• 1 kg Whitby crab bones
• 150g peeled white chopped onions
• 150g washed fennel chopped
• 2g fresh thyme stalks
• 2g dill stalks
• 1 bottle nice Sauvignon Blanc
• 1 star anise
• 1g parsley stalks
• 40g carrots peeled and chopped
• 20g washed leeks chopped
• 100ml good quality Vermouth
• 4 pints of cold water
• 1 large tablespoon of double concentrate tomato puree (Napolina)
• 1g saffron strands
• 6 ripe tomatoes chopped
• 2kg crab claws
• Olive oil for frying

Method
Firstly caramelise the crab bones for a while getting maximum flavour from the bones on the stove top do not put them in the oven.
Firstly fry the onions, carrots and fennel. Add the leeks after 2 minutes of frying over a moderate heat
Add the tomato puree and fry another minute
Next add the cooked roasted crab bones and flambé with the brandy
Add the tomatoes, herb stalks, the cold water and saffron
Bring to the boil and remove any unwanted liquid that comes to the surface and turn down to a simmer heat.
Cook gently for 25 mins longer – during this time remove further unwanted liquid (at the surface)
Now strain the stock through a muslin cloth and chill quickly in a blast chiller until cold this will take around 30 minutes)

Clarification

• 3 pints of fish stock- cold
• 80g fennel finely chopped
• 40g leeks washed white only
• 80g carrot peeled and finely chopped
• 300 g Plaice or Whiting fillet skinned and finely chopped
• 6 large egg whites
• 1 tablespoon double concentrate tomato puree
• 2g fresh thyme
• 1.5g fresh dill stalks
• 3 crushed cardamoms
• 18 each mixed peppercorns
• 2g fennel seed
• 1 g saffron

Method
Blend all ingredients well in a blender add the egg whites and herbs last.
Place the 6 egg whites into a bowl and beat five times with a whisk to begin breaking down the protein.
Next add all ingredients except the stock into a bowl with the egg whites and mix well.
Place the cold stock into a sturdy pan with a heavy bottom.
Add the egg white clarification mixture and mix well.
Place on the heat and bring rapidly to the boil stirring regularly all the time.
Now make a hole in the clarification and allow the consommé mixture to tick over gently as it cooks out, turning the heat down once the raft has come to the top.
This clear liquid must now cook out gently for 20 minutes until the entire raft is cooked and the golden colour of the consommé is reached.
When cooked take off the heat and allow a few mins to rest before ladling off the clear stock.
Now strain this through muslin cloth and reserve on one side for service. Season with salt as required.

Gurnard

• Gurnard – 90 grams each portion taken from medium size fish
• 3 baby fennel tops cut into lozenges (blanched simply in boiling water and served)
• Approximately 4 grams of cooked pearl barley per serving (blanched in boiling water and served).
• 1 fine dice of red pepper de-skinned and seeded.
• The whole red pepper is roasted gently over the naked gas flame (the skin will burn lightly).Once cooked, the next process is steaming the skin under cling film in a bowl for 5 minutes until the skin can simply be scraped off and the seeds and top and skin of the pepper be removed.
• Dice the pepper for the garnish.

Method for the Gurnard
Each portion weighs 90 grm approximately and is filleted skinned and pin boned.
Place the fish into a vac Pac pouch and add a little olive oil and spice of angels.
Cook at 60oc for 15 minutes or until cooked
Remove from the pouch
Season with a little fine salt

Place into the warmed bowl for service
Serve the pot of consommé separate (to be poured onto the fish by each person themselves)

The fish is topped with a light decorating of dill and my own foraged wood sorrel (shortened stems only).
Onto this, add a mound of popping candy
Delicate lozenges of blanched baby fennel tops decorate the plate with the pearl barley and red pepper fine diced.
Finally spoon on the popping candy that has been tossed in a natural flavour enhancer to remove the sweetness of the candy.

Serve the bowl of fish with the pot of consommé.
The popping candy starts to crackle loudly as the consommé is poured onto the fish.
The cast iron Staub bowl gives off a ring when the metal spoons come in contact with it (the dish has two noises for the senses to hear).
When heard on mass, this sounds very much like a constant wind chime in the room and is a really different sound experience.

It is important the contestants and judge have the sense inhibitor on before they taste the dish. Then remove it to continue eating.

1 litre 550ml Yellison’s Farm Goats Milk (Pasteurised) from Carlton in Craven near Skipton, North Yorkshire.

450ml Sheep milk, Harrogate North Yorkshire

2 medium lemons – juice only, sieved

6 Drops of liquid Vegetarian rennet- diluted

4 mini caps of Womersley Lemon Juniper and Bay Vinegar

2 level teaspoons of Atlantic salt

Method

Heat up the milk in a Bain Marie over simmering water and stir until it reaches 35⁰c.

Now add the diluted rennet in 1 tablespoon of water, and the  lemon juice, vinegar allow to sit in the bowl stirring occasionally until it starts to split into Curds and Whey.

Once the split has taken place (usually around 8 mins) ass the salt and cut the curds.

Once seasoned add to the jelly strainer and allow to seep through slowly.

Cut the curds half way through.

Allow to cool stirring occasionally.

Now set the curds into a mould and place a plastic mesh below and above with a muslin cloth in between the mould and the cheese.

Turn the wire rack every 5 mins so the excess whey drains off.

Once set and the mould has been removed burn with a gas gun to give the cheese a caramelised top.

Whey Scone

200ml whey juice (this is what comes from the milk when it is made into cheese)

½ teaspoon Atlantic salt (as the whey juice is salted this also contributes to the flavour)

250g Yorkshire milled Organic flour- plain flour (must be plain -as strong flour does not give the lightness for the scone)

1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

Method

Sieve the flour with the salt and bicarbonate of soda

Add the whey and lightly mix with finger tips, do not stir in the mix.

It is very important that the mix is barely moved around so it remains very light.

Tip the mix out onto a lightly floured surface

Add a light dusting of flour on the top.

Pat the mixture very gently with your fingers to level the top.

Cut the circle shape into pizza style slices using a lightly floured knife or palette knife.

Lift the pieces of scone into a dry frying pan on a moderate heat using a palette knife – do not use your fingers.

Place the scones in a dry frying pan and then place a damp cloth (like a tea towel) over the pan and fold the edges of the cloth in so it does not burn on the heat.

This allows the scone to remain moist as it is cooking.

When you have a golden brown caramelisation to the scone, gently release the scone from the base of the pan (it is important the frying pan is none stick), turn it over and cook again until the scone is cooked through (much like a steak would brown on one side then turn over)

This will take up to 15 mins.

Once cooled re heat the scone in the oven again with a damp cloth over the top so it does not dry out.

Remove from the heat and trim the edges of the scone and serve warm.

Crispy Style Bacon

We are using bacon cured with the butcher and myself at Leeds City College. A simple salted cure and very slightly smoked gives the bacon a fitting finish going with the dish.

Slice the bacon with a meat slicer until thin and continue.

Thinly slice the bacon and cook in between two trays in the oven so the bacon stays very flat. When par cooked (after around 10 minutes 170oc), remove and trim the bacon into julienne style (almost matchstick style) strips of thin crispy shards that go together to almost form a haystack look of crispy bacon.

Butter

 1 litre of double cream

2 teaspoons of Maldon sea salt

1 small bunch of chives finely cut into sippets.

Method

Simply whisk the cream gently in a kitchen aid until the cream starts to split (best to do at a slow speed).

Once the cream has split (this usually takes around 3 minutes), place the butter solids into a bowl of cold water for 5 minutes.

Now remove and place into a clean bowl with the chopped chives and the Maldon salt

Take care when mixing as extra butter milk will appear and needs to be removed.

Roll the chive butter into a cling film log shape and tie at both ends and then set in a refrigerator.

Slice when required, peel off the cling film and serve on the plate with the other ingredients.

Fresh Sprouting Beans, Yorkshire Rapeseed oil

 1 tablespoon of fresh sprouting (Super Food) beans from W.S. Bentleys growers, West Yorkshire (Mung beans, lentils, chick peas etc raw)

1 tablespoon of Lemon Rapeseed oil

Salt and pepper

Method

Use the lemon oil to pour a thin band over the beans and sprouting peas and serve.

Add the sprouting mixture raw

Season.

Yes folks the battle is on and may the best chef win…

23^rd Interview with the BBC Leeds radio breakfast show

23^rd Speak to Nick and Jen on the Stray F.M Breakfast Show

24^th Meet up with Russel again and cook some lunch for him on BBC Radio York

24^th April- our 1^st Yorkshire Life judges meeting to discuss this years Food and Wine Awards.

26^thCook up some Breakfast for Nick and Jen on the Stray FM Breakfast Show

28+29^th April M.C. at the Harrogate Flower Show and doing two cookery demos too- this should keep me busy!

copyright of Optomen Television

Nothing can prepare you for the roller coaster that is The Great British Menu the twists and turns you make during the filming would have an Olympic athlete in a spin it is scary and thrilling.

It was thrilling to meet two Olympic hopefuls in Alistair and Jonathan Brownlee both Tri athlete’s  from Leeds. Their passion for Olympic Gold really spurred me on and I have to say I went for it!

You wear your heart on your sleeve (well at least I do!) and this year, as last, meant giving it all I have got.

I am very proud to be cooking with the best foods and suppliers of Yorkshire fine foods in the area.

I have foraged (www.thewildcooks.co.uk) I have searched out various food and hopefully you will agree championed sustainable Yorkshire Fish and the politically correct Rose Veal. Working with local suppliers such as my local Blacksmith and even a local firm JM Lecterns to design a bespoke Podium for my pudding course has been fun and rewarding.

There are so many people to thank and so many firms have helped me along the way but here they are.

www.ruddingpark.co.uk

Continued support in my Great British Menu challenge and the Wood Sorrel foraged in the Golf Course woods.

http://www.chippindalefoods.co.uk/

Yorkshire Free range eggs

http://www.biggreenegg.co.uk

The Big Green eggs BBQ

http://www.leedscitycollege.ac.uk/

Hospitality Department -colleague’s support

Butchery department- Bacon

http://www.yellisonfarmgoatscheese.co.uk/

Goats Milk

http://www.niddsmithy.co.uk/

Branding Iron

http://www.herbsunlimited.co.uk/

Hyssop, Savoury, Parsley, Dill, Bronze Fennel, Chives, Thyme, and  Rosemary.

http://www.wsbentley.co.uk/

Sprouting Chick peas, Adzuki beans, Lentils, Mixed with other beans

http://www.jmlecterns.co.uk/shopping/

Podium for the puddings

http://yorks-organicmillers.zxq.net/

Stone ground Organic milled unbleached white flour

http://copperwheatagriculture.com/

Copperwheat Agriculture

Yorkshire Garlic, Carrots , Red salad onions

http://www.ilkleybrewery.co.uk/

Ilkley Stout

http://www.womersleyfoods.co.uk/

Lemon, Juniper and Bay vinegar

Golden Raspberry and Apache Chilli vinegar

http://www.wharfevalleyfarms.co.uk/

Lemon rapeseed oil

http://www.sykeshousefarm.co.uk/

The Chefs Butcher

Rose Veal Sirloins

Ox tail

Veal Bones for stock

http://www.whitbyseafish.co.uk/

Gurnard

Whitby Crab

http://www.beatsonhouse.co.uk/

Boozy infusion Jamaican ginger cake

http://www.parkerspromo.co.uk/

Printing on the starter plates

http://www.arthurwalton.co.uk/

Starter and Main course plates and cloche

http://www.shepherdspurse.co.uk/

Cheese making expertise and guidance

http://www.sheffield-cutlery.com/store.html

Clive Christian cutlery for the starter

http://www.business-gifts-express.co.uk/prod_Bar_Accessories_253_37.html

Silver plated Nutcrackers

http://www.zwilling.com/en/group-brands.html

Staub Bowls for the fish

http://www.fodderweb.co.uk/

Yorkshire Honey

Yorkshire Chilli

http://www.lewisandcooper.co.uk/store/home.asp

Pearl Barley

http://www.chefs.net/

Jugs for the fish course

18^th April a meeting with Sykes House Farm and Robert and Rachel hopefully this exciting concept  will come off and I am looking forward to working with them on this special project.

21^st Down to Lincolnshire and a charity demo for a relative in the Village hall for 50 people with tasters and stories along the way.

The day flew by and was great fun with a like minded bunch of helpers raising money for their Jubilee celebrations.

9^th April- Holiday up to the Blue Ridge Mountains lots of stunning views and I ate Buffalo, Elk and Rattle Snake to try some local food as well as a hamburger!

The end of the week we were back in England and delighted to accept a dinner invitation from Rosemary Shrager and Michael.

I took a group of Students with me and Wellock’s paid for their bus journey so we could all go which was very generous and supportive.

14^th I met up with Belinda from Yorkshire Provender Soup (watch this space) hopefully some good news working with this Souper Yorkshire company soon.

17^th meant a big days work for a private dinner party I had been auctioned of for at Arkendale plenty of happy guests and I even joined them for a glass of wine afterwards- great fun and a pleasure raising money for a worthy cause.

A tough crowd many of which went to school with my Dad and some of the lads I went to school with myself.

But great fun I managed to get some hearty laughs which is reassuring!