Sage Magazine

1st July 2015 Edition 1

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Sage wise about food

The only knife you need The one blade good enough for Ramsey & Oliver

Champagne and Pie? Mixing bubbles and food the Leith way

Going Stateside for the best BBQ tips in town Find sweet success with your own homemade honey The perfect Al Fresco playlist to impress this summer

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, r e d a e Dear r You are holding in your hands the first issue of Sage, a magazine for people who are as passionate about food as we are. You’ll be able to read in-depth features on trends and issues that are taking the culinary world by storm.

And, if you’re looking for a little bit of inspiration to help you on your way, then read on!

In our launch issue this month, we’re celebrating the start of summer, a time where you should be embracing Al Fresco dining with open arms!

Where the great outdoor life beckons, we’ve been busy discovering what flavours are available in the wild on page 38 and try to reconnect with gifts from Mother Nature in our story on honeybees on page 11 And, if artisan food craft is your thing, read about the art of baking bread on (page 31).

For those who are planning some time away from home, we think a trip to Finland, the “forgotten country” in the North should well be on the cards.

The fascinating cuisine (page 42) and picturesque landscapes creates the perfect family holiday destination.

We believe this is the start of a new kind of food magazine that gives you more than just recipes. Although we have also included those, we encourage our readers to experiment. And while you’re at it, don’t forget to send us some pictures on Facebook, Twitter and Instgram! We can’t wait to be impressed by your masterpieces, and look forward to featuring them in our next issue!

We hope you enjoy Sage just as much as we’ve enjoyed putting it together for you. Home or away, enjoy all your food discoveries this month.

Cheers, The Sage Team Follow us @sagemagazine on

Check our website for more food ideas, inspiration and mouthwatering recipes at sagemagazine.co.uk 3

Contents

This month...

11

22

35

■ July 2015

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■ In Season

■ Nature

11 → Oh Honey!

14 → Dining with Champagne 18 → Tim’s Smokin’ Texas

35 → Inside Organic Farm 38 → Into the Wild

■ People

■ World

22 → New Kid on the Blok 28 → The Chalet Girl 31 → Artisan Bread Making

42 → The Forgotten Country 48 → Pop up to Bistro 52 → Fugu the Killer Fish

Contents

14

18

42 ■ Issue 1

■ Recipes

■ And more...

56 58 59 60 61

4 6 8 62 64 66

→ Veal & Ham Hot Pie → Summer Salad → Perfect Chicken Schnitzel → Classic Honeybee cake → Smoking BBQ Chicken

→ Contributors → Words from the Team → Latest Matters → Summer Playlist → Opinion → 10 Minutes with...

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Sage The

Team

meet the people behind the pens

Junn is an avid traveller whose series of poetic journeys across the globe have seen her calling four separate countries ‘home’ in the past decade. When she’s not busy cooped up in her flat writing stories, you’ll find her running outdoors, trying to get in touch with Mother Nature or basking under the sun with coffee. She writes evocatively about Honeybees on page 11.

Jennifer Poust

Vilma Lång

Jennifer is one of our in-house writers. She loves music and has a soft spot for street food, her favourite being the markets in Provence, France. When the pressure of life gets her down, she energises with a pint of craft ale at her favourite local pub. Jennifer writes about knives on page 22 and introduces some of her favourite songs for this summer on page 62.

Vilma is a dreamer first, writer second, who was born and raised in Finland by a couple of punk rockers. Although she occasionally finds herself missing the lakeside of her home country, she’s made UK her second home and enjoys nothing more than the buzz of London streets and the wealth of food the capital has to offer. You can usually find her curled up in the corner of some coffee shop with a book. For this issue, she returns to her home country to write up an introduction to Finnish cuisines (page 42).

Kelvin Tang

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Junn Loh

Kelvin loves photography particularly because he doesn’t have to wear a fake smile when capturing beautiful images. People sometimes find Kelvin hard to get close to because of his stoic expression, but underneath the cold exterior lies an easygoing demeanour. Interviewing is somewhat of a challenge to him, especially when facing a White Walker (GoT fans understand this) lookalike. He writes about organic farming on page 35.

Harriet Morgan Harriet is one of our in-house writers where a perfect dayin-the life of would be a good cocktail, sitting with friends in a beer garden with someone like Florence and The Machine blasting; and good food on its way. London is home, but Il de Re of the coast of France is certainly the dream. Find her getting in touch with her French passion (page 14) where she writes about Champagne.

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News

Foods in danger

Sometimes food trends go so out of control, supply fails to meet demands.

This month, Sage puts our focus on some of these produce...

As California is going through a bad phase of drought, farming avocado, which requires a lot of water, has become more difficult. The “avocado farming� is actually contributing to the dry spell in the area, so the future does not look bright for the trendy berry.

Besides water, avocados are also threatened by the Mexican drug cartels, as farmers in Mexico are tortured and threatened by the gangs. Be prepared for the prices to go up.

Avocado

Olive Oil

Council nal Olive Oil o ti a rn te In 00,000 The an almost 8 d te ic d re p ion of has the product in p ro d e tonn harvest again, poor ce n O . il o e oliv mpanies d olive oil co n a e m la b is to rationing nsidering co w o n are rldwide looming wo e th f o se u beca d about u are worrie o y If . e g a rt it with sho y replacing tr t, u o g in n run ed oil. pumpkin se

Kale

The vegetable, a member of the cabbage family, has simply become so popular that the seed suppliers are running out of stock. The biggest seed supplier, Bejo Seeds, has announced that they have run out of every variety of kale.

Until the next popular superfood is found, kale supplies will keep running thin.

Almond Milk Another product that has been hit by the Californian drought is almond milk. Almond farmers have also been blamed for being partially responsible for the water crisis. Almond milk has recently seen a rise in popularity as a healthier option for milk.

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Prosecco Poor grape harvest has been threatening everyone’s favourite fizzy wine. But the good news is that British grown wines are becoming more popular, as Prosecco sales are slowing down. The summer will not be completely ruined by the absence of the wine, while there are plenty of English sparkling wines to stock up on.

News

This month on

@sliceofpai Vancouver-based Chef Joanna Pai was stirred to become a food stylist and photographer after a trip to Paris.

Expect lush travel photography and enough pictures of coffee to make her GP concerned.

@livegreenhealthy

...

Most appropriate for the health warriors out there, this cheerful feed offers up lovely photos and great ideas for a healthy snack. And the best part?

Recipes are provided. Eating clean and green has never been so easy.

@taraobrady

Canadian-born Tara O’Brady has been writing and photographing food on her blog since 2005. The blog is filled with her own creations and her mouthwatering breads. Among all, pastries and biscuits are the highlights.

News Bites Breaking Bad Cocktails ABQ - a bar named after Albuquerque, New Mexico - will open for three months in London this summer. Inspired by the popular series Breaking Bad, the bar has been designed to look like the meth lab used in the series by Walter and Jesse to create the drug. Customers get to create their own drinks with the help of mixologists.

So Cheesey When a cheese board arrives, do you pounce on the parmesan or fight your friends for some feta? To mark British Cheese Week, the nation’s favourite cheese has been revealed in a survey of 2,000 people.

And it turns out, the cheese we just can’t get enough of is (drumroll please).....

Cheddar. That’s right, us Brits absolutely love of the versatile cheese, with 80% of people surveyed naming it as their favourite.

Not just for BBQs Drinking activated charcoal (normal charcoal but burnt in the presence of gas) is fast becoming a standard detox practice. This ingredient, which is m o s t commonly used as a useful therapeutic tool to treat food poisoning, is seeing a surge in popular culture as a natural “gut cleanser.”

Matter of Waste

Tesco is to become the first British supermarket to launch a bold new scheme to donate leftover food to charity, as their CEO admitted they were “not comfortable” about throwing away thousands of tonnes of food every year which could be the first step to a less wasteful future.

Download the Sage Magazine app to stay with our latest food news!

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In Season

O h Honey!

Words: Junn Loh

Photos: Kelvin Tang

If you already grow your own vegetables, then why not make your own honey? There has been an increase in the number of backyard beekeepers lately, and as we move into summer veteran beekeeper Philip Khorassandjian says there’s now’s the time to start

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ticky, sweet and rich, honey is a staple of so much of our cooking. Fish, meat, vegetables – not to mention good old toast – can all be transformed dramatically by just a spoonful of honey.

A beekeeper of 14 years, Philip Khorassandjian’s love for the liquid gold runs as deep as his passion for the little creatures.

On the morning of my first meeting with Philip, he shows up in a full protective bee suit, and animatedly talks about a wild beehive that he has just successfully helped to relocate.

“The busy season is here again, it’s my second hive this week,” he says.

As a veteran beekeeper and Secretary of Yorkshire Beekeeping Association, Philip voluntarily helps relocate wild beehives whenever distress residents get in touch. The semi-retired

Architect also runs regular beekeeping workshops for beginners and the community. “In a way, I’m not just a beekeeper, I’m a bee conservationist,” he says, letting out a small chuckle.

Just a few years ago, there was a real concern that bee would die out in the UK, with the government launching an “urgent” review of the crisis facing bees and other pollinators in the country.

The report found that the severe decline was due to loss of habitat, disease and harmful pesticides.

This prompted action by the British Beekeepers’ Association (BBKA), who made a big push for people to plant bee friendly plants and flowers in an attempt to increase its population.

The operation was a success and many responded. Now, things have taken a turn.

Statistics from BeeBase, a register of

apiaries recorded by the UK’s National Bee Unit (NBU), reported a triple increase in the number of beekeepers in Greater London alone within 200813, up from 464. Outside of London, there was also a spike in figures, with an estimate of 25,800 beekeepers in the North, and 40,000 across the country.

Calling the trend a “great thing”, Philip enthuses about “how fascinating” those superorganisms were and how they are integral to our ecosystem.

“Essentially, without bees, we’ll only get boring food like potatoes.

No raspberries, no cucumbers, no cherries…you’ll no longer enjoy food,” he says.

It is estimated that more than three quarters of the world’s crop species are dependent to some extent on pollination by animals or insects, overwhelmingly bees.

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In Season Elizabeth Truss, the environment secretary, said of bees during a speech in 2014, “They are indispensable to our food production. Without those insects, not only would our parks, gardens and countryside be much more drab places, our food could well become less varied and some of it more expensive.”

“They are probably one of the most underrated insect out there,” Philip says, “We leave them alone and they work hard, that’s something we all ought to learn.”

Keeping Bee-sy

Much as Philip is happy about his little “miracle workers” getting their overdue attention, he worries about people who get into beekeeping with the wrong attitude.

“A lot of people like the idea of having free honey in their garden without having to do much. Yes, that’s a great return, but not one without effort,” he says.

For Philip, that effort starts with the commitment to study about bees and recognising their needs. “It’s much like

keeping a dog or a cat,” he explains, “you wouldn’t just leave your dog alone when it’s barking for attention or when it’s sick would you? You need to understand its behaviour, check-up on its health and care for it.”

Twice a week, he’d regularly ‘inspect’ the 15 colonies ( t h a t ’ s approximately 500,000 bees) of honeybees in his garden for signs of parasites – a process that involves putting on a full protective suit, smoking apiaries, and lifting each board for close scrutiny.

Love Affair

And in the winter months, Philip supplies his colonies fondant icing so they are not left hungry.

Philip’s love affair with bees began with another love -

h i s w i f e , Sheffieldbased a r t i s t Cath Dunn spent much of her childhood dancing amongst bees reared in the family’s garden.

Cath introduced him to beekeeping after the couple got married and moved to live in Cameroon in the late 1990s.

“I just completely fell in love with how fascinating these little insects were! The m o r e you learn about bees, their life cycle, their genetics – you can’t help but fall

TOP TIPS FOR BEGINNERS

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Look for a local beekeeping association

There is a wealth of information in books, but nothing beats hearing experienced beekeepers. “It’s so important for beginners to plug themselves into a local beekeeping association so they’ll receive all the right advice and have a firm grounding,” says Philip.

“Weather conditions vary across the country, which affects the growth of flora, and hence indirectly impacts the bees that forage on it.”

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Get started on gardening

While bees are more than capable of flying as far as 5 miles for food, having an abundance of flowers nearby would encourage efficiency and productivity.

Surely no one would say ‘no’ to more honey? For the summer season, plants like Rose of Sharon, Rosemary, Clematis, Hebes, Fuschias and Aster are some great choices to start off with.

In Season for every aspect of beekeeping. It’s addictive!” he says.

The couple moved back to the UK after two years in Africa, but continued with their beekeeping hobby. With the help of Cath’s beekeeping friends, they purchased their first colony of 15,000 bees. The population took flight from there and have since multiplied to about half a million today.

So, are there any difference between African bees and local ones? No, Philip says. “Bees are bees no matter where they come from. They’ll want the same thing (plenty of flowers) and do what they’re meant to do - make honey.”

With the onset of the warmer season comes what Philip calls the “golden period” of beekeeping – the time when the population of bees increase and beekeeping is at its prime.

With blossom and flowers available for foraging, the success rates will be higher and therefore makes for the “best time” to get started on beekeeping.

“If you want to start beekeeping, now really is the time. Leave it until the autumn and you’ll be disappointed,” Philip says. ■ Visit Yorkshire Beekeeping Association www.bka.org.uk to find out more about beekeeping.

Scan here to watch our exclusive step-by step tutorial on how to set up your first apiary.

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Just add honey...

Your guide to using honey for anything but toast Pastries Best Paired with: Orange Blossom Honey

Honey made from bees that forage on the orange plant helps add a layer of powerful yet delightful taste of floral-citrus flavour to pastries.

Honey Recipes on page 60

Pancakes Best Paired with: Beechwood, Heather Honey

These honey has a lingering “earthy” aftertaste that’ll complement the aroma of fluffy pancakes.

Plain Yoghurt/ Cheeses Best Paired with: Orange Blossom, Dandelion Honey

For plain and bland food, these honey, with their medium-light distinctive flavour, are superb choices to tease your palette with.

Coffee Best Paired with: Rapeseed Honey

With a strong and complex taste, “Monofloral” variety like this one has a lingering aftertaste that is slightly bitter which goes well with strong, black coffee.

Meat Best Paired with: Buckwheat, Heather, Macadamia Honey

Stronger tasting honey blends well with the flavour of meat. It is great as seasoning for grilled meats, and makes a tangy tasting sauce when mixed with meat juice.

Fish Best Paired with: Acacia Honey

Acacia honey offers a milder taste - perfect for a lighter meat so it will not clash with the seasonings of your dish.

Choose your bee supplier carefully

A quick search online will reveal dozens of suppliers where first timers can buy their first bee colony and beekeeping equipment, but Phil cautions against making hasty decisions. “You may end up purchasing temperamental bees which is not ideal for breeding and also difficult for beginners to deal with,” he says. “You should only get your bees from a reputable supplier.” A basic set of beekeeping clothing and tools would set you back around £300, and a nucleus of bees costs approximately £150.

However, a cheaper option would be to purchase a second hand hive with bees from your local beekeepers (therein lies the importance of point 1), who are often happy to sell when their colonies get too big.

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In Season

Dining with Champagne Words: Harriet Morgan

Champagne is traditionally a drink we celebrate with, but why do we never consider having it with a meal? Sage finds out why we should think about doing it more, this summer.

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he rule of three holds prominence and importance in the world of Champagne. First, three vital grapes - Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, a red grape, and Pinot Menuier - which, combined, make one of the most luxurious wines in the world.

Next is the scientific trinity - latitude, temperature and precision. These three elements are central to the care and nurturing of each fruit.

“There is no great Champagne without great grapes, but for this, you need to ensure you have the perfect terroir” says Hervé Dantan, head winemaker at Lanson Champagne who calls me from the Lanson head office.

Terroir, translated is the land, to you and I. This encompasses the unique combination of climate, soil and natural features which Champagne possesses.

The vines are grown upon a limestone sub soil, which enables them to be

naturally watered all year round.

Behind the bottle 14

But Hervé also explains this is all embedded within a routine of care and nuture from the 15,000 skilled wine-growers in the region. Without their attention to detail, vines can be destroyed in an instance and writhe in fungal disease, ruining masses of crop.

“Having the weather is really important as well, 14 degrees is ideal.

And the blend is really important” he says.

He finds it difficult to tell me what makes a great bottle of Champagne, and ponders for a while, collecting his words, “a long aging process in the cellar is very important, and you will have to have a wine that is well balanced before selling it. It’s hard to explain but it comes from experience, plus living and breathing

Champagne for the whole of my life.”

Lying within a relatively sparsely populated province forming what geographers have called the "empty diagonal" of France just south-east of Paris, Champagne is the home of all “Maisons de Champagne”.

Like Lanson - Moet, Pommery, Bollinger et al, all follow stringent appellation guidelines – individual to the Champagne production from the Comité Interprofessionnel du Vin de Champagne who safeguard the name of Champagne.

Established in 1941, the Comité was the initiative of Moët & Chandon front man, Robert-Jean de Vogüé. During the Second World War Germany

occupied a large proportion of France - including Champagne – and had control over trade. But at this time, de Vogüé felt the need, along with his other Maison allies, to create a unified front to the Germans, and protect the name and production of Champagne.

Pouring to the past

Rooted by a rich history of passion since the Middle Ages, its fame was first established within the French aristocracy. Since this period there has been extreme and now age-old rivalry between the region and Burgundy. Yet, despite this, Champagne still sustains its popularity and can be seen as a symbol for luxury, celebration and expense amongst the masses, with sales still booming. This year alone it is forecast that 307 million bottles will be sold world-wide.

But why, taking into account its hefty price, and with the popularity of Cava or Prosecco, is Champagne revenue still so large? Richard Bampfield, a Master of Wine from Leiths School of Cookery, and the Ambassador of Champagne in 2009 feels it is because no sparkling has yet achieved the quality of Champagne.

“Champagne is a really versatile drink and it is the balance of the glass with its freshness of it is what makes it great” he says. But he argues that really, many people miss its versatility, and surpass the opportunity to complement a meal with a glass of the bubbly.

“Champagne versatility works well with regular canapés such as Salmon

In Season scallops, high-class ingredients for a high-class drink of course.

Then, for stronger dishes, Champagne with a higher percentage of a Pinot Noir grape would suit better.

“You don’t just have one kind of Champagne, there are many different kinds of Champagne all with different kinds of expression,” he says.

“For an aperitif you have to use young Champagne, with Chardonnay which is fresh, and elegant. Then, when you have lunch or dinner,

who reigned in France in 1641, would only drink Champagne after he was recommended to do so by his doctor, Antoine d'Aquin. He advocated the King drink Champagne with every meal for the benefit of his health.

In their rivalry, Champagne and Burgundy were deeply concerned with the "healthiness" reputation of their wines. So much so, they even went to the extent of paying medical students to write theses touting the health benefit of their wines.

So, perhaps with this (very doubtful) assumption, we should all be drinking Champagne with our meals as well.

Champagne should have a higher percentage of Pinot Noir grapes, or a Vintage bottle.”

All of the grapes in a Vintage bottle have to be from the same Hervé Dantan, of Lanson year as stated on the label. It is best if you’re after something Bellini’s and similar foods. I think special with your meal. The people really miss opportunities to quality is richer, but admittedly the accompany a starter with it, it can price is higher. However this is a price actually be better than having a crisp, to pay for an outstanding addition flat wine. Champagne is perfect in the to your meal. It is required to have a summer months, with light starters fermenting period no less than three such as a small fish dish, or salad and years, which results in a far more fullmakes a meal perfect.” bodied wine complementing the food.

Even though Hervé admits to a certain Without allowing the Vintage bottle amount of bias having worked for this fermenting period along Comité Lanson for “too many years,” as well as guidelines no Maison may classify this growing up surrounded by the 80,000 bottle as Vintage.

“And, at the end of the meal it will acres of land which stretches across the be with Pink Champagne because of region, he believes Champagne should the sweetness that would combine belong with everything. perfectly with dessert. Traditionally, it By rule of thumb he suggests Chamwill be served with red fruits because of pagne with high concentrations of the pink champagne red fruits flavour.”

Chardonnay should be placed with History supports his claim. For light meals such as lobster, oysters or most of his life, the King Louis XIV

Dantan is sure that people don’t need an excuse to drink Champagne and says it should never be drunk as an excuse to celebrate. Rather, we should be embracing the culture of drinking Champagne on every occasion. ■

“There are many different kinds of Champagne, all with different kinds of expression”

Tweet us your opinoion @ Sage and use the hashtag #diningwithchampagne We would love to hear your view!

Is a booze cruise abroad worth it?

As we start to re-fill our cupboards for the summer and stock up on wine after the Christmas festivities have run you dry, where should you be going to replace and satisfy your needs? After Sage conducted a poll, many of you think staying here is the answer, for a cheaper, better deal. On the rise is a range of highclass British wine makers marking their territory here, and a fantastic range of New World wines from the

likes of Chile filling up the shelves of our local supermarkets at a cost no more than £40 such as the Balfour Brut Rosé, at £35.99. Yet, Richard Bampfield thinks not. He says the quality, freshness and expense of buying in France including the cost of travel and other money busting aspects is far better for your bank balance than if you stay here. “The wine is within a tax free haven, and will be better quality if

you buy there. Plus its lovely way to spend the weekend!” You can do the trip in a day and in fact be buying English wine there at a cheaper rate than if you were in Britain. So, this summer say Bonjour to France.

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Smokin’ Texas Tim,

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Stateside with

and his BBQ

Meet the man behind the smoke, Tim Rattray. One of the worlds finest BBQ-ers. We talked beers, barbies and birds (the meaty kind)

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Words: Harriet Morgan

itting there twiddling my thumbs for twenty minutes, I waited for Tim Rattray a 32 year-old, world renowned barbeque-er to call me at ten o’clock on a Monday evening. He’s the owner and head-chef of one of the world’s best barbeque restaurants phoning to let me into their secrets.

Ten minutes passed, then twenty. I wondered what I should do. After waiting thirty, I decided to check the news – pass the time, forget that effectively I’ve been stood up by my interviewee.

Top of the agenda on The Guardian was Texas; there were flash floods central to the state, and currently the death toll was three, - and it was expected to rise. With the power of Google, I research San Antonio where The Granary ‘Cue&Brew, Rattray’s restaurant is in relation to the current crisis. Hmm, only an hour away and the according to ‘Weather Watch’ on Twitter there was a tornado approaching too. At this moment, the little inkling in my mind suggested this was the reason Tim Rattray – the master of smoking food was not going to be answering my calls tonight.

Yet, half an hour later up pops a message from the maestro himself.

He’s been caught up inconveniently in the floods… he’s in the office putting in the coal for the day ready to start service as if a natural disaster had never even occurred. He wants to do the call in half an hour, clock ticking I prepare myself for 11.30pm.

When he calls, I answer and polite-

ly introduce myself as does he, “Sorry Harriet, we’ve had a little rain” he said, “It’s all a little bit dribbly here as well so I got a bit caught up in all of that trying to get everything ready, apologies” This set the scene. Rattray was a nice guy; nothing appears to trouble him, not even the start-up of The Granary and joint adventure with his brother, Alex, as he explains, “We were on a brew tour, on a bus and they were taking us to all the different brew scenes, and my brother was really into craft beer then. I was sort of hanging along. We sat there eating a barbeque that, to be honest, wasn’t all that great, and we thought wouldn’t this be great if we had a place like this in San Antonio!? At that point

all the time and really learning how to smoke the traditional things well, and then the creative thinking progressive part just kind of naturally occurred; like why can’t we put lamb in here, duck, why can’t we smoke duck or rabbit, things you wouldn’t particularly find.”

Tim’s desire to experiment is certainly reflected in their menu, which features a lunchtime list of ‘Traditional Texas Cue’ and the evening which looks to the future of barbequing he says, a then and now approach. Dishes such as the Beef Clod, with coffee quinoa crunch, tomato caramel, pickled celery, “cornbread”, or the Smoked Pork Belly with a sweet tea glaze, grits, vegetable slaw, buttermilk and ramp dressing are popular, one happy customer even proposing it as ‘life changing’ on her Trip Advisor review – of which most are five stars. In spite of what looks like a well-established entity, Rattray admits he still thinks their ‘figuring things out’.

To me, it looks like they aren’t far off.

Coming from a background of Science, and then later French-fine- dining Tim has come a long way from where he once was, at times wondering if his past experiences were wasted. However before long with his time smoking in his back yard, he realised in fact it was a diamond in the ruff, “The science degree especially with this, understanding things like how heat interacts when you’re talking about proteins, contracting in the meat as it cooks. It’s really important.

“In Texas, beer-’n-barbque is sort-of-a religion” I was looking to start my own place and always wanted my brother to be in on it, and he likes beer. In Texas, beer -’n-barbeque is sort-of-a of a religion.”

From there, the rest his history for the Rattray brothers; starting up, they produced their own brewery and collected meat from only the finest and fairest butchers they could and still can get their hands on. Tim admits that before, he’d only ever barbequed casually just like you and I. Getting his hands dirty, he proceeded to make his own smoker in his back garden with a friend, “I just started grilling, smoking just

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In Season Or how collagen converts into gelatine in muscles and things that would be smoked. All that I assumed I had just wasted my time on in college but it really ended up helping out”,

Smoking your own

out at 120 to 180 degrees Celsius, allowing for a good level of moisture to collect as your meat cooks, skinning it out nicely. Over their years, The Granary has taken to using Oak wood chips for their recipes since its cleaner and far better quality than anything else.

An alternative option isn’t even considered for Rattray, anything else and the smokey aroma would be absent.

“I want the smoke to perfume the protein, and that’s why we really like oak. You want to get your coal set

With this, his exceptional ability to smoke more or less any meat placed on the grill has become second nature.

For the amateurs, Rattray recons that in fact you don’t need a lot of space to be able to do this at home yourself. The first smoker he built was vertical, to save space. It took up 4 square feet, with the firing pot extending out to the side, “It doesn’t have to be big, it depends on how many people you want to feed at once!”.

But what about starting the fire? A lot of debate surrounds what is right, wrong and the best technique. Rattray says that if you don’t use to correct tools it will be a lost cause, and the smoky Brisket Ramen. flavour will just dabble to ‘actively burning’ your fine slab of meat. First of all always keep your fire clean, and remember to continuously keep feeding it. Of course, you want to keep the fire hot enough, but try not to let the temperature dip too low either as it will merely smoulder or create a very unwelcoming cloud of thick smoke, Barbeque board ribs.

“When you get big billowy smoke coming out as well, that’s when you get super smoky notes which just take over your up in a position where you can just keep palette, and just makes you feel like feeding the fire. Chicken is a great place to start time wise because you taste you can smoke a chicken in a smoke hour and a half, two hours.” bomb. You “You could even use a need to reWebber, charcoal grill to ally make get your coals going start sure you’re from the entire log”, he says. keeping it as clean Chip, coal or gas? as possible at all times”.

With Tim, everything about barUsing the British system, he suggests all smoking should be carried bequing and smoking comes with a

“When you get big billowy smoke coming out as well, that’s when you get super smoky notes which just take over your palette,”

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very self-assured charisma, and a cando attitude. It seems though, the best tip for to succeed, is in relishing the wise words you were taught as a child, that patience will always be a virtue.

Perhaps as time goes on, and your knowledge expands you could create a dish just as exceptional as Rattray’s ‘Charcoaled Foie Gras Terrine’ - so new, Rattray and his team haven’t had a chance to photograph it. The decelop dish consists of coal directly being placed on the terrine, charring it.

“What we’ve found is the coal sits on the terrine and it departs a really subtle flavor.

You see, coal has been around for hundreds of years, and tell me how many people you’ve seen putting terrine on it, producing the same results?”

As they settle into the fourth year, The Granary still drive to create bigger, and better meals, but he doesn’t ever believe it’s been an individual effort.

“Setting up the brewery in the restaurant, hiring staff and putting your blood, sweat and tears into the business, and getting the credit we do, has to really be a testament to the staff. You can have a great idea, but you have to execute it and you have to people to do things for you when you’re not there,” he says, “My advice to any of the British folk would be to try smoking. You will never get food which tastes so fresh, down to the earth and connected with mother nature. Just remember, never keep it too hot, too coal and definitely never over smokey - that’s the secret.”

In spite of his modesty it is wholly evident that this effort to produce the best of smoking has not come without hard-work. Have passion, have ambition and Want to find out more certainly have a drive about smoking? Head to www.sage.co.uk for to try! As smoking is more! Tweet @Sage as well, to show us your on the rise, why don’t best efforts - we’d love to see it all! you take this and impress this summer? ■

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New Kid on the Blok Words: Jennifer Poust Photos: Daniel Dytrych

One thing that all chefs and knife makers will agree on is that knives are the single most important tool in the kitchen, though the methods and materials used to make them are ever-disputed. Blok Knives’ 32-yearold Benjamin Edmonds believes in a “back to basics” approach, making every knife by hand out of his workshop in Darley Mills, Derby →

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meet 32-year-old Ben Edmonds, of Blok Knives, outside his workshop in Darley Mills, Derby. An array of nautical tattoos covers his arms and neck, disappearing under a dark bushy beard. He is smoking a wooden pipe. He might be intimidating if it weren’t for the fact that I can see him grinning as he chats animatedly to a deliveryman he keeps calling “sausage”.

“On my 28th birthday, my mate bought me this proper smoking pipe and a pair of slippers,” says Ben, now leaning against the counter in his workshop.

“He said I was turning into an old man with my beard and love of real ale. Anyway, it was actually a really nice pipe so I got into learning about pipe smoking.

There’s a real art to it, you know?”

Ben continues, “I remember I was watching YouTube videos about how to properly use it and one thing led to another… I mean I got a bit carried away and ended up on a video of a man talking about forging knives and, well, yeah that’s where it started really.”

I’d just asked Ben how he’d started his business, Blok Knives. He’d laughed and told me that story.

I’m sitting on a brown leather sofa in Ben’s workspace- a workshop in a re-

stored 17th century mill complex in the green countryside of Derbyshire. To my left is an aged red brick wall, on which hangs a red neon backlit sign reading Blok and an acoustic guitar. To my right, a green set of double garage doors are propped open to reveal a bright courtyard of other small artisan businesses.

Blok Knives, with its simple, elegant design, has come to be known as a premier name in the field of British knives, Ben’s 8” Chef’s Knife being used by head chefs for Gordon Ramsey and Jamie Oliver.

I asked Ben how he got from “just banging out a knife on his kitchen table” to making knives for respected chefs around the world, with a current waiting list of two years.

How it started

“I’d always been into making things, using my hands, you know? We didn’t have a telly growing up and I guess it stemmed from that because I was always outside doing things,” he tells me.

Ben, who was creative from a young age, has clearly surrounded himself with likeminded people, as many of his friends are craftsmen. In fact, the steel

he used to make his first knife was given to him by a friend who makes furniture and the wood for the handles of his knives is sourced by another carpenter friend of his.

He explained that after watching a few of the YouTube videos he had a go at making his own knife with a file on his kitchen table. After that, he had steel left over, so he made another.

“After I’d made a few, I set up a workshop in the cellar at home and made more,” Ben tells me. “I loved the process. I was constantly adapting the design and making improvements. For the first year, I just made a shitload of knives.”

He showed me a picture of himself in the cellar, grinning as he precariously balances a steel blade on his palm. In it, he appears to be wearing the aforementioned slippers. “Oh dear, he says.

“That’s got to be against health and safety regulations, hasn’t it?”

Ben and his apprentice, Jack Stevens, have been working away with the blades during the interview. I notice then that neither of them is wearing gloves, I’m not sure much has changed in the way of health and safety.

People The business Blok Knives has been going strong for three years. “Everything has happened really organically,” says Ben. “Nothing has been forced and that’s why I’m not really looking to expand the business.

“We make on average one knife a day but it’s flexible. We take our time with every knife because we want each one to be the best it can be.” “ The last thing I want to do is be here getting through an order of 20 and rushing the process.”

Blok knives are the antithesis of knives cut by a machine.

“If you’re buying something handmade then someone has really cared for it,” says Ben. “You get the knife and the pride, pain and sweat that has gone into it.”

Ben, who was a graphic designer for 12 years before creating Blok Knives, tells me how making something by hand and then putting it out there with your brand’s name on it means added pressure.

“I don’t finish at 5pm and think ‘that’s it until tomorrow’. It’s something I’ve created so I’m always thinking about it.

I’m a nightmare to live with.

“The other week I made six knives but I’d bollocksed them all up. They weren’t performing properly. It’s a really horrible feeling knowing you’ve made six shitty products.

I started questioning everything I’d been doing for the last three years.”

Ben woke up at 4am the day the next

day and had made six more “much better” knives by 4pm.

This determination in ensuring every knife is made to the best of his ability is what makes Ben confident that they will live up to their lifetime guarantee.

As yet, Ben hasn’t had an unhappy customer, and he wants to keep it that way.

Caring for your knife

He advises, however, that the fastest way to getting a knife that doesn’t perform is to over-treat it. “Forget all about that sharpening thing,” he tells me. “The key thing is honing little and often.”

Honing is non-abrasive way of straightening the edge of the knife, which is constantly bending (though it would be hard to tell just by looking at it). By sharpening the knife, you are stripping away the steel, so doing this too much might mean you end up with a very small knife indeed. Honing is simply a way of realigning the blade.

Ben demonstrates this by holding the honing stone vertically onto the work surface and gently swiping the blade against it three times on each side.

According to Ben, a good knife shouldn’t need sharpening more than once a year, at most. He recently had someone bring his own Blok knife to the knife skills course he runs. “He’d bought this knife nearly three years ago and the edge was sharp as anything though he hadn’t once sharpened it,” says Ben. “Keeping the edge straight means you won’t have to sharpen it, especially when it comes to carbon steel.”

The second fastest way to a knife that doesn’t perform is through using glass or granite chopping boards. These materials are harder than steel and will blunt the edge mercilessly. Wooden chopping boards are the best, Ben advises, especially when the grain is facing upwards. You can tell by looking at the pattern in which the wood of the chopping board is glued together. The chopping boards with a square pattern of wooden blocks stuck together are ones where the end grain of the wood is upward facing. The ends are more set to opening and closing, almost like tightly compacted blades of grass, so the knife will glide through rather than getting blunted. Plastic is the next best alternative, as it is significantly softer than the steel.

Many knife manufacturers sell a number of different knives for different foods, including knives specifically made for chopping tomatoes, potatoes, and so on. Blok Knives takes a different approach. Ben is an advocate of one knife that will fit every job. “It’s pointless to have loads of knives,” he says. “If you’ve got one good knife then that’s enough. Anyway if you had a different knife for every ingredient you’d be washing up for hours.”

One thing to remember when using a carbon steel blade is that you should be washing it up straight after using it.

You should not leave it to soak as this affects both the metal as well as the wooden handle and under no circumstances should your carbon steel knife find its way into the dishwasher. →

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People The process Ben hand-makes each knife himself and the process is certainly an arduous one. He starts with flat sheets of carbon steel, an alloy less vulnerable to the physical stress of everyday use, holding its edge much longer than stainless steel. The sheets are laser cut into blades whcih are then quenched.

Next, the blades are left to cool naturally. This strengthens the structure of the knife, making it strong and flexible.

The blade is heated once again to make it malleable and then ground down by hand on a belt to “put the edge on”.

For the knife handles, Ben uses a variety of wood from local trees ranging from burrs to burls, which he hardens with natural resin and sands “by eye and by feel” after shaping.

The Blok logo is then etched onto the blade in cursive before it is wrapped in a vinegar-soaked cloth for a few minutes. Over time, a patina will form on the knife, but the vinegar acts a catalyst for this process.

“We force it before we send out each knife to prevent rusting,” says Ben. The patina is like a protective layer on the steel.”

Lastly, the knife is sharpened on a whetstone and stropped on a strip of leather to smooth it.

not surprised to see Ben wrap up his latest lovingly made knife in brown paper and tie it up with string instead of placing in a lavishly-lined box. “Wowee packaging just detracts from the product,” he says. “What we do is make good knives. No fancy crap.”

The name Blok is, as one would imagine, a reference to knife blocks (“but we took the ‘c’ out to make it a bit quirky”). Ironically, Ben is not a fan of knife blocks, preferring to use a magnetic strip so as not to risk blunting the knives. He does, however, have “Blok” tattooed across his fingers. If that doesn’t demonstrate confidence in his brand, I don’t know what does. ■

Ben’s knowledge of knives is thorough. “In order to make the best product you can, you need to know the ins

and outs of what you’re doing,” he says.

“There are 100 different ways to skin a cat, I mean that’s a horrible phrase but it’s true. Everyone has their own opinion on knife-making. If there was one ‘right’ way to make a knife then everyone would be doing that. It’s all about making lots of things and breaking lots of things. Then you know what works and what feels right.”

Ben clearly isn’t alone in believing his knives “feel right.” Having never advertised, Blok Knives has made a name for itself solely from the testimonies of its customers.

Ben is a believer in “letting the knives speak for themselves.” This is why I’m

8” chef’s knife, £240

4” paring knife, £140

10” carving knife, £210

“This is for general purpose chopping.

95% of your cutting and chopping will be with this one.”

“This one is for off board work like peeling and other small intricate work.”

“For people who want to carve stuff.”

The theory

The Blok Knives

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The Chalet Girl Words: Kelvin Tang

Chalet girl doesn’t sound to be a job that you would love to do in long-term.

But for Lucy Bomford, who was just being a fresh graduate at the time, it was the dream job for her.

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kiing hadn’t become popular in our family until the year when I have just finished my undergraduate degree in London. My sister and I did a ski season together. We really enjoyed it. It was so fantastic that I went for the second season of the year. After coming back to London, I wasn’t really settling to be an office girl. I wasn’t happy at all. Then I went back to the Alps again. Only this time, I had stayed there for three years.

Being a chalet host was to cook and look after a family. It’s something I could go and do when I was off from school and became a fresh graduate.

Looking after a property and cater for a family who come out to be on holiday were the basics as being a chalet cook. I was also learning to be the perfect host.

Being a good host was all about making them feel home and getting all the things sorted out for them. First of all, I welcomed the guests who had arrived at the chalet to stay on holiday. Most people after they had been travelling were exhausted and tired. So I wouldn’t jump on and frequently ask them questions.

What I usually do was just let them rest with a cup of tea, settling down and getting themselves sorted out. Then I’d give them a welcome speech, in a sort of informal way. The purpose of this was just to let them feel welcoming.

I woke up in the morning at around 7 o’clock to start preparing breakfast for my guests. After the guests had gone out for skiing, I’d do all the linen changes and keep every room nice and neat.

Then I’d prepare the tea, having it all

laid on the table. So when they came back from skiing, they literally just had to press the button on the kettle to make their cup of tea. When the dinner time was approaching, I’d cook them a nice four or five course supper.

The dishes I was going to serve had to meet certain standards. Basically, the criteria normally was, it needed to look fantastic. At least, I had to make them think that I had spent a lot of effort on the dishes to be served. I had to think about budget. I had to think about the availability of food. It needed also be possible. It’s no good cook that something that took 10 hours to cook. It needed to be something that was able to be cooked and done within 2 hours before supper.

Once I had finished the cleaning up,

People

Chalet Snacks

Camerlised Onion and Goat Cheese Crostini

the evening was all mine. I usually finished my job by 9:30 in the evening.

The night life on the mountain was tremendous amount of fun. The whole atmosphere was so alive. For the first few months I came there, there were fireworks going off almost every night.

I had got into loads of people who came from all over the country every night. And of course, I’d always drink with friends at a bar or having a night out in a night club. I’d seen people dancing on the table, champagne bottles flying everywhere. It’s full of energy. It’s a time when I didn’t have worry about the real life.

It was also good money working in a chalet company. Most chalet staff lived off their tips and if they’re doing a good job, their salary should be kept intact when they came home. So I had actually saved something, could come home with a little bit of money. It’s not going to make me a millionaire but the time I had was amazing.

So I had got the best of both worlds.

A f t e r working for that c h a l e t c o m p a ny for three years, I

felt like I had enough for what I was doing in Paris. When I came back home, boyfriend was breaking up with me. I felt the things had all changed. One day, I just realised the house we had was such an amazing place. It was my great grandfather who bought the house when he was having a very successful business in selling farming machineries. Eventually, my family sold out the farm we had and the house was all we’re keeping right now. Then, I just thought we need to do something with it.

At the time when I came home, there was a massive gap in the market for cookery schools which were modern, hands-on and live with day to day life.

Everybody now works.

Nobody has the time to spend whole day in the kitchen, self-studying or self-inventing dishes. But they do want to be able cook a few fantastic dishes. So I came up with the idea. My sister and brother-in-law worked with me to make it happened. Since then, I have been a chalet host tutor. ■

“You’re surrounded by this exciting atmosphere, feeling alive in this one big bubble.”

Caramelized onions topped with cheese and served on French bread!

Relish a crispy appetizer ready in an hour.

Mango, peach and lime sorbet This tart, refreshing sorbet makes an elegant end to a summer meal.

Always smell peaches before you buy them to make sure they’re sweet and ready to eat.

Scallops with a beetroot Finely slice the scallops. Peel and slice the beetroot. Grill until tender. Sweet yellow beets, arugula, goat cheese and sauteed scallops tossed with a honey vinaigrette.

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Artisan Bread Making with Paul the Baker Words: Paul White and Jennifer Poust Photos: Sophie Carefull

50-year-old Paul White is an artisan baker with a love of sourdough. Here he tells us about his life in the world of homebaking as well as the benefits of natural yeast and getting the perfect ‘earlobe-feel’ consistency to your dough

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hen I was 18 I worked as a trainee chef in a restaurant in Cheshire. That was my first experience in the food industry. My boss was an eccentric Swiss chef with an enormous moustache who used to come up with the strangest ideas for recipes. I remember he’d put big old lumps of ham in everything, and yet it worked somehow. What an education he gave me.

I’d worked there for a few years when I met a girl, like you do, and moved to Rutland. I was a chef in a little gully but the place didn’t do very well and eventually it closed down. I was walking home after finishing my last day when I ran into my landlord who was a baker at the time.

He asked me how I was and I told him I wasn’t feeling brilliant as I’d just lost my job and it was rent day next week.

He hired me on the spot. It was pretty lucky actually.

is, active dry yeast hasn’t been around all that long, and people were making wonderfully risen loaves long before it hit the shelves. Using dry yeast may well be convenient, but you’re compromising on quality. Bread is just much better without it.

Using natural yeast

The potency of commercial yeast makes everything happen quickly, but there is wild yeast, occurring naturally in the flour and the air, which just needs a little more coaxing. The process of making the “yeast starter” is simple and just requires a bit of patience. You combine the flour and water and let it sit

for a few days. There are other ‘feeding’ aspects to it but nothing too strenuous.

The amount of time to ferment your dough is not an exact science, but I follow the rule that the longer the production process, the longer the shelf life of the bread. The bread you’ll make using this method (sourdough bread) will be rich in flavour, texture and character.

I left Baines Bakery after a few years for Hambleton Bakery’s Rutland branch, which won “Britain’s Best Bakery” last year. I learnt here that it isn’t necessary to spend a lot of money on flashy equipment.

People are spending upwards of £50 for proving baskets, which is ridiculous for what they are. →

The traditional method

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I’ve now been making bread professionally for over 30 years. My recipes are constantly changing but my passion for home baking is unwavering.

In my first baker job at Baines Bakery (with my landlord), I learnt that when making bread, the simpler the ingredients, the more complex the bread’s flavour. We did everything the old fashioned way and we really took our time with each loaf.

But doing it the traditional way means not cutting corners. People think of the staple ingredients in bread making as being flour, water and yeast. The thing

Paul’s famous sourdough loaf.

People

Your guide to basic white dough METHOD ■Always start with wet ingredients first as this makes it easier to mix.

Keep the yeast and salt apart as they will fight!

■Mix/Knead until a fully developed dough is formed. Remember to test for “gluten window”. If too sticky add more flour, or reduce quantity of water slightly.

Paul White with The Food Network’s Jonathan Phang.

Proving doesn’t require equipment, just a consistent temperature that’s over 3°C. I proved up a loaf in my car the other day and it worked a treat.

No flashy equipment

In terms of bread machines, whether you knead by hand or in a machine doesn’t make much of a difference to consistency or taste. But baking in a bread machine means a number of things could go wrong (including ending up with a massive hole in your loaf), and they’re a nightmare to clean. Bread baking is all about time and attention.

Hambleton Bakery taught me to keep a beady eye on my loaf during crucial stages such as feeding the dough and during its brief spell in the oven.

I run my own business now, touring the country (and further), giving bread lessons and running a bakery website.

I paid the web designer who set it up for me in baguettes. I actually gave him twenty soft rolls the other day to put some pictures up on it and he said he’d do me a new logo if I make him a pork pie.

The thing about bread is that it’s hard to crack the basics, but once you’ve done that it all becomes much easier.

There’s a simple set of rules to making a plain white loaf, but once you’ve got it right you can make any bread. The foundation is everything and after that it’s all about ratios and supplements.

Add more milk for a softer loaf, for example. Or, twice as much sugar to salt gives a golden crust. I also recommend adding fats if you want a loaf that lasts longer - the best option is rapeseed oil, which is environmentally friendly.

Cracking the basics The Swiss chef from my first food-related job used to say that there is no dark art to baking; bakers are more willing to share tricks of trade than chefs and there aren’t many secrets in the industry. He was completely right.

For those who want to learn how to make bread, lessons are always a good idea. While it is just about cracking the basics (then you can play around with recipes and add different ingredients to taste), it’s not always easy to garner knowledge from recipes. Back when I was starting out, I was reading recipes and found one that said dough has finished being kneaded when it feels like an earlobe. “Don’t all earlobes feel different?” I remember thinking, not having a clue if I should continue kneading my dough. Bread making does become a lot easier when you have someone there showing you what an earlobe-like consistency really means. Then, once you’ve made a successful loaf at home in your own oven, you are unlikely to go back to buying it anywhere else.

In the old days, bread used to be a treat, something you’d savour. But with the rise of consumer-led, mass-produced products, bread has become a cheap, shoddy product that we take for granted, especially when we consider the rise of “Frankenwheats”.

It does seem, however, that everything in the food world is quite cyclical, as we appear to be seeing the return of artisanal bread. This is great for me and great for the bread eaters of the country. I’ll toast to that. ■

■If hand mixing, knead and rest dough and knead again, repeat this process until the “gluten window” is achieved, remember that resting is as important! Cover and leave the dough until doubled in size. This will take at least 30 minutes.

■Knock back or de-gas (technical terms for bash the living daylights out of it) the dough and divide to 800g for a loaf, or you may want to try rolls or baguettes, I would suggest 250g for baguettes and between 60g and 110g for rolls. Shape as required ■Once shaped or tinned, leave in an ambient place, covered with a damp cloth to maintain the moisture, until the right size is achieved for baking.

The right size will be slightly smaller than you would expect your loaf to be, as a good dough will rise slightly in the oven.

■Heat your oven to maximum temperature. with a small roasting tin in the bottom of the oven. Cut splits into your loaf. Turn off fan, and splash an egg cup full of cold water into the roasting tin to create steamy environment. Set a timer and leave oven off for 5 mins, then put the oven temperature to 230 degrees, and bake for 23 minutes for a loaf or 12 minutes for a 250g baguette. Tap the bottom to test if baked.

Eat or freeze, easy eh!

Visit www.paulthebaker.co.uk for more tips or tweet me at @paulthebaker for a chat or to share pics and recipes. See you next time. P x

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Nature

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Sustainability is why I support organic food.

Words & Photos: Kelvin Tang

Some people believe that organic crops are richer in nutrition and less chemically

poisoned. Some people say they taste better. But for Darrell Maryon, a horticulturalist,

a Green politics supporter and one of the most experienced organic farmers in South Yorkshire, eating organic foods means more than just a trend of lifestyle. →

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ondon-born Darrell, 50 years old, manages one of the largest organic farms in the city– The Wortley Hall Gardens. For the past twenty years, he has been devoted to organic growing and teaching people the skills to grow crops.

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Growing ‘Green’

It all began the day his Father gave him an allotment when he was 19. Darrell started growing his own vegetables, salads and herbs in it, sometimes with friends. It soon developed into a hobby, though he could not have imagined the extent to which he’d devote the next thirty years of his life to “growing green”.

In his youth, Darrell’s political ideology was enlightened when he went off to study Politics at the University of Sheffield in the 80s. “I was very frustrated with the politics of the era because of the increasing shift to the Right at the time.” He said. “I developed an interest and support for Green politics, not least because of the focus on the environment.” He continued.

After graduating, Darrell got married and soon had his own family. He lived a fairly ordinary life, though his work never strayed too far from green food and farming. In his early 20s, he helped to run a green food store as well as a wholefood store, sometimes working as a delivery man for the businesses. His work was part-time and low-income, but this suited Darrell, who preferred to spend time with his family than to climb the career ladder.

Not long after his 30th birthday, Darrell was invited by Heeley City Farm to help teach vocational qualifications in horticulture. So, his work for the farming giant was initially in teaching, but also managed some of its farmlands from time to time. Being the keen gardener that he was, Darrell couldn’t have been happier with his job, which was based on his favourite hobby.

As luck would have it, a chance encounter led to Darrell being named “head gardener” of the Wortley Hall Gardens, which at that time was the private garden of one of the wealthiest families in Britain. “It was about 10 years ago. One of my ex-students lived at Wortley Hall,” Darrell recalled. “He wanted to take over some of the land for farming. I discussed it with him and advised him that it might be easier for

him to develop the project with Heeley City Farm, where I was still teahcing and farming. so that we could support him with management and advice. And maybe even bring some volunteers in.”

Darrell soon became “head gardener” and has now been a full-time organic farmer, managing as well as growing crops on this farm site, for over 15 years.

All about sustainability

Unlike many organic food businesses, Wortley Hall focusses on supplying food with a consumer perspective. For example, advocating that eating organic food is a healthier lifestyle. Being both eing both the consumer as well as the supplier, while it is important for Darrell that organic food is lower in pesticide residue, and higher in nutrition and vitamins, what he considers paramount are the issues around sustainability of growing.

“The most important things for me are the necessity of sustainable methods of growing and farming food which

will continue to be viable well into the future, so that we can have landscape which continue to produce healthy food for generations beyond my lifetime or yours.”

Taking agriculture in China as an example, Darrell says the ancient Chinese have always been aware of the limited landscape which they have that is suitable for farming. So they had long endeavoured to be very careful how they manage their farmlands. An example of this in is the ensuring that soil is kept in good condition. For around four thousand years, Chinese agriculture managed to sustainably grow food for its population. But now, the country is gradually losing their well cared for soil because of soil erosion caused by ever-increasing deforestation, pollution, mine crafting and so on.

“We went all this 150 years ago. We could’ve dealt with it a bit now. But they’re going through all this in 50 years. It’s mind blowing. So the worry is how China is going to feed itself in the future.”* Darrell believes that a sustainable

Fresh salad Darrell just harvested in the morning.

Nature

Wildlife can keep pest problem away. model of organic farming is clearly the best, in terms of both managerial landscape and producing a good yield of crops, without undermining the ability of that land to produce crops in the future.

Conventional vs. Organic

When comparing organic farming with conventional farming, Darrell says organic farming is much more labour intensive because it requires a lot more hand-cultivation. The farmland Darrell is working on is three acres in size.

With the use of mechanisation, it still takes around eight people per day two

A pregnant duck. days a week to manage, while it would only need half of this to run a non-organic farmland of the same size.

For example, killing weeds is one of the most time consuming tasks in Wortley Hall Garden. Darrell explains that this is because they kill weeds just with tools instead of just using weed killers. This is because manufacturedweed killers have potential to ruin the yield there because the soil is slightly damaged by using weed killer on it frequently. It upsets the bio-organisms in the soil and also reduces a certain amount of the wildlife around there.

As organic farming emphasises sustainability of crops, ensuring that they

will continue to grow in the far future, Darrell takes the health of his soil very seriously. A very strict crop rotation is set. Each section of the farmland in Wotley Hall will have to be rested in its every sixth year, though “resting” land doesn’t mean that it isn’t doing anything - some of the sections currently resting are growing clover. This helps in ensuring nitrogen from the atmosphere really gets into the soil. It helps to maintain its health and increases micro-organism activities, which protects his crops from disease. “It is something which conventional growing undermines in its practise, along with real sustainablity risks,” concludes Darrell. ■

More about Wortley Hall Walled Garden The walled garden was built by the Wortley family who had been around the area since the middle ages. They took much of the land at that time. They expanded the ownership of the land over centuries. By the 1700s, they wanted to rebuild the hall (the grand hall now) as one of their houses.

Wortley was the Earl of Wharncliffe.

Following fashion and following changes in lifestyle, they wanted to have their own walled kitchen garden because they would have all these new vegetables from around the world. By 1600s, there were all the new forms of vegetable cultivation coming from Holland, France, Belgium, Italy and so on.

During Second World War, there had been prisoners of war working here.

The Garden was built 300 years ago.

Some of them were even German soldiers. They were prisoner of the war working in this garden in the in the war

time to feed people around the area.

Prisoners of the war were working in the farms around Sheffield because the young men had left to fight. So the prisoners had to work in the farms. And they were quite happy to do because they wouldn’t get shot dead working in a farm. The Germans were saying we’re gardeners, we’re not soldiers. We were conscript, we were told to fight.

The Wharncliffe family decided to give up the grand hall and later sold it to the trade union for £10,000 in the 50s.

The Garden is now part of the Wortley Hall Heritage Project as an organically certified kitchen garden. It is growing a wide range of different salads, fruits and herbs which has been selling to local food stores 11-month a year.

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oraging is the harvesting of plants from nature for consumption.

There are plenty of edible plants, mushrooms, berries and nuts can be found in urban settings all over the UK. These free ingredients can create interesting dishes, drinks and desserts and offer variety of textures and flavours.

They can be added to add to your cooking if you are willing to go through the trouble of finding and collecting the plants.

It’s fairly simple to forage from nature; find the edible plants, identify them and take the parts you need. It‘s legal to collect foliage, flowers and fruit of wild plants, which are not protected, as long as you are harvesting for a non-profit making purpose. There are laws for trespass, so if you know a great place to collect wild plants in private land, ask for permission. Of course avoid peoples gardens and purposefully planted plants.

The ethical way to forage is to only take what you need; don’t uproot the whole plant, if you only want the berries or flowers. If the plant is scarce, it’s better to select few leaves or flowers from several plants than to take it all off one plant. When it comes to weeds such as dandelions and nettle, this is not a

Into the

Words: Vilma

problem, because they are common and generally unwanted. Remember to respect the environment and leave it as undisturbed as you can.

It’s important to consider safety when foraging. Don’t collect plants from con-

Dandelion marmalade 1. Gather the ingredients. For about 80g of petals, you need about third of a carrier bag of flower heads. Do this on a sunny day when the flowers are fully open.

2. Separate the petals from the base. Use scissors for assistance.

3. Take 60g of the petals and heat them gently until just simmering in one litre of apple juice. After turning off the heat, leave to infuse overnight.

4. Strain the juice into a pan. Add 100ml of fresh lemon juice and 750g of jam sugar and boil until the mix reaches the setting point. It should take max ten minutes. Add the rest of the petals during the last few minutes of boiling.

5. Bottle in warmed up sterilised bottles and preserve for later.

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taminated environments. Try to be sure that there is no chemical waste, landfills or factory waste anywhere near the site. Don’t collect plants that have been sprayed with pesticides. Avoid busy roadsides, because those sites can often

Nature

Wild

Lang

be heavily polluted.

Most importantly though never eat a plant if you’re not sure what it is, and always know for sure what you are taking. If you keep all these ethical and safety considerations in your mind when you venture out into the wild, you will be able to find some wonderful produce to enhance your salads, desserts and other dishes.

Summer is a great time for foraging.

On the next page you can find instructions on how to get best out of your wild plant harvest - we will give you tips on how to crystalise flowers and make dandelion marmalade!

use cherries - from pies to Sherry.

Dandelion

Nettle

Wild Plants

Dandelion is also a common weed, which is easy to recognise and come across. The leaves, especially when young, are a good salad ingredient. The yellow flowers can be used to create marmalade. (see left)

Wild cherry

There are plenty of cherry trees around.

If you keep an eye on the flowering trees in the spring, it will be easy to find them again when the fruit is ripe. Wild cherries can be used in any recipes that

Fat hen

Fat hen is also known as wild spinach. It’s yet another fairly common weed, which is a problem for agriculture, but great for experimental chefs. When cooked with oil and garlic, it can be used in a variety of ways in salads and other dishes, although the waxy leaves don’t cook as well in steamy water as spinach.

Crystallised flowers 1. Add a few drops of water to an egg white to thin it slightly and whisk well. Use a small pastry brush to paint on a thin layer of egg white on the petals.

2. Dust with castor sugar. You can use tweezers to help with this.

3. Carefully lay out the flowers on baking parchment and let them dry for 8 to 12 hours over a radiator or on a sunny windowsill.

4. Once the petals are dry they can be stored for a good time - a screw topped jar will be good for this.

This very common weed can be found almost anywhere.

The stinging plant might bring up some painful memories, but it’s a great ingredient to use in soups, salads and tea.

Nettle is best when newly grown. You can make tempura by deep frying the leaves in batter or steam or boil them to create a vegetable side or mix with pine nuts, parmesan, garlic and olive oil

for a pesto.■

For more tips on foraging plus a video guide to recognising the most delicious wild plants go to our website at sagemagazine.co.uk

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The Forgotten Country Words: Vilma Lang

ABBA, A-ha, Ikea and Carlsberg beer - the Nordic countries have left a varied and continual mark in the minds of Brits. There is, however, one country that keeps being left in the shadows of the others. Finland, the smaller neighbour of Sweden, is left in near obscurity, while its Nordic family is being paraded around the world as leaders in design, equality and now food. As the Nordic cuisine is on the rise, Finland is still the country nobody seems to talk about - even though the food culture of the country is certainly on the same level with its more famous peers. I travelled back to my home country to compile an introduction to the fascinating cuisine of the country of millions of lakes. →

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estaurant Olo, a Michelin star restaurant in the centre of Helsinki, offers people not just food, but memorable experiences. The courtyard covered from the sun outside is where I meet one of the head chefs of the restaurant, Jari Vesivalo.

“Foreign foodies come here with low expectations and leave surprised. But it’s not really rocket science. You just have to do it with passion.” Vesivalo tells me the secret to the success of Olo. The restaurant is the only one in Finland that has gotten a top rating in the White Guide, the prestigious Nordic restaurant guide.

But it’s not the only restaurant in Helsinki with a Michelin star. In another part of town, I meet Johan Borgar at his restaurant Chef & Sommelier, which prides itself in using mainly organic and fair trade ingredients. The restaurant is a cosy space in a beautiful little city block, away from the traffic of the main streets. Established in 2011, they gained their first Michelin star only last year. It was a huge surprise for the small, modest restaurant that is far from traditional realm of fine dining.

Nordic cuisine, in general, has been getting a lot of buzz recently thanks to the experimental Danish restaurant, Noma, which has been raising the ranks

to be named the world’s best restaurant. What makes Nordic food so special then? Appreciation of local ingredients, nature and stripping food down to basics are some of the key trends in Nordic cuisine. It’s easy to see why the Nordic mentality is being cherished in food circles around the globe; in a world where people are getting more and more conscious about what they put in their mouths, the kind of values Nordic chefs incorporate into their cooking - clean, seasonal, simple - are rising in popularity.

The two chefs I spoke with both promote cooking with locally sourced high quality ingredients. To them, the ingredients are the key to creating amazing dishes. Use of cream and fat are kept to minimum and spices are used sparingly. It’s all about making the natural flavours of the ingredients to stand out.

Nature’s offerings

Ingredients are the main strength - and challenge - of Finnish cuisine. Finland is a small territory in the North with a unique set of seasons. The winters are dark, long and harsh while the summers are bright with long, warm days. In the summer the sun barely

sets, while in the winter the country is covered in snow and ice. The unique seasons have created a unique nature, which offers many interesting ingredients for the more experimental of chefs.

Vesivalo’s personal favourite of the varied ingredients found in the Finnish nature is ‘tyrnimarja’ or sea buckthorn berry in English. According to him, it’s a very stubborn berry with a sour taste, but excellent when prepared properly.

“I live by the sea and we have a bunch of buckthorn bushes in front of our house. I have been watching them for years. Some years there are plenty of berries, some years none. The plants live their own lives,” Vesivalo says.

Finland’s nature offers a wealth of tasty berries besides the buckthorn. My famiily’s summer cottage in mid-Finland is surrounded by blueberries and the dirt road leading up to it is lined by wild raspberry bushes. If you are lucky enough, you might even find forest strawberries, which have a more distinct, sweet taste than the store-bought ones.

Nature is a major source of inspiration for Finnish chefs. At Chef & Sommelier, Borgar not only draws inspiration from it, but he also goes out into it to find ingredients. Foraging is a big part of their menu.

Finnish exotic: Reindeer hearts by Chef & Sommelier.

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World “The idea for foraging came to us almost accidentally. We had a dish with spinach and egg, but as the delivery of ecologically produced spinach stopped for two weeks, we had to make a decision between changing the dish or buying conventionally grown spinach.

I collected some nettles and we tried it instead - everyone in the kitchen and our customers loved it so much that we decided to start using more wild plants in our menu,” Borgar tells.

Challenging nature

Availability is the main challenge in the northern regions. Because of the long winter, the season for produce is short.

Logistics often come in the way of getting ingredients from the more remote parts of the country. Sometimes it’s impossible to get local ingredients for certain dishes. Because of this, Finland has traditionally relied a lot on root vegetables and storing methods.

These days the supermarkets offer everything from tomatoes to cauliflowers at any time of the year. Vesivalo doesn’t think this is a good thing, even though it does allow people to breakout from the traditional constraints on cooking in the wintertime.

“People should appreciate the seasons more. Vegetables should be boycotted when they aren’t in season. The ones they import are filled with substances that aren’t good for our health,” he says.

Vesivalo also believes local farmers and producers deserve more credit.

The harsh farming conditions show in price; foreign produce often ends up being cheaper than the locally grown.

Farming is not an easy way to make a living in Finland.

Young culture

Finland is a young country - and so is its cuisine. Vesivalo thinks this is one of the strengths of Finnish food culture as chefs aren’t bound by old traditions, but get to invent their own. Innovation is highly respected in the Finnish culture and this also shows in the kitchen.

The food culture is flexible and open to new interpretations and influences from other cultures.

This is also what Vesivalo loves about working in an international kitchen.

Restaurant Olo has had chefs from all over the world from neighbouring Swe-

At Restaurant Olo nature is always present in the dishes.

den to far flung Argentina. Although communication can sometimes be a barrier, Vesivalo believes having people from different cultures in the kitchen is an enriching experience.

“It’s mind opening and interesting to work with them. They look at these ingredients that they’ve never seen before in a completely new way and come up with ideas I would have never even thought of,” he says with excitement.

But Finnish cuisine is not completely exempt from traditions. This also shows in Vesivalo’s cooking. At Restaurant Olo, the chefs use many traditional storing methods such as pickling, fermenting, smoking and salting when creating their dishes. These days the methods aren’t used to store the food, but to experiment with different textures and flavours.

Borgar and Vesivalo both have respect for the traditional cuisine of Finland.

Vesivalo’s favourite traditional dish is “karjalanpaisti”, a meat stew originating from Karelia, which usually consists of carrot, potato and beef. Borgar’s favourites, besides fresh lake fish and berries, are “kalakukko” and “karjalanpiirakka”. They both are types of pastries; “kalakukko” (literally “fishcock”) is fish, traditionally vendace, baked inside a ryebread and “karjalanpiirakka”, karelian pastry, consists of rice porridge baked in a rye crust.

Rye and cardamom

Finnish cuisine is characterised by the location of the country in between the east and the west. On one hand, there→

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Food is art at Restaurant Olo as proved by this elegant remake of cauliflower. is the Swedish influence. We eat meatballs and pea soup just like our neighbours. On the other hand, there is our eastern neighbour Russia’s influence that can be seen especially in eastern Finland. Fermentation, a method common in the east, is used to create local favourites such as the Finnish version of metworst, as well as viili, a special type of fermented milk product which can only be found in Nordic countries.

Rye is one of the most popular grains and different grains are used more than in the UK where wheat dominates. Historically, rye was fairly easy to grow even in harsher conditions and bread made from rye lasts longer, which explains its popularity in the north.

Besides bread, Finland is filled with delicious sweet baked goods. These are often characterised by the use of cardamom. Cinnamon rolls, oven pancake and Finnish doughnuts all include this spice. It brings a very unique flavour to Finnish baking.

The most important baked good is, of course, the sweet bun, which comes in

many forms. There are ones with butter, the traditional braids, cinnamon rolls and buns with berries in them.

The forms this delicious treat takes are endless and sweet buns, or pulla as we call it in Finland, are an essential part of the Finnish coffee culture. A testament to Finland being in the shadow of its neighbours, many know of the Swedish ‘fika’ but it’s the Finns who drink the most coffee in the world.

“We

have a built-in confidence issue in Finland. When I go to visit friends abroad, they put local ingredients on display with pride.”

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Attitude problems

Finland is filled with interesting dishes, a variety of ingredients and a buzzing restaurant culture filled with chefs like Borgar and Vesivalo, who swear in the name of clean, high quality ingredients.

Why then has it not taken off? Vesivalo thinks it’s partly an economic issue; making great food is expensive, but Finnish people aren’t easily persuaded to pay high prices for their restaurant meals, even though the price level in general is a lot higher than in the UK. Another issue, which both of the chefs bring up, is a lack of appreciation towards our own food culture. Borgar

says that many traditional ingredients such as lake fish and local types of potatoes and swedes are often overlooked.

“We have a built-in confidence issue in Finland. When I go to visit friends abroad, they put local ingredients on display with pride. In Finland, foreign food is admired more,” Borgar notes.

But he believes that things are about to change. Chefs are getting more interested in using less appreciated local ingredients instead of traditional luxury ingredients. The fine dining scene in Finland is going through a major shakeup.

Both Borgar and Vesivalo agree that people are looking for a more relaxed atmosphere when they go out to eat.

Dining is not about the traditional ‘fine dining’ anymore, but about having a nice night out with friends. The trend is taking restaurants away from white tablecloths and chandeliers.

In Finland, casual restaurant culture is finally kicking off properly. Now Helsinki is buzzing with trendy restaurants and the rest of the country is following the capital’s lead. The future looks good for the Finnish food scene – with renewed confidence they’re just as good, if not better, than their Nordic counterparts.

“Finnish chefs have excellent knowhow. Their technique level is probably even higher than in Sweden. There is plenty of talent and skill. We are coming strong!” Vesivalo praises. ■

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Pop up to Bistro Words: Vilma Lang

Dreaming of your own restaurant? Be prepared for a hell of a lot of work, hectic days and swearing à la Gordon Ramsay. But first you might want to test yourself to see if you have what it takes by setting up a pop-up restaurant on a Restaurant Day.

R

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estaurant Day is a Finnish concept that started in Helsinki when Timo Santala wanted to bring more vibrant street culture to the Finnish capital. It has grown into an event, which includes thousands of restaurants held by people in their homes, backyards and local parks in hundreds of countries.

It is a chance for people to experience the joy of cooking for others - and how hectic it can get when dozens of people flock your backyard waiting to be served.

Ellen Hinttala says the day is perfect for trying out if you can handle the pressure of running your own restaurant. She and her husband, Antti, are the proud owners of Pieni Ravintola, the first ever restaurant opened on the basis of Restaurant Day success. After three hectic days serving food in their backyard, the couple decided to create a restaurant of their own to cater to those who wanted something more than just pizza or kebab.

“A lot of people said that this village is missing this kind of a place during the pop up day. Antti was working in Helsinki and we barely saw each other, which was quite miserable. So I started looking for premises for a restaurant,” Ellen tells me of the origins of the res-

Starting up Ellen and Antti met in San Diego, California, where they were working in the kitchen of a casino. When Ellen moved back to Finland after Antti, she had nothing but two suitcases that had been ran over by a truck at the airport. Fortunately, Antti had a tiny place in Kumpula, Helsinki, where Ellen could move in.

The pair found jobs in Helsinki and had two kids, before moving to their current place in Rajamaki.

The original idea to take part in the Restaurant Day came from their neighbour, who asked if they would like to serve some food adjoint to the flea market the neighbour was holding on the day. Then they decided to give it another go again in May, when they served Californian inspired food and all the 250 portions were sold. It was the perfect Ellen and Antti in their bistro. opportunity for the couple to get to know the people and taurant. the atmosphere of the village.

What started with serving soup in The couple transformed an emp-27 degrees in February 2012, is now a ty premise that originally didn’t even popular bistro in the centre of Rajama- have a kitchen into a restaurant. They ki, a town not far from Helsinki. Aside bought secondhand restaurant equipfrom lunch the restaurant offers cater- ment and tried to do as much as posing services, as well as cooking classes sible by themselves or with the help and set menu dinners. The restaurant of friends and relatives. Ellen’s father is run like a pop-up: if the owners feel made mirrors and chalkboards, Antti’s inspired to do something, they will give mother gave them a chandelier and it a go.

World Ellen painted paintings to hang on the walls. The result is a cozy and stylish bistro, which the couple is happy to see others enjoy as well.

Money matters

“When you’re someone with a family or if you go and do this with a friend and you don’t have the same resources as some famous chef, you need to think carefully where you put your money in.

You need to either find a place where the rent is not too high or where you can do as much of the renovation as possible yourself,” Ellen says.

She thinks the best approach to starting a restaurant is not to throw all the money at it at once, but to build it slowly through time. They only got curtains recently, when they finally had some money to spare on fabric.

It is not just money that matters, though, Ellen believes that weighing one’s stress threshold is also important when it comes to venturing into the restaurant business. The stress of satisfying the customer is always present in the kitchen; the food needs to go out fast enough and taste and look good.

Ellen lists traits that she believes are essential for the running of a restaurant: numerical skills, ability to make estimates, ability to handle stress, creativity and an eye for colour. However, not all of this needs to be found in one person; Ellen says Antti is the one who is good with numbers and has a great memory. She, on the other hand, is a good cook who can create beautiful dishes.

And the best testing ground for these

skills? Ellen says it’s taking part in the Restaurant Day. But she also warns that running your own little pop-up might give you a false idea of how easy and simple it is to run a restaurant and how much money it can generate.

In reality, a restaurant has more costs than just the ingredients; there is the music, the interior, the staff and the list goes on.

“The one thing that you cannot spare is quality ingredients. If the food is not good and made from good quality ingredients, there won’t be any customers,” Ellen says.

Restaurant Day: How to take part?

Ellen has been quite surprised at how many people have told her that they could never work with their partner.

She thinks that she and Antti make a great partnership both in and out of kitchen. Although sometimes it does get very heated in the kitchen and she feels like running out the backdoor. But that is just a consequence of working under time pressure.

“Gordon Ramsay’s Hell’s Kitchen is not that far from the atmosphere you get in the kitchen when customers are pouring in through doors and windows and you’re trying to get the food out to customers in time and to right tables.

If one dish goes to the wrong table, the whole kitchen is a mess for the next forty minutes,” Ellen tells.

But at the end of the day, you need to always be able to thank everyone who worked with you, Ellen says.

“Last year we had two weekends off. I wouldn’t say our kids suffer from it, but it is a choice. When we do get to spend time with our kids, we make the most of it. But we do have less of that time than if we did work in more conventional jobs,” Ellen says.

Still, despite the sacrifice, Ellen doesn’t regret the choice she has made.

With a restaurant of your own, you get the feedback for what you have made, the positive and the negative. Positive comments rarely reach the chef in a big, busy kitchen. Ellen loves to experiment with food and enjoys the freedom she gets over her dishes. Occasionally, she is even surprised by her own creations.

“At the end of the day, even in the middle of this jungle of rules, I still get immense satisfaction when I get to make what I want and when people like it.”■

Are you interested in having a go at creating your own pop-up? Here are some tips to get you started: • Come up with a great concept.

What kind of food do you want to serve, where and for what kind of people? The possibilities are endless from serving just cake and coffee to creating elaborate multi-course dinners.

• Location, location, location. Do you want to stay in the comfort of your own home or do you think your food would enhance the local park’s atmosphere?

• Find customers. After you have perfected your idea, take it to the Restaurant Day website where you can write your listing on the map with details of location, food served and opening times. Remember to spread the word on social media.

• Plan well. Think about the logistics and have a realistic plan on how many customers you can serve and how you can keep the food hot, if need be. Make sure you have enough ingredients to serve the amount of people you are aiming for.

• Be prepared to work hard. Depending on the amount of customers you will get, the day will be full of work .

Do ask someone to help you out and share the workload.

• Have a great time. Restaurant Day is all about providing people with fun experiences whether they are serving the food or eating it.

• The next Restaurant Days will be on Sunday 16 August 2015 and Saturday 21 November 2015. To find out more, visit the website: http://www.restaurantday.org/en/

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More fresh ideas, cooking inspiration and great reads coming to you in August

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• Heston Blumenthal and the art of using science in the kitchen • It’s apple season - we talked to experimental chefs to get tips for how to make apples interesting • Best of the ciders - a special on the cider farms of the UK and where to get the sweetest and the dryest kind - plus we put Scandinavian and English ciders head to head in a battle of ciders • World cuisine of the month: the lovely, hot Caribbean - how to recreate the tropical atmosphere in your kitchen

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Fugu, the killer Words: Harriet Morgan

Have you ever considered planning your funeral as you order your dinner? No nor have we, but with one of the deadliest dishes around, perhaps you might just think about it. We has found out more about the deadly Japanese delicacy.

I

f there was ever a time to play Russian Roulette with my own life, I’m not so sure I would like it to be in the middle of a restaurant somewhere in Japan, with a status of “death by puffer fish.” Therefore I will never be eating Fugu, a Japanese delicacy to toy with my existence. However, many people still do.

Imagine you’re sitting in the restaurant in the middle of Fukuoka (the motherland of Fugu) in Japan. You have just travelled three hours via the bullet train to get there. The option is between sushi, a fairly safe choice - the raw fish could make your stomach a little iffy, but nothing you can’t handle with the little help of immodium. Or, you can have Fugu, the fish that is up to 200 times more toxic than potassium cyanide, and can kill you.

The lethal poison tetrodotoxin, (TTX) is a noxious defence and predatory mechanism used by the puffer fish.

Knocking on death’s door

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Okay, you’ve ordered it. It’s winter, the perfect time for you to order Fugu as

it i s currently in season. The sign on the wall has also swayed your decision, that and a little adrenalin. It informs you that under Japanese law since 1958, this restaurant is allowed to serve the dish. The chef has been through a three year rigorous training program, which involves a two-or three-year apprenticeship which only a third of people in his class passed. It can’t be that bad?

Since the fish will never be sold as a whole piece, you have opted for the testicle, or as it’s locally known - “soft roe”. This was on the recommendation from the waitress, who described it as the most prized portion of the takifugu (tiger blow fish) and like a scallop, but more tender, and barely charrd on the outside. Although you thought about the raw fugu, which is rather chewy, the thought of it tasting like a soy sauce dip deterred you somewhat.

Ordering the liver which is the deadliest part of the fish may have been a good story to tell but to be honest it was a no go area. You’re chancing life enough already, but the guidebook recommendation suggested not to choose it either. This part of the fish contains the highest level of TTX, was banned from being served in 1984 and just last week five men were poisoned at a restaurant in Wakayama after specifically asking for liver. No thank-you.

As you wait in apprehension, the chefs are preparing the spectacle, cutting the fugu into translucent slices, applying a technique known as usudzukuri, with knives that use exceptionally thin blades. In the kitchen they keep lumps of coal in case of emergency. Currently, there is no known remedy if someone is poisoned, and treatment consists of emptying the stomach, feeding the victim heated charcoal to bind the toxin, and, in the darker stages, the sorry victim will be placed onto a life support machine until the poison has worn off. In most cases those poisoned will be unable to move, paralysed - and unable to speak while

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fish... the TTX still remains in their body.

The moment of truth

Your Japanese company eases your nerves though, telling you that in fact this has been eaten for centuries in the country, and that it’s rare for people to die. Statistics from the Tokyo Bureau of Social Welfare and Public Health said that over a 10 year period, only 20 to 44 incidents took place as a result of eating fugu, some of whom were multiple diners.

Only moments later, dinner is served. In front of you sits what can only be described as a semi-transparent piece of ravioli. But, when you cut into it as you were told it is jelly like, similar to a scallop. Out spills a milky liquid. The taste is slightly salty. After one bite though, it’s gone. You look down at your plate, nothing. You sit back for a minute, waiting in anticipation for you muscles to switch into a state of paralysis. Nothin. Success, you are alive!

The first time, but will it be the last?

Post-fugu escapade you can sit back and relax, since over-half of your meal as been loaded with nerves, prayers and texts to your loved one telling them just how much you’ll miss them.

You order the bill. A one-bite meal shouldn’t be too hefty a price? Surely?

30, 250 Japanese Yen. You tell yourself currency can be a funny thing, that mustn’t be that much converted? £160. Hmm, you’ve just paid £160. You might pay this for the dish, but it could cost you your life. Worth it. Probably, nothing like eating dinner counting your blessings now is there?

But if I’m completely honest, when in Japan I would rather kick the bucket than losing a samurai sword fight.

How much cooler does that sound? ■

The 5 deadliest foods from around the world Ackee

If improperly eaten, Ackee can cause what known as the Jamaican Vomiting Sickness — which, other than obvious symptoms, can lead to coma or death. Those who choose to eat it must wait until the protective pods on the fruit open naturally, and turn red. Once opened the yellow arilli is the only part which should be eaten, not the black pods which contain the toxic hypoglycin.

Cassava

Otherwise known as topica, the South American tropical root crop is also eaten in Asia and Africa. It is usually used for chips and in cakes, and is harmless once throughly peeled and boiled. However, if eaten raw it contains a toxin called linamarin which the body converts to cyanogenic glycoside which is lethal.

Casu Marz

This is the cheese which has been banned by the European Union.

Deriving from Sardinia, it is a local aphrodisiac and when translated is called ‘maggots cheese’. Locals use sheepsmilk cheese and leave this on their windows to ferment.

Meanwhile, flies will lay eggs in the cheese which consequently

produce maggots that eat through your intestinal walls. No doubt you will be very ill!

4. Raw Cashews

Surprising, but raw cashews from the supermarket are actually not technically speaking, raw. Before this, the kernels are steamed to be removed, which will get rid of the dangerous chemical urushiol, which in large quantities can be deadly!

Sannakji

And last on the Sage list is the Korean delicacy of raw baby octopus. Like something out of a Saw movie, it continues to move after it has died even if it’s been chopped up into small pieces, including the limbs sliced away from the body. Still, once covered in sesame oil, the suction caps of the octopus still conserve their gripping power which can latch onto your mouth and throat, becoming a choking hazard. The sannakji connoisseurs apparently crave the sensation of the octopus’ legs, attempting

to climb back up the throat.

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Recipes Enticing recipes for entertaining this month. Inspiration for a summer snack, plus an impressive pie to master.

Download the Sage app for more exclusive recipes!

This month Leiths’ Veal & Ham Pie Challenge

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Veal

Recipes

Send us your attempts on Instagram or Twitter via #sagechallenge

& Hamhock Hot Crust Pie from Leiths wooden mould is used but a large 400ml soufflé dish, 12.5cm in diameter also works well. However, individual pies can be raised without moulds.

1 Cut a disc of greaseproof paper for the

outside base of the dish and a band to go around the outside walls of the dish. Stick the greaseproof paper to the outside of the dish using sticky tape. Now place the dish on a large sheet of cling film and bring the cling film up the sides of the dish and down into it, pulling the cling film so it is taut. The soufflé dish is now ready for the pastry.

2

Remove the larger disc of pastry from the fridge; it should be firm, but pliable.

Turn the soufflé dish upside down and lay the pastry across the upturned base. Gently ease the pastry down the sides of the dish.

The warmth from your hands will help to soften the pastry a little and make it easier to mould. Avoid pushing too firmly or the pastry will crack. Roll a rolling pin lightly across the top of the dish or use your hands flat against the top, to encourage the pastry to expand and ease down the sides of the dish.

3

With your fingers flat against the side of the dish, gently ease the pastry down. You need to work on the top and sides alternately to coat the dish all over in an even layer of pastry. Avoid using your fingers over the corners of the dish as this can easily create a thin layer of pastry. Place uncovered on a tray in the fridge for 5–6 hours, or ideally overnight, for it to firm even more and dry out.

HOT WATER CRUST Makes enough for a raised pie to serve 6–8 150ml water 60g butter 60g lard 350g plain flour ¾ tsp salt 1 large egg

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Hot water crust pastry is traditionally used for raised pies. It is an unusual pastry, similar to choux though it doesn’t rise when baked, and can be said to be twice cooked.

Ideally, making the pastry and shaping the case should be done a day ahead to allow the pastry time to firm up before filling and baking.

SHAPING HOT WATER CRUST FOR A RAISED PIE While the pastry is chilling, prepare the mould for the raised pie. Traditionally, a

A note The aim here is to make a watertight container in which meat is cooked in the oven with just a band of baking parchment around the sides as support. The pastry must be thick enough to withstand the weight of the meat, but not so thick that it is unpleasant to eat. It must not have any weak points, or be too thin, or the pie will collapse. It is therefore important that the original shaping of the warm pastry into a disc creates no pleats, and that when shaping round the dish it is not forced or pushed too hard, which could cause it to crack or break.

Recipes

THE VEAL AND HAM PIE Serves 4 1 small onion Bunch of flat-leaf parsley 550g boned shoulder of veal 100g piece of gammon 150–200ml aspic (see overleaf) Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1

Prepare and shape the pastry around a 400ml soufflé dish.

2 The next day, or when ready to cook, heat the oven 190ºC/gas mark 5.

3 For the filling, halve, peel and finely

dice the onion. Finely chop enough parsley leaves to give you 3 tbsp. Remove any surface gristle and sinew from the veal, trim any excess fat off the gammon and veal and cut both meats into 1.5cm cubes.

4 Mix the onion, meats and half the pars-

ley together in a large bowl and season well with salt and pepper. Reserve the rest of the parsley for the aspic.

5 Remove the shaped pastry and the

smaller disc from the fridge. Turn the shaped pastry the right way up and peel the cling film away from inside the dish. Ease the cling film a little from the dish and lift the dish out of the pastry without damaging the pastry. Peel away the cling film and greaseproof paper from the inside of the pastry case.

6 Carefully lift the pastry case up to the

light and check the corners; if you can see light through them you will need to reinforce them using a thin band cut from around the edge of the pastry for the lid, by gently pushing it into the area needed.

of the lid up against the inside of the pie and press together to seal. Using a pair of scissors, trim off only the top edge, not too deep or you will break the seal.

10 Using your thumb and forefinger,

crimp the pastry edge. Now make a steam hole in the middle of the top and insert the tip of a 5mm piping nozzle (this will prevent the hole closing). If you have any pastry left, roll it out thinly and cut out decorations, if desired; stick them to the top of the pie with the beaten egg.

11 Brush the top of the pie with beat-

en egg to glaze. Bake for 15 minutes, then lower the oven setting to 170ºC/gas mark 3 and bake the pie for a further 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and take off the paper collar. If the pie suddenly begins to slump and lose shape, tie the paper round the pie again and continue to cook for a further 15 minutes. If the pie holds its shape, brush the sides and the top again with beaten egg and return to the oven for a further 30 minutes, or until cooked.

12 To check that the pie is cooked, in-

sert a skewer into the middle through the steam hole, leave it for 10 seconds, then remove and immediately touch it to your inner wrist; it should be hot. If not, cook the pie for a further 15 minutes.

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Once the pie is cooked, remove it from the oven and set aside to cool to room temperature.

7 Wrap a double layer of baking parch- 14 Follow the instructions on the aspic ment around the outside of the pie case to support it and secure with paper clips or string (don’t tie string too tightly or it will create a waist in the pie once cooked). Make sure the rim of pastry is not covered by paper, so you can seal it with the lid.

packet to dissolve and sponge it. When the aspic begins to thicken and set a little (still pourable but thick enough to hold the parsley in suspension), add the reserved parsley.

Carefully pour the aspic through the 8 Place the pie case on a lipped baking 15 piping nozzle into the pie (shown as picture sheet and add the filling, packing it into the corners, to help support the pastry, and doming it on the top (as shown overleaf).

9 Check the pastry lid is the right size to

fit over the top. Lightly beat the egg with a very small pinch of salt, using a fork, then pass through a sieve into a bowl. Brush beaten egg on the inside of the pastry lid.

Lay the lid on top of the pie, fold the edges

above), allowing it to seep into the air holes and between the meat and the pastry. You might need to lift the pastry around the steam hole first to allow the aspic to feed through, taking care not to break the pastry.

Allow the aspic to set for 3–4 hours before cutting the pie. ■

VARIATIONS Duck and green peppercorn raised pie Omit the ham and parsley. Reduce the veal to 150g and add 400g duck leg meat (about 3–4 duck legs, meat only, sinewsremoved) and toss in 1½ tbsp cornflour. Add ½–1 tbsp green peppercorns with the onion.

A note on leakage Raised pies can sometimes leak, if the pastry is a little thin or has a weak spot. If after cooking the pie is leaking, allow it to cool, then use soft butter to plug any holes. Allow the butter to firm completely by putting the pie in the fridge for 30–45 minutes. After the aspic has been added to the pie and set, the butter can be scraped away before serving.

A note on aspic Aspic is added to raised pies because as the meat cooks it shrinks and releases juices, and as it cools the meat re-absorbs the juice but leaves a gap between the meat and the pastry walls of the pie. Aspic fills all the air holes and holds the pie together when cut.

It also helps to preserve the pie, so it can be kept for a few days. Traditionally, the bones from the meat would be simmered in water and flavourings, strained and cooled to produce a savoury jelly. But these days you can buy aspic powder and use it in the same way as gelatine. Alternatively, you can use gelatine: 1 tsp powdered gelatine is enough to soft-set 150–200ml lightly flavoured chicken stock. Add a little tarragon or sherry vinegar (about 1 tsp or to taste), 1 tsp finely chopped parsley and salt and pepper.

PAIR

Why don’t you try pairing this with a nice Austrian Grüner Veltliner wine.

Veal is one of the few red meats which work well with a white.

Marks & Spencer £8.99

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Recipes

Halloumi

& Strawberry Salad

Serves 4 300g strawberries, hulled 250g halloumi cheese, cut into 8 slices ½ a lemon, juiced handful of rocket leaves few sprigs of mint, leaves picked few sprigs of basil, leaves picked balsamic vinegar extra virgin olive oil salt & pepper

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METHOD

1 Cut the strawberries into 5mm slic-

es and place in a bowl.

2 Mix a good splash of balsamic vin-

egar with the lemon juice and a glug of olive oil – drizzle over the strawberries. Season with salt and pepper. This will draw out the flavour and juices.

3

Heat a frying pan or griddle to medium heat and add a splash of olive oil.

4 Press a basil leaf on to each slice of

halloumi then place, leaf side down, into hot pan and fry for one minute. Turn carefully and fry for a further minute until cheese is light, golden and crisp.

5 Place the rocket, mint and remaining basil leaves in bowl with strawberries and toss together.

6

Place 2 pieces of halloumi on each plate and top with the salad.

Recipes

Perfect Crumbly

Chicken Schnitzel

Serves 6 - 8

FOR THE MARINADE 2 eggs, lightly beaten 2 heaping tablespoons of good quality mustard 3–4 garlic cloves, smashed fresh ground pepper 2 pounds boneless chicken breast, very thinly pounded

FOR FRYING 1½ cups unseasoned bread crumbs 1½ cups panko bread crumbs fresh ground pepper and sea salt canola oil

METHOD

1 Combine eggs, mustard, garlic and

pepper in a large bowl. Add the chicken and mix until the chicken is completely coated. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, preferably overnight.

2

Remove the chicken from the refrigerator and let sit at room temperature for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a shallow bowl, mix together the unseasoned bread crumbs and panko bread crumbs. Season with fresh ground pepper and sea salt.

3

Dredge chicken breasts in bread crumbs, patting slightly to help them stick.

4

Pour oil into a medium skillet to about 1 1/2 inches high. Heat oil on high heat until very hot and add chicken breasts, adding just two to three at a time (depending on their size). Do not overcrowd them in the pan. Reduce heat to medium and fry until golden brown on each side and chicken is completely cooked through.

Repeat with remaining chicken.

5

Remove chicken from pan with a slotted spoon and place on a serving plate lined with paper towels, until all chicken is fried.

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Recipes

Classic

Honeybee Cake

Makes 12 slices 250g clear honey (variety of your choice), plus about 2 tbsp extra to glaze 225g unsalted butter 100g dark muscovado sugar 3 large eggs, beaten 300g self-raising flour

METHOD

1

Preheat the oven to fan 140C/ conventional 160C / gas 3. Butter and line a 20cm round loosebottomed cake tin.

Cut the butter into pieces and drop into a medium pan with the honey and sugar. Melt slowly over a low heat. When the mixture starts to trun into liquid, increase the heat under the pan and boil for about one minute. Leave to cool for 15-20 minutes, to prevent the eggs cooking when they are mixed in.

2 Beat the eggs into the melted honey

mixture using a wooden spoon. Then sift the flour into a large bowl and pour in the egg and honey mixture, beating until you have a smooth, runny batter.

3

Pour the mixture into the tin and bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour until the cake is well-risen, golden brown and springs back when pressed. A skewer pushed into the centre of the cake should come out clean.

Honey Fruit Cake Makes 12 slices 500g mixed dried fruit, sultanas, currants, raisins, cherries 250g unsalted butter, cut into small cubes 250ml cold water 200g castor sugar 80g runny honey 2 large eggs, beaten 280g self raising flour, sieved ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda ½ tsp mixed spice

METHOD 60

1 Pre-heat the oven to 180°C gas 4.

4

Turn the cake out on a wire rack carefully. Warm 2 tbsp of honey in a small pan and brush over the top of the cake to give a sticky glaze, then leave to cool. It will keep for 4-5 days wrapped, in an airtight tin.

2 Pop the fruit, water,

butter, honey and sugar into a saucepan and bring to the boil, stir well, cover with film and leave to cool.

3 When cool, stir in the

eggs then the flour and finally the bicarbonate of soda Cool then turn out and leave to cool completely before and mixed spice and stir well trying to cut. but do not overwork.

Serve with clotted cream and a drizzle of runny honey.

Or a chunk of honeycombe (not Crunchie, the natural honPop into a lined 28cm ey in the comb). egg and honey mixture, beating until you square baking tray bake, have a smooth, quite runny batter. ■ then bake in the oven for about 30-40 minutes.

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5

Recipes

Smoky Grilled Butterfield Chicken

Serves 4 1/4 cup sherry vinegar 1/4 cup olive oil 4 garlic cloves, minced 2 tablespoons smoked paprika 1 tablespoon coarse salt 1 whole chicken (3 to 4 pounds), rinsed

METHOD

1

Check out our website for more barbeque tips!

Combine vinegar, oil, garlic, paprika, and salt in a nonreactive baking dish or large resealable plastic bag.

2

Remove backbone from chicken using kitchen shears. Place chicken,

breast side up, on cutting board, with legs extended on both sides. Press firmly on breastbone to break it and flatten chicken. Add to marinade. Cover dish or seal bag, and refrigerate at least 4 hours (or overnight), turning occasionally.

3

Preheat grill to medium. (If you are using a charcoal grill, coals are ready when you can hold your hand 5 inches above grill for just 5 or 6 seconds.)

Remove chicken from marinade; discard marinade. Place chicken, skin side down, on grill. Close cover, and grill 15 minutes. Flip chicken, and close cover. Grill until an instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of the breast registers 165 degrees, about 20 minutes more

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Playlist

Summer

Sage’s July playlist is a compilation of songs from around have teamed up with Waitrose to find 1. Les LeBas (Bonobo remix) - Henri Texier, Varech This minimal French jazz album would be well suited to a classic French red wine. We recommend the Roquebrun Terrasses De La Rocaniere, £12.99: a bold, individual wine with hints of raspberry and blackberry.

2. Really Love - D’Angelo, Black Messiah

This revival soul album should be enjoyed with a forgotten about drink well deserving of a comeback. We recommend Henry Weston’s Vintage Cider, £2.00: an original hard cider, often neglected in favour of the recent rise of sweeter ciders.

3. Ghostwriter - RJD2, Deadringer: Deluxe The album blends acoustic guitar with jazz horns. This is why we think that a blended gin cocktail of limoncello, gin, lime juice and fresh thyme compliments this relaxing soulful album. We recommend using Tanqueray Gin, £20.00 and Santa Marta Limoncello, £14.59.

4. Jollys (Ariya afrobeat edit) Herma Puma, Synchro

This jazz-hiphop crossover album is perfect for summer barbeques with friends. Drink a cold Corona, £5.00 (x 4) with a lime while you enjoy these relaxed, percussion-driven songs.

5. Days to Come - Bonobo, Days to Come This effortlessly classy album mixes Eastern influenced beats and melancholy flutes. We recommend making your own Middle Eastern Mint Lemonade for summer evenings while this is playing in the background. Try Waitrose’s Large Mint Leaves, £1.75. Find the recipe on our website.

6. Illa De Santiago - Mayra Andrade, Lovely Difficult

This confident, rhythmic album which features many songs in Portugese Creole should be listened to with a Vinho Verde punch. Mix two oranges, rosemary, sliced cucumber, mint leaves and a bottle of Quinta de Azevedo Vinho Verde, £8.29: a crisp Portugese white wine with citrus notes.

7. Trouble - José James, No Beginning No End

This modern jazz album recalls both Gill Scott Heron and Amy Winehouse, but with an experimental twist. We recommend listening to this album with a glass of USA whiskey. Our favourite is Woodford Reserve Bourbon whiskey, £31.50.

10. Lost Where I Belong - Andreya Triana, Lost Where I Belong This summery, soulful album is perfect as background music for dinner with friends. We recommend sharing a bottle of A Mano Finao Greco, £8.50, a complex and zesty Italian white wine with a well-balanced body.

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Grooves

Playlist

the world, from relaxed acoustic to funk and trip-hop. We you the perfect drink for each album.

11. Love You Gotta Lose Again - Nicolas Jaar, Love You Gotta Lose Again This is a bluesy electonic album which gives off a glitchy, global groove. Try listening to it with a Blues Explosion cocktail. Mix tabasco, blueberries and Triple Sec Curaçao Gabriel Boudier, £13.99.

12. The Sweetest Taboo Sade, Best of Sade

This is a smooth, romantic album whose tracks flow together seamlessly. We think a creamy coffee is the perfect drink for these soulful songs which you should pop on after eating with friends. Try Waitrose’s after dinner ground coffee, £2.59.

13. Boondigga - Fat Freddy’s Drop, Dr. Boondigga & The Big BW

This album from a 7-piece New Zealand band is a relaxed mix of soul, reggae and jazz and is quite versatile, being perfect for winding down after work or for music to play when entertaining. We like to drink Golden Glory when this album comes on, a peachy ale from Badger Brewery, £1.99.

14. Even After All - Finley Quaye, Maverick A Strike

A perfect meeting point of roots reggae and triphop, this album makes you think of lazy days and warm weather in the summer. We think the drink for this album should be Pimms, £15.00, a staple of English summer.

15. Get A Move On! - Mr. Scruff, Keep It Unreal This upbeat funk album which crosses many genres is from tea-lover Mr Scruff. We think it’s only right then that you bop along to this album with a cup of tea in hand. Try Teapig’s liquorice & peppermint tea bags, £4.15.

16. Cool Me Down - The Black Seeds, Into The Dojo Another from a New Zealand reggae group, The Black Seeds’ latest album is a dub-heavy pop-influenced selection of songs.

Try listening with a glass of Seifried Estate Sweet Agnes Riesling Nelson, £13.99, a thoroughly under-appreciated sweet wine with a long-drifting finish.

17. Anything You Want - Not that - Belleruche, The Express Belleruche are probably best described as handmade hiphop blues soul. We think the upligting songs deserve to be heard while drinking a drink known for celebration, Champagene. Earlier in this issue, Herve Danson recommended the Lanson Black Label Brut NV, £33.99.

Follow us on spotify.com/Sagemusic

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Opinion

Is there no culinary life outside of London?

Cities in the north of England often fly under the radar when it comes to talking about gastronomy. But is the area as unworthy of mention as it seems? Junn Loh asks.

W

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hen a BBC article featuring food critic Giles Coren’s criticism on the state of cuisines outside London was published in February 2015, temperatures probably rose in the kitchens of restaurants across the country. Angry head chefs alert.

In the report, the prolific Times writer condemned Birmingham’s food scene as “just a bit of rubbish” - despite guide books having lauded the city as one of the ‘top 10’ places in world with a “first-rate restaurant scene”.

The North, too, wasn’t spared.

Coren criticised Leeds’s restaurant scene as being equally lousy and even called out Liverpool for being the “worst”. In sum, he painted a bleak picture on the country’s gastronomy landscape.

“Honestly, if I’m going out of London to eat it’s more productive to leave the country,” he says.

But is Coren being too harsh?

A discussion at a dinner table with a few girlfriends recently thought likewise. “People don’t go to the North looking for good food, they go with the expectation of nature, wildlife… that sort of outdoor things,” one friend who’d lived in London until University in Leeds enthuses.

“I’ve noticed there’s more restaurants in the North selling ‘home-cooked’ style food when compared to, say, London,” another says. “It just seems that’s the way things are here…’warm and homey’

food…nothing too spectacular.”

However, Paul Rawlinson, owner of leading Harrogate-based restaurant Norse, dismisses Coren’s comments as “stereotypical thinking”, pointing out that other big cities in the South like Bristol didn’t seem to “fare any better either”.

After all, London takes the lion’s share of media attention, even when many notable things are happening elsewhere.

Lesley Draper, a food critic_ for Sheffield Telegraph and editor of the Peak District’s based magazine Pure Bakewell, says there are plenty of chefs and restaurateurs all over the country

“It seems to me that Coren is completely neglecting the fact that there’s life outside of London. The South is not all about London, though it does seem to consume most of the debate,” he says.

As for me, I couldn’t completely agree with Coren.

Admittedly, food is never far from my list whenever I stop by London for a visit – sometimes out of plain incredulity (I made a trip to the controversial cereal specialty café, Cereal Killer, in Brick Lane in my latest visit). The sheer variety of culinary establishments and the 62 Michelin starred restaurants in London makes it an unrivalled gastronomy heaven, and rightfully so of its status as one of the greatest financial capital of the world.

Still, I doubt that restaurants in other parts of the country warranted such blatant casual dismissal and scorn.

who are doing brilliant things which are being ignored.

“I don’t think there’s anything you can’t get here, especially in terms of raw materials,” she says, referring to the favourable geographical conditions for food and agricultural produce in the Northern region.

She cites Eten Café in Sheffield as an example of a splendid place deserving of recognition. The cooks at the café don’t simply go to wholesalers, but really put much effort to source for top quality ingredients, she tells me.

“If I want a coffee, I’ll come here (not the chain brands)…we ought to give our support to those who are putting their hearts in their business.”

Glynn Purnell, who owns Birmingham’s Michelin starred dining destinations, Purnell’s, lambasts Coren’s comments as “pathetic” and “utter ig-

“I think people always appreciate good food, no matter which area they’re from.”

Opinion norance”. But he admits that no other cities in the country could rival those in London.

“I’ll say places like Manchester and Edinburgh all have a vibrant good food scene and can stand up proud on alone.

But London is different. It’s on a pedestal with the likes of New York and Tokyo…It’s more exciting.”

And he is not alone.

Draper attributes economics as a main reason why restaurants in the North seem to lag behind. By comparison, people in the south tend to have a higher disposable income to the north, which translate to spending power.

There’s also the pace of life, which

Draper says is slower in the North, with families more willing to spend time for home cooked meals.

However, this does not mean the northern region “care any less” about food, evident by the 20 odd and rising , amounts of food festivals burgeoning around the North just this year alone.

“I think people always appreciate good food, no matter which area they’re from. But there’s just a lesser demand [for restaurants] because people here do so in a different way,” she says.

Sadly, Draper adds, the system of Michelin, which also takes into account the pricing of food and location, puts some restaurants in a less favoura-

No star, but still as good

ble position. “Those mentioned in the guidebooks are good, but sometimes 1 or 2 are in there just because they ‘ought to be’, but not necessarily because they are ‘good’,” she says.

Still, it will always be a “losing battle” for the North, says Alex Bond, General Manager at Damson Restaurants in Manchester. “There are plenty of good places in the North but just hard for people to get to,” Bond says.

So, is Coren right about leaving the country? No, says Rawlinson.

“Food always taste delicious when hungry. If it’s toast on a miserable day, it’ll be a Michelin star worthy toast.” ■

Our Sage team pick three restaurants in the North that we think is deserving of a Michelin star Rafters, Sheffield

220 Oakbrook Road, S11 7ED Telephone: 0114 230 4819 An ambitious yet incongruous restaurant in a suburb of Sheffield, Rafters prides itself for innovative cooking led by Head Chef Tom Lawson, who holds the title of Young Chef of the Year, awarded by The Craft Guild Of Chefs. Manager Alistair Myers partners to contribute to a friendly and relaxed front of house service. For a fine dining restaurant, the menu is reasonably priced at £35 - £58 per person for a three-course meal.

Mr Cooper’s House and Garden, Manchester The Midland Hotel, Peter Street, M60 2DS Telephone: 0161 932 4128

A more innovative restaurant of superstar chef Simon Rogan’s two ventures, Mr Cooper’s delivers diverse and flexible menu changes with the season. Straying away from conventional western style cooking, Mr Cooper’s offers a more international flavor featuring diverse dishes from all over the world, along with ingredients from its own farms in the north. The interior is also lovely, featuring ornamental flora and birdhouses which help usher the outdoors in. The menu is priced at around £50 per person for a three-course meal.

The Man behind the Curtain, Leeds

Top Floor Flannels 68-78 Vicar Lane, LS1 7JH Telephone: 0113 243 2376 Just like its name, which is a line taken from The Wizard Of Oz: “pay no attention to the man behind the curtain”, this restaurant features the same sort of wild creativity as the novel. Much of The Man behind the Curtain’s dishes defies traditional ideas: smoked mackerel parfait dusted with chocolatey roasted coffee powder, for instance. Inspired by his training at the legendary Michelin restaurant Noma, Head Chef Michael O’Hare’ says that his goal is to have an “ultra-modern” menu.

Food is priced at £65 a head for a daily 12-course menu.

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10 Minutes with...

Michel Roux Jr.

First of all, why is Le Gavroche solely focused on fine, French cuisine?

Le Gavroche was created by my father and uncle, both born and raised in France. As a family, we like to stay true to our roots and celebrate our wonderful cuisine!

Why is French food one of the finest in the world?

French food is full of history and heritage. We have a respect for the seasons and ingredients France produces, and it was also one of the first to have a formal structure. We created some of the first recipes books after years of perfecting our favourite and now, classic dishes.

France and Japan have a very similar number of Michelin star restaurants, why is French better?

There are many similarities between French and Japanese cooking. We both have a deep-rooted respect for our produce and each dish is a celebration. There is a sense of ceremony in our dishes, and for us, food isn’t fuel, it is much more than that - it has meaning. I don’t believe that French food is superior to Japanese in two words, in fact I think Japanese food is fantastic, but French cuisine is of course always close to my heart.

Strive for a Michelin, or good, quality food?

Never chase after Michelin stars. Stay true to the food you believe in and enjoy eating!

What do you look for in every dish that leaves the pass in your restaurant?

I am looking to create a wonderful experience for the customer based on the delivery of fine food, fine wine and fine service. This is what has made Le Gavroche so successful over the years, and the delivery of excellence is something that I am determined to continue.

Classic or contemporary?

I am a true believer in the classics but it is important to re-visit them and adjust for contemporary audiences.

What is one of the best pieces of advice you’ve been given that you still stand by today?

Take notes. Always keep a diary with you to look back on for ideas and inspiration.

And finally, lets take something like Moules Marinere. What is your top tip for this dish?

My top tip for any dish, including Moules Mariniere, is to always use fresh, quality ingredients.

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