What does a star chef do when his dessert is judged to be woefully inadequate? The answer came in series three of 'Great British Menu'. In the heats Glynn Purnell's initial pud offering was roundly condemned. He went back to the drawing board and came up with this banquet-winning dish; ‘Strawberries with tarragon and black pepper honeycomb with burnt English cream surprise’. (The recipe has now been taken down from the BBC Food website presumably after their rights to publish expired)
That was in June 2008. Two weeks later, with my increasing kitchen confidence (otherwise known as blissful ignorance) I decided to have a go myself. I was serving it at the end of a Sunday roast lunch. My first effort had to be presented without the tarragon. I had not understood the niceties of delicate frying and a small corner of the bin was full of toasted, bitter leaves.
The rest of the recipe is fairly straightforward. The strawberries need a delicate touch to prevent them going mushy. One friend was delighted to realise that I had used his favourite Banyuls for the marinade. I know he enjoyed the dessert but his pleasure was truly complete on finding that the wine was available on special offer at one of our local supermarkets.
The rich custard is a winner with most but, whenever it's served, I must confess to making a mischievous point of announcing how many egg yolks contribute to its velvety luxury! The likelihood of scrambling those eggs and having to start again has been reduced over the years. You'll still need to keep the temperature under careful control but the purchase of better, thicker pans gives an even spread of heat and a much fairer chance of success.
The honeycomb is a wondrous foaming mass - but only for a fleeting moment. Tipped out onto a tray, it needs a generous grind of pepper before the surface crusts over. Things must slow down after that. If you are tempted to taste too soon lip balm will be needed for the blisters! On its own the honeycomb has been shared at many workplace coffee breaks. Do try the same in any similar situation - take the praise... and even pretend that it's very difficult to make!
Glynn Purnell first served his competition winner at the top of the "Gherkin" building in London. Three years later, I was at his restaurant in Birmingham for a lovely meal there with my wife. I'd enjoyed sweetbreads and my cod dish remains the most perfectly cooked fish I have eaten to date. The list of desserts was shown to us but I already knew what was included on the list and the finale to my meal was inevitable.
I'm sure that the desire to develop and innovate existed then as it must now at 'Purnell's'. Keeping an item on the menu for three years shows much more about consideration of customer demands than about a great chef's wish to move forward. However, I was happy to be one of those demanding customers and my expectations were high.
One thing before you find out if those expectations were rewarded... we wanted to match our puddings with wine and called over the restaurant manager, Jean Benoit Burloux. He has since moved on to Abu Dhabi. No extra Banyuls for me - that was recommended for my wife's mixed berry fruits. With my strawberries, Jean Benoit suggested a plum-infused sake.
