member blog: Danny
Danny
From
Jamie's Office
Member since
6th Jul 2004
About
On a mission to learn more about food, life and the meaning of!
Danny's blog posts
working with sam at fifteen
Fri 20 Nov 2009GENERAL BLOG
Hi everyone,
Today I had the pleasure of working with Sam at Fifteen who is a Chef de Partie. Sam was prepping for the menu downstairs at Fifteen and today he showed me how to make “The lightest potato gnocchi with cavalo nero, chilli, fennel and pecorino toscano finished with Fontadi olive oil.” My previous attempts at making gnocchi have been disastrous to say the least! Sam has now given me some great tips on how to make the perfect gnocchi and I am now considering making the exact dish as an entrée for Christmas lunch this year. First we boiled the cavalo nero with garlic and fennel seeds then blended this with pecorino cheese, olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. Sam used some of the water that the cavalo nero had been cooked in for the mixture as well. He then put some of the mix in a pan and tossed in some of the gnocchi that he cooked. The gnocchi only took about 30 seconds to cook. Topped off with some grated pecorino cheese and olive oil, Sam presented the dish to me which I happily ate despite the fact that it was 8.45am in the morning!
After preparing the mixture Sam then taught me how to make gnocchi from scratch. He suggested using potatoes that are less moist like King Edwards which were roasted in the oven on a bed of salt. (the salt helps to draw the moisture out of the potatos). Sam then scooped the insides of the potatos out and ran this mixture through a siv. He then added flour and a whole egg and mixed it all together. I then helped Sam knead the mixture which was quite a challenge. It’s really important to get the mixture at the right consistency otherwise the gnocchi will fall apart when you boil it. Sam said that I did a pretty good job for my fist attempt – of course my efforts in kneading the mix were far less impressive than Sam’s.
I asked one of the other chefs if you could eat the potato skins that were left over from making the gnocchi and no sooner had I finished my sentence - they came back with a tablespoon of chopped chilli, garlic and olive oil which was smeared onto the hot, crispy potato skin. It was absolutely delicious and after devouring two more of them I set about chopping chilli’s and garlic to make my own dressed potato skins to take back to all of my colleagues in the office. I made a batch of the potato skins with the chilli dressing all topped off with some crème fraiche and proceeded to hand these out to everyone in the office. As you can imagine this went down a treat!
I thoroughly enjoyed my morning at Fifteen. Sam is a great teacher and a very talented chef. He is inspired by working at Fifteen and being given the opportunity to teach the apprentices. One day he would love to own his own restaurant and I know that I would be a loyal customer if he did.
Thank you Sam.
Regards
Danny
big night out
Fri 13 Nov 2009GENERAL BLOG
"Chefs, celebrities and generous donors turned up to help raise more than £200,000 for the Fifteen Foundation charity’s annual fundraiser at Shoreditch Town Hall last night.
Chefs James Martin, Giorgio Locatelli, Thomasina Miers, Peter Gordon, Gennaro Contaldo and Rachel Allen were joined by Blur bassist turned cheese-maker Alex James and actors Dexter Fletcher, Fay Ripley and Tamzin Oathwaite.
Jamie Cullum, accompanied by girlfriend Sophie Dahl, performed two fantastic sets – including his latest single “I’m all over it now” while GMTV presenter Ben Shephard was a superb MC.
Jamie and Fifteen’s executive head chef Andrew Parkinson devised a delicious menu to delight the guests comprising picked Cornish crab, chicken in an orange blossom and herby brine and Amadei chocolate and espresso tart. Jamie’s Italian Executive Head Chef Jules Hunt and chefs from Jamie’s Italian prepared the pasta course of spicy spaghetti vongole which was served by some of the apprentice chef’s from this year’s cohort.
Guests were tempted by all sorts of exciting prizes, all of which had been generously donated. They could spin the wheel of fortune, bid in the silent auction, unlock one of three travel trunks, and bid in a main auction with prizes such as a year in Food Heaven and an X-Factor experience.
Penny Newman, Fifteen Foundation CEO, said: “Big Night was a roaring success and we are so pleased with the amount we raised. We would like to thank everyone who’s made this event so special whether they donated prizes, helped us to raise the money or volunteered their services on the night.”
Wendy Richmond
Communications Manager - Fifteen
naked wines podcast
Thu 12 Nov 2009GENERAL BLOG
Hi everyone,
We have just posted up 5 videos that we shot with our friends from Naked Wines. The video features an interview with Rowan Gormley, the founder of Naked Wines and our good friend from Fifteen, Paul Green also tastes some of the wines that are available to purchase online. Gennaro also makes a guest appearance and shows us how to make a lovely strawberry risotto.
Here is the link to the wines that we taste in the Podcast:
• http://www.nakedwines.com/podcastrose
• http://www.nakedwines.com/podcastalbarino
• http://www.nakedwines.com/podcastsauvignon
And the videos:
http://www.jamieoliver.com/about/jamie-oliver-videos
Enjoy!
Thanks and regards
Danny
paul bangay supports kitchen garden foundation
Tue 10 Nov 2009GENERAL BLOG
Leading Australian garden designer Paul Bangay will throw open the gates of his stunning Stonefields property for the first time on 21 & 22 November 2009 in support of the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation.
Australia’s best-known landscape designer has long been a supporter of Stephanie’s mission to introduce pleasurable food education to as many Australian children as possible. This important fundraising event gives you the opportunity to help grow the gardeners and good food lovers of tomorrow!
The Stonefields Open Garden is a must for all garden lovers! Paul Bangay’s landscape design is synonymous with definition and grace, harmony and proportion, the creation of beauty through balance and restraint. The open garden weekend provides a rare opportunity for visitors to admire Stonefields’ beauty and balance, stroll the stone paths that meander around classic parterres, enjoy the expansive modern flower borders, and be enchanted by over 200 crabapple trees in flower.
This will be the only opportunity for the public to view Paul’s garden for some years. Paul and Stephanie – two leaders in their fields – will be available throughout the weekend to answer questions, sign books and discuss their work.
Paul Bangay ‘Stonefields’ Open Garden
10.00am-5.00pm
Saturday 21 & Sunday 22 November 2009
Follow signs from Denver, Melways map 609, reference E8
Tickets: $20.00 with all proceeds to the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation
For more information visit:
www.kitchengardenfoundation.org.au
The New York Marathon
Mon 02 Nov 2009GENERAL BLOG
Hi everyone,
Thanks for all your suppory for the marathon. It was an incredible day and I ran the race in 4 hours and 17 minutes. I was so overwhelmed with the genorosity of the 2 million New Yorkers who came out on the day to support us. People were cheering me on all the way and calling my name and at times when everything was hurting this gave me the motivation to carry on. Everyone who ran for Fifteen completed the race and we are all so proud of our efforts.
More news on my return to London, I am now taking some time out and enjoying this incredible city!
Thanks and regards
Danny
Danny's foodwise posts
