I am very pleased to announce that I am now a fully qualified professional chef. Here I am at the graduation ceremony receiving my certificates and chef whites with my very own name on them! I am very proud of my five distinctions in fish, meat, pastry, menu planning and professional skills.
I finished my course in Devon two weeks ago, and Malvern Supper Club is back, even yummier than before!
Supper Club
The supper club evenings will follow the same format as before, but I hope to wow you with my newly learnt culinary master skills. The first supper club will be on Saturday 19th July. Nibbles and a complementary drink will be served on arrival at 7.30pm, before sitting down at about 8pm for a three-course meal, finishing off with coffee and homemade petit fours.
The obvious place to start is to cook you some of my favourite dishes inspired by the course, so here is the menu for July 19th...
The obvious place to start is to cook you some of my favourite dishes inspired by the course, so here is the menu for July 19th...
- Salmon gravadlax, marinated cucumber, honey & mustard dressing
- Olive crusted loin of lamb, confit lamb shoulder, new potatoes, fennel purée, roasted cherry tomatoes & a red wine jus
- Chocolate orange teardrop, orange confit ice-cream, hazelnut praline
The evening costs £27.50. Please email me to book your place. Don't forget to bring a bottle!
Please let me know of any dietary requirements, as I am very happy to provide an alternative so you can enjoy the meal as much as everyone else. I only use top quality local butchers and sustainable fishmongers, so you know the animals have had a good life. Wherever possible, the fruit and vegetables are bought in season.
Please let me know of any dietary requirements, as I am very happy to provide an alternative so you can enjoy the meal as much as everyone else. I only use top quality local butchers and sustainable fishmongers, so you know the animals have had a good life. Wherever possible, the fruit and vegetables are bought in season.
Forthcoming dates are as follows:
- Saturday 23rd August
- Saturday 13th September
- Saturday 11th October
Ashburton Chef Academy - Term 3
Term three was quite a mixture of classes, demonstrations, exams and dining events - very different to the first two terms. I also narrowly missed out on an interview with the Daily Mail, but they decided my glamorous yacht chef friend was more interesting than my supper club!
One of the highlights was the vegetarian week. Our chef tutor Tom absolutely rose to the challenge of making vegetarian dishes delicious, exciting, and a meal in their own right, rather than something stuck on the menu as an afterthought. The whole week I kept thinking, my vegetarian regulars are going to love this. (You know who you are...)
One of the highlights was the vegetarian week. Our chef tutor Tom absolutely rose to the challenge of making vegetarian dishes delicious, exciting, and a meal in their own right, rather than something stuck on the menu as an afterthought. The whole week I kept thinking, my vegetarian regulars are going to love this. (You know who you are...)
You can see just some of the offerings above - veggie burger with the most amazing smoked mayonnaise; butternut squash tortelloni; assiette of summer vegetables with goats cheese chantilly; blue cheese soufflé; pannacotta and gingerbread.
The following week was a total change of scene, and we learnt some authentic Indian and Thai recipes. After weeks of precision cooking and being scolded for not dicing our onions finely enough, we suddenly found ourselves roughly chopping everything and bunging it in a pot! But what a delicious pot it was! Highlights included garlic naan, smoked aubergine, Pad Thai, galangal soup and tiger prawn firecrackers.
Grownup ice-cream - rosewater kulfi with basil sugar, toasted coconut & candied chilli
As part of our assessment, we were also asked to create a menu and cook it for the general public. We were split into groups of four, and with a list of available ingredients, each team put together a menu for 35 guests. On the day, our fellow students were front of house staff, while my team beavered away in the kitchen from 8.30am, preparing a five course meal for the customers. I was in charge of the lamb dish - which was so well received I thought I would put it on this month's menu.
Olive crusted loin of lamb, confit lamb shoulder, crushed potatoes, aubergine purée, roasted cherry tomatoes & a red wine jus
Then after weeks of exams, assessments and written assignments, the course was suddenly over. We made our own canapés and truffles for the graduation ceremony, but our final treat was lunch at Gidleigh Park Hotel, where the restaurant is run by two-Michelin-starred chef Michael Caines (no, not THAT Michael Caine). A superb end to a superb course.
Olive crusted loin of lamb, confit lamb shoulder, crushed potatoes, aubergine purée, roasted cherry tomatoes & a red wine jus
Then after weeks of exams, assessments and written assignments, the course was suddenly over. We made our own canapés and truffles for the graduation ceremony, but our final treat was lunch at Gidleigh Park Hotel, where the restaurant is run by two-Michelin-starred chef Michael Caines (no, not THAT Michael Caine). A superb end to a superb course.
Hope to see you all soon at supper club!
Best wishes,
Clare
