Menu, Liverpool Daily Post food and drink guide, December 2009

Chef brings a world ofexperience to Wirral

M E N UTHE DAILY POST FOOD AND DRINK GUIDE

Christmas crackers

Travelling man

Star performer

Top chefs tell you how to have a cool Yule

The Kirkby boy who’s atthe top of his game

December 09

Top chefs tell you how to have a cool Yule

Star performerThe Kirkby boy who’s atthe top of his game

Travelling manChef brings a world ofexperience to Wirral

2 DAILY POST Tuesday, December 8, 2009

■ IF YOUR nerves are going at the thoughtof cooking Christmas dinner, don’t panicbecause help is at hand from the TurkeyHotline. Hundreds of people ring thisfreephone SOS number in the lead-up to thebig day and it is manned by real live people,not machines, right up until 5pm onChristmas Eve. Stick this on the fridge just incase – 0800 783 9994.

WHEN it comes to the Christmas roast, turkey is theobvious choice, but this year some of us are getting abit more adventurous and going for goose.

Waitrose has reported a 42% rise in sales of goosefrom this time last year, suggesting a Victorian-styleChristmas dinner for many families.

That said, turkey is also seeing unprecedentedsales with traditional breeds flying off the

shelves. In a poll of 2,400 readers, BBC GoodFood Magazine found that turkey is still the

most popular centre-piece.Meanwhile, sales of other seasonalmeats are also soaring, with British

beef sales up 20%, while gammon ison the rise, with one in 10 families

tucking into this succulentjoint at the dinner table.

Take a gander

■ OH, TO be a fly on the kitchenwall of Beckhingam Palace thisChristmas Day as GordonRamsay has revealed that he willbe cooking dinner for David andVictoria Beckham, right, and theirbrood of boys.

But that doesn’t mean thatVictoria will get to put herLouboutin-clad feet up while Gordondoes all the work. Ramsay says:“Christmas Day is a big day and weare going to have lunch with Davidand Victoria. We’ll all be together. Thesecret about cooking with familiestogether is delegating, so we’ll all bedoing something, I’m sure.”

THIS isn’t just any Christmaspudding, it’s an M&S MaturedFruit & Nut Topped ChristmasPudding. Serve with piping hotwhite sauce or fresh brandybutter. Yum! Priced £9.99.

try it . . .

try it . . .PORT is back in fashion,don’t you know? So make ita feature of your Christmasfeast with FonsecaGuimaraens Vintage 1996(£20.49 from Sainsbury’s) –a medium to full-bodiedport, packed full ofblackberry fruit flavourswith a smooth silky finish.

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DAILY POST Tuesday, December 8, 2009 3

Chef’s Table

A star in the kitchenWilliamLeece meetsthe well-travelledGordonCampbell,bringing hisMichelin-starexperience toThornton Hall,in Wirral

ASK Gordon Campbellfor a quick run-downof his career, and amischievous twinklecreeps into his eye.

“Do you really want to know?”asks the recently-appointed headchef at Thornton Hall Hotel, in theWirral.

In the interests of keeping DailyPost readers informed, it is agreedthat, yes, we would quite like toknow.

He doesn’t exactly say “well, youasked for it”, but there is just a hintof it as he gets into his stride.

“It’s going to take a while,” hewarns. And then he reels off a listof blue-chip dining establishments,many of them names whose famehas spread well outside the world ofgastronomy.

There’s the Hilton and theBeardmore in his native Glasgow,l’Escargot in Soho in London, andNorthcote Manor near Blackburn.

A quick breath and the list goeson – the Pink Geranium inCambridgeshire, the Vineyard nearNewbury in Berkshire, with its twoMichelin stars, and eventuallyRookery Hall, just outside Nant-wich, in Cheshire. There are moreto come, but he’s made his point:his CV is second to none, and nowhe’s set up shop in the comfortablesurroundings of south Wirral atThornton Hall, a swish countryhotel and spa in the picture-post-card village of Thornton Hough.

The main restaurant at ThorntonHall has ben re-branded as TheLawns, and Gordon has been incharge of the kitchens now sinceJuly, overseeing a transformationthat has now seen the winter menuintroduced.

If truth be told, he’d probably farrather let his cookery do thetalking. It’s with a slight sense ofrelief that he lets the hotel’s generalmanager, Geoff Dale, explain justwhy he has been recruited.

“His background is in placeswith Michelin-starred links,” heexplains. “He’s brought a massiveamount of expertise and reputationfor us to build on, and go in thedirection where we want to head.”

Like many in the profession,Gordon always wanted to be a chef

from the word go. It wasn’t a familything, though, although there wasalways food and an insider’sknowledge around. “My dad was afishmonger, and I just wanted to bechef,” he says.

Catering college followed inGlasgow, followed by spells inEdinburgh and London as heworked his way up to the top dining

establishments where he has madehis name and reputation.

At Thornton Hall, he is in chargeof three kitchens, plus an overallstaff of 12 chefs. “The theme ismodern British, but we’re lookingfor something of a classical twist,changing the menus four times ayear to follow the seasons.”

The winter menu for dining a la

carte at The Lawns ranges from aBallantine of Scottish Salmon withcucumber noodles and caviare tothe splendidly gamey roast pigeonwith woodland mushrooms andlettuce with a game jus, plus avegetarian option – at this time ofyear, a butternut squash veloutewith pumpkin seeds and oil.

There’s more than a hint of

Gordon’s Scottish background inthe winter mains, encompassingroast pheasant breast stuffed withoatmeal and smoked back, slow-cooked Scottish salmon fillet orpan-fried loin of venison withturnip fondant, celeriac puree, babyonion and smoked bacon andchocolate sauce.

[email protected]

Ingredients

8 chicken breasts28 partially cooked newpotatoes (7 halves per guest)28 Brussels sprouts (7 halvesper guest)2 packets fine trimmed beans90g hazelnutshazelnut oilbutterolive oilred wine sauceseasoning

Method

1. Season the breasts with alittle salt and pepper2. Heat a little oil in a pan and

seal the chicken breasts, skinside down. Place in a hot oven(220C, Gas Mark 7) forapproximately 8-10 minutes3. Blanch the fine beans4. Blanch the sprouts, and cuteach in half5. Remove chicken from ovenwhen cooked and turn over soskin faces up, allow to rest6. Heat a little oil in a pan. Halvenew potatoes lengthways andtoss in oil. Place in oven to finishcooking until golden brown.7. Carefully roast hazelnuts untilgolden brown8. Reduce red wine sauce todesired consistency

To finish

1. Return chicken breasts tooven to heat through2. Remove potatoes from ovenand keep warm3. Heat vegetables in boilingwater, toss in a little butter andseasoning to taste.4. Finish sauce with hazelnutsand a few drops of hazelnut oil5. Slice each chicken breast intothree, and arrange in lowercentre of plate.7. Arrange potatoes around theplate8. Arrange vegetables abovethe chicken9. Drizzle sauce over andaround the chicken.

Chicken with new potatoes

A CV packed with blue-chip names – executive head chef Gordon Campbell, from Thornton Hall Hotel Picture: PAUL HEAPS/ ph261109gthornton-2


Cupboard love

Professional cooks whip up Christmas dinner without a second thought.Some of Liverpool’s top chefs share their tips with Emma Johnson

UNWRAP the taste ofChristmas with these festiveArtisan Bars, from RococoChocolates. These wafer-thins are topped with goldleaf, and will leavechocoholics yearning formore.

Find them atwww.rococochocolates.com,priced £15.

Have yourself a perEVER since Sex and the City,Cosmopolitans have been thedrink of choice for fashionablegals. So this CrucialCosmopolitan Kit, from WhiskHampers, containingeverything you need to mixthe cocktail, plus two glasses,is a perfect Christmas present.

Priced £30.50, fromwww.whiskhampers.co.uk

IF YOU are planning onbringing a bottle to aparty this Christmas, thenmake it this one. GHMumm’s striking red“dinner jacket” is zippedover a bottle of CordonRouge (£26.99, Waitrose),keeping it chilled fromfridge to flute.

It also comes with akeyring featuring theMumm coat of arms. PAUL HEATHCOTE, owner of Simply

Heathcotes and The Olive Press

ALWAYS make your starter a coldplatter to pass around, comprisinglots of seasonal ingredients such asfigs and cranberry sauce – the saucegoes brilliantly with paté, cold meatsand cheese. You will be able to enjoyyour guests’ company if this isprepared in advance.

JOHN O’BRIEN, head chef, The LivingRoom, Victoria Street

1. TO PREVENT Brussels sproutsfrom being soggy and to ensure theyare evenly cooked, criss-cross thebottom of the core.

2. For a festive twist, heat a pan witholive oil, add some pancetta andchopped chestnuts and sauté, cut thecooked sprouts in half and add to thepan. Season to taste and finish offwith freshly chopped parsley.

3. To make your carrots sweeter, addsome sugar to the pan of water.

COLIN GANNON, head chef at Gusto,Albert Dock

1. ALWAYS use a probe to monitor

cooking your turkey at 75 degrees C.2. For great roasties, par-boilpotatoes, cut them into big pieces,give them a shake in a strainer torough them up, then plunge themstraight into hot oil.3. Prep your veg the day before andkeep in the fridge, then on ChristmasDay just re-heat.4. Re-heat sprouts in the oven withbutter and pancetta.

5. Glaze your turkey with honey andbutter, and most importantly let itrest for 20 minutes before you carve.

ADAM TOWNSLEY, head chef,Malmaison

WE MAKE bread and cranberrysauces for our turkey without eventhinking about it, but there is anothersauce if you can dare to break thetradition.

My nan has been making this littleaccompaniment for as long as I canremember and what says Christmasmore than port and chestnuts?

Simply sweat some shallots in apan and add equal amounts of cookedchestnuts. Cover with a good TawnyPort and turn the heat down low tosimmer until the chestnuts havebroken down and all the port hasbeen soaked in. Make sure it does notcatch on the pan, if it is too dry addsome more port.

Pulse in the blender to marry theshallots with the chestnuts, add somepicked thyme. This will add a realsweet and savoury appeal to yourfestive table.

[email protected]

Award-winning chef,Paul Heathcote

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Have yourself a perfect ChristmasMulled wine

NIGEL PAUL SMITH,Executive chef, The MaritimeDining Rooms

MULLED wine to me alwaysindicates one of the firstsigns that Christmas is here.I feel there is nothing betterthan walking around aChristmas market with awarm cup of mulled wine,carol singers and Christmassongs. It’s a great drinkbefore or after a meal, itseems rich but spicy with avelvety-like texture and silkysmooth on the palate.

THE MARITIME DININGROOMS’ MULLED WINEIngredients

1 bottle robust red wine2 cloves2 blades of mace2 allspice berries1 stick cinnamon, broken6 cardamom podsFinely pared zest of 1 lemonFinely pared zest of 1 orange100g caster sugar, or to taste

Method

Put everything but the sugarinto a non-corrodible pan overa low heat. Warm to just belowboiling. Remove from the heatand serve.

JOHN DOLAN, head chef at TheJames Monro, Tithebarn Street

A NUT roast offers vegetarianssomething different than the ‘usual’vegetarian dishes found in manyrestaurants, and is a tastyreplacement for turkey at Christmas.Non-vegetarians are often scepticalabout nut roasts, but people seem tobe more adventurous this year andours is proving to be successful withour guests.

Vegetarian Nut RoastIngredients (serves 4)

1 medium onion, very finely chopped.1–1½ tbs olive oil;.125g vegetarian Halloumi cheese, thinlysliced.50g cashews.50g fresh wholemeal breadcrumbs; 100gwalnuts.50g ground almonds.150g cooked basmati rice (about 75guncooked weight), cooled.1 small red pepper diced small.75ml hot light stock (3 tsp light stockpowder to 75ml water).2 large free range eggs, beaten.

Salt and pepper to taste.

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180°C / 375°F / gasmark 5. Grease a 450g loaf tin. Line the

base and ends with a single strip ofbaking paper, leaving an overhang ateach end. This will help to ease the loafout of the tin when cooked.2. Gently sauté the onion in 1tbs olive oilin a frying pan until soft but not coloured.

Remove from the pan and set aside.Using the remaining ½ tbs olive oil ifnecessary, turn up the heat and use thesame pan to fry the halloumi cheesequickly until brown on both sides.Remove from the pan and set aside tocool, then cut into very small dice (about½ cm).3. Grind the cashew nuts with half thewalnuts until powdery and add thebreadcrumbs. Put the remaining walnutsinto a processor and process until veryfinely chopped.4. In a large bowl, mix all the nutstogether with the onions and halloumicheese, and all the remaining ingredientsexcept the eggs. Season to taste thenadd the beaten eggs and beat well. Pressthe mixture into the prepared loaf tin, witha slightly rounded top surface. Put into thebain marie and bake in the preheatedoven for about 40 minutes or until firm.Check after 30 minutes, and if it appearsto be browning too fast, cover with foil.5. When cooked, remove from the ovenand leave in the tin for 10 – 20 minutesbefore turning out. Slice with care usinga sharp knife, and wiping the knifeclean after each cut.

And the vegetarian option is . . .Chef Colin Gannon prepares the Christmas menu at Gusto, in the Albert Dock – as seen on the front cover Picture: PAUL HEAPS/ ph031209fgusto-1


Eating Out

The family’s a bit anxiousabout cooking for meTop Michelin-starredchef Aiden Byrnetalks to JanetTansley about hisKirkby childhoodand his ambitionsfor the future

HE BECAME the UK’syoungest chef ever towin a Michelin starwhen he wasawarded the

culinary Oscar at 22.And, even though, 15 years later,

Aiden Byrne has added anothertwo stars to his CV and gainedthree prestigious AA rosettes forhis year-old gastro pub, ChurchGreen, at Lymm, Cheshire, the 37-year-old is not ready to rest on hislaurels.

“You have to stay one stepahead,” says the Kirkby-born chef.

“I employ 30 people now so Ihave a responsibility to keep thisplace afloat, alive and busy, but Ihave to build on what I achieved atan early age. I have to deliver on adaily basis.”

Family man Aiden has workedhard to get to the top. When hewas awarded his first Michelinstar, he spent most of the nightgazing in awe at the companyaround him.

“My chin was on the floor. Ikept nudging my then partnerand saying ‘look, there’s RaymondBlanc’, and ‘blimey, Marco PierreWhite’. I mean, here I was, freshfrom Kirkby, I had never worn asuit in my life and I had to wear adickie bow!”

When Brian Turner said hehad achieved something many inthe room could only ever dreamof, he says it finally hit him.

Now, though, people nudge whenthey see him.

Not bad for the former RuffwoodComprehensive pupil who wentinto catering to follow his cousinbecause he didn’t know what elseto do.

“But, as soon as I went into thekitchen, it was the thing I was bestat.

“I started working and saw theseprofessional chefs who had suchenthusiasm and passion and itrubbed off on me. It was like awhole new world.

“I’m not saying I was living inpoverty or anything, but growingup on a council estate back in the

early eighties, 90% of people wereout of work.

“I just knew there wassomething bigger and better.

“I knew it wasn’t going to beeasy, but I had a desire to do betterthan what was on offer for me inKirkby.”

Hard work means Aiden hasrisen to the top of his profession,and now people flock to see himand what he has to offer.

“Did I have a natural gift? I don’t

know, for a person to point out histalent . . . well, that’s not my kindof character.

“The only control I had overwhat I was doing was making sureI was first in and last out, andabsorb as much information as Icould. Anything else has been abonus.

“Maybe I’m too humble. I justwanted to make sure I didn’t losethis opportunity.”

Aiden received his first Michelin

star while at Adlard’s in Norwich,his second at The Commonsrestaurant in Dublin, and his thirdat the Dorchester in London.

“A Michelin star just puts youwith the best in your profession.It’s like being a footballer in one ofthe top four teams of the PremierLeague, competing with peoplewhose books you read to inspireyou, standing shoulder to shoulderwith them.”

From the North-West, Aiden now

makes it his mission to use asmany local ingredients as possible,championing what’s on offer inLiverpool, Manchester andCheshire.

Asked to describe his style ofcooking, he says: “The food, Iguess, is, to a certain extent,refined. You don’t work in the bestrestaurants for 20 years and switchit off, you retain the same moralsand values.

“From making a simple chickenstock to making a fois grasmousse, everything gets carriedout with the same integrity. Myfood is very complex but true to itsroots.”

Speaking of which, Aiden isreturning to his native city “forone night only” to guest at Circo,in Liverpool’s Albert Dock , whichthis month celebrates its secondbirthday.

He and his team – including hischef brother, will be creating a five-course feast for £80 on December10, with a complimentary andcomplementary glass of wine foreach course.

Says Aiden: “This is a chance forme to establish myself in the North-West, and for people to enjoy all thelavish luxuries you would expectfrom a Michelin-starred meal.”

While a TV show is not at theforefront of Aiden’s mind, it is notsomething he would turn down, hesays, adding: “I looked at opening arestaurant quite recently inPrestbury, called The White House,and was asked to do a fly-on-the-wall documentary but,unfortunately, in these times, theTV company decided to sit tight.

Aiden is taking part in a Taste ofChristmas convention in Londonspearheaded by Gordon Ramsayand has many more things in thepipeline.

“I set myself goals,” he says. “Iwould like to have fine diningrestaurants and three moreChurch Greens.”

At the moment, though, Aiden isconcentrating on getting ready forthe festive period.

“We will be working flat out. Ihave got a gala dinner onChristmas Eve here at ChurchGreen and one on new Year’s Eve. Iget one day off – Christmas Day,and me and the children, Harrison,five, and Lauren, six, are going tomy partner Sarah’s parents on theWirral.

“We have all been allocated acourse to take and we have got thestarters,” he adds, about he andSarah, who is pregnant with theirthird child.

“Maybe the family was a bitanxious cooking for me in the past,but they are used to me now. I getwhat I’m given.

“I looking forward to Christmas,having dinner with my family andenjoying a day off.”

■ FOR details of Aiden’s guestappearance at Circo, or to book, call0151 709 0470.

[email protected]

I hadneverworn asuit in mylife and Ihad towear adickiebow

As soon as I went into the kitchen, it was the thing I was best at – Michelin-starred chef,Aiden Byrne



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Menu, Liverpool Daily Post food and drink guide, December 2009