose the one I liked the best and tweaked it until I was happy. It’s my personal cooking and I will never accept second rate. Do you covet a Michelin star?I’d be lying if I said no, but I think this kind of judgement is unique to our industry; you don’t get stars for being the best dentist and if you did which stars would you trust? In our world, there are around 10 different guides all with different criteria. I like to keep things simple and pure, from farm to fork, and focus on flavour. I’m not frightened of being judged but I say ‘bollocks’ to it really.

The Skills for Chefs Conference is in July. What’s your view on career training?We have a training every Saturday, covering everything from butchering lambs legs to properly closing the fridge door. (That’s a ‘close and squeeze’ not a ‘kick and wallop’ by the way). I believe in treating everything in the kitchen with reverence (fridges last longer) and creating a culture which refuses to accept substandard. All my chefs are rotated through sections to ensure they don’t get stale or bored.

Success in the Great British Menu put you in the public eye but what was it like being under the beady eyes of Matthew Fort, Oliver Peyton and Prue Leith in the final?They all have individual palates and it can be difficult to please them all. It’s very hard sometimes; your food is your personality on a plate and for it to be criticised can be soul destroying. I cooked ‘quail in the Woods’ for the Olympic banquet challenge. Nigel Haworth gave it a 4 (out of 10) yet it subsequently won the category!

At Nigel Haworth’s Fantastic Food Show, you demonstrated a new season lamb, courgette & basil cream, lamb belly and stuffed courgette flower dish. Can we share your recipe with our readers in our special feature on edible flowers in this issue of Take Stock?It would be my pleasure! (turn to page 17 for Colin’s recipe) Winteringham Field’s Chef Patron Colin McGurran

charms Take Stock’s editor Mags Walker

TAKE STOCK MAGAzINE 2110 TAKE STOCK MAGAzINE20 TAKE STOCK MAGAzINE

Fish - it’s a menu workhorse but recent fishy business over labelling could not only land you in hot water, it could also leave you pale around the gills with a legal battle on your hands. Take Stock investigates.

Fishy Business

of American sushi bars are serving mislabelled fish

It’s said what happens in America today happens in the UK tomorrow but what, you may ask yourself, does that have to

do with the price of fish? The answer is, quite a lot actually.Food allergy lawyers in the US are targeting a public increasingly aware that the fish and seafood they order is not necessarily what they eat. According to a study by the not-for-profit ocean conservation group Oceana, 74% of American sushi bars and 38% of restaurants are serving mislabelled fish - that’s fish billed as one thing on the menu that turns out to be another species altogether when examined in the laboratory. Here in the UK, scientific testing by Salford University has revealed that 7 per cent of the cod and haddock served in British restaurants is really another cheaper species such as pollock or Vietnamese pangasius.These substitutes are used to cut costs but with fish and seafood already two of the eight most common food allergens (the others are milk, eggs, soy, wheat, peanuts and nuts in general) serving them is not only cheating the public, it is also potentially putting its health at risk. This is because some people can be allergic to some fish species but not all. If a customer has an allergic reaction as a result of mislabelling they can take legal action against you - and find a UK food safety lawyer ready to take their case. It would seem that the buck could well stop with you, even if you were as ignorant as your customer over the true origin of your fillets.According to the Sustainable Restaurant Association (SRA), the Salford University findings are to be welcomed as a wake-up call for the UK catering industry. Says the SRA’s managing director Mark Linehan:

“As the horse meat scandal has shown us, diners will vote with their wallets if businesses don’t take responsibility for their supply chain. Consumers want transparency and restaurants are duty bound to provide it. “Drawing up a sourcing policy, being rigorous with suppliers and taking steps to improve staff knowledge of fish will put restaurateurs in the best position to serve customers what they say they are serving them.”SRA members adhere to a fish specific supplier agreement that means they do not serve fish from illegal, unreported or unregulated sources and can provide proof of traceability including where and when the fish on their menu was caught. In the Yorkshire seaside town of Whitby, award-winning Fusco’s of Whitby, which owns and operates three fish and chip shops in the resort, has gone a step further by seeking certification by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC). The MSC, a global organisation, works to develop standards for sustainable fishing to protect the world’s fish stocks and also, for seafood traceability.Fish and seafood suppliers from fish and chip shops and restaurants, which serve the public directly, through to foodservice wholesalers such as Bristol-based fresh and frozen fish and seafood supplier Charles Saunders Food Service, along with trawler companies, can undergo an audit leading to certification. Once certified, the business can display the MSC’s logo, which reassures the public that all the fish and seafood it sells can be traced back to a sustainable fishery.Explains Stuart Fusco, a former Young Fish Frier of the Year award winner: “We go right back to source to check that our fish is what we say it is. We know the boats that catch our fish - the Hrafn in Iceland for our cod and the Gier in Norway for our haddock. It’s frozen on the boat within hours of being caught so comes to us fresher than any ‘fresh fish’ we could buy.“It makes me angry that some places are sourcing substandard species and selling them as cod and haddock. Ultimately, it’s not giving consumers the honesty they deserve and that brings the whole industry’s reputation down.”

for further information on the SrA, visit www.thesra.org and on the MSc, www.msc.org.To contact charles Saunders foodservice visit www.charles-saunders.com

Grow your daily catch

Fish dishes have never been as popular, according to official figures on the global consumption

of fish. Many diners are choosing fish as a healthier alternative to meat and it’s popular among calorie-counters. Net more customers with our fishing tips below:

n name that species - always correctly label fish on menusn only buy from suppliers who can prove traceabilityn never substitute without letting customers known promote sustainable fish sourcing - it boosts salesn Join the Sustainable restaurant Association - www.thesra.org n Get audited by the MSc - www.msc.orgn become an expert - download the Uk-based Marine conservation Society’s Good fish Guide and teach your staff - www.mcsuk.orgn champion sustainable fishing. Substitute over-fished species such as cod, haddock and dover sole on menus with delicious alternatives such as Alaskan pollock or farmed organic Arctic char but remember to name that species!

FOOD & DRINK

Sea-ingis Believing

Actor Richard Burton described laverbread as a 'Welshman’s caviar'. Laver itself is commonly found all

around the West coast of Britain and the East coast of Ireland, where it’s known as slake. You can spot it clinging to rocks at low tide. It has a smooth texture and a brownish colour but boils down to a very dark green (almost black), silky purée. This is what the Welsh call laverbread. It’s then traditionally mixed with oatmeal or porridge oats and formed into thin patties, which are fried until crispy alongside sausage and bacon to be served as 'a miner’s breakfast'.Laver’s high iodine content gives it a distinctive flavour in common with olives and oysters. It’s also a great source of protein, iron and vitamins B2, A, D and C making it highly nutritious.You can buy tinned laverbread in Wales and over the internet but to make your

own, simply collect a batch of laver, wash it, leave it to soak in fresh water and then rinse to get rid of sand. Repeat this cleaning cycle a couple of times to make sure your laver is totally sand-free. Once you’re happy it is, put it in a large saucepan. Cover it with fresh water and bring it to the boil. Let it boil slowly for at least five hours to achieve your purée. Leave it to cool. Drain off any excess water and depending on how much laver you collected, divide your laverbread into batches for use now and to freeze.

You can use your laverbread in this recipe from café MÔr, The pembrokeshire beach food company, which supplies laverbread and other welsh specialities to foodservice (tel. 07919 192771). www.cafemor.co.ukwww.beachfood.co.uk


Scallop, Chorizo and Laverbread SandwichIngredientsScallops 3 chorizo Sausage 1 slicedLaverbreadolive oil Lemon wedgeorange wedgeSea Saltwhite peppercrusty white roll (or Tortilla Wrap)

Method

n Cook chorizo in non-stick frying pan in olive oil, turn regularly to avoid stickingn When chorizo starts crisping, add a big tablespoon of laverbreadn Remove scallops from shell, cut large ones in half, dry on kitchen toweln When laverbread begins to bubble, turn heat up and add scallops to pann Cook for 2 minutes - depending on thickness - until warm to the touch in the middle n Remove pan from heat, season and squeeze over lemon and orange juicen Serve inside warm roll or tortilla wrap


If you are planning time off for a sea-side trip, have yourself a busman’s holiday by foraging for seaweed. The summer’s a great time to look for laver, a seaweed that the Welsh make into laverbread.

Ingredients

Scallops 4 MSC certified in the half shell, cleanedSeashore flakes 1 tspclarified butter 20mlshaggis cooked 100gegg beaten 1plain flour 50gpanko crumbs 50gSeasoning Methodn For the haggis, divide the mixture in 8 ballsn Roll firstly in egg, flour then breadcrumbs. Set asiden Season the scallops in a little butter and seashore flakesn Roast open shell side down in a searing pann Once ¾ cooked turn over and finish under the salamandern Deep fry the haggis in rapeseed oil at 180°C for 1.5 minutesn Garnish with woodland sorrel to finishn Serve on a bed of wet salt to stabilise the shell

MSC certified Shetland scallops in the half shell with crispy haggis

Award-winning luxury seafood restaurant Ondine, just off Edinburgh’s Royal Mile, is MSC certified. Here’s a recipe from chef patron Roy Brett for Take Stock readers to try.

FORAGING

Gourmet ice lollies can create unique and memorable flavour combinations to cool customers down on a hot summer's day or offer them a dessert with a difference. With margins of 80 per cent and above, there’s plenty of lolly in

make-your-own frozen popsicles as well as appealing to yummy mummies who want healthy, stylish alternative treats for the kids - and themselves.

This recipe for roasted strawberry, coconut and lime lolly contains only the goodness of real fruit, dairy free, gluten free and with no added sugar. Experiment with your own flavours and stickem’ up!

Makes approximately 9 dairy and gluten free ice lollies (600ml total mould capacity)

IngredientsStrawberries hulled/halved 2 heaped cupscornflour 1 teaspoon coconut milk ¾ cupcoconut water ¾ cupcoconut cream ½ cupLime juice of ½ a limeice lolly moulds 600ml capacity. (Double the recipe if you have larger or more moulds to fill)

Methodn Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F). Place the strawberries in a baking tray. (If the strawberries are large, you may need to quarter them). Lightly dust with corn flour using a sifter, make sure there are no clumps of corn flourn Roast the strawberries for 30 minutes or until the juice is slightly caramelised. Remove and allow to cooln In a blender, add the coconut milk, coconut cream, coconut water, lime juice and half of the roasted strawberries. Blend until smooth. Divide the remaining roasted strawberries between each ice lolly mould. Pour the blended coconut mixture into each ice lolly mould to fill. Freeze overnightn If you have excess mixture, you can store it in an airtight container in the fridge and make a second batch. Take the frozen ice lollies from the moulds and store in an airtight container in the freezer; layer with baking paper so they don’t stick togethern Garnish with edible flowers, strawberries and limes

Recipe credit: www.twolovesstudio.com

Lovely LolliesRoasted Strawberry, Coconut & Lime Ice Lolly


It’s a proven scientific fact that we eat with our eyes, given that how a dish looks is usually the first sensory criteria by which we judge it.

And here in the Take Stock office, our appetites have been well and truly whetted by a visual feast of photos,

which our Twitter followers have sent in using #FeedYourEyes. They show a colourful array of delicious looking starters, mains and desserts, all created by you, our very talented readers.

We’ve pinned the most appetising photos on our Take Stock Magazine Pinterest board under Feed Your Eyes -Starters, Feed Your Eyes - Mains and Feed Your Eyes - Desserts. To see them, simply log on to Pinterest and type in Take Stock Magazine.

Each issue, our design team - all creative types - will pick the starter, main and pud they would most like to eat, based purely on looks. The senders of the chosen photos will be our Feed Your Eyes champs until the next Take Stock comes out. If you feel you have what it takes to be one of our champs, photograph a dish you’ve made, which you think can outshine the competition in terms of making us drool with hunger. The winners' certificates will be hand delivered by their local wholesalers.

Send it to us on Twitter @TakeStockMagwith #feedYoureyes.

coVer story


WinnerSTArTerS


Jan bretschneider @janbretschneide

This dish caught our eyes with its obvious freshness. There’s no such thing as too many greens!

cevat robert elat @cevatelat

A stunningly presented dish that makes your tummy rumble just by looking at it. The mixture of warm colours make this fishy dish stand out.

philip Yeomans@PhilYeomans

Strawberries are the fruit of the season now that Wimbledon is in full swing. This dessert keeps it fresh with a scoop of mint ice cream.

WinnerdeSSerTS

The Winners

WinnerMAinS

Welcome to Take Stock’s new patisserie section!

Sponsored by Tate and Lyle and inspired by our loyal Twitter followers, Perfect Patisserie brings you the latest

trends, recipes, ideas and equipment you need to keep your business sweet. In this issue, find award-winning desserts

and business-boosting coffee breaks.

SponSored bY


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At the Lindeth Howe Country House Hotel in the Lake District they serve the world’s most

expensive pudding but according to one top, UK-based chef, it’s not the desserts on your menu that are worth their weight in gold, it’s the chef who made them.It used to be said that if you had cool hands, you’d be good at making pastry. In turn, this made you an ideal candidate for becoming a pastry chef, but since pastry went all 'patisserie', recruiting staff for the dessert section has become more difficult.According to Ernst van zyl, the South African-born head chef at the 2AA Rosette Etrop Grange Hotel in Hale, Cheshire, good pastry chefs are now among the most sought-after members of the kitchen brigade. Ernst, who devises and creates the desserts served in both the hotel’s brasserie and separate fine dining restaurant, comments, “It’s a question of confidence when it comes to puddings.“Most chefs are good at devising and delivering savoury dishes. They know you can add a bit of this to boost flavour, leave a little something out next time if you need a bit more subtlety but with desserts, you either devise or follow a recipe and if that recipe calls for 2g of something, then that’s what you give it. It’s 2g for a reason. You have less room for manoeuvre in the desserts section. It’s more of a science, more technical and that makes a lot of people nervous.“I find my chefs are more afraid of the pastry section. A good pastry chef can

therefore be worth their weight in gold and in my experience, female pastry chefs can sometimes have the edge over men as they tend to be more accurate and precise rather than work on a trial and error basis, which can be more of a male approach.”So could a patisserie specialisation be for you? A quick scan of vacancies highlights a demand for pastry chefs with starting salaries for junior pastry chefs around the £16,000 per annum mark rising to the mid-twenties with some experience. Head pastry chefs can demand their own rate of pay within reason with competitive salaries offered to entice those with high levels of experience.Being a pastry chef or patissier doesn’t always confine you to being part of a kitchen brigade in a hotel or restaurant either, as Sarah Frankland proves. Having worked at Mayfair’s Connaught Hotel for two and a half years when Angela Hartnett was restaurant chef-patron, Sarah studied patisserie one day a week at college. Sarah then left to work for Scottish-born patissier William Curley and his Japanese patissier wife Suzue, who are proprietors of three London-based chocolate and patisserie boutiques in Richmond-upon-Thames, Belgravia and in Harrods. Now just over six years on, Sarah, who originally hails from Folkestone in Kent, is Head Patissier at the couple’s Twickenham kitchen, where the boutique’s chocolates, cakes and desserts are made. Explains Sarah, whose ambition is to one day open her own patisserie/cafe in London: “I really enjoy what I do. The hours can still be hard especially in the

run up to Christmas when there is more demand for our chocolates but I do believe patisserie has given me more opportunities to further to my career.”Sarah’s yearning to make a name for herself as a patissier won her a scholarship worth £3,500 which enabled her to train for two months at a French patisserie college and then spend three weeks in Japan. Sarah expands, “Japan was fascinating and I’d love to go back there. The Japanese have really taken patisserie to heart with many Japanese patissiers now training in France and then going back home to combine their learnings with their own culture. For example, you’ll see patisserie containing black and red beans! I was also able to go to New York where the fashion for dessert bars started. William introduced a dessert bar in his Belgravia boutique and it’s massively popular.”Sarah also won last year’s inaugural Movenpick Gourmet Dessert Chef of the Year Competition. Held in partnership with the Craft Guild of Chefs, it required entrants to match one of the Swiss ice cream company’s ice cream flavours with a dessert of their innovation/choice. Sarah opted for hazelnut ice cream served with a poached apple cannelloni with a jasmine mousse on top of a chocolate sable Breton. (see recipe on page 33) Judge Allan Pickett said the competition “should act as inspiration for chefs to put desserts back on the menu and encourage a revival of a course that is so often seen as an afterthought rather than what could be the icing on the cake of a top class meal”.

TA K E S T O C K P E R F E C T PAT I S S E R I E


Here’s the winning recipe for the Mövenpick Gourmet Dessert Chef of the Year Competition created by patissier Sarah Frankland.

IngredientsJasmine bavaroisJasmine tea 10gMilk 250gwhipping cream 225gvanilla 0.5gegg yolk 40gcaster sugar 40gGelatine leaves 2.5 Poached appleGranny Smith apples 4caster sugar 100gwater 300gLemon juice 50gvanilla 0.5g Blackberry sauceblackberry purée 350gSugar 25gpectin rapid set 5g Chocolate Breton sabléflour 100gcocoa powder 12gSea salted butter-softened 80gegg yolks 40gicing sugar 80gbaking powder 7.5g Apple foamApple juice 400gegg white powder 8gGelatine leaves 4 Chocolate loopsTempered chocolate 100gfresh blackberriesJasmine flowersroast hazelnutsneutral glaze Mövenpick Hazelnut Ice Cream

PATISSERIE

Sarah’s Poached Apple Cannelloni with Hazelnut Ice Cream

MethodJasmine bavaroisBring the milk and vanilla to the boil. Add the jasmine tea leaves, cover with cling film and infuse for 10 minutes. Strain the mixture, return it to a pan and bring it back to the boil. Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks and sugar in a bowl until pale. Soak the gelatine in cold water. When the milk mixture has boiled, remove from heat and pour a third of it into the egg yolk mixture. Return the whole mix to the pan and cook to 85°C before adding the gelatine and straining through a fine sieve. Cool to hand hot temperature. Semi-whip the whipping cream and fold through the jasmine anglais. Pipe into a cylinder mould and leave to set in the freezer.

Apple cannelloniBring the caster sugar, water, vanilla and lemon juice to the boil. Thinly slice the apples on a mandolin, and simmer in the poaching syrup for 5 minutes. Allow to cool. Lay slices on cling film and place chilled bavarois cylinder on top. Roll up cling film, twist ends and leave tube in fridge to set.

Blackberry sauceBring the blackberry puree to the boil. Mix the sugar and pectin together before whisking it into the puree and cooking for 1 minute. Leave to cool in a shallow container before pouring into a sauce bottle.

Chocolate Breton sableBeat the egg yolks and icing sugar in a bowl until pale. Add the softened butter and then the dry ingredients to form a dough. Rest in the fridge on a floured tray. Roll out the Breton dough to 4mm thickness and cut 2.5cm x 7.5cm. Place onto a flexi mat, mould and cook for 10-15 minutes at 160°C. Leave to cool.

Apple foamSoften the gelatine in cold water. Bring a quarter of the apple juice to the boil and add the soaked gelatine and return the mix to the remaining apple juice. Whisk in the egg white powder and place in a gas gun with 2 cartridges. Refrigerate until required.

Chocolate loopsCut an acetate sheet 7cm x 16cm. Pipe tempered chocolate into six lines across the acetate sheet, 1cm apart along the 16cm length. Join the lines together with chocolate along the 7cm length before curling up the acetate and placing it into a 5cm diameter ring. Leave to set and remove from the acetate sheet before serving.

To serveCarefully insert the stuffed apple cannelloni tube through the chocolate loop and position it on top of the Breton sable. Squeeze some blackberry sauce onto the plate and top with blackberries, jasmine flowers and hazelnuts. Place on the quenelle of Mövenpick Hazelnut Ice Cream, spray on apple foam to finish.

MethodLemon curdBoil juice, sugar and agar for 2 minutes then add the egg and bring to boil. Remove from heat and whisk in butter. Pour in container and set in fridge. When set, place in blender, blend and add a few more spoons of the reserved juice until a smooth curd consistency is obtained. Scoop into a piping bag.

Italian meringuePut 160g sugar and water in pan and bring to 116°C. When it reaches 100°C start beating the whites until stiff then drizzle in 40g sugar and keep whisking until smooth. When sugar reaches 116°C slowly pour it onto the egg whites in a slow steady stream and keep whisking until the meringue is cold, light and fluffy. Scoop into a piping bag.

Wild rice krispiesDeep fry black wild rice at 210°C until puffed. Drain on paper. Store in air-tight container.

Pickled blueberries Bring water, sugar and vinegar to boil and pour onto blueberries to pickle. Let cool.

Almond sable biscuitCream butter and sugar. Add eggs one at a time then add the ground almond followed by the flour. Shape into a cylinder and rest in fridge to firm up. Cut and bake at 170°C for 5-8 minutes until golden brown. Sprinkle with caster sugar and ground almonds straight out of the oven and cool.

To servePipe 5 mounds of meringue onto the plate, caramelise with blowtorch. Then pipe 5 mounds of lemon curd in between the meringue. Garnish with the pickled blueberries, wild rice krispies, almond sable biscuit and fresh mint leaves.

Ernst’s Lemon Meringue Pie

Sarah Frankland

Here’s one of Ernst van zyl’s most popular puds at the Etrop Grange Hotel, his own updated take on the lemon meringue pie. Says Ernst: “If the wheel has already been invented, there’s no point trying to reinvent it. Better to just give it an update.”

IngredientsLemon curdLemon juice (plus extra needed for letting down) 140gSugar 130gAgar 3gwhole egg - whisked 130gbutter - cold and cubed 130g Italian meringueegg whites at room temp 100gcaster sugar 40gcaster sugar 160gwater 40g Wild rice krispieswild rice Pickled blueberries fresh blueberries 100gred wine vinegar 100gSugar 100gwater 100g Almond sable biscuitbutter softened 150gegg yolks 3plain flour 140gGround almonds 50gcaster sugar 125g


adVertorial

Get this right and watch your sales soar. Britain has seen its coffee lovers revert back to independent

coffee shops in a move away from large chains in search of fresh, high-quality coffee. Last year the coffee shop market grew by 7.5 per cent and visits to independent coffee shops for breakfast have also become an increasingly popular trend.Serving high-quality coffee alongside your patisserie selection will keep you on trend and encourage your customers to eat in and spend more. Variety also wins, as does understanding the best coffee and cake combinations. Offering patisserie and coffee selections to suit particular times of the day will keep customers coming back for their favourite combination or to try something new.Alex Galantino from La Bottega Milanese in Leeds explains that, like coffee, patisserie is 'a heightened sensory experience in its own right' and so the two combined is a powerful hook. He says “Coffee can play as a contrast to provide balance, for example a chocolatey varietal to contrast a very citrusy cake and

vice versa. It can also complement a cake by matching its notes, so if you have a caramel cake, you can also accompany it with coffee with a caramely finish.”Today, there is a vast selection of coffee blends and roasts that are readily available to ensure you are able to provide your customers with a range of high-quality coffee. Coffee machines are also becoming more commonplace, affordable and efficient. Creating the perfect partnership couldn't be easier.

nestlé offers a vast and popular range of coffee blends and coffee machines to suit all your barista needs.visit the beverage Solution section at www.nestleprofessional.com formore details.

winning cake and coffee combos:

n espresso and Almond biscotti

n Medium roast espresso and pain au chocolat

n café au lait and croissant

n nutty medium blends and bakewell tart

n Strong roast espresso and Ginger cake

n colombian coffee and carrot cake

n café Latte and chocolate chip cookies

A perfectpartnership

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a science.

PATISSERIE

Available in NESCAFÉ Original and Gold Blend, new 600g Catering Refill Packs maintain quality and

flavour yet offer foodservice an easy-to-use, environmentally-friendly pack that is cost-effective with a 100g saving compared to the 750g tin.

The new Catering Refill Packs answer many of the user-needs highlighted by the 2012 Mintel Packaging survey. It found that using refills can add 10% incremental value to the Out Of Home instant coffee category. Mintel also found that in foodservice over 15 per cent of outlets decant coffee and up to 90 per cent look for an easy-to-open pack. NESCAFÉ listened to its customers and its new refill packs have an easy-open and easy-pour design. With minimal packaging, NESCAFÉ Refill Packs also increase transport efficiency, cut food miles and support foodservice’s sustainability credentials.

As one of NESCAFÉ’s customers explains: “I need to tip or tilt the coffee tin when I decant coffee into another container. It would be much easier if I could hold it with a single hand keeping my other hand free to guide the pour.” With Britain fast becoming a nation of coffee drinkers - the ratio of coffee to tea drinking is now equal according to Kantar Worldpanel ‘Usage Out of Home’ consumption survey - customers will welcome NESCAFÉ’s solution to keeping their daily coffee fix an affordable luxury.

contact your local wholesaler for further details.

Serving premium coffee just got simplerNew NESCAFÉ Catering Refill Packs save money and time

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As the world’s seventh largest tourist destination, the UK benefits from both domestic and foreign visitors.

Last year the UK welcomed 31 million visitors spending £18.6 billion. By 2020, overseas visitor numbers are expected to reach 40 million with a spend of £31.5 billion. Domestic tourism accounts for the largest proportion of expenditure, over £22 billion spent last year, and this looks set to continue in 2013. Visitengland is promoting domestic tourism with a marketing campaign fronted by Wallace and Gromit and the strapline - ‘holidays at home are great!’ and the

numbers suggest it’s true. As the ongoing squeeze on finances and the continuing popularity of the ‘staycation’ means many families will be holidaying at home in the UK this summer. So what should you be doing to seize tourism potential in your area and maximise your revenue stream?For starters, think British. For chefs and restaurateurs, domestic tourists provide the perfect platform to indulge in the renewed passion for all that is British. With this in mind, look to promote seasonal British local produce and speciality dishes on menus to attract tourists looking to enjoy their UK break.

Tapping into

tourism2012 was a bumper year for Britain’s tourism industry thanks to the Olympics and the Jubilee, and the party isn’t over yet. Turn the page for Take Stock’s tips on how your business can benefit this season.

BUSINESS BOOSTER

National celebrations and events can also offer wonderful themed opportunities if you have exhausted your local offerings. For example, to celebrate national picnic week in June, The Millstone at Mellor, Tourism Pub of the Year, offered pre-prepared picnic hampers and rugs for customers to take-away to enjoy a day out in the Lancashire countryside. In addition to a buoyant domestic market, international tourism is also set to rise with the latest research from Visitbritain predicting £200 million pounds worth of additional visitor spending in the next two years. To maximise earnings potential from overseas visitors, the number one recommendation is: clean up your act. According to a recent study by P&G Professional, a division of Procter & Gamble and the makers of cleaning brands such as Fairy, Flash and Mr Propre, 97 per cent of guests voted cleanliness as the most important factor when choosing a restaurant, cafe, bar or hotel. Cleanliness was voted more important than cost, service, location or frills with 61 per cent of European customers - nationalities surveyed included Italians, Spanish, French, Germans and Brits - expecting outlets to look freshly spring-cleaned all year round. Keeping it clean also leads to higher tips, so let staff know that hygiene reaps rewards for everyone!research from Visitbritain highlights the importance of pubs to foreign visitors, with over 50 per cent of foreign tourists visiting a pub when in the UK. Patricia Yates, Director of strategy and communication at Visitbritain

explains how important pubs are for tourism, “the great British pub is our welcome mat to the world. Visitors can chat with locals, get a flavour for the area and discover all the hidden treasures which aren’t necessarily found on a planned itinerary. That’s not to mention the wonderful array of local food, beer and wine that they can try while here.”For the longer summer evenings, Visitengland and the Association of Town Centre Management have issued guidelines to help the tourism industry make the most of the night-time economy. Unlike the rest of Europe, Britain has a weak night-time economy. James Beresford, Chief Executive of Visitengland, says that later opening hours by shops, bars and restaurants represents “a huge opportunity to grow tourism in England and make our cities and towns some of the most exciting in the world.” Contact your local Town Centre team if you think your venue could benefit from night-time trade.To fully capitalise on tourism in your area you could also consider offering accommodation. This could be simple camping, or bed and breakfast utilising current space or by building bespoke separate guest accommodation. The Craven Heifer Inn in Kelbrook, Lancashire has successfully done this. From initially offering bed and breakfast from eight bedrooms above the pub, it now offers an additional 10 bedrooms in a newly completed lodge building. Although this required initial investment, with rates between £60 for single occupancy and £90 for double, it is clear to see how offering accommodation can provide additional income.

for more information on the p&G survey go to www.pgprof.co.ukfor more information on visit england go to www.visitengland.com

Top tips for how you can tap into tourism:n contact your local tourist information centre to publicise your venue with leaflets or a listing on their website or local directory of recommended places to eat or stay

n Get mobile and start using foursquare.com or apps such as the Good food Guide app so that customers can find you when they are hungry

n find your local attractions on Google and TripAdvisor. Link your products and promotions to local attractions/ events - and contact organisers to see how you can work together

n celebrate local produce and incorporate regional/local dishes on your menu. visitors love to try local food, drinks and dishes

n cater to family groups. over the summer months the majority of holidaying britons will be families with children - see our article on page 40


The

UkiS The

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7thLArGeST ToUriST

deSTinATion

SpendinG

31.5 biLLion

2020 iS eXpecTed To weLcoMe

40MiLLion

overSeAS viSiTorS

Bear in mind that UK tourism isn’t all about location, location, location. Tourists outside ‘typical’ touristy-locations will

be just as interested in enjoying a taste of the local cuisine as those visiting famous or more popular destinations. Consider your local area carefully and you will find that you are near a particular area ofinterest, cultural importance or a tourist attraction. The question is - how can you make your particular venue work with and benefit from your area’s unique selling point? For instance, if you are in a popular walking area then offer ramblers specially-designed pre and post-hike menus, complete with a route map with your venue as the star attraction at the beginning or end of the walk. Or, latch on to a local theme or event. For example, if your local area holds an annual village fayre, hire a stall and create a representative mini-menu to give the visiting public a ‘taste’ of your venue - and leave them wanting to visit you again for more!Offering traditional British afternoon tea is another easy way to appeal to tourists and can be done with limited kitchen facilities and by all types of venues including pubs, cafes, garden centres and restaurants.

There’S A predicTed

LAST YeAr The Uk

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200 MiLLion

31 MiLLion

18.6 biLLion

Prêt-à-Portea - a Fashionista’s afternoon tea at the Berkley- Londonwww.visitbritain.com

BUSINESS BOOSTER


Child’s play

Make your establishment family friendly this summer

It’s here again - six weeks of school holidays and whilst your first reaction may be to pull a face, stop and consider what this could

mean to your business: increased custom and profit. Families up and down the country will be holidaying, visiting relatives and generally trying to keep their children amused. This will inevitably involve eating out and the more your venue caters to families, the more you could benefit.Caterers that capitalise on the family sector will rake in additional revenue; and the trick is to appeal to both adults and children. Parents may make final decisions and pay the bill, but children will often dictate where the family ultimately chooses to eat. Parents will be looking for value for money, healthy options and a child-friendly, clean and welcoming environment. Children will be looking for entertainment, food they like and a friendly atmosphere. Since the smoking ban came into force in 2007, there has been a 3 per cent increase in eating out, according to Mitchells & Butlers’ investor review. In monetary terms, spend on eating out has increased by £17 billion since 2003. A main component of this market is families; they drive up food sales, create high spend for short stays and often involve large groups.So, how can you effectively cater for families?

Menu Mixes Get your food offering right to appeal to both parents and children - look at your target market to decide if you need a separate children’s menu. Parents often like half-portion options of standard menu dishes for their kids. As Yummy Pub's Tim Foster explains, the chain offers a range of options, ensuring that these are tailored to what parents want. “While we've tried various options - half-portion, half-price, set menu with starter, main and pud - offering kids’ classics and being flexible around parents’ needs and wants is most successful.” If you decide to go for a bespoke children's menu, you could gain inspiration from award-winning, family friendly pub the Manor Arms in London. Its kids' menu changes daily and includes vegetarian choices and organic, seasonal produce. At £6.50 including juice and a piece of fruit, the menu achieves a healthy 65 per cent gross profit.

The Eagle and Child in Ramsbottom, Lancashire has novel ways of attracting families. Tenant Glen Duckett explains: “We’ve put together a great value kids’ menu including mini-versions of our pub classics such as mini-chicken and ham hock pie with cheesy mash topping for £4.95, using quality local ingredients. We begin by getting kids out collecting eggs for their dinner from our new hens. We show them where we grow fruit and veg in our Incredible Edible Beer Garden. Giving young visitors these experiences gets them asking their parents to take them to the pub - surely every adult’s dream.”To find out what might work best in your area, why not consult children at a local school or current family customers to see what menu options they would like to see?

High Street TrendsA study of successful high street chains such as McDonald's, Frankie and Benny’s and Giraffe, shows that small bites, colourful packaging and presentation pitched at the right price is a winning formula. It's important to remember that the family market is key to incremental sales of drinks and desserts, so ensure you offer a range of drinks and fantastic, fun desserts. A key trend demonstrated by operators such as Pizza Express is to get children making their own food. The chain lets children create their own pizzas while Pizza Hut has the popular ice cream factory where children pump their own ice cream and create their own sundaes by adding their own choice of toppings.

Busy Bees

To ensure other customers are not irritated by children, keep them busy. Colouring sheets and crayons are a low cost way of occupying children, or you could create an indoor or outdoor playing area. The Pear Tree pub in York has won over families with an impressive soft-play area featuring an indoor tree-house and interactive games and screens including XBox and PlayStations. Parents can even watch their kids on parent cam-screens. By ‘zoning’ and keeping children separate, the pub is reducing the risk of offending and alienating their regular adult customers.

BUSINESS BOOSTER

what clean can be

“When the employees come back the next day, they always know that it has been cleaned to a high standard.”

Sarah – Cleaner

The new range of Professional productsfor all your core cleaning needs

Childproof Your Premises

Your décor and equipment need to immediately make it clear that you welcome families. Make seating appropriate for families such as larger tables with child-friendly chairs and a good supply of clean high chairs. Dedicated changing facilities are also a must and thoughtful additions like pram storage at the entrance will go down well with parents. It is essential to review your premises from a hygiene and safety point of view too - ensure the guarding of any open fires, that no ornaments are within easy reach and that hazards such as hot food stations and cleaning products are out of reach of small hands!

Happy FaceGood and friendly service is valuable to the family market, so make sure your staff are well trained and offer service with a smile. Make a family feel welcome and they will return. Ensure your staff are attentive and

perceptive and coach them in 'wowing' families. Simple things like offering to serve children’s meals immediately can be a real winner for parents. To cater successfully for families you may need to consider more front of house staff which can pay dividends as they can effectively manage tables, offer more drinks and really upsell your menu.

Think Outside The BoxReview your current resources and see if you can offer something a little bit extra. Many establishments offer a retail experience in addition to their food offering. Examples include an old fashioned sweet shop, an ice cream or toy shop. Snacks are key to this market so even if a family doesn’t want a meal, be sure to offer snacks. Adapting your venue to families is key. Yorkshire Dales Ice Cream near Skipton has done this fantastically well. It launched a 50s-style American themed ice cream parlour at its farm near Bolton Abbey.

Billy-Bob’s Ice Cream Parlour is a large ranch house which offers American food such as pancakes, hot dogs and incorporates Yorkshire Dales’ range of ice creams. By offering free entry to its barn play area and outdoor wooden play area, it attracts large numbers of families.So this summer, remember that attracting families really is child’s play. With a few thoughtful changes you can reap the rewards of this highly lucrative market.


BUSINESS BOOSTER

n children often dictate where families choose to eat

n parents want value for money, healthy food and drink options and a child friendly welcoming environment

n Mitchell & butlers' investor review noted a 3 per cent rise in eating out since 2007

n Spend on eating out increased by £17 billion since 2003

n parents like half portion menu options for kids

n Small bites, colourful packaging and presentation pitched at the right price is a winning formula

n colouring sheets and crayons are a low cost way to keep kids occupied

n Make families welcome and they’ll be back

family values


To celebrate its silver anniversary as the UK’s leading range of cleaning products and cloths for caterers, the

Today’s Group gave it a rebrand and fresh new look to appeal to new users as well as loyal customers.Today’s also took the opportunity to review the range - exclusively available to you from your Today’s member wholesaler - discontinuing products no longer popular and adding some great value new ones.The new Kitchen King range features 160 products - with only a handful still to be branded with the new look. New products include a paper and disposables range of kitchen essentials - for maximum levels of food safety, hygiene and speedy clean-ups before and after service, in the kitchen and outside.Hygiene is an increasingly important factor in attracting customers and retaining their loyalty. To help you maintain the highest standards of cleanliness, the Today’s Group is constantly on the look out for new products to extend and improve the Kitchen King range.Since the rebrand, the distribution of Kitchen King range has been increased but pricing levels have been maintained. As a result, this professional standard cleaning range - that includes hand towels, kitchen cleaning rolls, towels and toilet tissues - is now widely available and competitively priced.

There are several products on special offer until August - contact your local Today’s wholesaler for range and offer details.

New Crown for Today’s Kitchen King

King of the Roll

Today’s Kitchen King range has long reigned supreme over cleanliness and hygiene in the commercial kitchen and throughout the public areas of hotels, cafes and restaurants.

Kitchen King paper products are great quality at great prices.

Exclusively available from your Today's member wholesaler.

oRdeR some today!

You all use it, so why not use ours!

THE TODAY'S GROUP


Even the best restaurants in the country have at one time or another had a hygiene scare. Thankfully few outlets

match the horrors uncovered by Gordon Ramsay or The Hotel Inspector, but if you could do better on the cleanliness front, you can bet your last scourer that your customers will have noticed too.A customer’s cursory glance at your windows, seating and serving counter will provide enough information for them to conduct a personal hygiene risk assessment - even though they may not even be aware

of having done so. So whilst cleaning may not be the most exciting aspect of your business it is essential to attracting and retaining customers.Fresh, clean toilets, sparkling windows, cabinets and table settings help create a pleasant experience for your guests - and if the public areas are tip-top, their confidence in the cleanliness of what they can’t see increases. Research by the industry has shown that 9 out of 10 people would not recommend a hotel, cafe, pub or restaurant that did not appear to be clean

and fresh and half would not revisit a place that delivered a poor first impression on hygiene.A café, restaurant or hotel kitchen that is managed hygienically can make a major contribution to your business success in the long term. Key to maintaining high levels of hygiene, according to the experts, are well-planned spaces, simple effective routines that staff are trained to follow and excellent cleaning products to maximise efficiency and minimise the risk of spreading disease.

Paper TrailChoose the best disposable cleaning products and make sure your staff know how to use them.

Get inspired by understanding Hazards Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) legislation. This is a form of food safety management with a set of principles designed to prevent the spread of food safety hazards by identifying critical points in a kitchen. You need to know how chefs use the kitchen and how food flows so that washbasins, paper towels, cleaning rolls and solutions and rubbish sacks are in the right places so they get used in appropriate ways.When designing or refitting a kitchen

make sure washbasins and hand-towel dispensers are in the most convenient areas for staff to use them - not just squeezed into a corner. Basins close to entrances and exits will remind staff to wash up before they start work or move to another area - from raw to cooked foods, for example.In smaller operations without laundry support, high levels of hygiene are only possible with disposable paper products. Professional strength paper rolls can be used for cleaning, sanitising, drying, degreasing

and deep cleaning, mopping up, dusting and polishing. For food contact and food preparation surfaces, blue traceable towels are sterile and approved for food use - the bright blue colour means fragments can be easily spotted and won’t end up in someone’s dinner.Kitchen King’s range offers good absorption for drier hands and surfaces; they are also gentle on skin but tough on tops. Opt for one-at-a-time dispensing for lower consumption and more hygienic storage.

22

Results of Tork Toilet Barometer, annual survey of washroom trends commissioned by SCA.

of uk dinerS fear chefS regularly

fail to WaSh their handS

before cooking

65%believe if the loo iS dirty...

88%16%

...So iS the kitchen

of uk dinerS have Walked out of a reStaurant that looked

‘grubby’

suspect food

dropped on the

floor goeS on to be Served

1 in 5

Said the cleanlineSS of the toiletS affected their

reStaurant choice

almoSt a Quarter

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Dirty Tricks

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THE TODAY'S GROUP


Stock ExchangeThe


If you’re a chef however, you’ll instantly recognise that the UK restaurant industry is one such sector. Just ask

yourself; when were you last certified and stringently assessed in your role? The likely answer is probably never.

In the UK today, chef training is predominantly undertaken in colleges through government funded nVQ or VrQ qualifications. the

content of these qualifications is researched by the Sector Skills Council through consultancy with industry, and then packaged for delivery by an awarding body (e.g. City and Guilds) through over 300 colleges nationwide. Post college, there are niche courses such the AAA training scheme that has awarded pass scores to 354 chefs since its launch in 2008, but general career training opportunities are limited.

Carry ontraining

You have to go a long way in British industry to

discover a sector in which there are no professional

qualifications (linked to an awarding body) beyond

college training.

July's highly anticipated Skills for Chefs Conference is once again almost upon us. With workshops and demonstrations from Michelin star chefs, and addresses from Andrew Bennett MBE and Matthew Fort - the event will be truly unmissable.

The Conference is being held at Sheffield University on Wednesday 10th and Thursday 11th. Highlights of the conference will include:

The event will also allow you to build relationships with suppliers and colleagues and ultimately extend your network. The event is hosting an impressive lineup of chefs who will be running the culinary theatre over

the two days. There will also be small interactive workshops with chefs such as Alan Paton, who will be running a master-class on black puddings on the Wednesday.

Take Stock will be there and we are really looking forward to seeing two Michelin starred chef Eric Chavot take part in the culinary theatre on Thursday alongside celebrated chef Mark Poynton. We are almost as excited for the Champagne and Canapé reception prior to the Annual Gala Closing Dinner held in the stunning Firth Hall of the University on the Thursday Evening. The five course meal will be served with a selection of fine wines and the lead chefs are Mick Burke, Tracy Carr, Debbie Gooder, Neil Taylor and Len Unwin.

There is a limited number of places - so don't miss the opportunity to attend this exciting event - we'll see you there!

For more information and to book your place, visit: www.skillsforchefs.org.uk or call 0114 222 8916

ConferenceSkills

Eric ChavotMark Poynton

Thursday 11th JulyArrival from 9amSession 1 at 9.30amClose : 5pm

James Mackenzie

key note Speakers culinary Theatre Master class Sessions

Andrew Bennett, MBE

Matthew Fort

Sat Bains, Chef Patron, Restaurant Sat Bains

Adam Simmonds, Head Chef, Danesfield House

Mark Poynton, Chef Patron, Alimentum

Eric Chavot, Executive Chef & Owner,Brasserie Chavot

wednesday 10th July Registration from 9amSession 1 at 9.45amClose : 5pm

James Mackenzie, Head Chef & Proprietor, The Pipe & Glass Inn

Alan Paton, Executive Head Chef, Stoke by Nayland Hotel

Mick Burke, Senior Chef Lecturer, Sheffield City College

www.skillsforchefs.org.uk

Skills for chefs - business programme July 2013

Adam Brown, Head Chef, Brockencote Hall

Will Holland, Head Chef, La Bécasse

Sarah Hartnett, Head Pastry Chef, Sheraton Park Lane Hotel

n

n

n

n

the showcasing of chefs’ talents

the sharing of knowledge and skills

through demonstrations and workshops

opening speech from Andrew Bennett,

MBE

an audience with food writer Matthew

Fortand and discussions of key issues

closely linked to the industry

Adam Simmonds teaches sugar work

FEATURE

\

bigboyStoyS

SmOOTh OpErATOr

Nowhere in a chef’s kitchen is power and performance more appreciated than in a blender. Find out how to choose the right one for your business.

If you think blenders are all about smoothies and more use in a bar than a kitchen, think again. There’s a whole new generation of power performers out there. These multi-purpose workhorses are perfect for chefs who need to tempt diners with ever more creative textures and tastes and serve them in seconds.Professional blenders give chefs total control over the food preparation process from a light touch to lots of power and speed. Spinning

blades at the speed of sound (almost), they can handle just about anything you throw in them. They can whip up delicate spreads, batters, salsas, sauces, dressings and perform the heavy duty crunching of grains and beans for hummus, nut butters, fruit powders, crushed ice, thick blends, sorbets and purees. Experts agree on three factors that separate the men toy’s from the boys’ - jar shape, blades (number and position) and motor strength.

but why should chefs seek out skills development after college anyway?There are several compelling reasons and the first is what makes the consumer happy to pay for dining out. Ask yourself this; why would a consumer pay to dine out at the restaurant of an undeveloped chef when they can buy better quality themselves from a supermarket? Today, restaurant chefs are competing with retail brand development chefs and if they can’t hold their own then the restaurant will struggle.The second factor is new technology and equipment designed to make the chef’s job easier, faster and more efficient whilst producing a higher quality finish to dishes. Learning new skills around new equipment is key to the success of thousands of restaurants - and chefs.Thirdly, cooking in the media in the last 15 years has created a vast domestic knowledge base; many consumers are themselves accomplished ‘cooks’. These discerning prosumers are no fools and their expectations in your restaurant may well be linked to their own enthusiastic development.The final motivating factor is personal; salary, success and creating a secure career. The better you get the more you’ll get paid. Highly-skilled chefs are a prized commodity in the job market today and top chefs can rise to earn salaries to equal peers who twenty years earlier packed themselves off to university.Chef Paul Foster says: “Sharing skills is really important if we're to nurture the stars of tomorrow. When I think of the chefs I learnt from it's a natural progression to want to pass knowledge and experience onto those who seek it. Books and TV shows need to be complemented with up-and-coming chefs getting their hands on cutting edge kit and ingredients too.”For business owners, the benefits of a skilled chef within your business can mean the difference between success and failure.

here’s how:1 A skilled chef develops an intuitive blend of artistry and science to create appealing menus to drive loyalty and customer enjoyment

2 A skilled chef works efficiently and makes fewer mistakes. Such a chef develops strong muscle memory and a dependable kinaesthetic touch with ingredients and the broader cooking processes on which the menu is based 3 A chef with business knowledge will operate a tight financial operation that delivers profit targets as well as revenue thresholds

4 A chef with a depth of knowledge will be aware of how to cook cheaper ingredients (of no less quality) than premium ingredients that carry less profit margin

5 A technically trained chef will be a better food manager, creating less wastage by efficiently using every last morsel of an ingredient and employing cash saving skills by avoiding pre-prepared higher priced products/ingredients

6 A skilled chef can quickly become a recognised leader, promoting staff loyalty

7 Chefs who have enjoyed training feel connected to the industry, evolving trends that consumers appreciate, responding to the seasons (and financial savings associated with buying in season)

8 A skilled chef has an increased likelihood of promotion into executive management at a time when many chefs in middle age simply leave the industry

9 Chefs who are trained at their employers expense stay longer, saving on retraining and recruitment costs

10 Skilled chefs have nothing to hide and welcome management into the kitchen fostering a profitable sharing of ideas


The Stock Exchange

New Training Options for Career Chefs

Former chef and AA inspector Gordon Cartwright, who contributed this article, is the

founder of visionarydining.com. Launched to develop individual skills within the global food and beverage industry, visionarydining.com runs training courses for career chefs that promote a connected learning process. Chefs who join visionarydining.com for training are thrown into the deep end in an environment in which to succeed they need to rely on all of their instincts and recognise, under controlled conditions, those instincts that win through and those yet to be honed. Visionarydining.com is a co-sponsor of the annual Skills for Chefs conference to be held at Sheffield City College on July 10-11.

SPONSORED BY MAGRINI


More info at www.bernitopizzaovens.co.uk

The Blendtec Chef combines a light touch with the power of a tornado and it tops many a chefs ‘I want’ list for advanced technology and the ability to blend just about

everything. The Blendtec Chef from Magrini comes with 3 jars including the patented Wildside and Twister jars and spatula. Powered by a mega-2000W motor, Blendtec Chef is probably the strongest blender on the market. It can be easily fitted into kitchen counter-tops; noise-insulating covers are also available for use in public areas.Each jar offers both ounce and millilitre measurements. The smaller Twister jar is designed for tough, unique blends suchas fresh pistachio or peanut butters made in seconds, or guacamole, super-thick shakes and smoothies as small as 170ml. The Wildside jar is multi-purpose and has a wide base that’s easy to empty reducing food waste. Jars are BPA free and made from tough copolyester with an easy-clean container and safe blades. A lid plug saves time as ingredients can be added without stopping the machine.With 20 variable speeds, the Blendtec Chef provides total control for chefs who can find the perfect program for every recipe. An innovative blend cycle memory also means chefs can pre-program their own recipes for repeat use. To buy a blendtec chef or find out more about blenders and the new range of Magrini commercial catering equipment visit www.magrini.co.uk, email [email protected] or call on 01543 375311.

n pureesn Saucesn Liquefying fruit and vegn Soupsn Smoothies and Shakes

TOp

5 BlEndS

n blades spinning up to 39,000 rpms create a vortexn The vortex pulls food through the bladesn food hits jar base and is sucked up the sides in a repeat cyclen curvy jars make food move faster

n blades should be long not sharp n Motors power blades: more watts mean tougher ingredients are blended fastern polycarbonate jars don’t crack under pressure

hOwBlEndErS

wOrK

BlEndTEC ChEf: BrAwn And BrAinS

fingErS On ThE pulSEWith speedy delivery essential to boost the lunchtime and breakfast trade, powerful blenders keep kitchens competitive. But how do you choose one that’s right for your kitchen?Chefs are very passionate about their brands but if you are looking to upgrade or buy your first, you need to choose one that works for your style of cooking, your menu and your kitchen set up. For example, some chefs like manual controls whilst others prefer to be able to set a machine and walk away to multi-task.Noise is another factor and if you have an open kitchen you may need to consider a quieter, less powerful option or buy one with a noise insulating cover. If your recipes are complex, an electronic blend cycle memory is also a bonus; it remembers your regular recipes saving time and letting others prep for you.

ChEfS wAnT pOwErPower, durability and variable speeds were top requirements according to chefs surveyed by starchefs.com. Consistent results, easy to clean and use also rated high as well as an automatic shutoff to let the machine cool down rather than burnout.Professional machines aren’t cheap - but they are much more effective than domestic models with up to 10 times more power and the ability to withstand years of heavy duty use. Invest in the right smooth operator and you could give your kitchen a competitive edge for creative as well as speedy service.

As Glynn purnell, chef patron of Michelin-starred purnell’s in birmingham, explains: "we've had a blendtec chef for four months and the smoothness of the puree is unreal! The speed and power of the blendtec halves the amount of time it normally takes to blend the same puree's we've previously been making. it's the most productive, cost effective blender i've ever used.....coarse to smooth in 90 seconds!"

EArly Or lATE, BESpOKE BlEndS ArE grEATSet up a blending bar and bring a bit of theatre to your morning or evening service by whipping up healthy breakfasts or delicious cocktails and drinks in front of customers who can select their favourite ingredients.With nine of out 10 people associating ‘fresh’ with healthy, the simplest way to tap into the nutritious breakfast trend is to blend something before their very eyes. For customers seeking easy on-the-go options, blend a low-fat Greek yogurt with a fresh fruit combination of their choice - whizzed and topped with toasted granola. This can be part of your take-away or sit-down menu. Protein, such as Greek yogurt, is popular for weight management because it is low in calories but filling, and a winner for spring and summer.

fivE-A-dAyPower blended ‘made from scratch’ raw fruit or vegetable drinks full of vital fibre, proteins, vitamins and minerals are another healthy option that lets you tap into the trend for healthy ingredients and fresh seasonal products. Not only will customers get something fast and delicious, but they’ll be ticking several boxes on their five-a-day lists - and thanking you for helping them do it.The bespoke option particularly appeals to children and families as they can exclude - or disguise - the fruit and veg they dislike from their power mix.

AlCO-ShAKESFor cocktail service, professional blenders are a must: only they have the muscle needed to crush ice, and blend quickly and consistently for long periods. The new cocktail trend this summer is alcoholic milkshakes. Bars and restaurants all over London have gone daft on dairy with ideas such as vanilla and rum, bourbon and maple syrup, pineapple and strawberry with light rum and coconut shakes from £6.50 a pop. Tell your customers to forget the diet, think of flavour combinations they’d like to try and shake it up.

SET-up SECrETSTo get the best out of a bar or counter top blender, you will need several jars - preferably stackable to save space - and an area to clean them. The most powerful blenders make the smoothest, fastest mixes but need heavy-duty motors. Always think about buying one with a noise insulator option or create an attractive cupboard to house your blender. If you take the cupboard route, choose a model with electronic memory controls so you can programme your recipe, press the button, close the door and walk away to prep your next blend.

bigboyStoyS


fast food & food fast

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

If your idea of fast food is still limited to burger chains, kebabs and southern gentlemen with secret recipes for finger-lickin’ chicken, then you need to get your skates on - and so do your staff.

Today’s consumers, used to lightning-fast broadband speeds that allow them to download an album in 5 seconds

and a movie in 90 seconds, eat breakfast on the run and enjoy more of a lunch ‘moment’ than a lunch break. When it comes to waiting for food, they have the patience of a two-year old with a temperature.

Cash rich, but oh so time poor, they want good food, healthy options, tempting presentations – delivered at fibre-optic speeds.Fast food is in fact no longer a separate F&B category, it’s just normal food delivered in the time it takes a customer to find a seat, remove their jacket and text a few mates.

Among industry experts, speedy service is the only way for restaurants, pubs and caterers to keep their lunch market alive.

Forget vouchers and promotions. According to one survey, speed cuts more mileage with punters than discounts or special offers.

Significant numbers of us have made speed the priority at lunchtime and as long as there’s no compromise on quality, we are actively seeking out the speediest outlets. As long as the food is good, you can bet your fixed assets that your fast foodies will be back tomorrow towing with them the mates they were texting earlier.

If the very thought of having to compete with Drake & Morgan, whose 500-cover London restaurants pride themselves on getting mains to the table in 6 minutes, makes you want to change career, think again. This new definition of fast food is one that all foodservice needs to take on board - or risk watching their customers sprint off to the competition on the corner.

So how does your operation become the Usain Bolt of F&B? Well, the big boys and the chains are investing millions in computerised kitchen systems and technology that allows for mobile ordering. Jamie's Italian, for example, uses Calls System Technology for ordering which is synced to kitchen equipment. Jamie’s has also introduced quick cook techniques such as using hot

bricks to cook food from the top and bottom simultaneously for super fast burger and meat cooking.

For independents, being aware of the trend, taking it seriously and considering your customers’ experiences and expectations is the first step towards attaining warp speeds.

Streamline your lunch menu and make sure you have some super quick tasty options for fast foodies. Study work flows and preparation processes and see what changes you could make front of house and in the kitchen for more efficient service, cooking and delivery. Look at the new products and technology in the market that’s designed to improve efficiency. Finally, support your staff with training and the right equipment - a pair of skates if it helps.

For the lunch trade, the quicker you can deliver a main course, the more time you have to sell customers a dessert and another drink or persuade them to begin with a starter or sharing platter. Be even quicker and you can get them out and squeeze another cover in.

If the pace is too much for you, close for lunch and just open for dinner where diners are less pressed for time. At least for now…

And finally...The difference between

PROFESSIONAL STRENGTH FOR PROFESSIONAL CLEANING.

AVAILABLE IN MAJOR WHOLESALERS/CASH & CARRYOPERATORS

For more information contact:Emma PalmerCustomer Services Team LeaderDCS Europe plc | Timothy’s Bridge Road | Stratford-upon-Avon | CV37 9YLContact | Tel: 01789 208023 www.dcseurope.com

www.scjprofessional.co.uk

Advertiser : SC Johnson ProfessionalAd: Professional Strength For Professional CleaningPublication: Take StockIssue:May/JuneDate: 04/15/13

Job Number: 13-3533Agency: JWD-CreativeContact: Maggie ConnersEmail: [email protected] Phone: 414 482-7401

Trim Size: 210 mm x 297 mmBleed Size: 216 mm x 303 mm

SCJP Take Stock May-June Print Ad.indd 1 4/12/13 11:55 AM

Iconic on the outside.Loved on the inside.

The famous curves. The unmistakable taste. It could only be Coke. 73% of consumers prefer their favourite soft drink (it’s the UK’s No.1*) in the icon bottle.* And then poured into a branded glass with lots of ice and a slice of lemon.** Make sure you have big stocks. It’s the shape of sales to come.

For more information visit www.cokepubandbar.co.ukCoca-Cola, Coke, the design of the Coca-Cola Contour Bottle and the Dynamic Ribbon device are registered trade marks of The Coca-Cola Company. *AC Nielsen Total Coverage MAT October 2012. **CCE Research Survey data 02/12/2012. :739 respondents

COC0541_PerfectServeVisuals_290x210_AW1.indd 1 11/02/2013 11:211593_Coke_Perfect_Serve_A4_CokeAW.indd 1 19/04/2013 11:26

take stock magazine - issue 7

Documents

stock magazine

stock exchange

cheap value

stock market whats new

high end

value trend

charming colin mcgurran

thoughtful features