Fake Ice Cream Recipe

Whenever I tell people I’m a food stylist, invariably the first thing people assume is that I stick everything together with hairspray and lipstick, switch pancake syrup for motor oil and milk for PVA glue. The truth, thankfully is that most food styling these days is simply presenting (usually) edible food in front of a camera, yes there may be tweezers and cocktail sticks involved (to put and hold things in place), but quality ingredients and cooking are the priority for most successful shoots.

There is one nifty trick I like though, for a problem there is no getting around- Ice cream does not like to hang around in front of camera. Sometimes you need it to hang around in front of camera, for example for some characters I was commissioned to make for an ice cream wafer brand. The solution is fake ice cream. different stylists have their own recipes, but here is mine!

• 450 Icing Sugar

• 160g High Fructose Corn Syrup

• 125g Vegetable Suet

Simply beat or blend the syrup and suet until smooth and beat in the icing sugar to the desired mouldable consistency, you can scoop with ice cream scoops or mould carefully with your hands, I kind of fold a ball inside out to create a rough edge, any finger marks (which revert instantly to play dough form) you can tweak by scraping with a sharp turning knife.

You can reduce the corn syrup content to get a more brittle dough with more definition (someone came up with the word ‘barking’ for this)

You can replace some of the icing sugar for cocoa powder to make chocolate ice cream (this will create a more brittle dough so add a little more corn syrup if you want it to be smooth) and of course you can add any food colouring you want to create ‘flavours’

This stuff keeps like play dough, so you can wrap in clingfilm and keep for a couple of weeks if you need.

If you need some ‘melt’ showing then you can always use custard, yoghurt or actual softened ice cream when the rest of the shot is ready to shoot.

Duck Egg Creme Brule

Ingredients

900ml double cream

200g yolks

250g sugar

1 Tbsp Vanilla essence

Method

Simmer cream and vanilla

Whisk egg yolks an sugar in a bowl, just enough to combining them and dissolve the sugar 

Pour 1/3 of hot cream into the bowl and whisk together 

Add this back to the pan still containing the 2/3 cream

Stir and gently heat to 73C (until starting to thicken)

Remove from heat

Pour into (recipe makes 12) ramekins and place in oven dish(es)

Fill dishes with freshly boiled water from the kettle 

Place in oven at 110C for 20-30 min

If they start to colour on top before setting turn the oven down a little.

Test by wibbling, should be obvs when set

Remove from oven and leave to cool in their trays before putting in the fridge 

Cover lightly with caster sugar and blowtorch (or place briefly under an insanely hot grill 

Home Cured Bresaola

Dry cured Bresaola

Making your own bresaola is a great way to get into home cured charcuterie. The beef is dry cured with herbs and spices before air drying for several weeks. The anticipation of finally getting to cut and taste your first slices can be intense, but it is well worth the wait!

Ingredients

1.2kg Silverside of beef (ask your butcher to trim off all the sinew)

250g Coarse sea Salt

200g Dark brown sugar

1 Tbsp Juniper Berries

1 Tbsp Black Peppercorns

1 Tbsp Fresh Oregano

2 Sprigs Rosemary, stripped from the stem

5g Salt Peter*

You will need – Muslin cloth, butcher’s string

Method

In a pestle and mortar, bash together the junper berries, peppercorns and herbs until well crushed and bruised. Combine with the Salt, Sugar and Salt Peter in a large mixing bowl and mix well.

Set half of this mixture aside to use later. The remaining half, place into a large freezer bag with the beef, give it a good massage to make sure its fully coating the beef and place in the fridge. Every day, turn the bag over, after a week remove from the bag and give it a quick wipe down with kitchen roll, add the reserved half of the dry cure mixture to a new freezer bag with the beef and place back in the fridge, repeating its daily rotation for another week.

Remove from the fridge, give a good wipe down with kitchen roll. Tie a series of butcher’s knots along the length of the beef, wrap and tie in a sheet of muslin. Weigh the beef and make a note (The bresaola is ready when its lost approximately 30% of its weight.)

To air dry the beef, it simply needs to be hung (horizontally) somewhere consistently reasonably cool (10-15C) and ideally with a slight draft and with some humidity. A utility room or pantry with a window ajar is great depending on the time of year, you could also place a small fan in the corner of the room. I’ve used my garden shed before (the door is broken so the draft is taken care of!) The length of time it takes to dry will vary depending on where you hang it, but it should be ready 2-4 weeks. You can remove any mould (perfectly normal!) with a clean cloth and some white wine vinegar. Slice wafer thin and serve with lemon and homemade pickles.

Wood pigeon and wild mushroom tartlets

Searching for wild mushrooms in the autumn is one of favourite pastimes, combining a walk in the woods with a culinary mission. I feel an almost zen like meditative focus on the leaves and undergrowth of the forest floor and I can be absorbed in the moment for hours, often much to my kid’s frustration! Although a financial/pocket money incentive gets them more involved, their renumeration is based upon the edibility and quality of their finds, not just quantity of course and they are all now able to tell a Bolete from a Brittle gill, even if they aren’t yet excited about eating them!  

I was lucky to have had expert first hand tuition from my restaurant’s ‘Mushroom Guy’ several years ago, it goes without saying, picking mushrooms isn’t without risk, but as foraging has become increasingly popular, there are now plenty of courses available to learn the basics under expert guidance. 

Ingredients 

2 Wood pigeon breasts

5 Sheets of filo pastry, each cut into 4 squares

400g Mixed wild mushrooms

½ tbsp fresh tarragon, chopped

Hand full of baby spinach leaves

100ml double cream

125ml white wine

2 cloves garlic

A drop or two of white truffle oil (optional)

For the crumble mixture

2 rashers streaky bacon, grilled until crispy and chopped

2 tbsp panko bread crumbs

1 tbsp chopped walnuts

50g butter

50g Stilton, crumbled

Method

For the crumble topping, add the butter to a hot frying pan, when melted and foaming, add the walnuts and breadcrumb and stir until golden brown, remove from the heat and stir in the bacon and crumbled Stilton. 

Brush each square of filo pastry with melted butter and lay one by one, in over lapping layers, to line 4 tartlet tins (Yorkshire pudding tins also a good option). Blind bake at 160C until golden and crisp (10-12 minutes), remove from the tins and allow to cool.

In a large frying pan, saute the mushrooms until coloured, set aside in a separate bowl and add the garlic to the pan, fry until just soft and add the white wine, after the alcohol has boiled off, add the cream, bring to a boil and add the spinach and mushrooms, reduce to a thick coating consistency, add the chopped tarragon and season with salt & pepper. Add the truffle oil at this point if you wish and remove from the heat.

In a separate pan, quickly sear the wood pigeon breasts, add a knob of butter, season and leave to rest in the pan.

Divided the mushroom mix between each tartlet case, slice each pigeon breast lengthways and serve on top of each tartlet, sprinkle with the crumble mixture and serve right away. 

Pear Tart Tatin

Ingredients

4 ripe Williams pears

250g Castor Sugar

75g Butter

1 tsp Vanilla extract

250g Puff pastry

Method

Place the sugar in a dry 24cm oven proof skillet over a medium heat, when the sugar begins to caramelise, give the occasional stir with a wooden spoon. When all the sugar has dissolved and caramelised, immediately remove from the heat and stir in the butter and vanilla extract.

 Peel the pears, slice lengthways and remove the core with a melon baller. Arrange the pears, flat side up on the caramel.

Roll out the puff pastry to the approximate thickness of an old £1 coin, cut out a 24cm circle (plates make ideal stencils), use a fork to prick the pastry (do this lots- key to a crispy end result is letting the moisture from the pears escape). 

Lay the pastry over the pears, pushing the edges lightly into the cooled caramel. Bake at 190C for 45 minutes. Allow to cool for 5 minutes (no longer) and VERY carefully turn out by quickly flipping onto a large serving plate or chopping board (keep hands clear, caramel can give you mean burns). Serve with plenty of ice cream!  

Roast Dexter Brisket

Dexter brisket roast with gruyere & horseradish potato gratin

No trip back home to our family farm in Yorkshire is complete without my brazen daylight robbery of the meat freezer. Unfortunately (for me at least) my mum’s amazing Dexter beef is now mostly sold by the whole carcass to some fancy London restaurants, which means that box upon box of offal now take up the freezer space once occupied by the succulent foreribs,  sirloin and topside, marbled with the creamy flavoursome fat that only comes from a slow paced idyllic life munching on sweet grass a secluded forest meadow, (I know, I know ‘first world problems’ but the pain is real). On my latest trip I did find a secret stash of brisket, a cut popularised by the bbq phenomenon over the past ten years, but which also makes a decent alternative roast, braised first with red wine and served with a creamy horseradish and potato bake. If your butcher has already rolled the brisket, you can just untie and flatten out for maximum crispyness and roast flavour. The cooking time here may seem excessive, but the results will be worth it!

For the brisket

2.5-3kg Brisket

750ml Red wine

1 litre Beef stock

1 Carrot/ 1 stick Celery/1 white onion, Peeled and roughly chopped

1 tin chopped tomatoes

1 Bulb of garlic, cut in half

1 Bay leaf

For the gratin

1.5 kg White Potatoes

4 Cloves Garlic

400ml Double Cream

3 Heaped tbsp Horseradish Sauce

50g Gruyere, grated

50g Dried bread Crumbs

½ tbsp fresh chopped Thyme

For the Brisket 

Place the brisket on a large roasting tin, season well and roast for 30 minutes at 200C

In a large saucepan over a highish heat, fry the carrot, onion and celery until well coloured, add the red wine and reduce by half, add the beef stock, garlic, chopped tomatoes and bay leaf, bring to a simmer. Add the part roasted brisket, lid or tightly cover the pan and slow braise for 6 hours at 130C. 

Carefully remove the brisket and place onto a roasting tray. Roast again at 200C for another 45 minutes until the fat is looking caramelised and crispy. Strain the cooking liquor- you can reduce this to serve an incredible gravy and freeze any extra to use as a rich beefy stock base.

For the Gratin 

Use a Japanese vegetable mandolin to finely slice the potatoes, place into a large mixing bowl with the cream, horseradish, garlic and salt and pepper and mix well. Place, a layer at a time into an oven proof dish, adding a little of the horseradish cream with each layer. Mix together the breadcrumbs, gruyere and thyme and sprinkle over the top. Bake at 160C for approximately 50 minutes (Cooking time will vary depending on the thickness, check the potatoes are fully cooked by pushing a knife into the centre of the gratin, if it’s soft, its ready. 

Panna Cotta with Spiced Summer Fruits

For the panna cotta 

500ml Double Cream

250ml Milk

50g Sugar

1 Tbsp Vanilla bean paste

5 Leaves Gelatine

For the spiced fruit

2 Peaches, halved and stoned

2 Plums, halved and stoned

12 Strawberries

A handful of Raspberries, Blueberries and Blackberries

1 Orange Segmented

2-3 Stems fresh lavender

2 Tbsp golden caster sugar

2 Tbsp Honey

250ml Dessert wine (USE FEATURED SUPPLIER?)

2 Star anise

Cinnamon stick

1 tbsp vanilla bean paste

Method

For the panna cotta, bring the cream, milk and vanilla to a simmer in a saucepan. Soak the gelatine leaves in a little cold water for 5 minutes, remove and squeeze off any excess water, add to the cream mixture and stir until fully dissolved over a low heat, strain the mixture in a jug and cover with clingfilm, allow to cool in the fridge until just starting to set. Pour the mixture into 4 ramekins and chill for a further 2 hours until fully set. To remove each panna cotta, dip each ramekin into a bowl of hot water to loosen the edges and tap out.

For the spiced fruit, arrange all the fruit on a shallow tray and sprinkle evenly with the golden caster sugar. In a heavy based pan over a high heat, place the peaches and plums flesh side down until starting to caramelise. Add the remaining fruit and stir for a further minute or so. Add the dessert wine, honey, lavender and spices, stir well and remove from the heat. Allow to cool, covered at room temperature.

To serve, place the panna cottas onto a rectangular serving dish and garnish with the summer fruits and the cooking juices.

Summer BBQ Recipe!

BBQ Poussin with turmeric, lemon & tarragon

Ingredients

2 Poussin 

For the marinade

100ml Extra Virgin Olive oil

1 tbsp Maldon sea salt

2 Tbsp Turmeric

6 Cloves garlic

Zest and juice of 2 lemons

1 Tbsp tarragon leaves, torn

Cracked black pepper

Method

Combine the dry ingredients in a pestle and mortar and crush together, slowly combine with the olive oil and lemon juice to create a smooth, loose paste. 

Spatchcock the poussin by using a sharp pair of siccors to cut out the backbone of each poussin by snipping along each side. Flatten out each poussin by pressing firmly on a chopping board.

Brush or rub (wearing gloves to stop your fingers from staining!) the marinade evenly over each poussin and leave to marinade at room temperature for 45 minutes.

BBQ over a moderate heat using tongs to occasionally turn the poussin, depending on the heat of the BBQ you will need approximately 15-20 minutes of cooking time, ensure the juices from the thickest part of the thighs runs clear when pierced with a knife.

Thai Yellow Fish Curry

Ingredients 

100g Thai Yellow Curry Paste

400ml Coconut milk

500g Cod fillet cut into 1 inch cubes

Thai fish Sauce

Lime Juice

Grated palm sugar 

For the salad

1 Pac Choi, Sliced super thinly length ways

Handful Bean Sprouts

2 Tbsp flowering Asian chives, roughly chopped

1 Red Onion, finely sliced

Fresh Coriander

For the dressing 

2 Tbsp Sesame oil

1 tsp Fish sauce

1 Tbsp Lime juice

1 Tbsp Toasted sesame seeds        

Method

Fry the curry paste for 1-2 minutes before whisking in the coconut milk, add the cod and simmer gently whilst stirring for 4-5 minutes until the fish starts to flake. Season to taste with fish sauce, lime juice and palm sugar. Divide between 4 serving bowls.

Mix together the dressing ingredients and toss with the Pac Choi, red onion, bean sprouts and coriander, garnish each of the curries and serve immediately 

Chocolate and Pistachio Biscotti

Chocolate and Pistachio Biscotti

Ingredients 

• 3 Eggs

• 225g Sugar

• ½ tsp vanilla extract

• 125g Pistachios

• 320g Flour

• 1tsp baking powder

• 200g Chocolate, roughly chopped

Method

Use an electric whisk to whisk the eggs until light and fluffy, around 6-7 minutes.

Pulse pistachios for a second or two in a blander. Sift together baking powder and flour, fold into egg mixture and stir in nuts and choc.

 Form two logs, approximately 2 inches thick along the length of a 28cm baking tray lined with parchment. Bake at 180C for 25 minutes.

Allow to cool before slicing diagonally at 1 cm intervals with a sharp bread knife. Lay the biscotti flat onto two baking trays, turn the oven down to 150C and bake for another 8-10 minutes until just beginning to colour.

Crackle Cookie Recipe

Chocolate & Hazelnut Crackle Cookies

(Makes approximately 18 cookies)

We used to make these cookies to serve with coffee at my restaurant, although I’m pretty sure just as many were troffed by the waiting staff when I wasn’t looking! I love the way the sugar coating ceases up and crackles as the cookies start to bake.

Ingredients

• 225g Dark Chocolate

• 45g Butter

• 2 Eggs

• 65g Granulated sugar, plus extra for coating the cookies

• Icing Sugar to dust

• 100g Chopped toasted almonds

• 120g Flour

• ½ tsp baking powder

• 2 tbsp brandy

 

Method

• Melt the chocolate, butter and brandy together in a mixing bowl over a lightly simmering pan of water.

• Use an electric whisk to beat together the eggs and sugar until white and forming ribbons when the whisk is lifted from the mixture.

• Fold in the chocolate mixture.

• In a separate bowl mix together the flour, toasted almonds and baking powder before stirrin into the chocolate batter.

• Refrigerate the mix for an hour or so to firm up.

• Roll into walnut sized balls. Get two small mixing bowls and add a few tables spoons of icing sugar to one and granulated sugar to the other. Toss the balls in the granulated sugar and then the icing sugar and space out on a large baking tray lined with parchment.

• Bake at 180C for 10-12 minutes. Allow to cool on the tray. Once cooled, these will keep in an air tight container for up to a week.

Rutland Charcuterie Duck Proscuitto with Chicory, Orange and Pistachio

Rutland Charcuterie Duck Proscuitto with Chicory, Orange and Pistachio

Serves 1-2

Ingredients

40g Sliced duck prosciutto

2 heads of chicory

1 Handful of mixed leaves

1 orange, segmented

4 radishes thinly sliced

For the dressing

1 tbsp roughly chopped pistachios

½ tbsp finely chopped chives

½ tbsp orange blossom honey

2tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 tbsp red wine vinegar

For the orange fluid gel

200ml Freshly squeeze orange juice (smooth)

1 tbsp ultratex 

A super simple salad showcasing an amazing product recently re-introduced by the folks at Rutland Charcuterie- Carefully sourced free range duck breast, cured with fennel and coriander before air drying and slicing wafer thin, I could eat it all day!

It seems you can’t watch an episode of Masterchef or the Great British Menu these days without seeing the chefs knocking up ‘fluid gels’ out of everything and ‘swiping’, ‘blobbing’ or more fashionably now ‘splatting’ them all over the place- There are a few ways to make a fluid gel, but the thing is, as with many modern techniques, it is about as technically difficult as making Angel delight- by far the simplest way I’ve found is to buy yourself some Ultratex, it’s a modified maize starch, blend it in to anything and you’ve got yourself a fluid gel- now go on, get your Masterchef application in, you got this!     

Method

To make the fluid gel, blend the orange juice and Ultratex in a food processor for 10-20 seconds, use a table spoon to swipe/blob/splat over one or two serving bowls.

Place all salad ingredients in a large bowl, combine the dressing ingredients and pour over the salad, lightly toss and assemble in the bowl(s)

Nb, Waitrose now do an awesome mixed salad with pea shoots and viola flowers that I used here

Daniel Watkins at The Anchor, Hullbridge

SO HOW DO YOU BECOME AN INSTAGRAM SENSATION?

DANIEL OUTSIDE THE ANCHOR

I arrived in the Essex village of Hullbridge on an overcast and wet Monday in March to eat at The Anchor Pub, where over the past 6 years, local Chef Daniel Watkins has made a name for himself, both in the guide books and on Social Media via his stunningly elegant plates of food. I was long overdue on a promise made in 2016 to drop him some of our photography styling boards to try out and I was also looking forward to finally trying out some of his food, that so far I had only seen on his Instagram feed (more on that shortly!)

Arriving earlier than planned after a long drive, I opted to take a quick run before lunch to stretch my legs along the Southbank of the river Crouch. The recumbent, muddy sandbanks of this tidal river are flanked by clutches of small holiday chalets and a couple of private boat clubs. If you know where to look, apparently there are the remains of evaporation pans where salt was made way back in the Bronze Age (Hullbridge is only a half hour from Maldon, of Sea Salt fame) Along the footpaths I saw hedge garlic shooting up everywhere, later in the year Daniel tells me marsh samphire, fat hen, sea purslane, sea rosemary and fennel are all abundant and collected regularly for the kitchen.

THE RIVER CROUCH (WHEN ITS NOT RAINING OR OVERCAST)

The Anchor sits on the south bank of the Crouch, its beer garden extending down almost to the river between the holiday lets and dry docked yachts. Large but unassuming, the exterior of this riverside pub really belies the smart restaurant set up inside. I was seated in the conservatory facing onto the river and had an awesome lunch (pictured below) prepared by Daniel before our brief interview after lunch service

SALT BEEF TACOS, OCTOPUS WITH ALL KINDS OF GARLIC, TEMPURA BREAM AND HONEY CHEESECAKE (ANOTHER STANDARD MONDAY LUNCH FOR ME)

So how many chefs are in your team?

 At the moment we have 11

And how many covers do you do here?

Yesterday was just shy of 400, The summer gets really busy here, we can have nights when we only have a handful of tables booked yet we end up cooking for 350 inside and another 400 outside from our BBQ so yeah, she’s a beast!

How did your Instagram page come about?

It all started as a hand over to my kitchen team just before my days off, so they could see the presentation of the dishes but also at the same time we use it as a tasting session for the front of house and chefs so they can understand and become familiar with new dishes. I used to photograph them in the kitchen but quickly realised the harsh lighting and stainless surfaces did the pictures no favours so I started taking them by the window at the back of the restaurant. The lighting first thing in the morning or in the afternoon works best. I wasn't an early adopter of Social Media or anything like that, I’ve only been on Facebook for a few years so wasn’t familiar with Instagram but it just seemed a useful place to share the images and its become quite a busy account now!

Err yes just a bit! (At the time of writing Daniel’s Instagram account has 261K followers) Do you remember when it all took off on your account?

Probably in the last year its really gathered momentum, I remember it reaching 10 (thousand) and thinking- ‘oh wow, cool’, you know we are just a pub in Essex, but then it hit 20K, then 50K and then it hit 100K, it just snowballed

Instagram seems to have become a great source for inspiration and sharing of ideas amongst chefs would you agree?

Yes, I think it’s made it much easier for everybody, I’m very easily inspired anyway, I follow some cool people but I don’t like to replicate anything, more just stay aware of what other people are doing- we create a lot of new dishes at the Anchor, I get inspiration from the guys I work with- that’s really important for me to work with them creatively because there’s no way this all comes from just me .

Have any unexpected opportunities arisen for you because of your Instagram fame?

It’s been great for the pub of course but I’ve also had the opportunity to do a few bits for Daniel Wellington and also Goodfellows in London who we get a lot of our dinnerware from.

Any hobbies in your spare time?

I’ve been practising Yoga regularly for 18 months, although recently I’ve been holding back as I’ve pulled my back going hard on the headstands, but it’s a great way to focus and relax away from the kitchen.

So down to business, we unwrapped the boards to see how they'd shoot (and also so I could get to see the Instagram professional in action)

DANIEL AT THE PASS

BOX OF COOL CHEF STUFF

NATURAL LIGHT IN THE AFTERNOON

NEW SPRING LAMB DISH

So how do you become an instagram sensation? Great plates, natural lighting, a consistent composition? I guess all of these help, but the sense I got from talking to Daniel was that whilst he modestly plays down his role -almost as if it was just a happy accident born out of a necessity to keep consistency in the kitchen in his absence- what really shines through on his feed is his natural and contemporary style which has become a source of inspiration for chefs. The presentation is understated but finessed and his cooking light and considered. It seems his instagram account is simply a great window for showcasing his talent as a chef. 

 SOME OF OUR BOARDS ON DANIEL'S FEED

Daniel Watkins is Head Chef at The Anchor in Hullbridge, you can follow him  @chefdanielwatkins (Like he needs any more followers) The food is as awesome as his feed and well worth the travel.

Aylesbury Duckling Recipe

'The white Aylesbury duck is, and deservedly, a universal favourite. Its snowy plumage and comfortable comportment make it a credit to the poultry-yard, while its broad and deep breast, and its ample back, convey the assurance that your satisfaction will not cease at its death. In parts of Buckinghamshire, this member of the duck family is bred on an extensive scale; not on plains and commons, however, as might be naturally imagined, but in the abodes of the cottagers. Round the walls of the living-rooms, and of the bedroom even, are fixed rows of wooden boxes, lined with hay; and it is the business of the wife and children to nurse and comfort the feathered lodgers, to feed the little ducklings, and to take the old ones out for an airing. Sometimes the "stock" ducks are the cottager's own property, but it more frequently happens that they are intrusted to his care by a wholesale breeder, who pays him so much per score for all ducklings properly raised. To be perfect, the Aylesbury duck should be plump, pure white, with yellow feet, and a flesh coloured beak'. — Isabella Beeton, Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management, 1861

Perhaps the most famous Aylesbury duck was Beatrix Potter’s Jemima puddle duck, although her story was based in Cumbria rather than Buckinghamshire, the county famous as the centre of Aylesbury Duck production in the 19th and early 20th century.

The past 100 years saw the Pekin duck and various crosses become the preferred breeds for commercial production. 20th century farming production changed following the two world wars & the consequential austerity creating the need for efficient birds that matured faster & faster – a trait which the Pekin had the edge on over the Aylesbury. The traditional Aylesbury cottage industry model of individual households raising a breeders ducks fell into decline as intensive farming proliferated.   

As with many of our traditional breeds of farm animal, it’s been the mission of many small scale farmers to rediscover some of our forgotten foods, breeds that were historically popular for superiour eating quality that fell into decline because they took slightly longer to mature.

The initiative of farmers diversifying, the undeniable quality compared to intensively farmed meat and the cost efficiency of buying directly from the farm gate have all helped foster a growing trend towards a new model of extensive farming. Pubs & restaurants are increasingly choosing to source directly from farms, cutting out the middleman as customers, chefs & restauranteurs become more knowledgeable about our amazing heritage being re-discovered.

John & Jane Turner have been farming the 900 Acres around Bancroft Lodge near Oakham since the 1970’s. In 2015 they decided to diversify and started rearing free range pure bred Aylesbury ducks, one of only a handful of producers nationally.  

As well as supplying to the Bewicke Arms In Hallaton you can also buy this superb duckling direct from the farm gate.

Bancroft Lodge, Ayston Road, Ridlington, Oakham,Rutland LE15 9AH 01752 823 341

Roast Bancroft Farm Duckling glazed with Leicestershire Honey, Orange & Lavender

Ingredients

1 5lb Aylesbury duckling

3 Oranges

4 tbsp. Leicestershire honey

50g Soft brown sugar

250ml Water

1 tsp Lavender flowers

Method

To make the glaze, peel the oranges & juice them.

In a small saucepan bring to a simmer the juice & peel with the honey, sugar, water & lavender, remove from the heat & leave to infuse for 10 minutes before straining. Put the strained glaze back into the saucepan and reduce to a syrupy consistency.

Use a sharp knife to score the skin of the duckling breasts several times taking care not to cut into the flesh. This will allow the fat to render & melt away resulting in a lovely crispy skin. Season & place in a roasting tin in a preheated oven at 150C

After 30 minutes flip the duckling over so it is breast side down in the roasting tin. After a further 30 minutes flip the duckling over again. Repeat this flipping a further 2 times, after a total of 2 hours in the oven remove the tray from the oven & turn up to 210C

Carefully pour any rendered duck fat from the tray into a heatproof container (you can save this for your Sunday roasties!). Liberally brush the glaze onto the duckling with a pastry brush. Return to the oven for a further 15-20 minutes basting with more of the glaze every 5 minutes.

Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 15-20 minutes before carving.        

A recipe from New York

A few years ago I was fortunate to spend some time in New York City on an extended working holiday, cooking and eating in some world class restaurants. One particular work placement or ‘stage’ in a very famous kitchen hadn’t entirely gone to plan. The Chef, (let’s just call him Wylie) seemed to take an instant dislike to me, perhaps I was asking too many questions and naively hoping to get involved in the main service kitchen rather than keeping my head down with the two slightly terrified Culinary Institute of America students who were also working for free in the dark, gloomy basement prep kitchen, but it was clear from the few brief exchanges I had with him that I was as welcome in the main service kitchen as Clostridium Difficile.

Back downstairs I resolved to knuckle down and get on with meat slicing blocks of frozen squid for hours on end or whatever other heinous task that Juan, the unnervingly troglodyte looking head prep chef gave me, I’d take my chances in the afternoon breaks to see what recipes & ideas I could pinch to make it worth my while.

On day three of my week long placement I was tasked with quickly turning some Wagu beef trim into burgers for the pre-service staff dinner. In my fatigued & by now slightly disillusioned state  I managed to mis-assemble the industrial meat grinder which when switched on instantly made a spine shivering,  metal on metal crunking sound followed by a deafening bang as the solid cast iron mincing attachment shattered onto the counter. I’m pretty sure the sound of this catastrophic mechanical failure was heard by anyone within 3 blocks of the restaurant.  Wylie however, as my misfortune would have it, was at that very moment standing at the door of the prep kitchen barely five feet away, we locked eyes for what seemed like an eternity in a moment forever scarred into my psyche. Wylie never uttered a word, his look said it all

  “I……I’ll get my coat”   

I had 5 days until my flight back to the UK, I’d already done plenty of sight-seeing  (I highly recommend Grandmaster Caz’s Old School Hip Hop tour of Harlem & the Bronx)  in between my other, significantly more successful, work placements so I felt the need to somehow make the most constructive use of the time I had left in the Big Apple

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Spot the true Old School hip hop legend in this photo (clue, he's not the guy in the red beret)

I knew finding another restaurant to take me on at short notice was going to be a challenge, my other gigs had all been carefully arranged months in advance of my trip. After a fruitless morning trudging the streets of Manhattan between the restaurants I’d frantically googled the previous night  I had an idea- There was a restaurant near Washington Square Park called ‘Babbo’, an informal Michelin starred Italian place that every afternoon people queued around the block to get a table at- it was owned by one of Marco Pierre white's protégés Mario Batali, his head prep-chef was a woman called Elisa Sarno , I already  knew all of this as I’d been reading a book given to me by my brother the previous Christmas called Heat, the best selling detailed account of former 'New Yorker Magazine' editor Bill Buford’s experience quitting his day job to spend a year as an unpaid intern in the Babbo kitchen. With nothing to lose I arrived at the restaurant just after lunch- knocked on the door and blurted out my plight to a confused looking young chef who had answered the door, how I had traveled all the way from the UK and could I please, please come & work for a few days in the kitchen?  Another uncomfortable silence/stare-off ensued, but I detected a look of confusion rather than Wylie’s death stare from the previous evening.

‘Is Elisa in?’ I confidently asked

The young chef pointed to a barely discernible figure in the distance descending the steps into the 9th Street subway. I turned and immediately sprinted after her, finally catching up with her at the turnstiles.  Again, (but this time with more sweating & panting), I pleaded for the chance to spend a few days working in her kitchen. After a moment looking me up and down trying to figure out what this random Englishman was doing chasing her into a subway, she politely smiled     

 ‘I’m sorry, that’s not really something we can do’

But then, somehow my instant look of genuine dejection together with bent over exhaustion from my sudden uncharacteristic burst of athleticism must have combined to give a sufficiently pathetic site for her to take pity,  her composure momentarily softened,   

‘7am tomorrow, don’t be late’

I was in.

My three days at Babbo could not have contrasted more with my previous gig. I was boning & stuffing breasts of veal, rolling fresh pasta, filleting fresh snapper & finishing sauces and surrounded the most amazing Italian & local market produce, ramps, garlic scapes, all kinds of charcuterie I’d never heard of.  

 The Larder Section at Babbo mid service

 The fact that I had travelled all the way from the UK just to work there carried well with the chefs, this was after all partially true, I’d travelled from the UK I just hadn’t had the idea to work at Babbo until I was already out there, a trivial detail I didn’t see the need to correct. After my final shift, the night before I travelled home I was given a seat at the bar whilst the head chef brought out course by course the entire 12 course tasting menu with additional courses he wanted me to try thrown in for good measure, breadcumbed tripe, osso bucco, herb roasted porcini.. it was a truly memorable few days for so many reasons and an experience I’ll never forget.

The very first Job Elisa gave me was to trim & marinate a case of beef onglet, (Americans call it ‘Hangar Steak’), a really simple recipe that I brought back with me that always reminds me of my brief time at Babbo. It became a staple dish on my restaurant’s menu for many years after.

Onglet is technically offal, in that it is usually removed along with the heart, kidneys, oxtail & liver at the time of slaughter and not hung to age with the carcass. It is attached to the diaphragm and surrounded by kidney fat, bright red & full of iron, onglet is particularly suited to marinating and its thick muscle fibres mean it is best grilled quickly to a bloody rare to prevent it drying out making it perhaps a serious carnivores cut of beef,  its sometimes called the ‘butcher’s steak’ as there is only one per carcass the butcher would often take home the steak for himself.

This recipe pictured uses grass fed Dexter beef from my family’s farm in Yorkshire. Grass fed beef in good mixed pasture tend to forage naturally & mature slowly with incredible flavour. Wherever you source your beef may need to ask your butcher in advance for Onglet, (sometimes called Skirt in the UK) as it’s not the most common of cuts.

Herb marinated Dexter onglet with a red wine & smoked oyster sauce

Image Copyright Scott Choucino

Recipe (Serves 2)

1-2 Onglet ( depending on size, dexters are much smaller than most other cattle)

For the marinade

1 Bunch of thyme, picked

6 Sprigs of rosemary, picked

12 Peppercorns

4 Cloves of garlic, peeled & chopped

250ml Olive oil

For the sauce

200ml Good quality beef stock, fresh is best as it will contain natural gelatine to help thicken the sauce

1 Bottle of full bodied red wine

1  200g Tin of smoked oysters, roughly chopped

50g Unsalted butter

Method

With a sharp filleting knife, remove the thin strip of sinew that runs along the length of each onglet and trim off any excess fat- you can always ask your butcher to do this for you, this will turn each onglet into two separate steaks

Blend together the marinade ingredients to a pesto like consistency and pour over the steaks in a shallow container, turn the steaks over to make sure they are well coated

Marinate ideally for at least an hour or two in the fridge.

A large thick skillet or decent grill pan is ideal, as hot as you can get it. Add a little oil to the pan before colouring the steaks all over using cooking tongs for 3-5 minutes depending on size,  you’re aiming for a dark crispy exterior, season the steaks with a little salt & pepper and remove from the pan to rest.

To make the sauce, add the beef stock & a glass of red wine to the frying pan & reduce on a low simmer, scrape the pan whilst stirring to get all the roast flavours mixing in with the sauce. When the sauce is starting to thicken slightly whisk in the butter and finally add the chopped smoked oysters, add a little salt & pepper to your taste.

To serve, slice the onglet into strips and pour over a little of the sticky red wine & smoked oyster sauce,  perhaps serve with some chunky cut chips & fresh watercress, some fresh béarnaise and a glass or 2 of the left over red wine. Hope you enjoy!

Crosscliff Dexters

Our family farm in Dalby forest is a fantastically remote corner of 'God's own County', As well as being an idyllic hang out for our children & close family, it also serves as home for a growing herd of Dexter cattle and a small flock of Southdown Lamb. 

 Our herd of Dexters used to exclusively supply my former restaurant 'Entropy' in Leicester. We are now looking to supply this superb beef direct to the consumer from the farm gate, but what is it that makes this beef so good?

The Dexter breed of cattle originated in the South Western region of Ireland. Like the Kerry, they are descended from the predominately black cattle of the early Celts. Dexters as a breed have enjoyed a resurgence in popularity in the past decade thanks to the work of conservation groups such as the Rare Breed Survival Trust and the advocacy of chefs across the country who have recognised the breed's superb flavour.  

All meat producers know that in general the younger the animal when butchered, the less flavour there is in the meat.  Cattle which are housed and fed  concentrate to speed up the fattening process  produce an admittedly tender, but decidedly bland product. Animals fed on grass alone take a lot longer to produce the correct degree of marbling and 'finish' but the flavour imparted by the combination of grass and maturity is incomparable. 

Our small farm on the edge of the North Yorkshire Moors National Park is ideal for this sort of beef system. It is marginal land, with a mix of hardy native grasses and herbs  rather than the chemically 'improved' pastures  found on most lowland farms.  Our chosen breed of Dexter cattle originate from this sort of pasture in Ireland and are  known to seek out specific plants to meet particular dietary needs, our Crosscliff Dexters definitely develop a craving for nettles just before calving, which supposedly stimulates lactation

Most of our animals are finished at between 24 and 27 months old. They are slaughtered  at a small local slaughterhouse just down the road and are then hung for 21-28 days before being jointed & packaged as range of choice cuts, joints & steaks which are vacuum packed. Ready for cooking or the freezer.

The small scale of our farm & its secluded position help ensure an exceptional standard of welfare for the cows. Buying our Dexter beef directly from us means we can supply this wonderful product to you at a competitive price. See our price list for more information.