Shropshire Star

Shropshire chefs share their top festive kitchen tips

Spare a thought for Shropshire's band of hardworking chefs this Christmas.

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While we might treat ourselves in one of the county's many excellent restaurants, they are the people who feel the pressure to perform.

To be a successful chef you need skill, creativity and the ability to work huge hours yet still keep up energy levels. You also need to be a leader, with an ability to bind together a team and pass on ideas so that they are completed to perfection.

It can also be a lonely job. Anti-social hours and high stakes in the kitchen can take stress levels soaring. There are times, then, when Shropshire's chefs need to let off steam.

Enter the Chefs Circle, a culinary mixing pot for those in the industry to share their recipes for success. The Shropshire Star gatecrashed one of the most recent gatherings, and collected some Christmas tips as well as traditional and alternative festive recipes for you to have a go at.

Our county has a remarkable reputation for some of the UK's best restaurants. But, like any art, it is a subjective issue. Ask any two chefs a question about stuffing or Christmas pudding and you are likely to receive two separate answers.

Turkey is the most popular dinner when December 25 arrives. It has been ever thus.

Turkey became the dinner of choice for well-heeled families from the 16th century onwards. One of the first records of turkey being eaten at Christmas came from a farmer, Thomas Tusser, who noted in 1573 that turkeys were common at English Christmas dinners.

Goose was popular, too, though by the Victorian era it had been well-and-truly replaced in the nation's affections by turkey. The popularity of the flightless bird was evident in Dickens' A Christmas Carol, which was written in 1843. It featured a scene during which Scrooge sent a large turkey to Bob Cratchitt.

Food is the topic of conversation as the Chef's Circle celebrate the first anniversary at Havana bar and restaurant in Shrewsbury

To celebrate the most popular meal choice for Christmas, we asked one of the region's best chefs, Michel Nijsten, of the Albright Hussey, at Shrewsbury, to create the perfect Christmas dinner.

However, to give families who are not fond of turkey a contemporary alternative, we asked another leading chef, Adrian Badland, of the Lion & Pheasant, at Shrewsbury, to create his own interpretation of a Christmas dinner.

  • Scroll down to find both recipes below

Adrian is one of the people who first came up with the Chefs Circle idea. He, along with Chris Burt, executive head chef for the Peach Tree and Momo Ni Ki, believed that there should be a chance for chefs to meet socially and also to swap ideas in the kitchen.

While the latest meeting was full of Christmas chat, there was also plenty of non food-related banter.

Christmas cooking should be fun – not a chore. We asked some of Shropshire's best chefs for one important piece of advice:

Chris Hilton from Hiltons Mobile Sharpening Services said: "Always use a sharp knife. Only cook to your ability and don't over stress yourself."

Lee Maddox from The Boathouse said: "The key is prior preparation. Be ready!"

Dan Smith from the Mytton & Mermaid said: "My perfect menu is wild mushrooms with sage and onion on soda bread toast followed by proper moist turkey and braised pork belly, roast potatoes, sweet potato mash, sautéed shredded sprouts with smoked bacon and thick turkey gravy and honey roast parsnips. Dessert has to be Christmas pudding and nan style custard."

Gennaro Adaggio from La Dolce Vita said: "Relax and enjoy it. It's Christmas."

Clare Downes from Monkhouse Food and Drink said: "Christmas tastes better when you support local producers. A good cheese board is essential."

Leanne Crowther from The Little Round Cake Company said: "Cheat – buy in some wonderful meringue or cakes."

Beth Heath of Shrewsbury Food Festival said: "Shop local and free range – know the story behind the food. Visit your local farm shop and get everything there. A local cheese board is essential with no Shropshire Blue from Nottingham."

Sam Gray from Middle Farm said: "Forget the turkey and buy my pork."

Martin Board from the Haughmond in Upton Magna said: "Spend it at home. Be well organised and be with your family."

Mark Jones from the Corbett Arms in Uffington said: "Go to a restaurant."

Sam Bevan of Cromwells said: "Pair it with good wine – lots."

Dan Power from the King and Thai in Broseley said: "Be prepared and enjoy."

David Atkinson from Poppy's said: "Research and pre-plan. Don't over stretch yourself so you can enjoy it too."

Tony Rowlands from Rowlands and Co said: "Fresh vegetables cooked al dente."

Adrian Badland, a consultant chef who worked at two AA rosette Mytton and Mermaid for 10 years, said: "I approached Chris with the idea just over a year ago and we set it up between us.

"It is head and senior chefs in Shrewsbury getting together once a month to break barriers down. It gets us all talking together rather than working against one another.

"The progression from that was a lot of suppliers have got involved as well.

"They come along and discuss what's in season, what to buy, what not to buy.

"I think it's made people more aware of Shrewsbury Food Festival because more and more chefs are getting involved in that.

"We all know what it's like in the trade and how much pressure there is so it's a bit of a social too.

"It's about putting Shrewsbury and the whole of Shropshire on the map and shouting about how great the food is here.

"But we want to share ideas to make it even better. I think we are ready for a Michelin star restaurant in Shrewsbury."

The 40 guests began with jacket potato and duck egg soup served in the shell followed by roast wood pigeon and texture of beetroot.

Next came pickled sea trout with celeriac risotto followed by Middle Farm pork.

The decadent dessert of honeycomb panna cotta was created by celebrity chef Marcus Bean who runs Brompton Cookery School near Shrewsbury.

Marcus said he joined the Circle to inspire chefs to raise the standard even higher and give Shrewsbury a glowing reputation for fabulous food.

He said: "When I first got involved I invited the chefs over to Brompton to show them the school and do a bread masterclass with artisan baker Robert Swift. The idea was to give them an understanding of the detail of the bread because normally they don't get to make much of their own.

"Off the back of that Rob now supplies them with quite a lot of home made bread delivered on a daily basis from Ludlow.

"The reason I got involved was to give inspiration to head chefs in the town. Because often they don't have anyone to inspire them.

"I wanted to help further their knowledge and open their eyes and inspire them to do bigger and better things in the town.

"I want it to be something that moves businesses forward in Shrewsbury and raises the standard even higher.

"I want it to get more of a name and a reputation for food and to do that you need to inspire people."

Beth Heath, organiser of Shrewsbury Food Festival, said: "It's become a networking event for the chefs where they can share ideas and thoughts with producers and anything that's up and coming in the industry. The social networking side of it on Facebook and Twitter is great because someone says I've run out of something and someone else will whizz it round for them.

"Someone will say I've had a member of staff call in sick and someone else will say we're quiet I'll send someone down. It's really nice that they can be so open about the business.

"They've done an absolutely amazing job. I don't know of anywhere else in the UK where it's happening. There's no competition – they aren't saying you're three doors down I'm not going to help you out."

Sam Gray who rears pigs at Middle Farm in Church Stretton said: "I am a producer and I provide Chris Burt with some of his pork.

"This is my third Chefs Circle event. It is about bringing Shropshire together with chefs and producers and reminding people where their food comes from.

"There aren't many pig farmers left in Shropshire and that's a really sad fact.

"Seeing our own produce on a plate in a restaurant fuels your passion to do what you do and as a producer that's really important." Chef Martin Board, who owns the Haughmond in Upton Magna with wife Melanie, said: "I think the Chefs Circle has really benefitted both our business and myself personally.

"It has also really helped raise the profile of the restaurants locally who are trying very hard to give Shrewsbury and surrounding areas well-cooked food and venues which have real craft in both their team and supply chains.

"On one hand it has helped introduce us to passionate local suppliers who really care about the food they produce, on the other hand it has given me a support network of similarly minded professionals on our doorstep.

"The other chefs have given valuable advice, have offered us both physical help and resources and above all moral support for our venture.

"I think we are all getting closer as a group and spurring each other on to achieve bigger and better things.

"I really feel the whole Shrewsbury food movement is gathering momentum and might just turn out to be a real culinary hotspot in the future."

Two recipes for you to try:

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Traditional: Christmas turkey dinner

Roast turkey dinner for six to eight people.

Chef Michel Nijsten says: "This is a classic dinner that families have enjoyed for centuries. I suggest you make your own stuffing mix – the dried ingredients you get from supermarkets are a pale imitation of home-made stuffing. I'd also suggest you make your own bread sauce, which makes for a luxurious addition to the dinner.

"Many people know how to make their own roast potatoes and I'd recommend cooking them in goose fat.

"There are also plenty of great vegetables around at this time of year.

"Buy local, seasonal vegetables, where you can, because they'll have the best flavours."

  • For the turkey: 1 fresh turkey approx. 3.5/4.5kg; 1 large onion, 3 cloves garlic; 3 carrots; 1 stick celery; 1 stick of leek; salt pepper butter/oil

  • For the stuffing: 200gr sliced pancetta; 100gr chopped onion; turkey liver; 40 gr butter; 200 gr chopped roast chestnuts; 100gr cooked cranberries; zest grated lemon; 40 gr sage; 350gr white bread crumbs; 20gr salt; 5 gr pepper

  • Method: Gently glaze in butter the onions and pancetta and diced liver. Season and leave to cool at room temperature.

  • Add chestnuts, cranberry, sage, lemon and bread crumbs mix with carving fork.

  • Stuff the turkey ready for roasting.

  • Place turkey on a suitable roasting tin/tray with the chopped vegetables. It should be breast side down.

  • Make sure your turkey has been pre-rubbed with butter and seasoning.

  • Place in preheated oven for 30 minutes on 175C. Now turn the turkey breast side upwards and cook for a further 2/2.5 hour on 155C.

  • Pierce fork in a turkey thigh, if the juices run out clear turkey is cooked. If the juices are cloudy or slightly red then return to the oven for a further 20 minutes. Leave to rest for 20 minutes before carving.

  • Bread sauce: 1 pint milk; half a medium onion studded two bay leafs with six cloves; 300 gr fresh white breadcrumbs; salt pepper

  • Method: Place the onion and spices in milk and add seasoning. Bring to the boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Take off the heat and leave to cool. Sieve the milk in a suitable pan, (1.5ltr).

  • Before carving the turkey, bring the milk to the boil and add the bread crumbs a bit at the time until you achieve a porridge-like consistency. Take off the heat and put in a sauce bowl ready to serve.

Modern twist: Hay Roasted Pheasant

Adrian Badland, of the Lion and Pheasant in Shrewsbury has created an alternative Hay Roasted Pheasant to dazzle your friends. It serves four:

  • Method: Prepare two pheasants for a four-person sitting by plucking the birds and remove as many of the feathers as possible. Remove the legs from the crowns and set aside as you will need them later.

  • Place a good handful of hay in a tin and set it alight, then douse the fire out with 250ml of rapeseed oil, which you should leave to infuse. Pass the oil through a disposable cloth so that it’s smooth. Season the crown with salt and pepper, and place the seasoned breast into a vacuum pouch and add about 25ml of infused rapeseed oil, thyme and garlic. Seal the bags on full vacuum. Cook the pheasant breast in the preheated water bath till 58°C, core temperature, it takes about 28 minutes.

  • Pheasant croquette. (taken from leg meat earlier): Confit the Pheasant legs; 2 cups confit, shredded pheasant legs; 2 tbsp whole milk; quarter tsp kosher salt; half tsp freshly ground black pepper; two tbsp fresh parsley, finely chopped; four eggs, beaten and divided; three tbsp all-purpose flour; 2cups plain bread crumbs; vegetable oil or peanut oil for frying

  • In a large bowl, mix together confit pheasant leg through parsley. Stir in 2 beaten eggs and flour. Chill for one hour.

  • Form the mixture into small sticks. Place remaining beaten eggs in a small bowl. Place bread crumbs in a separate small bowl. Roll croquettes in egg mixture and then coat in the bread crumbs. Fill a large pan with ½-inch of oil and heat oil on medium-high. When oil is hot, fry croquettes in small batches on each side until golden-brown.

  • Chestnut puree: You will need: 2 oz roasted chestnut (peeled); 1 cup granulated sugar; 2 cups water; 1 tablespoon vanilla

  • In a saucepan, combine nuts, sugar and water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 25-35 minutes until the majority of the liquid is evaporated.

  • Remove from heat and add the vanilla. Strain the chestnut, reserving the sugar syrup and transfer to a food processor and blend until smooth. Add syrup slowly until desired consistency is obtained. Allow to cool before refrigerating.

  • Chou Forci: 50g Pancetta ; 50g Puy lentils; 30g Confit shallots; 30g Duck fat; 50g Chestnuts;250g Sprouts; 1 confit cabbage

  • Discard the outer leaves from the cabbage and gently separate and wash all the remaining leaves keeping aside the small inner leaves. Blanch the large leaves in boiling salted water for 2 minutes. Drain and refresh in cold water. Pat dry.

  • Chop the small inner cabbage leaves and mix with all the stuffing ingredients. Spread a clean tea towel . You will be recreating a cabbage shape. Put some of the largest leaves on the tea towel and spread with a layer of stuffing. Continue alternating layers of leaves and stuffing until you have enough to re-form the cabbage.

  • Bring the corners of the tea towel together to make a bundle. Tie tightly with kitchen twine.

  • Put the wrapped cabbage and poaching stock vegetables and herbs in a large pot. Cover with water, chicken stock or a mix of both. Bring to the boil, skim the surface as required. Reduce the heat and gently simmer for three hours.

  • Cep (Porcini) Mushrooms: Brush any excess soil of the mushrooms. Then simply pan fry in butter, garlic + thyme.

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