Michelin Stars - The Madness of Perfection

It's that time of year again. Michelin mayhem: sleepless nights for chefs, winners leaked early, joy and pain in equal amounts. The power of the guide to grant chefs' dreams is undeniable; but only if you strive to 'dance to the Michelin drum' as Marco Pierre-White poetically claims. Is anyone else skeptical about the reliability of the guide, anxious about its impact on businesses, and most importantly, is it relevant?

These are some of the questions posed by William Sitwell in the 2010 BBC documentary 'Michelin Stars - The Madness of Perfection'. If you're wondering what all the fuss is about or incredulous as to the worthiness of a guide that started out as no more than a petrol station finder, then this piece of programming is a good place to start. Despite being two years old, its relevance seems ever present regarding the weight of Michelin, particularly at this time of the year. If nothing else, its worth a watch for Pierre-White's intense glare and rhythmic speech.

The pernicious influence of the guide is best demonstrated by the fate of French chef Bernard Loiseau. A notorious perfectionist, Bernard committed suicide after his restaurant, La Côte d'Or, was rumoured to be demoted from three to two Michelin stars. A tragic example no doubt of the pressure faced by award-winning chefs, but the documentary glossed over the fact that Bernard was also heavily in debt and suffered from bouts of depression.

Is it the fault of the guide or do the chefs themselves attach too much importance to the coveted stars? Marco Pierre-White, who famously handed back his stars, believes it is the latter, saying that chefs must accept that they are being judged by people who have less knowledge and skill than they do. Raymond Blanc, who publicly criticized the Michelin guide, wants chefs to aim for perfection rather than aim to please the whims of the Michelin inspectors.

The pursuit of Michelin stars undoubtedly drives chefs to be more creative, more exacting and hopefully leads to better food; but shouldn't chefs who want acclaim have these standards anyway?
And is the guide biased towards certain chefs? The programme claims that with the guide's heritage based firmly in the finesse of French cuisine, it naturally favours classically trained French chefs, citing the example of Alain Ducasse whose restaurant at the Dorchester was slated by well-respected food critics such as Jay Rayner, A. A. Gill, and Sitwell himself, yet was still promoted to three stars in 2010.

The big boss of Michelin explains that such decisions are not made lightly and when it is the case of awarding or removing a star the restaurant in question is visited numerous times throughout the year by different inspectors. One would therefore imagine a degree of objectivity and that bias is weeded out, but who truly knows when it comes to such a secretive organisation?

The best approach is surely one of ironic detachment. By all means, play the Michelin game but don't beat yourself up if it doesn't turn out the way you want. There are great chefs producing amazing food who aren't deemed worthy of a star but should be very proud of their talent and achievements.

What do you think - do you turn to Michelin for places to dine on special occasions or do you shun this potentially outdated authority and rely on other, more modern authorities? 

September's Foodie Pen Pals

This month I was treated to a lovely box courtesy of Helen at the Patient Gardener. After spotting the fantastic box she sent to Offally Good I did cheekily request some of her fantastic home-grown shallots, which I very kindly received. These have since gone into a mushroom risotto which I made using the dried porcini mushrooms Helen also sent...

Chestnut & Porcini mushroom risotto

I also received some lovely Amaretti biscuits which I naively learnt (from the ingredients!) are made using apricot kernels (and I call myself a foodie, huh!). These are going down a treat with a cup of coffee. Tyrrells are my favourite crisps so I was very happy with these, and vegetable ones always make me feel less guilty about eating deep-fried snacks. Helen also sent me a couple of old school chocolate bars - a Chomp & a Fudge for similar reasons - their size makes them appear guilt-free. Great for a post-work pick me up at this time of the year, when I struggle back from Castlefield in the pouring rain.

I'm saving the olive & cheese crackers for an after dinner cheeseboard when entertaining in our new home. We move on Thursday - I can't wait! Thanks for a lovely box, Helen. Oh, I forgot to mention, she had decided on an Italian theme for the box.

I sent a box of many little treats to Gemma (click for blog) who is currently trying to swim lots - and I thought lots of little snacks such as dried fruit & oat biscuits might be a perfect way to up sugar levels after a big workout. I also sent a couple of less healthy treats such as a mini bar of my favourite Green & Blacks chocolate (butterscotch), a tub of smoked sea salt, & the dark chocolate, macademia nut, cranberry & coconut Eat Natural bar. I hope she likes them!

The Perfect Fish and Chips

Fish and chips was the first ever meal I cooked for Anna. It’s hard to imagine a candle-lit dinner of battered haddock – it’s greasy, messy, not in the slightest aphrodisiacal. Instead, if my memory serves me right, we sat on the backdoor step and ate it on a cool summer’s evening.  Romantic enough, I suppose.

I’ve been promising to make Anna the ultimate fish and chips for a while now. I even bought a nitrous-oxide powered whipping siphon to make Heston’s ultimate batter. They’re relatively cheap to acquire and have many uses beyond dispensing batter, and if you want to make decent foam they’re the best low-cost bet.

It’s a simple enough dish to pull off. Most foodies are familiar with Heston’s triple-cooked chip method and the batter is easy to prepare, put in the siphon and charge with nitrous oxide. It’s mostly about having that one piece of kit which will provide you with an incredibly airy, crispy batter. The addition of vodka to the batter helps achieve a less greasy coating since the alcohol rapidly evaporates in the hot oil, creating a protective layer between oil and batter. The malt syrup helps with colour and taste. Triple-cooking the chips is a tad laborious so you can opt out for a quicker meal - it won't be as good though.

The batter recipe is taken from 'Modernist Cuisine' and adapted from Heston Blumenthal.

For the fish and batter:

2 Cod/Haddock/Pollock/Coley fillets (choose any meaty white fish you like)

200g Plain Flour

200g Rice Flour

4g Salt

5g Baking powder

350g Vodka

200g Water

12g Malt syrup (can be found at Holland & Barrett)

NB: the batter is enough for four fillets so simply half for two people

-Sift together the dry ingredients for the batter
-Blend wet ingredients and incorporate into dry mixture
-Pour into siphon and charge with one cartridge of nitrous oxide
-Shake siphon and refrigerate

-Dust fish fillets in plain flour
-Siphon batter into a bowl and coat fillets with foam batter
-Fry in a neutral oil at 190-200 degrees c
-When batter is nicely browned (approx. 6-7 mins) remove and drain on kitchen paper

 For the chips

4 Large Maris Piper potatoes

-Cut the potatoes and rinse the slices under running water to remove excess starch
-Place in a pan of cold water and bring to the boil
-Simmer until almost falling apart
-Remove carefully with a slotted spoon and let steam dry
-Refrigerate for at least an hour
-Fry in 130 degrees c oil until lightly golden
-Cool and refrigerate again for at least an hour
-Fry in 190 degrees c oil until a golden crust forms
-Drain on kitchen paper

For the peas

1 Tin of marrowfat peas (or buy dried and soak overnight then cook until soft)
2 tsp malt vinegar
1 tbsp mint jelly
Pinch Salt and Pepper

-Place peas in a pan and bring to the boil
-Season with vinegar, mint jelly, salt and pepper
-Cook until the peas disintegrate and you have the 'mush'

Hope you enjoy the recipe and give it a go yourselves. It's worth it purely for the sound of a knife cutting through the ridiculously crispy shards of fried batter.

A weekend in Harrogate

My Mother reached a milestone birthday this year, and as her present, I promised to take her away somewhere nice for the weekend. I was a little slow in organising the trip: her birthday was in January, and we visited Harrogate on the last weekend of August! Having kept her waiting for so many months, I put great planning into where to stay and eat, to ensure that it was worth the wait.

We stayed at a fantastic B&B called the Baytree House, the perfect distance from the city centre for us to walk off our dinner each evening. I can also confirm that their 'award-winning breakfasts' are delicious (and award-winning! - the awards are framed in their breakfast room), and we sampled a variety of their menu - Eggs Benedict, a full English, smoked salmon & scrambled eggs, and porridge. The latter my Mum declared to be "nearly as good as [her] own" - I do hope the Baytree realise what high accolade she is awarding them here!

Harrogate turned out to be a fantastic place for a girly weekend, as we wandered the cobbled streets (though not so good for heels!), tucked into fruit tarts and scones at Betty's, tried on many a pair of vintage designer shoes, and visited the fantastic foodie shop, Lewis & Cooper, where they sold both cooking Marsala and Madeira, something Jamie had been trying to get his hands on for a while (yes, I was kind enough to bring some home with me for him).

I had asked the Twitter world for recommendations for dinner, and though I very much wanted to try the gastronomic delights of van Zellers, I didn't think it was quite my Mum's cup of tea. As one does on another's birthday (or 8 months after it), I ignored my preference and hunted far and wide (on Google) for somewhere that I thought she would really enjoy. Several people had suggested a restaurant called 'the Tannin Level' and after scoping out its menu, I decided this would be the best bet.

From reading their website, it sounds as though they have been running for around thirty years, but have perhaps recently re-branded. Their menu is is varied enough for everyone to find something that they would like (or most things in my case), and they do twists on classics. They also have a varied and reasonably-priced wine list. The atmosphere is very cosy as it is a basement site, with a 'rustic' feel to it.

We dined at 7pm without a booking and were seated immediately. The restaurant wasn't particularly busy, although it did pick up throughout the evening, and I was sorry to see that nearby chain restaurants were much busier. It's in a funny part of town - or seemed to be for someone who doesn't know Harrogate very well - somewhat out of the way, though this is certainly meant as no criticism. Service was fantastic throughout, and even though we were hidden away in the back room were frequently checked on.

As my Mum doesn't eat meat, I managed to persuade her to share the Seafood Tasting Board. This was made up of a variety of small dishes - (from left to right) smoked haddock fondue, salmon & leek fishcake (just visible hiding behind the next dish!), prawn cocktail, salmon terrine (hidden at the back), and crab salad with an avocado puree and gazpacho. Everything was very well seasoned and tasted delicious. The prawn cocktail had a hint of citrus which worked really nicely, and the fondue was rich and unctuous, a real treat as I've never had fondue before. I adore crab and so was very pleased when my Mum said she wasn't a big fan. This reminded me of a paired down version of Room's staple crab & prawn cocktail starter. My only complaint would be that it needed more poppy seed croutons.

For mains I chose one of the specials - hake served in a garlic butter sauce, served with prawns and asparagus. Now this was rich! The fish was beautifully cooked with a crisp skin (any of you who have read my LiveBait review will know this is a must for me), sat on a bed of potatoes, cooked through with sweet white onions. The prawns were cooked to perfection - something I have rarely experienced in restaurants - and the asparagus were encased in a surprising filo pastry. Personally, I didn't feel it needed this spring roll effect and could have done without it, but otherwise - a perfectly accomplished mid-range restaurant dish.

My Mum went for the Madras spiced Salmon, served with 'Bombay potatoes', cucumber and mint raita, and curried lentils. I thought they had done a really good job of its presentation and my Mum was certainly impressed by the raita stuffed cucumber. I was allowed a little taste, and unfortunately for my mother, was glad that I'd chosen mine! Whilst the flavours had penetrated the salmon well, it was a tad overcooked, and I felt the potatoes were a little watery. Overall, she seemed to enjoy it, but I felt it wasn't as well cooked as our starters or my main.

We were too full for dessert, so called it a night after finishing our bottle of wine. The portion sizes were very generous, and I think we both would have been sated from just one course. Overall, the experience was fantastic - in part due to the company - but also felt that the service and ambience added to it. The food was good on the whole, but I wouldn't recommend the salmon. By the way - as far as I'm aware it isn't a fish restaurant, we just happened to have a bit of an overload!

On the second night, we stumbled upon a restaurant called Timberlake's, literally a stone's throw away from van Zellers. I wistfully looked in the window of the fine dining restaurant, but ended up being perfectly happy with the tiny bistro we ended up in. It really is a small restaurant, and I would definitely recommend booking. We hadn't, but just managed to get in as many tables were turned away after us. I'm afraid I don't have any photographs to accompany the review, but had such a nice time there that I wanted to write a few words on it. It's quite an easy spot to miss in the evening as it is situated in a cobbled courtyard, surrounded by antique shops, and is the only restaurant there at night.

As I mentioned, it was full most of the evening, and there was just one waitress to serve everyone. Now I reckon in my waitressing days I could have just about handled that, but I'm always impressed to see someone else who can hack it! It also seemed that there were just two chefs in the kitchen, which I suppose was just about right as the dining room seated around 25. The menu is large, and I would say, seems to focus on 'bistro classics'; there are a range of well-thought out soups and salads, followed by a small selection of starters and mains such as slow-roast duck leg, Toulouse sausages, several steaks and also a 'curry of the day' (I didn't think this quite fitted but seemed to go down a treat with three out of four diners on the next table). The menu also states that they aim to source locally and everything is made from scratch. Many other restaurants could do well to take note from them!

To start, I opted for the chicken liver parfait, served with pickled pear, cornichons and toast. The parfait was served in a dinky kilner jar, which did prove a little fiddly to get out at the end, but by gum!, I managed it. This was delicious, and I can't fault the parfait. I would mention that a few more slices of pickled pears wouldn't go amiss... My Mum opted for the French onion soup, and again, kindly let me have a taste. This was as good as any I've had (and better than Jamie's, sssh!).

For mains, my Mum had the sea bream, served with artichokes and sweet red peppers. This was well seasoned and again, had a crisp skin. It also came with mashed potato, which I thought was a slightly odd accompaniment but it was enjoyed nonetheless. In a meaty mood after the previous day's fish overload, I went for the minute rib-eye. At just 5oz, I ensured I would not make the same mistake as the day before when I had over-indulged. Served with chips and watercress it more than filled a hole. The quality of the meat was very good and seemed larger than the 5oz described. Whilst the chips came in a mini deep-fat fryer basket, they didn't seem to have been fried long enough. Slightly pale, and not crisp enough, I would have halved their size and double-fried them.

All things considered, the meal was tasty and of good quality. I also noted they had a good range of beers for a small restaurant (such as Goose Island). Their prices are low - much lower than any restaurant I've visited in England in recent years - and I would definitely recommend a visit, even if just at lunch time for their soup and parfait!

The Tannin Level
5 Raglan Street, Harrogate
HG1 1LE
01423 560 595

Timberlake's,
1 Montpellier Mews, Harrogate,
HG1 2TQ
01423 313485

Heston's Chilli Con Carne

Cool Chile Co. do a fantastic range of ground and dried whole chillies, and are very reasonably priced.

Now, there are more recipes for chilli than I care to imagine and most home-cooks, never mind chilli cook-off veterans, have their own special additions. What I'm getting at is:  Heston's chilli recipe might not be to everyone's liking, and it's not the definitive chilli (as if such a thing existed), but it's a very good place to start. Plus, I'm not going to argue with a chef who's spent a good 20 years more than I have obsessing about food. Add chocolate, more spice, chipotle chiles, pinto beans, a splash of bourbon if you want - but follow the basic tenants of this recipe and you'll always have a great-tasting dish.

The keys to making a superior chilli are as simple as getting really good colour on your mince, brining the beans, and giving it a long cooking time. I remember not at all fondly the grey meat in a watery sauce with over-cooked beans and peppers that masqueraded for chilli in my childhood. Learning to cook the individual components so that they taste best is the key to creating a satisfying meal - and Heston's obsession with this fact is a great one to bring to your cooking.

It is quite an involved recipe - the addition of the store-bought peppers removes the need to char and de-skin peppers. The spiced butter can be omitted and you can instead fry the spices with the onions and add the ketchup etc. to the tomato and bean mix.

My recipe differs ever so slightly from Heston's (can't be too careful in the current climate):


For the kidney beans

10% Brine (e.g. dissolve 50g salt in 500g water)
150g Dried Kidney Beans
500g Cherry tomatoes w/vine attached


For the chilli

Oil (olive or groundnut)
500g Beef mince
1 Large Onion, peeled and diced
2 Star anise
1 Large carrot, peeled and diced
3 Cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed to a paste
2 Green chillies, de-seeded and finely chopped (add more if you wish)
2 tbsp Tomato Puree
375g Red Wine (optional, add more stock/water if leaving out)
3 Medium Tomatoes, diced
500g Beef Stock, good quality store-bought or homemade
Jar Piquillo peppers


Spiced Butter
2 tbsp Olive oil
1tsp each of chilli powder (ancho), cumin, chilli powder, ketchup
1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce, Marmite
125g Unsalted butter, at room temperature


-The night before, make the brine and soak the dried kidney beans for 12 hours. Remove from brine and drain.

-To make the spiced butter, heat the olive oil and fry the dry spices in it for a few seconds then pour over the butter. Mix in the Marmite, ketchup, and Worcestershire sauce. Refrigerate. 


-Cook the cherry tomatoes in a pressure cooker (if you have one) for 20 minutes under full pressure with a splash of water. Remove from the heat, let the pressure cooker cool and wait for the safety plug to lower. Uncover then reduce the liquid by half over a high heat. Remove from the heat and add the vine to infuse. (If you don't have a pressure cooker, simmer covered until the tomatoes have disintegrated).

- Add the beans to this mixture (with vines removed) and cook in the pressure cooker for 20 minutes as per the tomatoes. Stir into the chilli at the end to warm through.

Pressure-cooked kidney beans

- Heat a thin layer of oil in a large saucepan until just smoking, then brown the mince in batches until a deep brown colour. Remove and drain of excess fat. Deglaze the pan with a little water and scrape with a wooden spoon to remove any stuck bits of meat. Add this to the mince.

Browned mince

- Add a little olive oil to the pan then add the star anise and onions, frying until the onions take on some colour. Then add the carrot, chilli and garlic. Cook until softened. Add the tomato puree and cook out (you can tell by the smell). Pour in the red wine (if using) and reduce by two-thirds.

-Add the cooked mince, diced tomatoes, and stock then simmer for 2-3 hours. Check seasoning, stir in the piquillo peppers, bean/tomato mixture and the spiced butter. Top with cheese, sour cream and lime zest .

The end result (minus garnishes).

Salt-baked Sea Bass

I've seen this method of cooking fish twice in the last month. Firstly, by Daniel Humm of Eleven Madison Park in New York; secondly, by Adam Byatt on Saturday Kitchen. Daniel applies it to Black Bass and Adam to Sea Bass, but the method could be used for any similar, firm, meaty fish. I'm guessing flatfish wouldn't be that suitable and, for me, salmon and trout are better confited. Many vegetables, such as potatoes, beetroot, and celeriac are salt-baked, with equally delicious results. 

The sea bass in this recipe is coated in a mixture of egg whites and salt to protect it from the heat, making it less easy to overcook the flesh. Daniel wraps the fish in crepes before applying the egg/salt mix so that the salt does not fall onto the fish when cutting off the crust. In my experience this isn't essential, since the skin, which is removed after cooking, will catch any falling salt.

So, to start, mix roughly 500g of salt (regular table variety) with enough egg white to give the consistency of wet sand (that is to say, make it spreadable but not runny). It might seem like a lot of salt, but it only costs 30p for a tub and, have no fear, the salt is not going to penetrate the fish.

Then, get your gutted, de-scaled an de-finned fish, and stuff the belly cavity with thyme, lemon, dill, or whatever you fancy. Spread a little of the mixture on a non-stick tray or silicone baking mat, sit the fish on top, then coat with the mixture using a spatula/palette knife (see below). You can make decorations in the salt crust a la Daniel Humm, but it's obviously extra work and not necessary.

Place the bass in an oven at 220 degrees Celsius for 15 minutes per kilogram. My fish weighed about 800g so that's 12 minutes. Remove from the oven and check the temperature. I use a digital thermometer to test doneness - for, me between 45 and 50 degrees Celsius is optimum. The more you go above 50 degrees the flakier and drier the fish will become.

 

Daniel Humm chooses to serve his bass with nothing but a drizzle of olive oil and some sea salt, whereas Adam Byatt goes for fennel and potted shrimp salad (recipe in the link above). I went for a combination of radish and potted shrimp, dressed in a lemon mayonnaise. Overall, it takes around twenty minutes to complete this recipe, even less if you go for a smaller fish. The salad can be whipped up while the fish is cooking and there's no stress about overcooking the fish as with pan-frying. Good, as well, if you have leftover egg whites from making mayonnaise.

Coronation Chicken

All you need for Coronation chicken - just add one medium sized bird!

Coronation chicken, the stuff buffets are made of... at least in my opinion. I don't think you can really call a buffet 'good' unless there's some of this around. Usually shop bought, I've always thoroughly enjoyed it, but it did make me wonder if this beautiful sandwich filler is that good when pre-packed and processed to high heavens, how amazing must it be if you make it yourself?

I was shocked and somewhat disappointed to learn that one of my favourite colleagues had never eaten coronation chicken. Fortunately for her, I was there to right that wrong. Being part of a team that never misses an opportunity to hold a buffet lunch, the perfect opportunity arose as the lovely Sophie was going on leave to become a married person! A theme had been decided around 'English Garden', so I jumped on the chance to make coronation chicken. I'd been dying to try out Felicity Cloake's perfect version although somewhat apprehensively as it seemed a lot of work was to be involved, and I wasn't mistaken...

For the recipe, please click the link to Ms.Cloake's column, and use this blog entry as an illustrated guide :)

The first step involves poaching a whole chicken. I used a bird that was around 1.25kg, and let it poach for what felt like foreverrrrr. I was slightly naughty and omitted the saffron, as this dish was already turning out to be as expensive as fillet steak topped with foie gras! We also didn't have any cinnamon sticks (which I thought we did) so used cinnamon powder instead. I don't think this makes a massive difference as the chicken is lathered in unctuous curry-mayo sauce anyway.

Not particularly attractive, but then I imagine most of us wouldn't be if feathered & plunged into boiling water either!

After letting it cool, I picked it apart (I love doing that!) and started on making the sauce. It was all fairly straight forward but there are quite a lot of ingredients involved, which led to me also forgetting to add any of the Worcester sauce (despite having neatly lined it up next to my other ingredients as seen above!). I was also nervous about toasting the curry powder as I have a habit of getting distracted and letting things like this to burn, so I usually leave it to Jamie. However, I followed my nose and as soon as I started coughing everywhere after inhaling the curry powder's er, fragant aromas, I took it off the heat, and it certainly did the trick. Do be careful with this bit though as the smell will overpower the kitchen for at least twenty minutes.

I felt that going to the effort of poaching a whole chicken and making the sauce more-or-less from scratch warranted the omittance of homemade mayonnaise, and used trusty Hellman's instead. I'm sure it would be fantastic if you did use the real stuff. (Jamie then decided to make homemade mayo the week after, grr!).

Once all the ingredients are mixed together, and cover the chicken you're supposed to refrigerate and top with toasted almonds before serving. As I made this the night before in order to bring in to work the following day, I toasted the almonds then and left them in the fridge overnight with it. I didn't find this mattered really, but was really pleasantly surprised at the difference toasted almonds make - they really enhance the flavour of the dish and introduce a nice bit of crunchy texture to the dish.

Tubbed up and ready for action!

I think this blog post is here to serve as a warning for those of us who aren't lucky enough to have a job which involves testing various recipes of the same dish (jealous, me?). Even though the dish is relatively straightforward to make, it does take a lot of time - I reckon at least an hour is involved in the prep, and then 1-1.5 hours poaching time. By the end of it, I was regretting my decision to home make this classic British dish, and was ready to throw the towel in and not even bother with those damned almonds. However, on presenting it at work the next day, I took it all back. The response I received was fantastic and everyone really enjoyed it. This version is much better than anything you'll buy at a deli or supermarket: toasting the curry powder really does add more depth of flavour, and the toasted almonds on top are a fantastic touch. Even though this recipe calls for poaching a whole chicken, I'm sure if you had some leftovers from Sunday lunch, that would work just as well and remove a lot of the time involved. I think it would also be great as a canape, and served mine in little lettuce boats a la Waitrose!