member blog: dave barker
dave barker
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29th Jun 2004
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dave barker's blog posts
Duck with confit of cherry...
Wed 23 Sep 2009GENERAL BLOG
Hi guys
Work has been keeping me pretty busy again recently... we have been trying out new dishes and recipies... stepping up the presentation again!
Here is a dish that I came up with a while ago, Pan roasted duck breast with confit cherry
I have tweaked the dish a bit and at last, it went on the menu this week!
What do you think?
We also had a bit of fun this week! I have been reading the books of Dr Seus to my kids for a few years and the story of green eggs and ham has always got me thinking... what does it taste like? is it possible to make it?...
One of my chef de parties has been really inspired by Heston Blumenthal of the Fat Duck recently... he has been reading hestons in search of perfection books, as well as the Big Fat Duck Cook Book (which is a work of art in itself) and he has really got behind the ethos of trying to be playful with food! trying new techniques etc....
We were talking about green eggs and ham and he went to work trying to create green eggs and ham! just for fun! a challenge...
He achieved it! he came to me with an apitiser plate with a perfectly cooked fried egg on it... the olny difference was that the egg was vivid green! I thought, the ham had got the better of him, so lets just try the egg! I bit into the yolk and the flavour of smoked ham flooded my mouth! I then got what he was doing... I thought "you clever ****!!!"
He had seperated the egg yolk and white, then discarded the yolk and kept the white.
Then he made a pea voloute using peas and smoked ham stock! then he set it with just a very small amount of gelatin, just enough for the "yolk" to hold it's form.
He then used round soop spoons to cornell a round pea and ham "yolk"
He then warmed up a frying pan and started to cook the white, just before it was done he dropped the cornell into the centre of the white, warmed it up slightly as the whit finished cooking and hey presto! a green egg that tastes of smoked ham!!! genius eh?
It will never make it onto our menu... but it was a fun challenge! and doing things like this hones your techniques doesn't it?
One of todays specials...
Thu 17 Sep 2009GENERAL BLOG
Here is a dish that I thought looked pretty that my new trainee and CDP came up with a couple of days ago... I took a [picture with my phone, and just came across it! thought I would share it with you guys... What do you think?
It is Pan seared black pearl scallops served with butternut and chilli veloute, crispy wild rocket and a parmasan crisp...
Food...Art?
Thu 10 Sep 2009GENERAL BLOG
I write this sat alone, thinking about tomorrow... I am thinking about what supplies are comming in, and the dishes that we can put out there... My mind is wandering while I think!
This post is just mental doodling really, Stella is away at a conference in Cardiff, the kids are in bed and I only have my own thoughts and this lapton... feel free to turn off now if you like! there is little point to this post really!
More and more recently I have been thinking about how we display food at the fox and hounds... how it is plated... how it looks as well as tastes!
I have been reading up on some fantstic chefs, looking at their stuff and thinking that we could do that! or even we could do better than that... we have been raising the bar as far as how our meals look, to the point that I am thinking WOW it's a shame to ruin that by eating it! the plates are works of art!
That got me thinking about art and what defines an artist!Can a chef who artisticly plates his food be called an artist or is he just a talented chef?
I know for me I became a chef because I wanted to do something creative... something hands on! I had trained and worked as a graphic designer for ten years before I jacked it all in and chased my idea to try and become a chef... seven years later have I become the artist that I wanted to be?
To me now, its more than putting food on a plate, to me now its about balance... flavors, texture, colour... getting it perfect has become a complete obsession!
The bar has been raised... and the team that I work with are really pushing it forward too!
Pleasing all 5 senses... some argue with food there are 6!!! is a hard job to do.... EVERY customer has their own very personal ideas regarding food... there is no right or wrong! so again its all about balance.
Since I started growing my own produce and have been sourcing the very best produce in prime condition my food has taken off with regards to flavour... I want to make it look as good as it tastes too... they say that the customer takes the first bite with the eye!
Mt kitchen brigade... a team of social misfits... modern day pirates, or artists??? quite a thing to think about eh?
Hope you are well guys
Dave
Wild horseradish...
Mon 07 Sep 2009GENERAL BLOG
Today while I was down the allotment, I decided to go for a bit of a walk with the dog!
While I was out I stumbled across this amazing bumper crop of horseradish growing wild in the hedgerows!!!
I went back, grabbed a garden fork and dug some of it up... it is amazing stuff! really hot...beautiful
When I got back home I washed it peeled it and now have some serious hot stuff!!! I was crying like a baby whilst doing it...
Brussel sprouts...
Sat 05 Sep 2009GENERAL BLOG
Even though I can't stand brussel sprouts myself... I have to admit, they do add colour to the garden...
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