Ex-student Dan Dubbed ‘Star in the Making’ after Scooping MasterChef: The Professionals Title
He’s been crowned the latest MasterChef champion and been described as a ‘star in the making’ – and it all began at University College Birmingham for Dan Lee.
The 29-year-old was last night revealed as the winner of series 14 of the BBC’s MasterChef: The Professionals, ten years on from studying for his Professional Cookery Level 2 diploma at the University’s College of Food.
Dan, who works as a private chef, grew up in Birmingham and was introduced to cooking in the kitchen of his auntie’s Chinese takeaway, inspiring him to later start his training.
Speaking on last night’s show about his childhood days in the takeaway kitchen, Dan said: “I think that’s where I could see the greatness in food and what it could do, and that’s when it kind of pushed me to learn how to do it.
“I started at the College of Food. It all started to click that I can use this to travel – I’ve always wanted to travel.”
Spending much of the next decade in Singapore, Dan started to gather culinary inspiration from many sources in the Far East and combining them with the influences of his upbringing in the UK, creating a style of modern European and Asian cuisine which proved hugely popular throughout his time in this year’s MasterChef competition.
Returning from Singapore as the coronavirus pandemic took hold, Dan ended up working in a supermarket before applying for the hit BBC TV series – thereby following in the footsteps of a string of ex-University College Birmingham students to star in the show, including chef Leo Kattou of the city’s Michelin-starred Simpson’s Restaurant and 2011 MasterChef finalist Claire Hutchings, as well as fellow 2021 contestant Yasmine Selwood.
And having overcome a string of challenges to reach the final week, Thursday night’s episode saw him beat his two remaining rivals to win the coveted title.
Kali Davidson, head of the University’s Birmingham College of Food, said: “Dan started his journey and passion for cooking with us at University College Birmingham in 2009 and excelled within his class.
“It takes an enormous amount of dedication to stand out within the culinary world, and Dan has proven that with hard work and a passion to succeed, you can achieve great things.
“As the leading centre of excellence for chef training and culinary expertise, we are truly delighted and wish Dan every success in his future career. We hope he can take time out of his busy schedule to visit us and meet with our student chefs to inspire and share his unique skills.”
Thursday night’s climax of the series saw Dan given three hours to prepare a three-course menu for the show’s trio of judges, Gregg Wallace, Monica Galetti and Marcus Wareing.
Fuelled by his Far Eastern influences, Dan’s starter featured his take on Singapore chilli crab, a Mantou deep-fried bao bun topped with crab, chilli oil, nashi pear, lime juice, salted egg yolk and Sichuan pepper, topped with a squid ink tuile, served with a soft shell crab tempura and a basil cream with crab and chilli oil.
The starter was praised by judge Gregg as “an absolute knockout of a dish”, and by Michelin-starred restaurant owner Marcus as a “sensational plate of food”.
Dan’s main course featured a chicken breast stuffed with chicken thigh mince, sesame oil, spring onion, ginger and Thai pandan leaves; choy sum, a Chinese cabbage blanched in garlic, chilli and oyster sauce; a red chilli sambal sauce, chicken-infused steamed rice with garlic and ginger, and a chicken and pandan leaf broth.
“I’m looking down at the most basic of dishes, and I’m tasting the most exciting and elegant of dishes,” said judge Gregg. “It’s absolutely delicious.”
To finish, Dan prepared a dessert of smoked hay treacle tart filled with yuzu curd toasted breadcrumbs, pickled ginger, clotted cream ice cream, Japanese shiso leaves, shiso crumb and smoked hay butter tuiles – a dish which earned him praise for his pastry-making, flavour and East-meets-West style.
And after a nervous wait, he was revealed as the professional MasterChef Champion of 2021.
“It’s incredible, it’s a bit like a dream,” said Dan on winning the prize. “This competition has meant everything for me. It’s built my confidence. Now I really know what it means to back yourself.”
“It has been such a delight to watch a chef like you develop, grow and discover what you are about,” said judge Monica.
“I think Dan is a fantastic chef,” said judge Marcus. “I’ve enjoyed his food. He, for me, is a star in the making.”
And what could be next for Dan after such a prestigious achievement?
“I’ll see what comes up,” he said at last night’s conclusion. “Maybe a food truck, maybe a restaurant… who knows?”
New champion Dan is the latest former student from University College Birmingham to wow the judges on MasterChef: The Professionals – and he was not the only one to feature in this year’s series.
Current Culinary Arts Management BA (Hons) student Yasmine Selwood, who was described by Marcus Wareing as ‘superwoman’ for balancing her studies and work with raising her four children, progressed to the quarter-finals of the competition.
Like Dan, she studied her Professional Cookery diploma at the Birmingham College of Food, and even cooked the menu from her final exam for the judges to earn her quarter-final spot.
Other previous MasterChef contestants from the University have included Monty Stonehewer, who reached the knockout stages in 2019, two years after taking his Professional Cookery Level 3 course.
The 2017 series saw another former Professional Cookery student Leo Kattou – a chef at Birmingham’s Michelin-starred Simpson’s Restaurant – reach the semi-finals of the competition.
Previous series have also included Josh Donachie, another ex-Professional Cookery Level 3 student who made the knockout stages in 2015, as well as 2011 finalist Claire Hutchings, who also went on to win the MasterChef: The Professionals Rematch special in 2019.
University College Birmingham is renowned for providing specialist vocational training for students looking to enter the culinary industry, with world-class facilities and expert tuition provided on a range of college, undergraduate and postgraduate courses as well as apprenticeships.
Discover our full range of courses within our Birmingham College of Food.
The Great Stoney Street Raffle
This is a great cause and one we wholeheartedly support. Chef Tom Cenci, who is head of food for 26 Grains in Neal’s Yard and Stoney Street of Borough Market, has announced a £10 raffle draw to win, as he puts it, an insane prize worth £3500.
The money raised will go a long way to off-set extremely difficult training conditions. However, one lucky ticket will win a private dinner for 20 plus loads of add-ones. The draw was announced on Instagram and is running until midnight on the 29th December.
Here’s what Tom said in his post:
“With cancellations through the roof and the obliteration of the crucial Christmas trade, we are now in a truly desperate situation. We continue to trade the best we can but face a time of genuine uncertainty.
“So we’re hosting a raffle and offering you the chance to help support us through this challenging time.
“And in return, we’re offering a prize quite frankly too good to be true. It’s actually insane.”
Here’s what you could win:
- A private dinner for you and 20 friends with exclusive use on a Saturday night at our Borough Market restaurant, Stoney Street. A 10-course bespoke menu written by Tom, including wine pairings, cocktails, aperitifs and digestives.
- A breakfast goody bag for each guest to take away at the end of the night.
- Each guest gets a 10% discount card to use at either of our restaurants in Neal’s Yard or Borough Market for a whole year.
- Plus a signed 26 Grains cookbook for every guest.
Worth a value of £3500+ – all for just £10 a ticket, with no limit to how many tickets you can buy.
To purchase your raffle ticket CLICK HERE.
Or head over to @26grains or @stoneystreet26 for your chance to win and help support a small business survive this Christmas.
The winner will be announced on New Year’s Day, and then we can get planning for your big event in 2022!
Tickets must be purchased before midnight on the 29th of December 2021. The winner will be notified by email. Ts & Cs apply.
New Scotch Whisky Liqueur is the Perfect Ingredient for Christmas & Burns Night
Whisky and honey is a well-known combination but add in elderberry and the flavour profile becomes a bit more interesting. That’s what George Cairns thought, and he decided to put his money on it.
Cairns Scotch Whisky Liqueur is new and is just coming on stream but far from being a bottle destined only for the bar, inventor George Cairns sees his creation as one for the kitchen, as well.
“I cook with it,” He explained. “It adds an incredible extra flavour to a venison stew, for example. I’m excited to get chefs working with it to discover what extra elements my new liqueur will bring to flavour profiles in the kitchen.”
Cairns named his liqueur named after his family after spending his career as a Coppersmith making whisky stills in his native Scotland. However, as he grew older he realised that he wanted to do more with whisky than just create the equipment in which it is made.
So, for the last couple of years he got to work with food technologists at Queen Margaret University in Musselburgh to create a new Scottish whisky liqueur. Together the team worked on a flavour profile that, at first, trod the path well-known to lovers of Drambuie – whisky and honey. But, the addition of another flavour, elderberry, started to get everyone excited.
“I knew I wanted to do something with whisky. I had the idea to do a liqueur and it all started to get interesting when we began working with whisky, honey and elderberry. It as a new pairing and I knew that it was going to have legs and I decided to go for it.
“The flavours are uniquely Scottish. The prime ingredient is blended malt whisky. I’ve been in and around whisky my whole life and I got to understand the market and where to find the whiskies I wanted for the drink. It was then a case of getting the balance of the flavours right and working with food technologists was a fascinating process.”
Cairns Scotch Whisky Liqueur launches in early 2022 and will be showcased at The Chefs’ Forum 10th Anniversary lunch at Dakota Hotel in Manchester on 10th January.
Cairns are offering all Chefs’ Forum members 20% OFF online until 31st January 2022 using voucher code TCF20. Shop online now: www.cairnsscotchwhiskyliqueur.com
Registration Opens for Hotel, Restaurant & Catering 2022
Hotel, Restaurant & Catering (HRC), the UK’s largest and most prestigious business event for the hospitality and foodservice sector, has opened visitor registration for its 2022 edition, taking place on 21-23 March at ExCeL London.
A wide range of innovative industry suppliers will be on show, covering categories such as food & drink, catering equipment, hospitality tech and, newly rebranded for 2022, design & décor. The event is also partnering with The Pub Show to cater directly to the UK’s pub and bar professionals, with insightful trend trails and content from On-Trade Consultancy.
Visitors will have free access to over 100 talks, competitions, chef demonstrations, panel discussions and trend trails over the three days of the event covering some of the most vital challenges and opportunities for pubs, restaurants, hotels, catering businesses, public sector and more. The event will also be continuing its partnership with Staff Canteen as some of the industry’s most respected culinary experts cook up a storm at The Staff Canteen Live demo area.
A major change for 2022 is the news that HRC will be co-located with IFE, International Food & Drink Event, IFE Manufacturing and London Produce Show at ExCeL London, welcoming retailers, wholesalers, importers and exporters to the event along with the food & drink processing, packaging and manufacturing industry.
Cumulatively, the shows will welcome more than 30,000 key industry buyers and highlight more than 1,500 innovative suppliers.
“HRC was the last industry event to take place before the Covid-19 lockdown began in March 2020 and we’ve been supporting our industry throughout the pandemic with a wide range of webinars and virtual events hosted on HRC Connects, a new digital platform for the industry,” said Event Manager Ronda Annesley. “We’re thrilled to be welcoming our community back to ExCeL London to meet and do business face-to-face, and excited to be joining forces with our partner events for an unparalleled gathering of the food, drink, hospitality and foodservice industry.”
The industry has welcomed the return of HRC, with Philip Shelley, Chair of NHS Food Review, commenting: “Hotel, Restaurant and Catering is one of the showcase events of the year for leaders in public sector catering. The opportunity to have competitions and skills theatres for chefs, provides evidence and confidence in our chef development – looking forward to continuing our involvement.”
HRC will once again host historic chef competition International Salon Culinaire, which celebrates its 120th year in 2022. The competition will see talented chefs putting their skills and knowledge to the test across a wide range of categories throughout the three days of the show. Earlier this year, the event announced Michel Roux Jr as Chef Ambassador for 2022.
Roux commented: ”I’m delighted to be working with Hotel, Restaurant & Catering as the show’s Chef Ambassador, and to be supporting the prestigious International Salon Culinaire competition.
“It’s more important than ever to support the growth of hospitality businesses and HRC is a hugely respected and valued show for the sector.”
Consultant Chef Steve Walpole said: “HRC is the go-to event for the hospitality industry. More than ever shows like this help to give visitors an insight into what’s happening in our industry from innovation and trends to food and equipment. It’s an Aladdin’s cave for chefs.”
Register for your complimentary ticket to HRC, including access to all partner events, at hrc.co.uk
A Celebration of British Game, Devon Shellfish & Autumnal Vegetables
Chefs from across Devon and beyond gathered at foodservice leader, Dart Fresh in Exeter to celebrate a day of meeting the makers. Organised by The Chefs’ Forum, 50 chefs and a myriad of producers got together to enjoy a day of education and taste.
Five chefs graced the demo stage and cooked up a delightful medley of autumnal treats celebrating British Game Week and the wonderful season of autumn.
First up was Matt Mason of Winslade Manor who decided to celebrate the start of Great British Game Week with a beautiful dish of Curtis Pitts venison, parsnip puree, savoy cabbage & bacon, slow roasted celeriac and forest fungi hen of the woods mushrooms. Matt cooked the wild venison loin to perfection and said
“As a chef, I want the ingredients that I buy throughout my career should set an example to young chefs coming through. Provenance is very important to me and I love the way that Curtis Pitts venison is truly traceable, down to the date and time and field in which it was harvested. Curtis Pitts venison is the most popular option on our Elegant Dining menu and never fails to be consistently excellent in quality.”
All of the Dart Fresh customers who attended had the same thing to say about Dart Fresh…that the convenience of being able to order all of their produce in the one place, in the one order made life much easier for them, especially if the head chef is absent and has to leave the team to order in their place.
John Pritchard, Director at Dart Fresh prides himself on having created a one-stop-shop for chefs and puts a great deal of time and love into sourcing only the very best local suppliers in terms of traceability and high welfare from Devon’s bounty of wonderful, sustainable suppliers.
Next onto the stage was Ben Routley of The Farmers Arms in Combe Florey. His Beechridge Farm duck breast with gochujang aioli was well received by the audience.
“The duck from Beechridge was fantastic,” he said. “And it was great to be joined by Catherine Farinha on the stage. She’s so good at asking the right question at the right time. I enjoyed cooking in front of the other chefs and it was a great showcase of what we do at The Farmers Arms.”
Mike Logut of Foie Royale then took the opportunity to extend the celebration of duck in promoting his ethical alternative to Foie Gras. Mike was sampling both the goose and duck versions of the product, service simply on toasted brioche rounds enabling the chefs to taste the quality of the product – Ideal for festive menus!
Following on from the duck demo, Chris Chatfield and Keenan Paver of Oddfellows restaurant made a lobster tart. But not before a brilliant demonstration of the Crustastun machine by Kat Cooper from Mitchell & Cooper.
“With the news that the government will be recommended to make inhumane killing of lobster illegal its time for the industry to get to know the Crustastun,” she said. “By using a solution of saline crabs and lobsters are stunned and killed within a couple of seconds and feel nothing.”
Chris Chatfield said: “The lobster was impressive and it was in perfect condition. The Crustastun definitely made a difference to the taste and texture of the lobster meat.”
Dan Brown of The Cotley Inn then cooked a delicious partridge dish. It was great to hear of Dan’s love of the land, woodland ingredients and appreciation for being fortunate enough to source the finest quality game from local shoots to compliment over 3,000 product lines available from Dart Fresh.
“I was very impressed with the day,” he said afterwards. “There was a good turnout, and it was a pleasure to work with such good ingredients. I really enjoyed it.”
Jade Shorney, Head Chef at The Rising Sun, West Bagborough gave a sweet finish to a day of excellent demos with a mouth-watering chocolate and ginger tart with syrup and roast pear.
Jade spoke of her pride in heading-up an all-female kitchen team and the importance of encouraging more girls into the industry where currently women make up only 17% of the UK chef sector.
A great day was had by all at what was the first gathering of Devon, Somerset and Dorset chefs since the start of the Pandemic.
It was lovely to see everyone together again and a great opportunity to celebrate fantastic seasonal produce and top-quality local suppliers.
To see the range of excellent local produce on offer at Dart Fresh and learn about its provenance visit: https://dartfresh.co.uk
Photography by Gareth Davies Media
British Game Week is Here – We Celebrate the Wonderful Variety of the Best of British Game
British game is unique in the world. Whether it’s our climate, countryside or our sheer enjoyment of eating game there is nothing like British game.
This year, as never before, has seen a big rise in the word deer starting to occur on menus as chefs and suppliers have been promoting the varied nature of deer meat – coming as it does from the four different types of deer that make up the generic term: venison.
The Chefs’ Forum recently caught-up with Great British Menu winner Tommy Heaney of Heaneys Restaurant in Cardiff to film him creating a delicious venison tartare with pickled kohlrabi and tartare dressing for Game Meat Wales…it truly is one of the most magical time for the game sector.
To find out how to recreate this stunning dish and many more, cooked by top chefs, visit The Great Game Guide recipe page HERE.
Now you’re as likely to see roe, fallow and red deer on a menu with sika coming up fast in the rankings. But with deer being available year-round that leaves the game “season” to really shine at this time of year.
November is a perfect time to celebrate game birds. The grouse, that started off the season back in August are now older, wiser and much more difficult to shoot and are, consequently, less available.
Partridge has been around since the beginning of September with pheasant joining the party in October. But, by November all game birds have had the opportunity to eat everything that’s wild in the landscape from berries and other woodland goodies that make up their varied diet.
This, in turn, means that the flavour of game changes around this time along with more muscular birds that have had the chance to grow and lose some of their fat.
Now is also the time to start thinking about Mallard, Teal and Widgeon – the truly wild birds that are not driven but shot on wetlands and coastal shorelines. These birds are lean and packed with goodness and flavour though some chefs find it difficult to reconcile the often-faint fishy notes that come from the wild diet of shoreline ingredients.
But that’s what makes British game so fantastic. Every species has a different make-up and requires a different style of cooking. Yet game is incredibly versatile. It takes strong flavours well but stands up on its own.
This is the week to celebrate everything game and we look forward to seeing how you put game on your menu and what your favourite recipes were this year.
Country Creatures to Launch Guest Chef Series
Country Creatures, the Cotswold-based boutique hotel and restaurant group, is excited to announce the launch of their Guest Chef series starting this January. Forming part of an ongoing series across the group, which includes The Chequers in Churchill, The Swan Inn in Ascott-Under-Wychwood and the most recent addition, The Double Red Duke in Clanfield, the initial line-up includes an outstanding selection of world-renowned chefs: Richard Corrigan, Ben Tish and Thomasina Miers.
Collaborating with the Head Chef at each site, guest chefs will prepare a multi-course menu that showcases their individual and creative cooking styles, as well as emphasising Country Creatures’ ethos of great British hospitality.
Tickets will be priced at £60pp and will include a five-course menu. Alongside this a number of luxury packages will be available including:
● The Complete Package: £110pp for the full menu and drinks pairing
● The DRD VIP Package: £710 for two, including a chauffeur service to and from Oxford Station, champagne on arrival, an overnight stay in a ‘large room’, the full menu with wine pairing, a seat at The Double Red Duke’s intimate chef’s counter and a chef’s signature breakfast the following day
● The Swan Inn VIP Package: £710 for two people, including a chauffeur service to and from Charlbury Station, champagne on arrival, an overnight stay in a ‘large room’, the full menu with wine pairing on one of the best tables and a full breakfast the following day
Sunday 23rd January: Richard Corrigan at The Double Red Duke
Richard is the owner of Bentley’s Oyster Bar & Grill, Corrigan’s Mayfair and Daffodil Mulligan in London, as well as Virginia Park Lodge, an 18th century estate in Ireland. Known for his decadent and hearty cooking, as well as his support of small suppliers and use of the best British and Irish produce, Richard will bring his renowned passion and infectious personality to The Cotswolds – a night promising to be one to remember.
Sunday 27th March: Ben Tish at The Double Red Duke
Channelling his love for Mediterranean flavours, chef, restaurateur and cookbook author, Ben Tish will bring a mix of classical training from his formative career, working with Michelin-starred chefs such as Jason Atherton, as well as more recent experience at the likes of Sicilian-inspired Norma, to create a show stopping Mediterranean menu.
Thursday 19th May: Thomasina Miers at The Swan
Co-founder of Mexican-inspired restaurant group Wahaca, Thomasina Miers’ passion lies in food and the environment. Celebrating the best of Mexican cuisine, with a focus on British ingredients, her approach to cooking and the produce she uses will make it an unforgettable night.
Reservations can be made from Monday 22nd November.
For The Double Red Duke:
General reservations: www.countrycreatures.com/double-red-duke/book-a-table
The VIP package: events@doubleredduke.com
For The Swan Inn:
General reservations: www.countrycreatures.com/the-swan/book-a-table
The VIP package: reservations@swanascott.com
The Eat Game Awards – Time to Nominate your Game Sector Stars!
The British Association of Shooting and Conservation (BASC) has launched a new Eat Game Initiative and with it a set of awards – The Eat Game Awards. The purpose of the initiative is a national search to find “those businesses and individuals championing the use of British wild game.”
We fully support this initiative. Indeed, it was just this premise that led us, almost exactly a year ago, in lockdown, to start work on The Great Game Guide. It was clear back then that game was going to play an exacting role in modern cookery for many reasons – health, environment and flavour being the most important three.
So, with that in mind we set about searching for the very same group of individuals and businesses but going further with a list of places where you can enjoy great game. The result, the printed version of The Great Game Guide is a distillation of how to enjoy great game and where to get it.
Game is unique. Though there is farmed venison the vast majority of the game canon is wild. Therefore, it is, by nature, lean and full of the best nutrients. But, talk to any chef and they will tell you that to get the maximum from any game you have to be careful. The reason is that game contains less fat. Indeed, a carcass of wild deer hardly contains any. And the same can be said for wild mallard and some of the other wild game birds. For this reason cooking game requires a steady hand and an understanding. Once learned the full opportunities of game open up.
Game is popular with diners where it’s unique flavours and textures make for special dishes and seasonal pairings. Plus, chefs love it because they can unleash the their full range of creativity. In short, game is a magnificent and uniquely British product which is why we fully support any venture that aims to highlight its potential and its qualities.
As we wait for the recipients of the Eat Game Awards we can say, with pride, that our list of 100 great places to eat game is a well-researched and balanced list of restaurants, hotels and pubs that serve game in unique ways. And it’s full of great interviews too. Who can say that game is not great when in the hands of a chef like Glyn Purnell – pheasant with bananas! Yes please, we say!
To nominate your game sector stars, whether it be chefs, suppliers or influencers and get them the recognition they deserve in the Eat Game awards CLICK HERE.
A Jolly Old Time with Nemox – The Frozen Dessert Game Changer
When Mitchell & Cooper were looking for the perfect chef to put the new Nemox i-green frozen dessert machine through its paces, they went a bit left field and chose chef Jolly of Chourangi restaurant in London’s Marylebone. It was an inspired choice. Chef Jolly was brilliant.
What was wonderful about how he made use of the technology was how quickly he understood its potential and the way that it would fit into his kitchen.
Kat Cooper, Project Director at Mitchell & Cooper was delighted to showcase the Nemox i-green and its suitability for making delicious kulfi, gelato and granita during a busy restaurant service, she said
“Nemox have really created the ultimate green ice cream machine. We have learnt that continuous churning of ice cream and gelato can be bad for the environment and with sustainability at the forefront of everything we do at Mitchell & Cooper Ltd, this new improved model, using the propane gas R290 means the removal of harmful hydrofluorocarbons from professional kitchens. R290 can also reach lower temperatures faster, resulting in smaller crystals in the gelato or kulfi (at Chourangi) at the same time, which results in the all-important smaller ice crystal and superior mouth-feel or eating experience.”
Chef Jolly prides himself on introducing sustainable practice and equipment in his kitchens, at Chourangi and all other restaurants for which he consults on a global level, as Culinary Director and CEO of Jolly Good Hospitality Ltd.
“We are faced with an overwhelming challenge,” he told us. “We have to be more sustainable and careful with the way we use, and cut down, energy. I’ve gone for a gas-fired tandoor rather than the traditional charcoal. It makes a difference.
“The new Nemox-i-green fits the same parameters and has become part of our family. For instance, I’d love to put it in the middle of our dining room and let customers scoop out fresh spoonfuls of kulfi the minute it is ready. The machine fits perfectly with our ethos.
“Kulfi is a traditional Punjabi dessert made from reduced milk. It has a high fat content and can be flavoured in many different ways. The Nemox is the perfect machine. All we do is pour in the reduction and the machine chills it to the correct temperature. We then hit a preset button and the machine churns it into the finished dish. It’s easy.
“All that is left to do is concentrate on what we are going to top it with – pistachios, saffron, mango – even apple and pineapple all work well. The choice is yours. And if you don’t understand something them Mitchell & Cooper are only a phone call away and they are great. Overall I couldn’t be happier and I recommend it to everyone.”
To find out more about Nemox –green ice cream machines and shop the range CLICK HERE.
The Flavours of Italy Enhanced by the Seafood of Wales
Students at The Chefs’ Forum Academy at Coleg Gwent were treated to a special crab masterclass this week by ex-Great British Menu chef Cindy Challoner.
Cindy, Head Chef at The Old Custom House in Penarth, decided a risotto was the best way to bring out the special qualities of Welsh crab.
“Welsh crab is a joy to work with,” Cindy told The Chefs’ Forum afterwards. “It’s local to us in Wales and it’s an outstanding product. Because of the nature of the coastal waters the crab meat has a delicacy and a sweetness that I thought perfectly suited a risotto. The students agreed! I was very pleased with the result and also by how much the students enjoyed it and enjoyed working with an ingredient as good as this. It was a proper treat!”
The crabs were supplied by the Welsh Seafood Cluster. Chris Parker, Seafood Cluster Manager South Wales said:
“Obviously I’m biased because this is a Welsh treasure but the feedback, we are getting from our efforts to promote Welsh seafood is showing us that chefs all over the UK and beyond are realising what a bounty there is from the Welsh coast and we are seeing an uptake in demand. This is really encouraging for our fishermen who really care about the catch and protecting it.”
Coleg Gwent Chef Lecturer Gavin George agreed: “This was a masterclass in every sense,” he told The Chefs’ Forum. “The freshness and the flavour of the crab was amazing; Cindy was brilliant and the students enjoyed every mouthful. But, more than that, they were able to work alongside a top young chef and experience a product like Welsh crab. It was a top day and we’re so grateful to the Chefs Forum Academy for arranging this. The students learnt so much from one class.“
