Chef Wise

30 August 2012 Sixty vegetarian and vegan friendly foods produced by award-winning ethical food firm The Redwood Wholefood Company have been certified halal* by the European Halal Development Agency (EHDA). It is believed to be the first time that a vegan food manufacturer has been awarded halal certification. In 2010, Redwood was also awarded kosher certification by the Manchester Beth Din. "We sought halal certification because we wanted to make our vegetarian and vegan friendly foods available to Muslims throughout the world" said Lee Rockingham at Redwood, which makes plant-based foods under the VegiDeli, Cheezly and Cheatin’ brand names. Among the many different vegetarian and vegan friendly foods now halal certified by the EHDA are Redwood’s animal-free alternatives to beef, poultry, fish and cheese, including burgers and sausages, ‘bacon’, ‘fish’ fingers and ‘mozzarella’. Owned by charity campaigner Heather Mills, Redwood was recently rated the UK’s most et...

29 August 2012 The recent launch of luxury hamper company Highland Fayre’s revamped website – http://www.highlandfayre.co.uk/ - has come at a very opportune time as hamper companies start to gear up for the Christmas season. Whilst retail stores still face an uncertain future, the online shopping market is forecast to continue to grow at a rate of 14% – 16%. This strong growth curve has been a major factor in the increase of multi channel retailers and, as a result, the consumer can find himself in a position where there are plenty of discounts and offers to consider. There is no doubt that online gift buying will go from strength to strength; the luxury hamper market is a prime example of this. The increased competition within the hamper market has led to a need for specialist companies to engage and entice the consumer with more than just the traditional Christmas hamper. In the last few years, popularity within the online personalised card market has experienced consi...

28 August 2012 Jill Burdett, a Manchester Confidential reviewer, recently visited Amba in Hale. The British Manchester restaurant was highly praised for its hearty portions, locally sourced ingredients and homemade desserts. Amba occupies the building that was previously home to the Hale Wine Bar. While Burdett found that Amba's bar area was far too 'clubby' as a result of its padded booth and dark wood interior, the restaurant dining area was in fact much lighter with simple tables, a white panelled roof and two feature lights designed for Barcelona's Gran Teatro del Diceo. She was also impressed with the menu, which places great emphasis on both fresh food and natural ingredients. With a seasonal set lunch and dinner, the restaurant aims to source as locally as possible to support small suppliers and provide diners with the best possible produce. From the starter menu, Burdett chose a pan fried fillet of Cornish mackerel and asparagus soup. While the macke...

Now if you can get the big Cumberland sausage rings this is perfect for that . if not just use a pack of good quality sausages.  Also this is one of my favourite ways of cooking sausages in an oven in a dish that makes its own sort of gravy. All you need with this is some  good mashed potatoes to go with it . You will need 1 x 750g/1½lb Cumberland sausages 3 tbsp olive oil 150ml/5floz cider 100g/3oz blackberrys 2 garlic cloves 4 red onions Some fresh rosemary Fresh sage leaves Fresh thyme 150ml/5floz chicken stock 2 tbsp chopped flat leaf parsley Salt freshly ground black pepper to taste Now if you are using a sausage ring then use two large metal skewers diagonally through the sausage to keep it in place during cooking. Now slice the onions and lay then in a roasting dish.  Crush the garlic and chop the rosemary, sage and thyme. Throw in the blackberry’s and top up with the chicken stock and cider. Then lay your sausage on top and j...

Rabbit is a very much unloved meat in this country. I do not know why it is in plentiful supply, reasonably cheap and low in fat. In fact you could go as far to say that it is the ideal meat for a recession that we have at the moment. But if you go to main land Europe, France, Spain and Italy you will find rabbit more available and ready to use. Personally I am lucky as my next door neighbour goes shooting regularly for the local farmers and I have a regular supply of rabbit. But even my neighbour admits that he does not eat what he shoots.  I am happy to say than now everyone in my house eats rabbit, as long as I do the skinning and cooking. This is a more Spanish style stew rather than a British rabbit stew  something I had when I was on holiday. You will need  1 or 2 rabbits about 8 pieces 3 tbsp plain flour Fresh thyme leaves Salt and freshly ground black pepper 15g/½oz butter 2-3tbsp sunflower oil 6 rashers smoked streaky bacon 2or 3 onions...

I love trifle and the only thing that you can ever get wrong with it is no6t get any alcohol in it. Now this one is a cherry trifle and not a sherry trifle. Cherries are so in season right now and you should be able to get them really easily. Also it is such an easy dessert to make you have to try it. You will need. 10 or more boudoir  biscuits 4 x 250g/9oz punnets of cherries, stoned 5tbsp cherry brandy or more 1 litre/1¾ pint custard 400ml/13floz double cream 110g/4oz dark chocolate, grated 55g/2oz toasted flaked almonds First get a large glass bowl or some glasses, whatever you are making it in. now in the bottom break up the boudoir biscuits then on top of them layer your cherries.  Now to get the juices flowing out of the cherries just cut them in half. Then add the cherry brandy , as much as you want or as little but do not ne shy with it. Now cover everything with the custard and then let it all set for about ten minutes in the fridge. ...

I saw this the other day and thought why not. It works really well and at the moment it lloks like there will be a bumper crop of plumbs, blackberry’s and apples soon so try this recipe. You make it the same way you would a summer pudding but with autumn fruits, made I should have called it autumn pudding. you will need 750g/1lb4oz plums, cooking apples and blackberrys 120g/4½oz caster sugar 2 tbsp sloe gin ½ -¾ medium white loaf bread Some butter Now you will need a  850ml/1½pint pudding basin, brush it with melted  butter it and then put it in the fridge. Now take your fruit, you want more plumbs and blackberries than apple but a mix of all three.  Then de-stone the plumbs peel and core the apples and put them in a pan add the caster sugar and toss the fruits in the sugar. Then add the black berry and the slow gin and place on a gentle heat, you do not want to stew the fruits but just cook them gently so they remain whole.  Very occasiona...

This is a simple easy crab fish cake that you can make and shallow fry or even bake in the oven.  The thing is to get a evan mix of white and brown meat as all the flavour is in the brown meat and the texture is in the white. You will need. 450g/1ld 50/50 brown and white crab meat mix Olive oil 1 leek 1 medium onion 900g/2lb potatoes Flour, for dusting 1 egg The juice of ¼ lemon Salt and freshly ground black pepper Now you have to cook your potato to bind the crab meat. Now the best way to do this is simply bake the potatoes. Nothing more nothing less you do not get any extra water in the mix just unadulterated cooked potato. Also you get a real flavour of potato from the skins that you cannot get by just boiling. Once you have baked them let them cool remove the skins and add to a bowl. Now dice the leek as fine as you can then blanch it in boiling water and straight out in to ice cold water to stop it from cooking any more. Then make sure it i...

Two vegetables that just do not get used like they should. Ether you just boil or pickle beetroot and as for pumpkins most of them are just carved up for Halloween.  Well try them like this, they taste really good together roasted. You will need 10 beetroots 1 pumpkin or squash 3 medium red onions 8 garlic cloves 4tbsp olive oil A few sprigs of thyme 4tbsp Honey The juice of a lemon Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste Now for me to do this you want to have all your vegatabels cut in a rustic fation to get the proper affect not to fine. Start by pealing all the beetroots and then placing them in a pan of water. Bring the pan up to the boil then remove from the heat and strain of the water and let them cool. Now peel and deseed the pumpkin and chop it up to similar size pieces as the beetroot. Then cut the onions in to wedges.  Now add the pumpkin and the onion it to a large roasting try. Throw in the garlic and rip in the thyme. No...

A very British classic, from Bakewell, in Derbyshire, with recipes going all the way back to the crusades. Served best just warm not hot with a little double cream and a nice cup of tea . the perfect afternoon treat . You will need 500g/ 17oz short crust pastry 400g/14oz ground almonds 175g/6oz caster sugar 8 eggs 3tbsp raspberry jam 50g/2oz flaked almonds First you need to line your tart tin with the pastry and then blind bake it in a oven that is set at 180c/360f for about 15 minutes then remove the baking beans and pop it back in for another 3 or 4 minutes so the base cooks out. Then set the pastry case to one side to cool. Now turn the oven down to 160c/330f. Now in a large bowl add the sugar and the ground almonds then crack your eggs and then give them a whisk together. Do not over work them as you do not want it to rise too much. Once your pastry has cool take your jam and spared a layer of it across the base. Then on top of this pour over your...

Brandy snaps are so easy to make that once you have made them then you will wonder why you have spent good money buying them. To make brandy snaps you will need. 55g/2oz butter 55g/2oz Demerara sugar 55g/2oz golden syrup 50g/1¾oz plain flour ½tsp ground ginger ½tsp brandy Now you need a good thick bottomed sauce pan . Now as a tip measure out the butter sugar and put them in the pan  but weigh out the golden syrup straight in to the pan if you can. It is best to do it this way or you end up with golden syrup all over your scale and not in the recipe. Now on a gentle heat melt the butter and let the sugar dissolve. Take your time and do this slowly you do not want things to boil and crystallise. Stir the mix every now and then and when you cannot feel any of the sugar on the bottom of the pan then you are about ready to move on to the next stage.   Take the pan of the heat and set to one side. Now sift the flour and the ginger through a sieve ...

At last someone has been inspired enough to bring us two favourites - Ale and Ice Cream – combined in one glorious dessert – has Christmas come early? Two iconic brands from the New Forest have collaborated to create a wonderful blend of two favourite foods – ale and ice cream - to create a unique flavour combination which is attracting a lot of interest from ice cream lovers across the UK. New Forest Ice Cream and Ringwood Brewery have launched Old Thumper Fudge – Real Ale Ice Cream -  a new blend created by combining the finest English pale malt and hops of Old Thumper with delicious, creamy New Forest Ice Cream and the addition of real fudge pieces. Tracey Turnbull, Ringwood Brewery comments: “We were looking at widening the appeal of our product and wanted to offer our customers something a bit different but which still maintained the same product quality for which we have become known. “We approached New Forest Ice Cream as we recognised them as another es...

I do not know why but it came up in conversation the other day about skate wings and the kids in the room were saying what a strange fish it look as someone cooked it on the television.  And I was saying it tastes really nice but on one believed me , apart for one person who had had skate wing before. Well the first time I had it was the classic French way and that is what this recipe is You will need   2 skate wings 50g/2oz plain flour 25g/1oz butter 1tbsp olive oil 175g/6oz butter The juice of half a lemon 3tbsp capers A small handful of chopped flat leaf parsley Salt and fresh ground black pepper. First take your skate wings and dredge them in well-seasoned flour. Then take a large heavy frying pan and heat it to a high heat on the stove top.  Once hot add the 25g/1oz butter and the olive oil and let that start to foam. Then place your skate wing in to the pan and cook for about 3 or 4 minutes on each side.  Once completely cooked ...

23 August 2012 Today Westfield Stratford City launches a free downloadable cookery book, packed full of recipes from its famously diverse collection of East London restaurants Showcasing Westfield Stratford City’s extensive food offering, the ‘Around The World Recipes From Westfield’ book hopes to inspire visitors to taste something new at the centre and try some of the authentic recipe creations at home. The cookery book features 25 recipes from ten popular restaurants including a variety of cuisines like moussaka from The Real Greek, Busaba Eathai’s pandan chicken, Caribbean sea bass by Rhythm Kitchen and All Star Lanes’ champion chilli con carne. To assist with re-creating the dishes from home, the cookbook highlights expert advice from senior chefs at these leading restaurants, describing why their recipes were selected. Executive Chef at Busaba Eathai, Krit Sangsida, describes their pandan chicken as: “Great for family and friends, when you have a special occasion.” ...

23 August 2012 Red Tractor and Debra Stephenson celebrate great farming and great food by asking the nation to buy, cook and eat! RED TRACTOR WEEK 2012 (24th – 30th September) Launching 24th September, Red Tractor Week 2012 will be showcasing what the logo means and explaining how it provides the shopper with a shortcut to affordable, quality food and drink, covering food safety, environmental protection, animal welfare as well as a clear guarantee of origin. The week is backed by ex- Coronation Street and Bad Girls actress, Lorraine show-star, and celebrity mum of two Debra Stephenson, who through fun and engaging activity will show shoppers how broad and versatile the logo is, and just how easy is it to buy, cook and eat Red Tractor foods. Debra says; “Since I’ve become aware of the Red Tractor logo, it’s great to see the breadth of food and drink products that it’s on. Red Tractor products are available at your local supermarket, covering everything from meat to fruit ...

23 August 2012 Prestigious London venue helps raise funds to fight muscle-wasting illness Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy Redhook restaurant, in Farringdon, London, is hosting a special charity event, ‘Auction Duchenne’ to raise awareness and funds for Action Duchenne on Wednesday, 12th September. Items to bid for include a boxing glove signed by Dizzee Rascal, and a Star Trek comic book signed by Sir Patrick Stewart. The prestigious London venue, famous for seafood and mouth-watering steaks, is opening its doors to help the only national UK charity dedicated solely to raising awareness and funds for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. This is the first event of its kind organised by the charity in a year of activities designed to make their voice heard. Tickets for the evening include cocktails on arrival, gourmet canapés, unique entertainment, automatic entry into a raffle for a fabulous weekend for two in Wales, and the opportunity to bid in the auction for many interesting and unus...

23 August 2012 The British are embracing baking like never before, it’s become one of our biggest growing trends and to celebrate this, the UK’s first baking exhibition, The Cake and Bake Show launches at Earls Court in September. The show offers something for everyone with an array of features that will appeal to home bakers and professionals alike. The Cake and Bake Show stars the biggest names in the baking world including Great British Bake Off judges Paul Hollywood and Mary Berry as well as winners Edd Kimber and Jo Wheatley along with Eric Lanlard, Richard Bertinet, Fabulous Baker Brother Tom Herbert, renowned chocolatier Paul A Young, plus many more. Highlights of the show include: • A dedicated cake demonstration area headlined by Mary Berry • A dedicated bread area and demonstration theatre supported by the Real Bread Campaign • A food market offering cakes, breads and pies and stands selling the latest baking equipment • Classroom areas with tutorials on the latest ...

This is a fast tasty and rather refreshing dish that you can make in a matter of minutes if you like. The thing is to have everything at hand when you make it and you will be fine. You want your beef hot and your salad as fresh as it can be so preparation is the key. You will need 2 x 150g/5oz fillet tails Vegetable oil Salt and freshly ground black pepper ¼ head Chinese leaf 2 ripe tomatoes 2 banana shallots ½ cucumbers 3 spring onions Handful fresh basil leaves Handful fresh coriander 2 tsp palm sugar, from a 'cake' of sugar or golden caster sugar 1½-2 limes, juice only 90ml/3floz fish sauce 2 red bird's-eye chillies Lime wedges First in a big bowl make the dressing, take the palm sugar, lime juice and fish sauce and mix into bowl. You might want to great or crush the palm sugar if it from a cake as it needs to dissolve in the dressing. Once you have mixed that together then take the bird's-eye chillies and split them in ha...

This is the sort of thing that reminds me of a Saturday night and you was s doing the evening reception for the wedding. Bread crumbing up loads of goujons of sole and deep frying them for the buffet. But with this I have taken a little liberty with it and just moved it up a notch to make sure that you have that extra special finish to the dish. You will need 2 lemon sole fillets 70g/2½oz corn flour Salt and freshly ground black pepper 100g/3½oz Japanese panko breadcrumbs 2 eggs Groundnut or grape seed oil to deep fry in 200g/7¼oz mayonnaise Small handful fresh dill The juice of half a lemon Salt and freshly ground black pepper Now take your sole fillets and make sure that you have skinned them then cut them in half lengthways. Now slice each half into about four or five long strips on the diagonal. All depending on the size of the fillets you will have about eight or ten goujons per fillet. Now instead of just using plain second flour and bread c...

21 August 2012 The first ‘National Fridge Audit’ by Beko home appliances showed that a staggering 30 million of us admit to having out of date food in our fridge. Alarmingly, although half of us say we would never serve a guest food that is out of date, that means that there are still around 1.2 million potential hosts in Britain who would secretly scrape off the mouldy parts and then serve up the rest. According to the new study out today, three quarters of us would still eat food that was past its use by date, happy to trust our nose and judgement with a quick ‘sniff test’. If you’re going round to your neighbours for a dinner party this weekend you’d better beware as two thirds of Brits think that the use by date is just a guide. Old cheese tops the list for the average Brit as the worst offender but the top ten out of date chilled items in the UK today are: 1. Cheese 2. Jar of curry sauce 3. Yogurt 4. Eggs 5. Milk 6. Open can of beans 7. Fruit 8. Bread 9. Meat 10. Fish B...

21 August 2012 A cutting edge new report aims to destroy many of the myths surrounding fat loss and muscle gain. The report, Ripped To Shreds, has been co-authored by Liverpool duo Shaun Petafi and Dean Connor and has brought fitness and nutrition in to a whole new era, using the latest scientific literature behind rapid body transformation. Shaun Petafi believes people looking to improve their physique through diet and exercise are frequently accessing useless and obsolete information. “In my opinion 95% of the downloadable information available on the internet is just junk. There is so much conflicting advice, and in seven years of researching what’s out there, I believe I have put together a genuinely useful document which will only be of benefit to people intent on radically improving their physique.” Dean Connor is one of the UK’s top male fitness models and he has earned a reputation as one of the most sought after personal trainers in the country. His knowledge, theo...

Since I have started my blog a number of people have commented about the images that I use so I have just stared a new web site shop. Here I will just post images and things. I do not know if it art but you never know someone might like it.  Chef and waiter posters by mbcbwise Browse more Chef Posters Open wine posters by mbcbwise Browse more Wine Posters Out of the frying pan poster by mbcbwise Browse Food Posters

Now I am asked a lot of time how do you know what will work and will not work as a restaurant. How do you know what will be a place that makes money and will not. The true answer to that is I do not, and I do not think that anyone really does.  It comes down to  the welcome,  warmth, interest, confidence, personality, pace of service, training, knowledge, skills, value for money, perception  of the customer and their willingness of customer to recommend. If you get all of that right then you will be half way there but there is one other toll that you can use and that is the plan how much you need to make. To maintain a level of service you need so many staff, a good waiting staff should be able to serve a twenty to thirty cover section in a restaurant all depending on the table break down and when they are coming in, same with a chef or bar person.  So by knowing this you can calculate what you need to do to make your establishment work. Say that ...

20 August 2012 In taking responsibility for the local community and environment, the Radisson Blu Hotel Sandton is embracing the spirit of sustainable development by initiating and supporting specially selected projects in 2012. In line with the Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group's newly launched 'Think Planet' campaign - the international hotel group's ambitious energy saving program which aims to reduce energy consumption by 25% over the next five years - the Radisson Blu Hotel Sandton hotel in Johannesburg has dedicated itself to making a difference by changing all light bulbs within the hotel as well as actively participating in Earth Hour initiatives. This simple strategy has already resulted in a 5% energy consumption cut back in 2012 alone. "The Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group's 'Think Planet' campaign represents more than just an energy cost-cutting exercise. It is about contributing to a sustainable society. We have created programs, policies and...

The problem with needing money to make money, is knowing how much money you need to start. And to work that out you need to ask yourself a few questions. A definition of a person who is financially sound is a person who has more coming in than they do going out. So if your earn the average wage today that in the United Kingdom is in the region of £25 thousand and your yearly out goings are £20 thousand you are in that bracket. But for the vast majority of us hitting this bracket, with the usual cost of a mortgage, cars, spiraling bills, cost of living and the constant uncertainty of what is going to happen with your job, all of this makes very one very wary of what to do. The thing that you need to do is understand where you are financially and then calculate a plan to invest and save. This is working on the choices that are right for you and that you are comfortable with. Then going forward, having to go back and looking at them to see if what you are doing is right for y...

I do not know why but there is something so satisfying about an egg custard. Just cream and egg set in a dish that you eat and the king of them must be the Crème brûlée. If done properly, topped with a crisp crust of caramelised sugar that you have to break through with your spoon. That satisfying crunch before you get to the rich cream custard underneath. As you can image I quite like them. You will need 450ml/16floz double cream 50ml/2floz whole milk 1 vanilla pod 5 egg yolks 75g/2½oz caster sugar 40g/1½oz caster sugar or more, for the topping Now the classic way to make this dish I have always been told is to use a shallow dish, not a deep sided ramekin. Now this is not always possible but do the best you can. Also it makes it very difficult to place the dish in a bain-marie when you place them in the oven. First separate your egg and get the egg yolks in a bowl then add the 75g/2½oz of caster sugar to the yolks. Now in a pan add the double cream and m...

17 August 2012 Just a short trek from the London Olympic venues, The New Forest offers over 145 square miles of training ground for future budding Olympians All best played knowing that at the end of an activity packed day, you and your family can retreat to your New Forest Living holiday cottage with every creature comfort, choose from boutique style to rustic splendour. The New Forest rivers and terrain make a great host to a wealth of sporting activities and challenges all set in an ancient landscape. View our Get Active Guide Cycling, archery, canoeing, kayaking, riding and lots more. A well kept secret, the New Forest landscape hides a whole network of off road surfaced tracks for running and cycling. Over 100 miles of totally traffic free routes to take you to the heart of the New Forest. Best for cycling: Try: Purchase the Ordnance Survey OL22 New Forest - Explorer Map on line and you are good to go. No bike, no problem, plenty of hiring opportunities dotted aro...