the food magazine of Soho House
FLAME ACADEMY Brilliant BBQ recipes Why staff food matters Chefs’ cooking competitions
Summer 2013
Photo by Steven Joyce
FAMILY TIME
The staff tuck in, see page 26
COOKHOUSE summer 2013
Welcome to the summer 2013 issue of Cookhouse, Soho House’s food magazine. This issue we’re taking a look at staff food – aka the family meal – a part of the hospitality industry that is often overlooked. Soho House is on a mission to make staff food better around the world; find out more on page 26. We’ve also got some brilliant barbecue recipes, so if you fancy some sticky chicken wings, coffee-rubbed pork chops, spicy slaw or tasty ribs, head to page 20. As always, we’re keeping up with Soho House’s cooking competitions, and this quarter there’s a new one just for sous chefs, as well as the junior chefs taking each other on at Westminster Kingsway College. We’re also catching up with all the other food news from retro food for a Great Gatsby screening, to a chefs’ trip to Central California’s most innovative farms. Tuck in!
a taste... 4
NEWS
Foodie happenings across Soho House, plus the new Rising Stars of the kitchens
8
WHAT I KNOW
Chef Pete McAllister from Hoxton Grill
11
COOKHOUSE COOKING COMPETITIONS
Sous chefs and junior chefs slug it out at the stoves
18
14
WHERE TO EAT IN CHICAGO Our insiders guide
15
CALIFORNIA TRIP
A tour of Central Cali's best farms
RECIPE PULL OUT
Paul A Young’s spiced chocolate chilli and Ori Bestia’s slow-cooked lamb
20
SLING IT ON THE BARBIE
16
The best barbecue recipes for summer from our top chefs
Produce to look out for and what to do with it, in Europe and the USA
STAFF FOOD
WHAT'S IN SEASON
26
The family meal and why it counts
34
12
IN PRAISE OF...
GREAT GATSBY
Sergio Sigala, of Soho Beach House Miami, explains why he loves jackfruit
Grey Goose's exclusive screening
you know who you are... Editor: Rebecca Seal Art Etc: Dominic Salmon Publisher: Dan Flower Thanks to: Martin Kuczmarski , Dylan Murray, Gareth Jones, Julia Taylor-Brown, Phoebe Strawson, Oli Juste, Caroline Boucher, Thomas Lennard, Ronnie Bonetti, Shelley Armistead, Matthew Armistead, Antonella Bonetti, Andrea Cavaliere, Keith Edwards, Jake Rigby-Wilson, Lilaj Battista, Jacki Spillane, Pete McAllister, Chris Tomsett, Ashley Lent, German Lucarelli, Dai Williams, Steven Joyce, Camilla Karlsson, Sophie Roche-Garland, Nano Crespo, Sergio Sigala, Pierre Dourneau. Hoxton Grill’s barbecue recipes on cover photographed by Steven Joyce.
www.cook-house.info
Slices
nibbles and food news
The Cookhouse team hit the fields and woods of Dorset. Pictures by Jacek Wojdylo
“We cooked up our bounty with the local catch of the day”
FORAGING IN DORSET
A team of eleven chefs and two bartenders met at High Road House to fuel up with coffee and bacon, ready for the journey to Hive Beach Café in Dorset (for even more bacon sandwiches and coffee, it was an early start after all). There the team was met by restaurateur and guide for the day, Steve Attril. Led by two local foragers, it was time to hit the fields on a mission to see what the land had to offer. The local micro-climate means a stunning array of edible flowers were available, with sticky willy our first find closely followed by childhood favourite burdock – whoever knew it was a wild root! The local woods offered prize funghi which looked a little like ears (their Latin name is auricularia), which we later discovered was delicious fried with garlic and butter. Off we trekked down the longest beach in the UK where we quickly found a species which could only be described as a mix between garlic, leek and asparagus – utterly delicious! The real find of the day was discovering lemon sorrel in the hedge row worth £60/kg. With our foraging baskets bulging it was off to the Watch House to take over the kitchen and wood burning ovens, where we cooked up our bounty with the local catch of the day. With daylight fading and stomachs full, fed and watered, it was back to the bus for the long trip back home to London. www.watchhousecafe.co.uk, www.hivebeachcafe.co.uk
MAPLE SYRUP
The team from Soho House Toronto took a day trip to the Kortright Center for the Sugarbush Maple Syrup Festival to see (and taste) the original maple syrup, as it was produced in pioneer days. It was fascinating to see the sap dripping from the maple trees into buckets that were attached at their base, and sample sap before it was boiled down into syrup. Samples of fresh sap and warm sap that had been brought to the brink of turning into syrup were shared, and we watched the sap bubbling over a large fire as it was boiled down into maple syrup. Before we left, everything was all tastily wrapped up in a maple syrupy bow as we enjoyed pancakes and (of course) maple syrup.
High on sugar? The Canadian Cookhouse crew.
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summer 2013
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Sunlit supper in Paradise
In other news...
PIZZA PERFECTION
We go through a lot of pizza in Los Angeles: Cecconi's has a perfect buffalo mozzarella, tomato and wild oregano pizza and a lovely seasonal burrata, black truffle and zucchini blossom pizza while Soho House has a kick in the pants spicy salami pizza with Fresno chilli and its own melt-in-your-mouth truffle creation. Yum. David Vatran, Cecconi's master pizza chef (his favourite website is Slice from Serious Eats), shared his techniques for making a thin and crisp yet sturdy crust, able to hold a bounty of fresh ingredients. What a delight.
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SERGIO IN PARADISE
Fame!
Chef Sergio Sigala from Cecconi’s at Soho Beach House Miami, helped throw a wonderful dinner at his favourite local farm, Paradise Farms Organic. For Dinner in Paradise, Sergio was joined by chefs Alex Feher from InterContinental Miami and David Bracha from Oak Tavern & River Oyster. Dishes created by Sergio for the night included bruschetta with cherry tomatoes and basil; quinoa, beet and kale salad with edible flowers and tamarind dressing; and risotto with oyster mushrooms and calabaza flowers. Scrumptious.
SIR KENSINGTON
At Soho House, we love condiments (writes Julia Taylor-Brown). A lot. How can you not love a good ketchup, mayonnaise, aioli… chilli… relish…chutney… mustard… So we were very excited to welcome Mark Ramadan and Scott Norton, the creators of Sir Kensington’s condiments, to the Soho House New York pantry bar to teach us a little bit more about the history of ketchup and mayonnaise. Members from both the Cookhouse and House Tonic teams tasted the classic and spicy ketchups, the all-natural non-GMO mayonnaises and a new, yet to be released, mayonnaise flavour (we can’t share the details with you yet!). That made us feel very cool. Favourites included the Bloody Kensington, an alcoholic use for ketchup. We ended the session by plastering ourselves with Sir Kensington’s temporary tattoos. Awesome. www.sirkensington.com
A little glitz, glamour and media recognition for two of our top chefs. Andrea Cavaliere, US exec chef is profiled over on the brilliant New Potato site, a glossy and gorgeous foodie web mag, while on Sharp For Men, Nano Crespo, head chef at Soho House Toronto, spills all on cooking with booze. sharpformen.com www.thenewpotato.com
BUTCHER SESSION
Chefs visited our largest meat suppliers, Fairfax Meadow, for an afternoon of meat education. Following a pre-trip Dirty Burger, we headed to the Kentish Town depot, for a site tour, traceability lesson and impromptu pop quiz (eeek!). We also met the man who started it all, Fairfax Meadow founder Gerry Wensley and learnt the art of cutting down meat in a butchery masterclass (below).
Condiments tasting with Sir Kensington.
JOIN US! Soho House is recruiting chefs. Email cookhouse@sohohouse.com or visit www.cook-house.info. www.cook-house.info
summer 2013
COOKHOUSE 05
LA FISH MARKET
The trip to downtown LA’s fish market was one worth the early alarm (writes Dave Martinez). We met at the market at 6am, right when it opened. Members of all parts of the kitchen came out to take a look at the different types of fish and sea dwellers. We were met by Sylvia who walked us through and explained the process, from the ocean to what was in front of us. We also got to get a sneak peek at the processing of a ginormous fish! We were all captivated by the fish and the finesse with which our friend with fins was broken down. The market is open both to the public and wholesale, and sells some of the highest sushi grade fish to places such as Nobu. They have boats in Japan as well as local ships to bring us a very diverse selection and plenty of ideas to our culinary heads. Razor clams, monkfish liver, squid ink, and so many other things were very exciting to encounter. We ended with breakfast at fave Angelino spot the Pantry, and talked shop and tacos and future trips as the sun rose over the morning. What a success the trip was in sparking interest, ideas, camaraderie and passion in our team! We rule, ok? Over in Miami, the chefs took a similarly great trip, this time to P.T. Fish, who shared lots of fishy knowledge with the crew, as well as their filleting skills. Left: Fishy goings on in LA and Miami
GRILLSTOCK
The Cookhouse team celebrated BBQ culture and had some serious fun at Grillstock Bristol. The day included tucking in to a meat feast, watching the low ‘n’ slow barbecue competition, checking out the wares of barbie traders and exhibitors and getting involved in the barbecue academy and craft beer bars.
Chickens grilling and Tim Fuller enjoying a little pork
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summer 2013
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Slices
It's a hard life at the Soho House Coachella pop up...
In other news...
Knife Skillz
COACHELLA
Over the second weekend of the Coachella Music Festival, Soho House partnered with Bacardi for an unforgettable weekend in the desert. The weekend’s festivities were also supported by Samsung Galaxy and took place at a private estate in La Quinta. UK band Foals kicked off the weekend with a poolside DJ set, followed by Wynne Bennett from popular synth-pop group Twin Shadow and British indie-rock quartet Alt J. DJ sets continued with Chris Baio from Vampire Weekend, Welsh house and techno DJ Jamie Jones and Jordan Lawlor from M83. Chefs Matt Armistead and Nano Crespo ruled the kitchen, plating up salads like watermelon, feta and basil; roast carrot and ginger hummus, marinated beets and cumin yoghurt; corn croquetas and aioli or yoghurt marinated chicken skewers and zucchini tzatziki, plus pavlova and ice-cream sandwiches for pud!
RISING STARS
Cookhouse celebrates the unsung heroes of the kitchens
MARIA CAPINEL, SOHO BEACH HOUSE
NOMINATED BY SERGIO SIGALA
Maria Capinel works as a pastry assistant and loves to work! She has great attitude and desire to learn and is a real asset for the pastry team and for Soho Beach House.
DANIELE CAULI, PIZZA EAST PORTOBELLO
NOMINATED BY KYLE BOYCE
Over the last year and a half of working with Daniele he has grown remarkably from a junior pizza chef, barely having any experience in anything other then pizzas, to a senior chef de partie smashing out perfect services in all sections of the kitchen. His ability to learn and adapt to whatever I throw at him is outstanding. Such an amazing asset and a pure pleasure to have on my team.
ARIFF JOHAN JEFFRI, DEAN STREET TOWNHOUSE
NOMINATED BY SHAEL CARR
Ariff has become an important part of the pastry team at Dean Street. He always gives 110% and never says no to a challenge or task that we ask of him. Ariff has grown in knowledge and as a person within the year that he has worked with us. A BIG thank you to him for all his hard work. www.cook-house.info
The Soho House NY team knows Margery Cohen, the Samurai Sharpener, from her Chelsea Market stall, where she sharpens knives for chefs from all over the city on Wednesdays and Saturdays. That's why we loved it so much when she came to Soho House New York to sharpen our knives and show us the proper way to keep them in tip-top shape. Margery took each of our knives and showed us the best sharpening techniques for the shape of its blade. Our knives came out sharper and shinier, and we can't wait to see Margery back at the market!
Sugar and Cake
The sweet-toothed Cookhouse team headed to Cake International, the biggest sugarcraft, cake decorating and baking show at Excel London. As well as roaming the stands, we tuned in to a masterclass on chocolate decorations, and a live demo from TV's Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood.
Whet your appetite? Soho House is recruiting in its kitchens. If you'd like the chance to work with brilliant guest chefs and to get bespoke training and support for your career, then get in touch. Call Gareth Jones for jobs in Europe: +44 (0)20 7851 2569; or email Julia Taylor-Brown for jobs in North America: julia@sohohouse.com. See www.cook-house.info for more details of how to apply.
summer 2013
COOKHOUSE 07
what i know
“Everyone, everywhere needs to eat”
PETE MCALLISTER Head chef, Hoxton Grill London hen you’re deciding on a career, maybe you think about being a mechanic or an electrician or something. But the thing is, everyone, everywhere, needs to eat. So if you learn how to cook professionally you can do it anywhere in the world. You don’t even need to be able to be able to speak the language because you can speak the language of food.
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was a top sommelier too, so the menu was very connected to the wine list and we did a lot of vineyard trips. After a year off in Australia I came back and took the sous chef job there for two years. I came to the UK seven years ago. I helped open up a 70-seater restaurant in Lincolnshire and then came to London. After a short time at York & Albany as a junior sous, I left and took the sous chef job here.
I started cookingwhen I was small, with my mum and my grandma. Then, when I got to high school, we were lucky enough to have a $500,000 professional kitchen fitted within the school grounds, which was amazing. It was a boys’ school and all my friends cooked together. It meant that when I moved on to college, I already had credits in cookery courses.
That was four and a half years ago. Since then we’ve built Hoxton up into one of the most successful sites in the group, doing 200 covers on a weekday, 350 a day at the weekend and most tables have two or three courses. It was tricky at first to develop our skills at doing American grill-style dishes, which also involve influences from Italy or Mexico, and we spent a good few years developing the menu, but we’re very happy with it now. We sell bucketloads of ribs and our gumbo is really popular – we give it a French twist alongside of its Creole and Cajun roots, so it’s like a spiced prawn bisque with okra. Some of the staff have been with me here for years and I like to think we’ve nurtured some talent among chefs who’ve moved elsewhere in the group.
When I was 15 I started as a kitchen porter at Annie’s Wine Bar, a top ten restaurant in New Zealand. I did my time at the sink! The whole time I hassled the chefs to let me cook. Finally they took me on as a kind of commis and I spent a couple of years working in desserts and pastry. It was a great place to work and the team was like a family. The restaurant manager
The Cookhouse programme is very important to me because it’s important for the chefs. The trips and events inspire them and gets them out and meeting other chefs and the producers who create the ingredients they use. It makes it easier too when we’re working at pop-ups like the House Festival in summer, because we all know each other already and the same is true of the monthly chefs’ table dinners. It’s great to reward someone from each site with a meal out in a different venue, so they can meet even more people and see how other kitchens are run. I still love cooking at home. There’s nothing better than cooking up a meal and then enjoying it with friends, rather than feeding 200 people. I love picking up a cookbook, breezing through and adapting ideas, trying to make something better or turning it into something new. One of my favourites books is Thomas Keller’s French Laundry cookbook – although it does say on the first page, “Do not attempt to make these recipes”. Try Pete’s recipes for barbecue ribs and chicken wings on p22.
SOUND GOOD? Want to join one of our kitchen teams in London, Somerset, Berlin, New York, LA, Miami or Toronto? Email cookhouse@sohohouse.com or check out our website, www.cook-house.info to find out about vacancies and how to apply.
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Photo by Steven Joyce
BEAT THE HEAT
This summer we’ve broadened the scope of our cooking competitions, opening up a separate one for chefs at sous level, plus we’re asking chefs to source their own ingredients. All of which makes for stiff competition and incredible dishes! he quarterly comp for junior sous and chefs-de-partie took place at Westminster Kingsway College, who once again generously lent us their top-notch kitchens for the night. But before the chefs even got to the stoves, they were given £15 and an hour in Borough Market to source their ingredients. Their brief was to cook two dishes in Soho House style, with the potential to go on a menu, so the judges wanted to see seasonal, fresh produce, used in tasty ways. It was a great opportunity for the chefs to show off their knowledge, working with ingredients they love, while the judges got to assess whether they understood Soho House’s ethos.
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Back at the college, the chefs had an hour and a half to cook up a storm, watched over by judges Gareth Jones, Lliam Boyle, Tim Fuller, Harvey Ayliffe and Pete McAllister. As ever, it was a tightly fought contest but the eventual winner was
Jake Boyce, a demi-chef-de-partie at Dean Street Townhouse, with his delicious duck egg ravioli and lamb chop with red wine jus. Second and third places went to Marco Briotto and Andrew Martin. For those at sous-chef level, the competition was a little different, with their brief being all about showing their mastery of simple classical cooking. Martin Kuczmarski picked dishes like shepherd’s pie, steak tartare and coq au vin, which were then randomly allocated to each chef a week in advance. The chefs had to source the ingredients from their site’s suppliers, bring a spec sheet for the dish and have ready full costings. On the night, they had two hours to prepare their dish – which needed to be tasty, fresh and seasonal as well as easy to replicate in a high volume Soho House site.
If that wasn’t pressure enough, they also had a surprise – a selection of seasonal vegetables from supplier Mash, bavette steak and lamb breast from Fairfax Meadows and gurnard from Richard Murray’s Fish, from which they had to create a special. For the judges this was a perfect way to assess their creativity and see how the chefs coped with an intense kitchen environment. Martin, Harvey Ayliffe, Ronnie Bonneti, Steve Tonkin, Dylan Murray and Gareth, were all impressed by the standard of cooking. Ultimately junior sous Joe Hill, from Dean Street Townhouse, came out on top, with Soho House’s Markus Pieterse coming second and Nick Deverall Smith from Pizza East Kentish Town taking third for creating the best special of the night. We can’t wait for the next one...
“The judges wanted to see seasonal, fresh produce, used in particularly tasty ways”
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competition
Far left, sous-level winner Joe Hill and above winner Jake Boyce. Below, their winning dishes.
JAKE BOYCE, DEAN ST TOWNHOUSE DUCK EGG RAVIOLI WITH ASPARAGUS AND WATERCRESS serves 1 3 duck eggs 100-120g/ 3½-4 oz of 00 flour 5 asparagus tips 1 bunch of watercress olive oil
Separate one of the egg yolks and blanch in boiling water for 30 seconds then set aside. Make a pasta dough using one whole duck egg and the yolk from the third egg (not the blanched one) and 100g of 00 flour. Knead the dough for ten minutes then start to roll pasta into a long sheet (or use a pasta machine). Assemble the ravioli by cutting two circular discs of pasta. Place 4 or 5 watercress leaves and the blanched yolk in to the centre of disc and put second disc on top.
JOE HILL, LEMON SOLE MEUNIERE, ASPARAGUS AND BROWN SHRIMP
serves 1 1 lemon sole fillet, 170-180g/6 oz, taken from the top of the fish ½ small lemon 30g/1oz unsalted butter 5g/¼ oz plain flour 5ml/1 teaspoon oil 80g/3 oz English asparagus 25g/1 oz cooked brown shrimps 3g/1 tsp flat leaf parsley, washed and finely chopped salt and pepper Lightly flour the lemon sole fillet, season and knock off any excess. In a hot pan add the oil and a small knob of butter. Put the lemon sole fillet in the pan and brown.
Gently squeeze the edges together.
When you have a good golden colour, turn the fish over and cook until just cooked through. Remove from the pan and allow to rest.
Cook the asparagus in boiling water for 3 minutes and toss in butter. Cook ravioli for 2 minutes then serve on top of asparagus. Place watercress around the edge, then dress the dish with olive oil and season with sea salt.
Cook the asparagus in boiling salted water, drain and gently toss in a little butter and season. Place the aspargus on the plate. Put the lemon sole fillet on top of the asparagus so that it is sitting just off it. Heat another small pan and add the rest of the butter. When brown and foaming take off the heat and add the lemon juice. Allow to cool slightly and then add the brown shrimps and chopped parsley and correct the seasoning. Spoon the brown shrimp meuniere butter over the fish and serve. Season to taste.
WANT TO LEARN?
Join one of Soho House's kitchen teams and you could compete too. Email cookhouse@sohohouse.com
www.cook-house.info
summer 2013
COOKHOUSE 11
Fabulous frocks and Grey Goose cocktails for Gatsby.
ALL THAT JAZZ
To celebrate the launch of Great Gatsby, Baz Luhrman’s extravagant and opulent cinematic take on F Scott Fitzgerald’s legendary novel, Soho House and Grey Goose vodka hosted a screening of the film followed by dinner.
GREY GOOSE LE FIZZ
35ml/1¼ oz Grey Goose 25ml/¾ oz St Germain 20ml/2/3 oz lime juice 75ml/2¼ oz soda water Shake all but soda, strain into flute, top with soda. Garnish with Grey Goose stirrer
A
beautiful selection of bespoke food and drinks were served to the lucky guests, with cocktails created by Grey Goose to suit J. Gatsby's tastes. Oliver Blackburn from Grey Goose explains. "The drinks were designed to draw on cocktails that Gatsby himself might have enjoyed. The Le Fizz is our signature cocktail and it certainly fits that glamorous Champagne reception moment. The homemade raspberry syrup for The Secret Cocktail (and also expert bartending skills) was courtesy of Erdem Kayalar (Soho House's head bartender)."
GREY GOOSE 20TH CENTURY COCKTAIL
35ml/1¼ oz Grey Goose L’Orange 15ml/½ oz Benedictine 10ml/1/3 oz vanilla liqueur 35ml/ 1¼ oz grapefruit juice Shake ingredients over ice and double strain into Martini glass. Garnish with a grapefruit zest.
Dishes served were inspired by menus from 1920s New York, when finger foods were laid on by speakeasy owners to try and prevent their patrons getting so rolling drunk that when they spilled out into the streets they drew too much attention to their illegal drinking dens. So the modern-day Soho set tucked into their cocktails and nibbled shrimp vol au vents, Waldorf salad, smoked salmon and caviar blini plus steak tartare. Dinner was a little more up-to-date, with duck and girolles with beetroot, wild bass with samphire or gnocchi on offer, but puds stepped back in time again, with a gorgeous peach melba. There was also raucous entertainment from a pair of fabulous Charleston dancers!
GREY GOOSE SECRET COCKTAIL
PS - there's an exclusive video of Soho House's seasonal Grey Goose cocktail, Le Citron Chamomile Gimlet, and how to pair it with scallops on our website: www.cook-house.info
“The drinks were designed to draw on cocktails that Gatsby himself might have enjoyed”
35ml/1¼ oz Grey Goose La Poire 15ml/½ oz applejack or apple brandy 15ml/½ oz lemon juice 20ml/¾ oz egg white 10ml/1/3 oz homemade raspberry syrup Shake all ingredients and double strain into Martini glass. Drop raspberry on top.
Speakeasy style drinks and glamour at Soho House London's cinema.
www.cook-house.info
summer 2013
COOKHOUSE 13
on tour
Woof! The coolest meat platter ever at the Purple Pig Restaurant
THAT TODDLING TOWN
Soho House is coming to Chicago next year and our chefs and directors have been trying out the exciting menus that the city has to offer – all in the name of “research”, lucky things! Here are a few of their favourite spots to eat.
Publican Quality Meat
Andrea Cavaliere: Chicago was so brilliant. The restaurants are very chef driven, meaning chefs own and design the spaces. It’s got some Italian roots but also huge American influences. I’m really looking forward to opening up there. When we went there on our research trip we ate in about six places a day. I loved Publican Quality Meat, it’s an amazing cafe-deli with a counter where you can buy cheese and their incredible cured meats – many of which they cure themselves. Plus they do all their own breads which are so good I want them to supply us! They also do their own butchering and sell exceptional raw meats too. 825 W. Fulton Market Street, Chicago, IL 60607, publicanqualitymeats.com
Girl and the Goat
Keith Edwards: My favourite restaurant was The Girl and the Goat. Quite simply the best food I have ever eaten (sorry Grandma). We had a selection of starters and main courses and the flavours were out of this world. I almost fainted when I ate the wood-oven roasted cauliflower dish. I was so inspired I went straight to Amazon and bought chef Stephanie Izzard’s cookbook. 809 W. Randolph St, Chicago IL 60607, girlandthegoat.com
Purple Pig
Andrea Cavaliere: The best, best, best place is the Purple Pig. It’s basically the best place in Chicago.
Keith Edwards: Who would have thought that pigs ears with kale could taste so good? After lunch the chef came and said Hi which was nice touch. 500 North Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL 60611, thepurplepigchicago.com
Bavette
Keith Edwards: The other really cool restaurant was Bavette’s, Brendan Sodikoff ’s steak house (Brendan works with Soho House). I had steak frites which were about the best I have ever had and the décor of the restaurant was really cool too.... Paris meets Chicago. 218 W Kinzie St, Chicago, IL 60654, bavetteschicago.com
Meaty goodies at Publican Quality Meat, far left and Purple Pig, left; above, the beautiful setting of Girl And The Goat and right, octopus as served at Purple Pig.
“The best food I have ever eaten (sorry Grandma)” 14 COOKHOUSE
summer 2013
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on tour “Expect to see dishes inspired by this trip on menus in the coming months”
The cookhouse team; sheep at Rinconada
CALIFORNIA DREAMING As part of the Cookhouse training programme, chefs from all over North America gathered in California for a trip up the Central Coast to explore the rich farmland of Paso Robles and Santa Margarita, home to a number of farms that employ organic, biodynamic or dry farming principles. Julia Taylor-Brown reports back
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e stayed at Rinconada Dairy, a Santa Margarita dairy famed for their handproduced artisanal goats’ and sheep’s milk cheese. Christine and Jim Maguire opened their doors and their dairy to us and taught us about everything that is necessary to produce really high-quality cheese – starting with milking the goats and sheep at 5:30am and ending the day with beautiful meals using their delicious cheeses and homegrown produce.
We toured nearby Nick Ranch, a sixth-generation, family-owned, grass-fed beef operation in Santa Margarita, which grows its own sprouted fodder and uses sonograms to view the cuts of meat on the cattle as they grow. We also spent some time getting to know their 2,500-pound prize bull…Scary.
Bill and Barbara Spencer of the Windrose Farm in Paso Robles took us on a morning stroll around their 50acre farm, which follows biodynamic farming principles, to learn more about biodynamic practices and what it takes to run a family farm. At Windrose, they grow everything from garlic to rosemary and every green you can think of for a salad, plus 40 different types of apples, sheep for grazing and free-roaming chickens. Next, oil producers Pasolivo welcomed us, taking us on a tour of their olive oil production facility and showing us an incredible Pieralisi olive mill. They tasted us through their extra-virgin and infused olive oils, made from olives hand picked on Pasolivo’s 45 acres of Tuscan-style missionary olives. They recommended a stop at Limerock Orchards down the road, where we were able to sample a number of
products produced from locally grown walnuts, including walnut oil and a heavenly walnut butter. While in Central California, we were also sure to take some time to stop by a few of the region’s best organic and biodynamic wineries, including Baileyana, Tablas Creek and Whalebone (there are so many amazing wineries to choose from). We had dinner at two of Central California’s best restaurants, Artisan Paso Robles and The Range, to see how local chefs are putting this incredible bounty to use and to take a peek inside both of their kitchens. Expect to see new dishes inspired by our trip on Soho House’s North American menus, as even more of the Californian farm-fresh influence spreads through our kitchens.
WANT TO LEARN?
Join one of Soho House's kitchen teams and and get involved. Email cookhouse@sohohouse.com
www.cook-house.info
summer 2013
COOKHOUSE 15
In season now: Europe Cucumbers Cucumbers are one of the oldest
cultivated vegetables in the world and started being grown to eat about 4,000 years ago. Cucumber is well known as a perfect match for yoghurt, which, because it is sour, brings out the cucumber’s delicate and slightly sweet perfume. Although most cucumber is eaten raw, it’s delicious in soup, flavoured with lemon, dill or cream, and is also good wilted in butter and served alongside fish like trout or salmon, stir-fried or baked with cream and ham. Because of its high water content, it doesn’t take well to roasting or grilling.
Also in season:
Soft green herbs like chervil, dill, basil, chives, parsley and mint; tomatoes, courgettes, spinach, spring onions, broad beans, green beans and even the occasional aubergine. In August look for berries: bilberries, strawberries, raspberries and gooseberries, plus cherries and other stone fruits may be nearly ready to eat or bottle.
READY...STEADY...COOK! Get the lowdown on Cookhouse’s inaugural cooking competition.
Cucumber photo by Dai Williams, styled by Alice Wigley
Heirloom tomatoes and bell peppers Summer is the best time to enjoy cooking with heirloom tomatoes and peppers. Blitz sweet and tasty raw tomatoes and use as fresh passata or in a fresh tomato Bloody Mary; roast and bottle them; make a tomato gelato (try saying that 10 times quickly); burn and blacken the skins, then use in Mexican-style slow-cooked meat sauces, for a smoky, sharp flavour. Mix roasted and sliced bell peppers with flame grilled aubergines/eggplants (burn whole aubergine skins over a gas flame, scrape out the flesh) for a Middle Eastern dip; blitz roasted pieces with walnuts, olive oil, cumin, lemon and garlic and serve smeared on toast.
Also at their best:
Plums, green beans, sweet corn on the cob, figs, arugala, beet greens, apricots, melon, passion fruit, cherries.
In Season Now: USA
READY...STEADY...COOK! Get the lowdown on Cookhouse’s inaugural cooking competition.
Heirloom tomatoes and peppers photo by Dai Williams, styled by Alice Wigley
out......... cut it
Recipes for you to cut out and keep from some of the top chefs who’ve visited Soho House Group’s kitchens around the world.
PAUL A YOUNG VENEZUELAN CHOCOLATE CHILLI CHICKEN
Paul A Young is a brilliant chocolatier and chef, who has taught several chocolate-y classes for guests and chefs. This recipe is from Adventures with Chocolate (published by Kyle Books)
serves 4
1 tablespoon coriander seeds 1 x 400g/14oz tin chopped tomatoes 1 tablespoon dark muscovado sugar 150g/5oz Venezuelan dark chocolate, broken into pieces bunch of coriander leaves (about 25g/1oz) 4 banana shallots, chopped finely 2 garlic cloves, chopped finely 1 tablespoon light olive oil 4 organic, free-range chicken thighs 4 organic, free-range chicken drumsticks juice and zest of 3 oranges 3 fresh red chillies, finely diced 2 teaspoons dried mulatto chillies (or any other mild chillies) Preheat the oven to 200ºC/400ºF. In a casserole dish, sauté the shallots and the garlic in the olive oil, then add the chicken pieces and brown on all sides. Photograph by Anders Schønnemann Paul A Young, right, and above his chocolate chilli chicken.
“I can’t say it’s authentic, but it does have the wow factor when eaten”
Add the orange juice and zest, fresh and dried chillies, coriander seeds, tomatoes and sugar and simmer for 5 minutes. Pop on the lid and cook in the oven for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven, lift out the chicken and stir the chocolate into the remaining sauce. Serve with the sauce smothered over the chicken with generous amounts of chopped or torn coriander leaves.
www.paulayoung.co.uk
Ori and his wife Genevieve and below, his original recipe
ORI MENACHE PICI CON STRACOTTO DI AGNELLO PICI PASTA WITH LAMB NECK RAGU Along with his wife, Genevieve Gergis, Ori Menache runs Bestia, a wonderful Italian hotspot in Downtown Los Angeles where the best seat in the house is at the chef ’s bar. We’re happy to say that he’s a friend of Cookhouse.
serves 4 For the ragu: 10 lamb neck fillets 3 heads garlic, 1 head split and cloves sliced 3 sprigs rosemary 1½ cups tomato paste (we make our own but store bought and watered down with a few tablespoons of stock or water will do) extra-virgin olive oil 4 carrots 4 onions 2 lb/900g cardoons 2 Fresno chillies, split bouquet garni of bay, marjoram, rosemary and thyme 4 cups/1 litre white wine Trim the lamb necks of excess fat and sinew, season with salt and pepper. Finely mince two of the heads of garlic and the rosemary. Stir into the tomato paste along with a healthy glug of olive oil. Rub this paste on the lamb necks. Place the lamb on a roasting rack and roast in a 300ºF/150ºC oven for five hours, rotating the pan in the middle. Once the lamb necks are cooked and tender, cool until you are able to handle. Pick the meat off the bones (but do not discard the bones!).
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Reserve the pulled lamb neck meat, and make a stock out of the bones according to the recipe below. Dice the remaining vegetables and add the chilli and garlic. Put all this into a rondeau pan and cook over a medium-high heat until tender and golden, about 20 minutes. To this vegetable base add the pulled lamb neck meat and the remaining herbs and then deglaze the pan with the white wine. Reduce by three quarters, then cover with the lamb neck stock. Adjust the seasoning with salt and freshly ground pepper and allow to cook for two hours at a lazy simmer.
For the pici pasta: 2lb 3oz/1kg 00 pasta flour 1lb 2oz/500g goat’s milk 2 oz/50g extra-virgin olive oil ½ oz/10g kosher salt 2 organic eggs Incorporate the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients using the well method (make a well in the centre, add the wet ingredients to the well and slowly stir together). Knead for 20 minutes.
Mix thoroughly and chill for 12 hours before using. Roll out and cut into strips. Using your hands, roll into thick strands, like oversized spaghetti. Cook the pasta in boiling salted water for two minutes, then add to the ragu and allow to finish cooking briefly in the sauce. Finish the dish with a little extra virgin olive oil and pecorino cheese.
For the lamb stock 2 medium carrots 3 large onions 2 sticks celery 1 head garlic, split bouquet garni of bay leaf, marjoram, rosemary and thyme 2 cups/500ml dry white wine Roast all the vegetables in a pot large enough to accommodate the bones. Add the bones and herbs, deglaze with the dry white wine and then cover with cold water. Bring to a simmer for four hours. Strain and set the liquid aside until needed.
www.bestiala.com
Join one of Soho House's kitchens and work with our great guest chefs. Email cookhouse@sohohouse.com
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FLAME ON!
Summer’s here! What more excuse do you need to fire up the barbie and get some great food on the grill? We asked our top chefs for some smokin’ good recipes
Photograph by Steven Joyce
Chicken wings, ribs and sticky sauces, all recipes by Pete McAllister, overleaf.
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PETE MCALLISTER, HOXTON GRILL PORK RIB SAUCE 100ml/3½ fl oz sweet chilli sauce 100ml/3½ fl oz barbecue sauce 100ml/3½ fl oz soy sauce 100ml/3½ fl oz honey 1/3 cup / 50g dark brown sugar ½ red onion, diced
BBQ PORK RIBS At the Hoxton we can go through over 100kg a week of our St. Louis pork ribs. 8 whole pork ribs
RED SLAW A perfect spicy side for barbecued meats. serves 4-6 ¼ small red cabbage 1 beetroot 1 red onion
JERK SPICE RUB This is a great marinade for chicken cooked on the barbie. 1 bunch spring onions/scallions 4 cloves garlic 2cm/1 inch ginger 4 green chillies, 2 deseeded 1 bunch coriander/cilantro ½ bunch mint
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Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl. Put aside until ready to use. Any leftovers will keep.
CAJUN SPICE MIX
50g/2oz cayenne 125g/4oz paprika 15g/½oz onion powder
15g/½oz garlic powder 5g/¼oz cracked black peppercorns 15g/½oz cumin seeds 5g/¼oz dried oregano and thyme 5g/¼oz celery salt Blitz on half power in a coffee grinder.
Trim the meat of any unwanted fat. Poach in a pot of water on the stove top for about 2 hours until you can push a skewer through the meat with ease. Do not boil as the ribs will become tough. (You can also try poaching your ribs in cola. Cola helps break the tendons down in the meat.)
Remove the ribs from the water and dry them off. Dust the ribs with Cajun spice mix (above), and then coat them with sticky rib sauce (above). Finish the marinated pork ribs in the oven or on the BBQ. You can also cut the ribs along the bone for baby back ribs.
3 large carrots 1 bunch spring onions/scallions 1 bunch of radish parsley 3 red chillies lime juice and chilli sauce to dress
Slice everything except the spring onion, parsley radish and chilli using a mandolin. Wash the cut cabbage and beetroot of excess redness. Slice the spring onion and chilli and mix everything together. Dress with sweet chilli sauce and lime juice. Season and taste.
½ stick lemon grass zest of 1 lime juice of 2 limes 2 teaspoons ground coriander 1 teaspoon ground ginger 1 teaspoon ground allspice 1 teaspoon ground paprika 125ml/½ cup veg oil splash soy sauce
Chop all fresh ingredients then add the dried ingredients and oil. Finally add the soy sauce. Blend everything together, preferably in a thermo mixer. Taste and adjust seasoning. Before cooking, lightly rub the chicken with the jerk mix and leave to marinade. Cook on the barbecue.
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Bitatiundis ditis inusda dolupta ipsam volenimus For the balsamic reduction:ea pa nos volestrum quia 2 cups/500ml balsamic vinegar ½ lemon, juiced ilignist eium
MICHAEL MAHONY, SOHO HOUSE WEST HOLLYWOOD GRILLED OCTOPUS WITH ROMESCO SAUCE, WILD ARUGULA/ROCKET, CURRANTS, ORANGE AND HAZELNUT SALAD serves 8 For the octopus: 1 raw octopus, around 2 lb/900g 2 bottles white wine ½ cup/50g black peppercorns 1 tablespoon tomato paste zest of 1 orange To prep the octopus: heat a large pan with a little oil. Bring it to smoking point then sear the octo on both sides until it turns a rich red colour. Once red on both sides, add the two bottles of white wine, peppercorns, tomato paste and orange zest. Braise until tender, about one hour. Allow the octopus to cool fully. Slice into pieces, removing the eyes, beak and mushy parts within the head, keeping tentacles intact. Marinate the octopus pieces in half the romesco sauce (recipe below) for at least an hour, or overnight if possible. Keep the rest of the romesco back for serving. For the romesco: 3 dried ancho chilies 1 red bell pepper 1 Roma (plum) tomato sprig of thyme 5 cloves garlic 2 tablespoons smoked paprika 1 cup/240ml blended oil (80% grapeseed oil mixed with 20% extra-virgin olive oil)
1 x 1 inch/3cm thick slice of rustic bread, grilled (char is good but don’t burn it) ¼ cup/35g hazelnuts ¼/75ml sherry vinegar lemon, for squeezing 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper Rehydrate the ancho chillies in hot water. Clean out as many seeds as possible. Roast the red pepper over the grill. Cool slightly and remove charred skin. Roast the tomato in the oven or on a wood grill with the thyme, two cloves of the garlic, splash of extra-virgin olive oil, salt and one tablespoon of the paprika. When cooked, puree together the pepper and tomato with the ancho chilli and rest of the garlic. Pulse slowly, adding the oil, until smooth. Tear the bread into pieces then add along with the nuts. Puree again. Season and add the vinegar and a squeeze of lemon. Add one tablespoon of smoked paprika and a teaspoon cayenne pepper. Season with salt. For the balsamic vinegar dressing: 1 shallot, diced 1 clove garlic minced 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard ½ cup/120ml balsamic vinegar 1½ cups/560ml blended oil (80% grapeseed oil, 20% extra-virgin olive oil) cracked black pepper & salt lemon, for squeezing Combine shallot, garlic and mustard. Add the vinegar and whisk in the oil. Season to taste with cracked black pepper and salt and finish with a squeeze of lemon.
Mix the vinegar and lemon juice then reduce by half over a low heat. Be careful not to over reduce or scorch the vinegar. For the salad: marinated octopus pieces 1 orange, zest julienned then juiced 4 or 5 handfuls wild arugula/rocket handful toasted hazelnuts, lightly crushed handful of dried or fresh blackcurrants remaining romesco sauce balsamic reduction balsamic dressing Place the marinated octopus pieces on the barbecue grill. Char the octopus until heated through, being careful not to overcook or burn the smaller part of the tentacles. Remove from heat. Pour the orange juice over the octopus and allow to rest. Toss the arugula/rocket, currants, zest and hazelnuts in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper and dress lightly with balsamic vinegar dressing. Toss. Slice each octopus part into 3-4 pieces and toss with the salad. On 8 serving plates, spread a small amount of romesco on the bottom along with a small amount of balsamic reduction. Place tossed salad over the romesco and balsamic allowing a little of each to be seen. Make sure to layer all ingredients so every bite has a little of everything in it.
NANO CRESPO, SOHO HOUSE TORONTO BARBECUED BRANZINO
Serves two 1 European seabass (branzino), approx 600g/1 ½ lbs 2oz/50g fennel, thinly shaved 3 sprigs parsley, leaves picked 1 clove of garlic, thinly shaved 3 round lemon slices salt and pepper
www.cook-house.info
Have your fishmonger butterfly the whole branzino and remove the spine bone. Lay the fish on a secure cutting board with the head facing away from you, and the body open. Using tweezers, remove pin bones from along the belly portions on either side of the fish. Run your fingers along the bone line to make sure you have not missed any. Season the fish with salt and pepper on both sides. On the right side distribute the shaved fennel evenly over the flesh. Then place the parsley, garlic and lemon rounds neatly
on top, making sure to spread them evenly over the flesh of the fish. Close the fish, making sure to tuck the ingredients back into the belly cavity if they are bulging out. Use a skewer to pin the belly of the fish closed so that you have a neatly stuffed whole branzino. The fish can be ovenroasted or wood-fired, depending on the weather! Simply drizzle a small amount of olive oil and salt and pepper on the skin (both sides) and grill over medium-high heat for 12-14 minutes. Serve with salsa verde and lemon wedges.
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licence license to grill
LLIAM BOYLE, PIZZA EAST PORTOBELLO COFFEE-RUBBED PORK I came up with this recipe while travelling and cooking through Costa Rica and Nicaragua. The coffee grown there is superb and I was inspired to use it for one of the many post-surf barbecues we had, also using another natural resource: driftwood collected from the beach. I love cooking on a barbecue (or braai as we call it back home) and definitely prefer using wood over charcoal. The smoke from the wood adds depth and character to the meat and can be totally different depending on which wood you use. We generally opted for the dry, not-too-heavy-or-sandy variety. Coffee was a tricky one to incorporate but here the balance of sugar, ginger and orange rounds the flavours off really well. The other spices just give the rub body, and if you don’t have smoked paprika the regular sweet kind will do. Marinating the meat is another useful trick in your arsenal and gives the flavours some time to get to know each other and sink into the meat. I recommend marinating at least the night before but preferably 24-48hrs in advance.
serves 4 1 inch/3cm stick of ginger 4 garlic cloves zest of 2 oranges zest of 1 lemon 1 teaspoon fennel seeds 1 teaspoon mustard seeds 1 teaspoon cumin seeds 1 tablespoon smoked paprika 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper 1 teaspoon cinnamon 4 good sized pork chops 1 cup/150g ground coffee ⅓ cup/50g brown sugar This will make a bit more than you need but you'll be able to store the mix once ready for about a month in a sealed container.
start to pop like popcorn when they are ready). Be wary and keep an eye out, as they burn easily if left unattended for too long. When they're still warm, crush them, ideally in a pestle and mortar. A spice grinder or coffee grinder can also work but be sure not to turn it into a powder. Mix all ground spices, the crushed and grated ingredients together and lay them out on a tray in a warm spot to dry. We have the benefit of hot lamps in the kitchen which speed up the process, but as an alternative placing the tray near a sunny window or on top of an oven will do the job too. Once dry, give them a last smash in the mortar so that all the particles are more or less the same size. Add the sugar and coffee and mix. Congratulate yourself with a beer before marinating the meat.
I'm a huge fan of the Microplane for these sorts of jobs. They are available from most catering stores and will puree garlic and ginger and perfectly remove the zest of any citrus without taking any of the pith with it. The fine side on a regular grater will work too but it's not as precise. So grate the ginger and garlic, and zest the lemon and oranges.
Sprinkle a bit of the mix into a tray and place the pork down, sprinkling more on top. Think salt and pepper and that should give you an idea of how much to use. The sugar will naturally caramelise when cooked so don't add too much or it may burn. A little extra can always be added towards the end of the process. Leave the flavours to mingle for as long as you have patience and then barbecue away. Turn the meat regularly to avoid burning and remove from heat when the meat is firm to the touch.
Toast all the seeds in a dry pan until their aroma is released (one or two of the mustard seeds will
Rest for about the same time you cook it and serve with coleslaw or roasted vegetables.
GERMAN LUCARELLI, SOHO HOUSE NEW YORK I love to grill everything, especially fish. Fish is a wonderful and delicate thing that is ready to be simply married with sea salt, fresh lemon and great extra-virgin olive oil…But, I also have some tricks to share, so here you go. From my garden I make a marinade with fresh oregano, red chillies, lemon and lime zest, pink peppercorns and basil. For a beautiful Montauk striped bass I butterfly it (removing the spine and all the bones and opening up the fish like a book).
Then I sprinkle some sea salt and some of the marinade, then I close up the fish. Next, repeat the seasoning on the skin side – but you want to be careful not to have an excess of oil so you don’t have a fire when you put it on the grill. My favourite way to grill it is over a very hot charcoal grill. It must be very hot so the skin doesn’t stick on the grill, and also so you have a beautiful crispy skin when it comes to the eating.
How much time it will need on the grill depends on the thickness of the fish – we cover it and check it after five minutes. My father hand-crafted a special wooden cutting board, which tapers down at the edge and functions beautifully as a spatula or shovel to collect the fish from the grill, so we just eat it from that. I hope this inspires more people to grill and enjoy the outdoors!
“I hope this inspires more people to grill and enjoy the outdoors!”
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Coffee-rubbed pork. Recipe and photo by Lliam Boyle.
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THE STAFF OF LIFE...
As part of the 2013 commitment to improve Soho House across the board, the family meal has been given a shake-up. Senior staff from Soho Houses venues all around the world got together to brainstorm and already their ideas have transformed team food. We took a look at who is doing what.
S
taff food is important. Heck, Ferran Adria was so obsessed with it, he published a whole cookbook about what he fed his staff at el Bulli. So back in early 2013, senior staff from around the world met in Chicago to discuss their plans for the year. Each team-member was tasked with a special area to look after and Pierre Dourneau, US East Coast director, jumped at the chance to improve staff food, the meals that are served to staff throughout their working days. “I’ve been with the company since 1996 and staff food is a subject close to my
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heart,” he explains. “I offered to do this. How we feed our staff is a reflection of how we treat our staff and nurturing their passion for food has to start with what is on their own plates. I spoke to all the general managers in all sites and made sure they knew they were responsible for their staff food – if they were already proud of it then fine, but if they weren’t then it was time to do something.” Some venues had already nailed the issue. “At Pizza East, under Kelly Taylor, they already had a great programme, with chefs and line cooks cooking really delicious and varied food for everyone. I started to connect the
dots – where is some of the best food being served to guests in the company? Pizza East. And where are some of the best staff, who give the best service? Pizza East. It made sense because they were feeding their staff the best food too. So I thought – let’s run with what they do. From Berlin to Los Angeles, somewhere in the company, there’s always someone eating.” Without exception, every kitchen has embraced the change. “All the chefs have been outstanding. Everyone has risen to the challenge. Every kitchen is incredibly busy, but no-one has said, ‘I can’t do www.sohohouse.com
Photographs by Steven Joyce
Staff food at Shoreditch House.
this’”, says Pierre. Now, he is happy to see teams from Cafe Boheme and BKB two neighbouring sites in Soho, having breakfast together; in Soho House West Hollywood staff eat with nicer tableware (“No more stainless steel hotel pans and serving bowls,” says Pierre, “it should be as though you are having dinner with 20 friends”); dishes across the company are given calorie counts; salads are served more often but so are treats like cakes (“My favourite is a chocolate and croissant pudding that is out of this world,” says Pierre). And at every mealtime, managers or chefs take pictures of the food that are sent to every other site in the group, fostering just a little healthy competition between kitchens. (See the next page for just a few examples.) Andrea Cavaliere, US executive chef, is equally enthusiastic. “Staff food is how we show love and care to our staff and I’m so happy that we’re talking about www.cook-house.info
it,” he explains. “At Cecconi’s West Hollywood about three years ago, we started doing a menu for staff food and it worked so well people would come in on their days off to eat.” Each day has a theme and a member of staff – sometimes a runner, or manager, not always a chef – will cook the food of their home country. So Tuesdays might be all about Korean food, cooked by manager Chris Kim – who rustles up jap chae (Korean noodles), homemade citrus teriyaki, bulgogi (Korean BBQ beef) or kung pao chicken. (Um – can Cookhouse pay a visit for some staff food soon please!?) Thursday could be Mexican taco day, Friday you get Italian. Monday is when the only American in the kitchen gets to cook ‘US trash’ and on Wednesdays, a runner from Bangladesh, Suku (Zaman Kashruz), cooks up wonderful curries.
“We have a lot of staff from the frontof-house who are excited to participate and cook. People get to show off, not just their cooking but their culture,” says Andrea. Now, at Soho House West Hollywood, where Andrea is currently at the helm, “One cook per day is in charge. At the end of the week, the chef and sous chefs judge who did best based on flavour, creativity and use of products. Everyone who cooks gets paid lots of compliments. Everyone is happy!” Andrea feels that staff food has a deep importance. “When they share meals together and break bread together, different teams are able to spend time together and get to know each other better. It raises morale and standards and minimises waste. It increases creativity. Good staff food really changes the staff’s mentality, imbuing them with positive energy. Lots of good things come from good staff food!” summer 2013
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license to grill
Food, glorious food Every day, hundreds of photos of delicious staff meals are sent around the company. Get the picture?
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THE FOOD LIFE
Don’t just take our word for it – this is what the staff and chefs have to say... Steve Nolte, Soho House West Hollywood
Staff food has become the BEST part of our day. The entire team (kitchen, maintenance dept, front-of-house, office managers) get a chance to sit down and enjoy a beautiful meal, together. I think one of the best things about family meal is we all get to enjoy great food together. One big (only slightly dysfunctional) family. Our kitchen team has really taken family meal to the next level. Their passion and food knowledge comes out in their creative and seasonal offerings. I cannot tell you how much our staff really appreciate the meals served every day. It makes such a difference in their positivity and overall presence.
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David Stewart, Pizza East Kentish Town
I can’t remember the last time someone spoke about the staff food except to say how good it is. Like the evolution of this wonderful site, staff food has evolved right alongside it. Giving the staff this level of cuisine is not only beneficial to health and energy levels etc but it is also crucial in creating solid relationships between staff, chefs and management. The guys feel appreciated which mirrors their performance wherever their position is in the site. Since introducing “waiter’s choice” it’s added a whole other dimension to this site and brought people closer together. From Hungarian feasts, to Mexican fiestas, we have shown the full extent of our cultural backgrounds.
It’s been such a pleasure to see the guys and the chefs come together to produce food that is healthy, delicious and something to be proud of. Staff meal times are now a mini event and something to look forward to. There is a family atmosphere and a sense of being a part of something great. The appreciation from the staff is evident at 11:15 and 4:15 every day when they’ve finished. Smiling faces and full bellies. Long may it continue…
German Lucarelli, Soho House New York People don’t complain about the food any more – they seem to love it. The guys who run the freight elevator in www.sohohouse.com
Left: a staff food menu, staff food pics sent from around the company
the building even come in to eat with us now! And it’s great to have people actually come into the kitchen and say thank you. We plan our family food calendar six weeks in advance and we post the menu a week before on our bulletin board. For me, I love to see our family smile and be happy when they come down for food. I know they feel the value the we put on feeding them. Happy tummies all around!
Victoria Soulsby, Dean St Townhouse The improvement in staff food here has been nuclear! Gone are the days of moaning about blandness of flavour and lack of variety and hello to staff getting excited about what lies in store in the canteen. The clear and concise menu on display has had many compliments from staff and managers and the quality of the dishes now served has met and exceeded all expectations. We now have a huge variety of dishes in each sitting that appeal to all palates and dietary requirements. The canteen is a happy place to be! www.cook-house.info
Raizelle Paz, Soho House Toronto It’s very rewarding to see the positivity, We don’t have a staff cafe and so we usually serve our family meal in the House Kitchen. One day, as we served the family meal, a new member of our team came up to me and asked “What’s going on here, what’s the special occasion?” I said it’s our family meal and she couldn’t believe it. She was very thankful afterwards and told me how amazing it was. It’s a really great boost for employee morale.
Giacomo Maccioni, Cecconi’s Mayfair We are very happy with the staff food situation: we have a weekly menu, a balanced diet, not just of pasta, but rice, a selection of meats, fish, pizza, salad every day, soups, fresh fruits, and a vegetarian option for every meal. I ask everyone how they feel and everyone really enjoys and embraces the change. Morale has gone up since the change; the staff clap the chefs at every meal.
and we are going to keep improving the offering because it’s evident that the benefits are immense. Staff morale is priceless and should always be at the top of the list rather than pushed down to the bottom.
Sergio Sigala, Soho Beach House Miami Since we implemented the staff food program here in Miami, we have happier employees. It is great when lots of staff comment positively about the food they just had in the cafeteria – we get as much gratification from that as when we receive great comments on food from our guests and members. In the past, our staff menu was mostly heavy and based on carbs and protein, but now are trying to design a lighter and healthier menu, especially considering the summer is coming and the temperature will soon be up over 90ºF. We’ve also introduced foods from different countries, so we cook Mexican, Cuban, Mediterranean and also Asian food. summer 2013
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Pizza time! Plus just a few of the colourful dishes now making up family meals. Joe Eva, Soho House
The focus on staff food has made big strides so that the staff are all feeling valued and invested in. We can all see the sense in offering fun, thoughtful and healthy food to each other considering that this is what we pride ourselves in offering to our customers. The comments leaving the kitchen at lunch and dinner time – which at times previously have been a bit sarcastic – are now more often given with respect, grace and positivity. The side-effects of this are hugely beneficial for a good team ethic.
Tom Collins, Soho House
It’s about helping the staff have respect for what the kitchen does. Especially
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as staff food is for many one of the few times they actually get to eat the food we produce. Hearing the staff say thanks to the chefs for taking the time to produce something nice is great and will only help to build a good spirit within the business, as well as rewarding everyone for their hard work each day.
Nano Crespo, Soho House Toronto
of the meals we serve every day to our staff and ourselves, I have even more pride in what we do. The effect on the staff has been very positive all around, they look forward to coming to work, wondering what’s for today’s meal. It lifts spirits and people have a sense of belonging to something great!
Alex Cassano, Pizza East Shoreditch
For me family meal is just that – the family sitting together and enjoying a good meal. I consider this my family since mine is very far away and I don’t get to see them too often.
At PES a member of our floor and bar staff will come into the kitchen on a weekly basis to cook staff food. We encourage them to bring in some of their favourite recipes and to have some fun.
Since we all have improved the quality
We have staff from all over the world www.sohohouse.com
and so we get a great varied menu. Our staff enjoy learning about their colleagues’ favourite dishes and it’s great to encourage pride in our shared meal times.
Marino Monferrato, Soho House West Hollywood
Since the good weather started again here in LA we are able to serve most of our staff meals outside since we do not have a real staff cantina. Eating good food under the sun helps the morale for sure. The food is been always been balanced but by changing the presentation it shows that we care, and the employees are spending that 30 minutes together chatting. The different ethnicity of the foods that we prepare www.cook-house.info
also helps break the monotony of working with, and eating, Italian food every day (although there’s nothing wrong with that!).
Alex Farrey, Café Boheme
The staff food initiative has been great for Café Boheme, especially for staff morale. Relations between the departments have improved and the floor and bar staff really appreciate the effort put in by the chefs. The chefs also have a bit of friendly competition going between them too, which can’t hurt.
Lizzy Kelk, Babington House
The recent changes to our staff food offer have been received extremely positively by the team. We have added
a hot breakfast option at 8am and all departments pop in to grab a bite before they start their shift, so there is a really convivial atmosphere between all staff at the start of the day. We also have launched a monthly Family Gathering where departments take turns to organise and theme a sit-down, three-course meal for a couple of representatives from each department. It’s a great opportunity for the team to get together with colleagues that they don’t usually see on a daily basis – like chefs chatting with the Cowshed therapists. We serve fantastic food to our members and guests, so it’s only right that we should do the same for our teams. summer 2013
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ingredients…
in praise of…
JACKFRUIT
Sergio Sigala is head chef at Soho Beach House Miami. Here, he explains why he loves jackfruit.
J
ackfruit is a very interesting fruit. I like it because it is so unusual. It is large, funny looking and covered in spikes, appearing threatening and inedible to those who don’t know what it is. It grows only in tropical regions, and we have a lot of it here in Miami.
This fruit is very versatile – it can be eaten as a vegetable if picked before it is ripe or as a fruit if picked when mature and allowed to ripen fully. If eaten as a vegetable, you would normally eat it between the ages of one and three months when the fruit is green and can be used in cooking.
The texture of the unripe fruit is so similar in texture to chicken that people sometimes call it “vegetable meat”. You can tell that a Jackfruit is ripe when it starts to have a strong odour – like rotting onions (but I promise it tastes good). It should be slightly soft when pressed, and the spikes on the skin become slightly more rounded when ripe. A ripe fruit will produce a lot of latex sap, which will stick to your fingers if you’re not careful! A good trick is to re-cut the stem end to gauge the amount of latex sap being produced. If the fruit is quite sappy, just rub your hands with coconut or vegetable oil and the latex won’t stick.
Jackfruit flesh is soft and tastes like a cross between a ripe banana, mango and a pineapple. Its excess flesh can be frozen for up to a year, and the seeds, which are very high in protein, are delicious when roasted. They taste like chestnuts. While jackfruit grows everywhere in Miami, I don't really use it at Soho House. I mainly use it at home when making smoothies after a long run or bike ride. (Blend ½ cup/80g jackfruit, ½ banana, ½ cup/80g pineapple, cubed, 3 cups/90g fresh baby spinach and 8 fl oz/240ml coconut water.) It's a great ingredient to use in recovery drinks because it is rich in potassium, magnesium, iron and many antioxidants. I’ve also used it to make a dessert very similar to crème brulée, with jackfruit, caramel and crème fraiche. Delicious.
“We have a lot of it here in Miami!” 34 COOKHOUSE
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www.sohohouse.com
WE'RE LOOKING FOR FRESH FACES
Soho House Group is always on the look out for new talent. If you want a great career in food then get in touch. We have 23 members clubs, restaurants and hotels in the UK, Berlin and North America, with more opening in the next couple of years. We offer tailor-made training, excellent support and the chance to travel or possibly even work overseas. Our farm-to-fork food philosophy is all about working with great ingredients, treated simply and with respect — whether we're flipping burgers in our brand new diner kitchens or making perfect pasta in Cecconi's.
WE'D LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU
For more information about current kitchen vacancies worldwide and how to apply email garethj@sohohouse.com, visit our website, www.cook-house.info, or call Gareth Jones on +44 (0)20 7581 2569 If you’d like to work in our North American sites, email Julia Taylor-Brown, julia@sohohouse.com
LE CITRON CHAMOMILE GIMLET CREATED BY TOM KERR THIS REFRESHING CONTEMPORARY GIMLET WITH NOTES OF CHAMOMILE, GREEN APPLE AND LEMON IS AVAILABLE IN EVERY HOUSE BETWEEN JUNE AND AUGUST – JUST ASK THE BARMAN. PAIRED WITH SCALLOPS CRUDO, AVOCADO, TOMATO GAZPACHO AT SHOREDITCH HOUSE. TO SEE HOW TO MAKE THIS COCKTAIL GO TO WWW.HOUSETONIC.COM
For the facts drinkaware.co.uk ©2013 GREY GOOSE, THE GREY GOOSE BOTTLE DESIGNS AND THE GEESE DEVICES ARE TRADEMARKS AND/OR REGISTERED TRADEMARKS.
Grey Goose Cookhouse and House Tonic Ad May.indd 1
15/05/2013 13:37