West London College Students Treated to Welsh Fine Food Masterclass

Top London chef Dominic Teague, of One Aldwych Hotel, delivered a masterclass to catering students at West London college this week using some of Wales finest ingredients.

Teague used Welsh chicken from Rhug Estate in North Wales for the main course and The Preservation Society blackcurrant syrup from South Wales in the dessert along with wild honeycomb from Gwenyn Gruff near Brecon. All together a full representation of Welsh products in one showcase.

Though simple the two dishes in the masterclass packed some technical punch. Up first were breasts of Rhug Estate chicken served with mashed potatoes and crushed squash, both prepared the same way they would be at One Aldwych, followed by a classic panna cotta served with honey roast figs and honeycomb.

Speaking of the Welsh ingredients chef Dominic Teague said: “All the Welsh ingredients were high quality and a pleasure to work with. The syrup was a touch unusual and really leant an extra flavour to the dessert. Overall I was very impressed.”

Jayne Jones of the Welsh Fine Food Cluster said: “Wales has some fantastic ingredients from across the whole country and we are working hard to get that message out to the rest of the UK and beyond. Welsh lamb is well-known but it’s the smaller, more niche products like the syrup from The Preservation Society and the honey from Gwenyn Gruff. This is what makes Wales really special.”

Denise Charles, Head of Catering at West London College, said: “This was a great day for our students. They really enjoyed working with Dominic and using ingredients from Wales that were eye-opening. A big thank you to The Chefs’ Forum for arranging this and continuing to supply us with solid technical recipes and new ingredients to widen our chefs horizons.”