Nibbles foodie magazine may2015

Getting personal with foodies

Bite size discoveries from a very hungry

food photographer...

The perfect forage & find

Molecular passion

Cocktails witha difference

In-focusGreek Mixologist

The Gin Experience

Devon Dairy Farm

Modern Japanese

Breakfast Time

With John Wright

At Plymouth Gin

From Chef Stephen Gomes

Issue #1 / May 2015

ContentsLiquid Nibbles

Cocktails with a difference 6 Coffee Heaven 8Getting juicy in Devon 10

Secret Nibbles The Perfect Forage & find 14Molecular Passion our chef in focus 16

Our NibblesHomemade Nibbles 22Seasonal Nibbles 24Sweet Nibbles 26International Nibbles 28 Our Chocolate Expert 30 Macaron Obsession 32 Fine Nibbles 34

In-focusDevon Dairy Farm 44Our Greek Mixologist 46 Handmade & Delicious 48The Gin Experience 50 Breakfast Time 52Modern Japanese 54

From Chef Stephen Gomes

This issue is all about the South... From shooting (and tasting!) amazing cocktails at a bar in Plymouth, to stamina boosting espressos from The Devon Coffee Company and refreshing drinks from the almighty Luscombe Organics.

please read on...

It’s all about the cocktails, juice & obviously coffee...

Cocktails with a difference... The Refectory Bar in Plymouth is the ultimate spot in which to sit back, relax and admire the incredible attention to details that every member of staff puts into each cocktail on the menu. Making them captivating, exciting and amazing to taste...

The secret ingredient? Passion. The Head Mixologist is just so passionate about his profession, striving to serve the perfect drink every single time, with some of the most incredible ingredient combinations I have experienced so far. www.therefectorybar.co.uk

Quite a unique taste but

I recommend ordering a

smoking negroni, truly

stunning, but if you are

looking for something a

little tamer why not a

normal negroni...

A little tip...

Cocktails with a difference...

Coffee heaven...Most of you will know that attention to detail is one of my favourite attributes in the world! And I was certainly not left disappointed when I ordered my first coffee at The Dock in Plymouth. Serving amazing lattes and espressos from The Devon Coffee Company, these guys really love their beans, and boy does it show... www.devoncoffeecompany.comwww.thedockplymouth.co.uk

One other thing I love

with coffee at home is

biscotti, a thick, twice-

baked almond flavoured

biscuit. This crunchy

biscuit I love to dip in

my Espresso...

A little tip...

Coffee heaven...

Getting juicy in Devon...

If you haven’t already heard of Luscombe Organics, then you’re missing out! Based on a farm in deepest Devon, the team have been making beautiful drinks since 1975, crafting them with exceptional care and integrity.

“It’s all about the taste”

Luscombe really go to great lengths in order to produce drinks that will be a pleasure to taste. From the time they spend talking to growers and suppliers, to refining their recipes, sourcing bespoke equipment made by skilled craftsmen, their neurotic attention to detail is admirable to say the least. They really do it as it should be done - no shortcuts, no tricks, just a genuine drink made by genuine people.

www.luscombe.co.uk

You guessed it the one you have to

try is the Passionate Ginger Beer,

if you already like Ginger Beer wait

until you taste this with a twist of

passion fruit...

A little tip...

Getting juicy in Devon...

This issue we spend a day with the amazing mushroom and seaside forager John Wright in

Dorset and then go behind the scenes with Indian Molecular chef Stephen Gomes to taste

and photograph some very intersting and different food.

Hope you enjoy my finds...

Then we headed back to Summer Lodge Country House Hotel (3AA Rosette status), where Exec Chef Steve Titman whipped up some mouthwatering mushroom-inspired dishes to be photographed...

You can join John on his next Summer Lodge Mushroom Forage on 26th September.

www.wild-food.netwww.summerlodgehotel.co.uk

Forage & find...

Look out for the

dangerous ones,

this shocked me how

readily available they

are, Death Cap and

Destroying Angel know

your enemies...

A little tip...

What a day out I had when I joined mycologist John Wright down in Dorset. Star of TV Show ‘River Cottage’, it’s fair to say John knows his stuff when it comes to foraging. We spent a busy day collecting and identifying mushrooms (and staying away from the poisonous ones!) of course with some great banter! This man really knows his stuff.

Our Molecular

Chef in-focus...

Renowned for his quirky style of cooking and crazy kitchen experiments, including ‘cooking chicken in a dishwasher’, Chef Stephen Gomes’ dishes balance flavour, colour and texture while remaining authentic to Indian cuisine. He is credited as being among the first chefs to experiment with natural food science, whilst also drawing on the ancient Indian Ayurvedic system. Meaning ‘life knowledge’, the 5000 year old system of natural healing and cleansing explores how to eat for optimum balance.

Born in Mumbai, Stephen Gomes is the 4th generation of top Chefs in his family. After 15 years spent progressing through kitchens at five-star hotels in Asia, he settled in Cardiff, working for the Cafe Naz Restaurant Group, before opening his own critically acclaimed restaurant Moksh in 2007.

Stephen Gomes has held the title of ‘Best UK Indian Chef’ with the prestigious Cobra Good Curry Guide for a large part of the last decade and was also named Goldstar English Curry Chef of the Year 2013, as well as Goldstar Welsh Curry Chef of the Year 2014! Since opening in 2007, Moksh has become the first Indian restaurant in Cardiff to earn an AA Rosette Award.

For a taste of Stephen’s cooking, try this recipe for his delicious Hyderabadi Mince...

Hyderabadi Mince Recipe:Serves 6

Ingredients:

150g Welsh lamb mince½ onion (finely chopped)½ tomato (chopped)1 teaspoon ginger garlic paste½ teaspoon red chilli powder½ teaspoon cumin powder2g whole cumin seeds4 green cardamom1 tablespoon curd (yogurt)1 tablespoon oilFresh corianderSalt (as required)

Method: 1. Mix together lamb mince, curd/yoghurt, salt, and ginger garlic paste and keep aside for at least 20 minutes.

2. Heat oil in a Kadhai. Add the whole cumin seeds and green cardamom and let them crackle. Add the chopped onions and sauté until the onions are golden brown in colour.

3. Add the red chilli powder and cumin powder.

4. Cook for a minute and then add the chopped tomatoes.

5. Add the marinated lamb mince. Cook on a medium high flame until the mince is cooked.

6. Add a couple of chopped fresh coriander leaves.

My only tip is to order

the taster menu, that

is in my opinion the

best way to experience

the Theatre of Chef

Stephen Gomes you will

not be disappointed...

A little tip...

In this section, Carole my talented food stylist shares her home recipes with us, my close friend Patissier Massimo Bishop Scotti imparts his chocolate wisdom and I pick my favourite photographs from hotels and restaurants I have visited during the past few months...

Our Nibbles

Cheese tartlets By our very own Carole Handslip

Handslip Corner

Homemade Nibbles

To make the pastry:

Put the flour and mustard powder in a mixing bowl and rub in the butter until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Mix in the cheese together with enough water to form a firm dough.

Turn onto a floured surface and knead lightly until smooth. Roll out into a thin pastry then, using an 8cm plain cutter, cut out 12 discs. Place each disc in a patty tin and chill for 20 minutes.

To make the filling:

Heat the oil in a frying pan, add the onion, garlic and red pepper and fry gently until softened.Add the courgette, tomato, salt and pepper. Cover and cook gently for 10 minutes then leave to cool.Spoon into the pastry cases and sprinkle cheese generously over the top. Put into a preheated oven at 200C/400F and cook for 15 minutes until the pastry is done.

Cheese tartlets

HOMEMADE

Ingredients - makes 12 tartlets

Cheese Pastry175g plain flour½ tspn mustard powder75g butter75g cheddar cheese, grated1 tbsp cold water Filling1 tbsp oil1 onion, chopped1 clove garlic, chopped1 red pepper, de-seeded & sliced 1 courgette, diced2 tomatoes, chopped½ tspn salt¼ tspn black pepper50g cheddar cheese, grated

Cheese supplied byKingdom Cheese

Seasonal Nibbles

Try wrapping pancetta

around your joint, with

a sprinkling of garlic

cloves before roasting to

change the taste of the

traditional meal...

A little tip...

Roasted pork shot for Bluestone360, Styled byCarole Handslip, Art Direction by Steve Watson

I make no secret that I have a rather sweet tooth. And what an extravaganza of amazing desserts the team at Summer Lodge in Dorset provided for me during a recent shoot! Anywhere that serves you a pre-dessert this mouthwatering gets my seal of approval...

Sweet Nibbles

Summer Lodge Hotel, Chef Steven TitmanRed Carnation Hotels - www.summerlodgehotel.co.uk

Hotel d’Angleterrewww.dangleterrehotel.com

Getting to travel is one of the perks of my job that I really love. As one of my favourite cities, it’s always a pleasure to spend a weekend shooting at The Hotel d’Angleterre, where five star service is taken to a whole new level.

International Nibbles

International Nibbles

Introducing my good friend, client and expert Chocolatier/Patissier Massimo Bishop Scotti. Here to share some tasty facts about one of our favourite ingredients...

Who is Massimo? He has worked with first class chefs in multi-Michelin starred restaurants and 5 star hotels, The Savoy, The Intercontinental Hotel, Pool Court at 42 and also at The Aubergine for Gordon Ramsay. He designed bespoke dessert recipes for the likes of Sir Elton John & Sir Michael Parkinson. twitter.com/massimobs

Our Chocolate ExpertMassimo’s Chocolate Fact Researchers identified residue of a chemical compound that comes exclusively from the cacao plant - the source of chocolate - in pottery vessels dating from about 1100 BC in Puerto Escondido, Honduras. This pushed back by at least 500 years the earliest documented use of cacao, an important luxury commodity in Mesoamerica before European invaders arrived and now the basis of the modern chocolate industry!

Chocolate Question?

Who was the Dutch

inventor of the cocoa

press?

Stay tuned for the

answer, next issue…

Over an espresso (of course), I talked all things Macaron with Massimo...

“Macaron, its not easy to achieve the perfect Macaron! I started off with a base recipe from the internet about 3 years ago, never made them before, apart from more of an Italian style like “Baci di dama” which will be featured in the next edition.

Macaron Obsession

Like all my other recipies I wanted to build a relationship with the product recipe. Each recipe is individual to the quantity you are trying to make with the equipment you have therefore if you ask me there is not a “perfect recipe” out there.

The important tip is to understand the ingredients behaviour within a recipe and by using specific equipment. Obviously this doesn’t come over night it has taken me 30 years.

MPW once said “ We are all commis in my Kitchen, we are all still learning” . Resting your Macaron mix is very important and the amount of almonds needs to be high so you will have structure and body to your Macaron, nobody likes a sweet Macaron.

Use them with a nice espresso, or Cappuccino is a marriage in heaven”

Macaron Obsession

FINE nibbles

In this section I tell you about just a few of the great finds on my recent travels. With so many

incredible venues, I was spoilt for choice...

Please enjoy...

nibbles

Llangoed Hall offers an intimate fine dining experience that will surprise your palate. The menu is inspired by the freshest and finest local ingredients, with fruit and vegetables grown in the hotel’s very own kitchen garden. As the seasons change, so does the menu. There is no doubt, you will always be satisfied here.

Chef Nick Brodie www.llangoedhall.co.uk

Fine Dining in stunning Surroundings

Valrhona chocolate

and smoked ice cream,

surely the dessert you

have to try on your next

visit to Llangoed Hall.

What more needs to be

said, mmmmmmmm…

A little tip...

Fine Dining in stunning Surroundings

Michelin StarredChef... I recently had the pleasure of working with Mark Dodson of The Mason Arms, which was a truly calming experience. A very successful and confident Chef, Mark was Head Chef at Michel Roux’s Waterside Inn in Bray and now owns the Michelin starred The Masons Arms.

The food at The Masons Arms displays a modern take on British and French classics, with a mature complexity in the cooking processes.

This Alaskan salmon was every bit as delicious as it looks!

Chef Mark Dodsonwww.masonsarmsdevon.co.uk

Working with Aqua Italia Restaurants is always fun, but photographing the dishes for their new Italian Cookbook took on a whole new level! The attention to detail that has gone into every single one of Emelia Schiavetta’s dishes is simply outstanding.

Of course, I had to taste many of the dishes whilst I was there... My favourite was the pan fried duck breast with cherry and balsamic jus - which I will definitely be recreating at home!

www.aqua-restaurant.com

The ItalianJob

This section highlights the latest happenings in the industry, from

new products to restaurant openings... These latest nibbles are sure to get you

excited...

Dev

on D

airy

Far

m..

.

Riverford Organic Dairy We are all about provenance in the truest sense of the word. The Dairy is located amidst the rolling hills of South Devon where climate conditions and rich soils are ideal for dairy farming. A holistic farming system is implemented, based on the knowledge that healthy land supports healthy cows and that means healthy products for consumers. The Dairy produces a premium range of artisan, natural and organic products that are traditionally made using time-honoured methods. The milks, creams, yogurts, cheeses and butters are available in retail and catering sizes.

riverforddairy.co.uk

So how does holistic farming work? Well at Riverford Dairy, a bio-diverse range of plants is grown on pastures, including complex grasses, clovers, legumes and herbs. These plants steadily return nitrogen and other nutrients to the soil, improving its condition.

The protein content of the plants supports the health of the cows and results in unique tasting, rich milk. The herd is Mixed Breed, well suited to organic farming, and a gentle and ethical approach to dairying. The milk travels just 300 metres from the cows to the production area where products are made using artisan methods and packed by hand.

Our Mixologist in-focus... Christos Kyriakidis gives us some tips to remember when making cocktails

Ice - Ice is the most important ingredient when making drinks. Good solid big ice cubes are required when stirring, shaking or serving on the rocks. I am a big fan of using a block of ice and chopping it down to what I need it for - stirred drinks, or for drinks that are served over ice. Old Fashioneds, Negronis or simple whisky on the rocks, benefits from this type of ice because it gives you maximum chill with a minimum dilution, resulting in a better final drink for the guest. London based company, Eskimo Ice, is great for this. No point trying to make yours as it will be hard to get the ice clear. Remember clear ice, melts about 5 times slower than your ice from the machine which is full of trapped air.

Bonfire Negroni

25ml *Lapsang Souchong infused Plymouth Original Gin

25ml Campari

25ml Martini Rosso Sweet Vermouth

Method: Stir all ingredients with good quality ice cubes and strained into a chilled Martini glass, garnish with a discarded orange twist. This recipe can be served over ice, but be careful not to over dilute. It will be better to use a block of ice. * Take 2 teaspoons of Lapsang Souchong loose leaf tea and add it to 1 Litre of Plymouth Gin , using an airtight container, allow to infuse for 2 hours maximum and then filter well and bottle the gin.

Handmade & truly delicious...

The company was originally founded by successful hoteliers Jeffrey and Liz Lawrence in 1989, to provide Westcountry businesses with top quality food products. The couple were no strangers to great food. Liz was an experienced chef and the couple knew how to meet the demands of hungry and fastidious customers at every meal. New owners Ray and Lynda have built upon this fantastic foundation, whilst Liz remains an important part of the team.

Head chef Fortunato, who is called ‘Fort’ for short, previously worked with two well-known Michelin Star chefs. Gaining many years of excellent experience in Italy and France before coming to Britain, he has now worked in the UK for ten years. His creations are simply out of this world, with great taste at the heart of all he makes.

www.okemoor.co.uk

Okemoor award winning handmade food from the West Country.

Handmade & truly delicious...

A real must is the new

Lemon and poppy seed

cake, divine is the only

word I can think of

while eating this...

A little tip...

The Gin ExperienceRevel in this most English of spirits on this innovative gin and tonic tour in the heart of Mayfair.

Cocktail mixing is a true art form and modern day concoctions range from sweet to savoury and spicy to sour but the classic cocktails are enjoying a resurgence in popularity too. The Chesterfield Mayfair (www.chesterfieldmayfair.com) has crafted four exciting Gin and Tonic tasting experiences taking gin enthusiasts on a flavourful journey of delicate aromas and botanicals to create the perfect G&T.

The humble Gin and Tonic has been tantalising taste buds since the days of the British Empire in India when soldiers discovered that quinine in tonic water was a disease preventative. This bitter drink was knocked back with a shot (or two) of gin giving birth to the classic concoction.

It may not be considered a life saver today but this simple combination of spirit and mixer is a firm favourite and The Chesterfield is celebrating this with its new Gin & Tonic Experience.

Guests will join the hotel bar’s resident mixologist, Edgar Pou, to sample selected gins and a choice of tonic waters to appreciate the bouquet of botanicals that go into the complex distillation of gin in the modern age whilst encountering new gin and tonic flavour sensations. and truly bring this classic English spirit to life. chesterfieldmayfair.com

Breakfast time I get to photograph and sample so many incredible breakfasts that it was hard to choose which to feature this issue! In the end, I simply had to go for Milk & Sugar in Cardiff. Their bacon sandwich is to die for, and with a selection of mouthwatering breakfast treats my only complaint is that they won’t deliver to my Studio! Keep up the good work guys and keep on serving the best illy coffee in town... www.milkandsugarplease.com

Modern Japanese Murakami is a contemporary modern Japanese restaurant and sushi bar in London, that I have been lucky enough to work with since their launch late last year.

The restaurant’s emphasis is on great value contemporary Japanese dining in a beautifully designed setting. Murakami specialise in sushi rolls, sashimi and their superb dishes from the robata grill that was specially crafted for the restaurant.

The staff, the food, the living wall and the fresh design of this venue makes it a must see on your next visit to Covent Garden. www.murakami.london

seaAITCH FOOD PHOTOGRAPHY

Craig Howarth - Food Photographer [email protected] twitter.com/seaAitchfood nibblesfoodiemagazine+44 (0) 7540 884601

This magazine was brought to you by

AKA Craig Howarth, a very busy food photographer working/eating his way around the world one dish at a time...

Feeling inspired? Let’s have some fun photographing your creations. Get in touch today!

Nibbles foodie magazine may2015

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