Chef makes a hearty stew

This week was very busy with 100+ bookings with Chefs, Catering Staff, Bar Staff and Kitchen Porters all working in Bristol and Bath.

After a crazy Friday afternoon I decided to put a stew in the oven and go to the pub for a few well deserved beers.

I decided on making a popular stew that we have made on a number of occasions in our household. The best advice on this recipe is to cook slowly over a low temp and the meat turns out lovely and tender.

Ingredients

Olive oil
A knob of butter
1 onion, peeled and chopped
A handful of fresh sage leaves
800g stewing steak or beef skirt, cut into 5cm/2 inch pieces
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Flour, to dust
2 parsnips, peeled and quartered
4 carrots, peeled and halved
1/2 a butternut squash, halved, deseeded and roughly diced
500g small potatoes
2 tablespoons tomato purée
1/2 a bottle of red wine
285ml beef or vegetable stock
Zest of 1 lemon, finely grated
A handful of rosemary, leaves picked
1 clove of garlic, peeled and finely chopped

• Preheat the oven to 160ºC/300ºF/gas 2.
• Put a little oil and your knob of butter into an appropriately sized pot or casserole pan.
• Add your onion and all the sage leaves and fry for 3 or 4 minutes.
• Toss the meat in a little seasoned flour, then add it to the pan with all the vegetables, the tomato purée, wine and stock, and gently stir together.
• Season generously with freshly ground black pepper and just a little salt.
• Bring to the boil, place a lid on top, then cook in the preheated oven until the meat is tender.
• Sometimes this takes 3 hours, sometimes 4 – it depends on what cut of meat you’re using and how fresh it is.
• The only way to test is to mash up a piece of meat and if it falls apart easily it’s ready. Once it’s cooked, you can turn the oven down to about 110°C/225°F/gas ¼ and just hold it there until you’re ready to eat.

• Mix the lemon zest, chopped rosemary and garlic together and sprinkle over the stew before eating. Just the smallest amount will make a world of difference – as soon as it hits the hot stew it will release an amazing fragrance.


Foot Note: After a few beers this was a nice way of filling the stomach. There was plenty made so we even managed to feed some friends.

Its Pancake Day.. Need I say more??

So its that time of year again where all catering staff and chefs alike clear their cupboards out ready for lent.

It is an age old ritual to clear the kitchen stores of all eggs, flour, sugar and milk before we fast for 40 days and 40 nights.

I have contacted a couple of the Bristol and Bath Chefs I know to ask them for their favourite pancake recipe and filling. After talking to them both they were in agreement that the best pancake is the original lemon and sugar version. Here is the recipe below.

Ingredients

110g Plain flour, sifted
pinch of salt
2 eggs
200ml milk mixed with 75ml water
50g Butter

To serve

caster sugar
lemon juice
lemon wedges

• Sift the flour and salt into a large mixing bowl with a sieve held high above the bowl so the flour gets an airing. Now make a well in the centre of the flour and break the eggs into it. Then begin whisking the eggs - any sort of whisk or even a fork will do - incorporating any bits of flour from around the edge of the bowl as you do so.

• Next gradually add small quantities of the milk and water mixture, still whisking (don't worry about any lumps as they will eventually disappear as you whisk). When all the liquid has been added, use a rubber spatula to scrape any elusive bits of flour from around the edge into the centre, then whisk once more until the batter is smooth, with the consistency of thin cream. Now melt the 50g/2oz of butter in a pan. Spoon 2 tbsp of it into the batter and whisk it in, then pour the rest into a bowl and use it to lubricate the pan, using a wodge of kitchen paper to smear it round before you make each pancake.

• Now get the pan really hot, then turn the heat down to medium and, to start with, do a test pancake to see if you're using the correct amount of batter. I find 2 tbsp is about right for an 18cm/7in pan. It's also helpful if you spoon the batter into a ladle so it can be poured into the hot pan in one go. As soon as the batter hits the hot pan, tip it around from side to side to get the base evenly coated with batter. It should take only half a minute or so to cook; you can lift the edge with a palette knife to see if it's tinged gold as it should be. Flip the pancake over with a pan slice or palette knife - the other side will need a few seconds only - then simply slide it out of the pan onto a plate.

• Stack the pancakes as you make them between sheets of greaseproof paper on a plate fitted over simmering water, to keep them warm while you make the rest.

• To serve, sprinkle each pancake with freshly squeezed lemon juice and caster sugar, fold in half, then in half again to form triangles, or else simply roll them up. Serve sprinkled with a little more sugar and lemon juice and extra sections of lemon.

Foot Note: Everyone loves pancakes.. Get out your pan and get cooking. This is probably one of the easiest recipes to follow and great fun for kids :o)

How do you toss yours?

Umm Cake, I like Cake :o)

This weekend I was on call for catering staff bookings, bar shifts and chef placements. We had 45 of our Catering team out at various locations across Bristol, North Somerset, Bath and the Cotswolds covering a Wedding, birthday meal and a local football game.

During the afternoon on Saturday I decided that I would put my hand to a bit of baking again. This time I decided to bake a Banana Tea bread. Perfect with a nice cup of Tea :)

Ingredients

175g Plain wholemeal flour
50g Medium oatmeal
100g Butter, softened
100g Dark muscovado sugar
2 tsp Baking powder
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
2 eggs, beaten
3-4 ripe bananas, about 350g peeled and mashed
100g Walnuts, roughly chopped

• Preheat the oven to 180°C/ Gas 4/ fan oven 160°C.
• Butter and line the base of a 1 kg loaf tin with baking paper.
• Put the wholemeal flour, oatmeal, butter, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and eggs into a large bowl and, using an electric hand whisk, beat together until evenly mixed.
• Stir in the bananas and walnuts, taking care not to over mix.
• Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for 1 ¼ hours or until a skewer inserted comes out clean (cover the cake with foil halfway through cooking to prevent the top from overbrowning).
• Allow the cake to cool in the tin for 5 minutes, and then carefully turn out, peel off the lining paper and cool completely on a wire rack.

Foot note: This bread was very easy to make and tasted absolutely divine. This is a definite winner.

Does the banana make this cake 1 of your 5 a day?

Whats the Chef cooking this week?

This weeks recipe is a very much tried and tested Parmesan Chicken Breasts with Crispy Posh Ham. I have cooked this dish on a number of occasions in Bristol for my family and friends.

Being in the Catering recruitment business it is important that I keep myself in the chef industry. Having worked with various levels of catering staff in North Somerset and the Cotswolds I am always interested in seeing how different caterers prepare their food to high volume. So here is a great recipe that can be easily made for Wedding parties, Birthday celebrations or outside Catering events.

Ingredients
30g Parmesan cheese
2 sprigs of fresh thyme
2 skinless chicken breasts, preferably free-range or organic
freshly ground black pepper
I lemon
6 slices of prosciutto
olive oil

To prepare your chicken
• Grate your Parmesan
• Pick the thyme leaves off the stalks
• Carefully score the underside of the chicken breasts in a criss-cross fashion with a small knife
• Season with a little pepper (you don’t need: salt as the prosciutto is quite salty)
• Lay your breasts next to each other and sprinkle over most of the thyme leaves
• Grate a little lemon zest over them, then sprinkle with the Parmesan
• Lay 3 prosciutto slices on each chicken breast, overlapping them slightly
• Drizzle with a little olive oil and sprinkle with the remaining thyme leaves
• Put a square of cling film over each breast and give them a few really good bashes with the bottom of a pan until they're about I cm thick

To cook your chicken
• Put a frying pan over a medium heat
• Remove the cling film and carefully transfer the chicken breasts, prosciutto side down, into the pan
• Drizzle over some olive oil
• Cook for 3 minutes on each side. Turning halfway through, giving the ham side an extra 30 seconds to crisp up

To serve your chicken
• Either serve the chicken breasts whole or cut them into thick slices and pile them on a plate
• Serve with some lemon wedges for squeezing over, and a good drizzle of olive oil
• Lovely with mash and green veg or a crunchy salad!

Foot Note: I like to serve this with sweet potato mash and a mustard sauce. This is a really easy dish to make and it wows your friends making them think you have some really good catering skills.

Chef Jobs for Christmas

Back-2-Front are in the Christmas spirit and are currently looking for Chefs, Cooks and Kitchen Staff to join our ever expanding team.

If you have worked in Hotels, Restaurants or events and are either a Head Chef, Sous Chef, CDP or a component Cook we would like to talk to you.

We are currently looking for Chefs in Bristol, Bath, The Cotswolds and North Somerset.

To join our agency please visit our website and register online.

Catering Staff required for North Somerset

Back-2-Front are looking catering staff in North Somerset, Bristol, Cotswolds and Bath.

With Christmas fast approaching we have a number of Hotels, Bars and Private Events that require waiting staff, bar tenders and Catering Assistants to help serve their guests.

If you have had previous experience working within a Catering operation, whether it be a busy Bar, 5* Hotel or a school Canteen we would be interested in hearing from you.

To apply for a position with Back-2-Front visit our website and apply through our online registration form.

Catering Agency begins to recruit for Christmas

Back-2-Front have started to recruit catering staff for this coming Christmas.


If you have previous experience working as a waiter, Bar staff or kitchen porter we would like to hear from you.

We have bar jobs, waiting jobs, catering assistant jobs and are always looking for chefs.

All of our waiting staff are capable of carrying 3 plates and clearing 8. They understand the importance of professional service within hotels, restaurants and private events.

Our Bar staff are confident in serving guests within high volume venues or building that perfect cocktail at an intimate party.

All of our Kitchen Porters are very hard working and ensure that the kitchen is left spotless after their catering job.

If you are able to work in Bristol, Bath or North Somerset we would like to hear from you.

To apply for a catering job within Back-2-Front visit our website and register with us - Quoting "Blog" - using our Online Registration Form.

Chef Agency goes from strength to strength

Back-2-Front Chef Agency that supplies chefs, cooks and kitchen porters have just secured a outside catering contract for the rest of the summer.

The Caterer has 4 weddings every weekend over the summer and has pre-booked kitchen staff for every event.

We are currently looking to increase the size of our Chef brigade to help manage the increase in catering bookings.

If you have had previous experience as a Chef de Partie, Sous Chef or Head Chef and would like to earn extra money over the summer months we would like to hear from you.

To apply for a job within Back-2-Front visit our website and register with us - Quoting "Blog" - using our Online Registration Form.

Weekend Chefs Required

Back-2-Front's Chef Agency is looking to recruit dedicated chef's to work every weekend over the summer.

We have various clients that have outside events on every weekend and require Chefs, Kitchen Porter's and Catering staff to help them to cook and serve.

Are you free on Saturday's and Sunday's? Do you want to earn some extra money this summer?

To apply for a job within Back-2-Front visit our website and register with us - Quoting "Blog" - using our Online Registration Form.