Easy. Tomatoey. Saucy, Tasty.

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When ripe, pick some tomatoes.

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Roast 750g of roughly chopped tomatoes with two peeled garlic cloves in olive oil for 40 minutes at 180 degrees C.

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Soften a small, finely chopped banana shallot in light olive oil and add your roast tomatoes - prepare for frowns if you use Patience Gray’s ‘Honey From A Weed’ as a trivet.

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Add a tablespoon of sherry vinegar and create smoothness with a stick blender. Add sugar, salt and pepper to taste. Lemon juice will brighten things even more if you have some.

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Pass through a sieve if you like. I didn’t this time.

Sweet, fruity, tangy, bright. Tomatoey. Use with fish, vegetables or pasta - or what takes your fancy.

Plenty to go at. Freeze some for later if you like.

That’s enough for you to be getting on with.

Bye.

Better Michelin Than Michel Out, I Suppose

Sorry. Take that title as a daft hint at the subject of this post - the Michelin Guide, Great Britain & Ireland announcements today. That is, the award of stars to restaurant teams. Along with the news that some stars have (allegedly) ceased to shine and are no longer recognised.

I have already said publicly on social media that I remain shaken but not stirred by this annual process. The announcement below from Michelin yesterday failed to produce anything in me other than a reminder of the ambivalence I expect to still feel when the dust has settled on 2020’s list.

As well as the promise of increased Michelin recognition the inspection team decided to reveal one new star ahead of the ceremony. Alchemilla’s new star produced all you might expect from the industry - plenty of ‘I told you so’, ‘good luck to the rest tomorrow’ and the generous and supportive congratulations of high profile Twitter chefs towards Alex Bond and his team. I completely understand the importance of recognition for incredibly hard work by people who have produced such excellence. It is a great idea to encourage the industry and to promote it to the general public.

The much-publicised downside has to be the pressures which such scrutiny places on businesses and individuals. The terrible news of a suicide attached to worries over Michelin’s verdicts has occurred more than once. I refuse to apportion blame here but it is obvious that, no matter how powerfully talented in other areas, there are many who will lack the mental strength to cope with such pressures.

The vast majority who persist in the face of Michelin success or disappointment have my utmost respect. Along with my card details for booking whenever our pension fund is in the black! Those bookings are not made on the back of a Michelin accolade. We take note of other input and decide for ourselves. The worst example of ‘other input’ has to be the dreaded TripAdvisor. That is a dangerous minefield scattered with reviews from uncharitable and often bullying people who have a very blunt axe to grind or those who refuse to see that profit margins require a commercially reasonable asking price on menus.

Michelin is nowhere down in that league but their awards will always be the subject of debate as loyal critics and customers react largely subjectively to Michelin’s largely subjective verdicts. There remains an infuriating and stubborn failure on Michelin’s part to explain and justify those verdicts.

With my own subjective hat on I am free to state that outlets of Elite Bistros in the North West and Benedicts Restaurant in Norwich merit a Bib Gourmand for consistent delivery of flavours alone. It’s obviously much more complicated for the anonymous inspectors.

Safe to discard that subjective hat in the case of one decision last year - the ‘degrading’ of ‘Le Champignon Sauvage’ by removing one of its stars. You should know my fondness for that place and its people. Michelin could not possibly dent the affection, appreciation and sheer magic created by each visit. It was no surprise to see the reaction of a generally disbelieving culinary world to last year’s pronouncement for Cheltenham’s finest. When Harden’s published their guide for 2019 we were treated to what Richard Vines (Chief Food Critic, Bloomberg) describes as “… what diners actually like, as opposed to mere restaurant critics.”

It is evident that customers fall in readily with the consternation and disbelief of a lot of experienced chefs and members of hospitality. Let’s use Google Translate here to clear away any sort of ambiguity - at the table, most diners easily discard Michelin as an almost complete irrelevance.

I am always going to be cautious, veering towards suspicious, about anyone who tells me it is not worth my while travelling 200 miles (only two stars are worth a detour!) to relish the efforts of David Everitt-Matthias or Marcus Wareing and their teams.

My huge much less subjective reservation about Michelin’s credentials were cemented by last year’s ceremony. New International Director of the Michelin Guide, Gwendal Poullenec, announced the ‘ambassador’ they had asked to welcome the newly-starred chefs. Cue Gordon Ramsay. Oh dear.
Later that month Cara Houchen, editor of The Staff Canteen, made the strange decision to describe Ramsay’s responsibility for bringing the industry into disrepute as “… a small part of who he is”. Made even more strange by immediately sharing with us that his abusive example was experienced by 275 million TV viewers every summer. Sheesh.

Michelin appear happy to join in with such defence of the indefensible. Anyone promoting a vicious threat to the image and attractive nature of the professional kitchen environment has my contempt.

I can’t see the perceived prestige Michelin have created being replaced very soon. There is much to create conflict over the way they go about their business but, however flawed, they do provide excitement and interest in a world which has my awed appreciation. Maybe Michelin do more good than damage. They certainly remain far from my thoughts when dining out. I am much more interested in letting chefs and their teams directly communicate what they are about rather than a second-hand ‘visit’ through Michelin.

Time to post this. There’s a certain live feed already started in the UK and I need to leave you. Oh, yes, in spite of anything said here I’m signing off to watch proceedings from Fulham. New stars are being announced (hopefully that link will become available again if you miss it first time around)*
For various reasons stated here - and as a keen home cook, anxious to achieve the right balance - I will of course be taking the whole thing with a generous amount of a well-known seasoning.

*Edit - "My heart goes out to all the people sitting in the audience at the Hurlingham Club for the car crash of a Michelin UK 'Revelation'. You must be seeing your life flash before your eyes. In slow motion", Jay Rayner.
You have been warned.

Au fil du temps

Restaurant Au Fil du Temps
by Jérôme and Angelina Campanelli

Dinner for two - 12 September 2019

A three hour meal. Three hours which we will never get back. And how grateful we feel that we spent each of those hours - every minute and second of them - at this delightful place.

We know the area well and usually eat out once or twice while visiting. But never here before.

We were somewhat prepared for the style of the evening after reading information on the restaurant’s Facebook and blogspot pages. Neither of those are kept all that much up to date. Which hardly matters if time is spent instead on the sort of attentions which we and all other guests received at the restaurant.

Delivering those attentions at front of house is wife, mother and full-time Wonder Woman, Angelina. She is exemplary - a perfect mixture of professionalism and friendliness. She looked after the entire house single-handed throughout the evening. At first her children added to the atmosphere, playing quietly in the square. They vanished, quietly and apparently unbidden, to their beds and left us to be distracted by their parents’ talents.

The restaurant interior. Not needed - not used - on our visit.

The restaurant terrace setting adds its own magic, especially when the mild September Vauclusienne climate and the church clock chime in.

As for chef, Jérôme, he delivers an adventurous menu using lovely fresh ingredients and some clever techniques but never loses sight of the importance of flavour.

You are in the fine care of a chef who says:

“On a un beau vivier de clientèle ce qui me permet de faire la cuisine que j’aime, celle en laquelle je crois.”

(“We have a good pool of customers which allows me to cook the food I love, the food I believe in.”)

Chef’s approach and refusal to compromise is exactly what is needed to create a great menu. And when customers are offered food from such honesty it does nothing except add to their enjoyment.

I found and referenced this interesting and thoughtful review. It really tells you most of what’s needed to know about the restaurant and its people but I still feel compelled to write something in my own words. At the very least to show our appreciation of what Jérôme and Angelina have created.

One more element was a huge success – the wine:
Vallis Petra - Ô Pré de Juliette, Vacqueyras Blanc par Alain Ignace
Viognier, Bourboulenc, Roussanne, Marsanne

My confidence is growing here and I had picked it from the list as an interesting local white (I’m including nearby Vacqueyras as local - sorry Ventoux!). Angelina has seriously reliable credentials if you need help with wines. She simply added a smile and enthusiastic nod to my choice and confirmed that it would complement all the fish and meat courses.
It was such a successful food wine. We were lucky enough to track it down later in the week and now have bottles to enjoy at home.

Jérôme cooks with confidence and precision using really fresh ingredients. The interest created throughout the meal is terrific. There is a sure touch and no confusion. Chef knows where to stop. Not every flavour found full expression and the cuisson of our pork dish was not particularly great but there was an insistent whirlwind of such culinary understanding and overall success that triumphs in every dish kicked any small disappointments straight into touch.

The food we enjoyed is recorded below. Read it if you want but bear in mind Jérôme’s philosophy which means that all is likely to change as soon as a season or the quality or availability of an ingredient changes. Don’t rely on seeing the same menu as we did but do count on the same excellence. The evening menu is totally under chef’s confident control. Do let him know of any allergies and food dislikes in advance but after that allow him to do what he does best.

The menu was €49 per person without wine. The whole experience had been a real treat. Best not to say that we’d have happily paid more, eh!

We settled the bill and left wistfully. The time was exactly 23:00. The local pharmacy displayed the matching digits of a still-warm 23 degree temperature. Even though street lights hid the stars they were obviously aligned that night. But our thanks must go to Jérôme and Angelina for shining much brighter than anything or anyone else to make our evening so perfect.

‘Au Fil du Temps’ in daylight. Click on the picture and link to a Google Maps ‘street view’ and wander around the rest of Pernes-les-Fontaines. It’s a lovely town to walk through - even electronically!

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• Note - I am in contact with Jérôme to confirm exact details of the dishes I have tried to remember here.
  Please be prepared for an update.

Vins français 2019 – Introduction

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That’s our dining table groaning soon after unloading the car when our 2,300 mile trip down from Grimsby to France and back up again had come to an end. We bought wines from supermarkets, co-operatives and some from a domaine’s own cave. A few less than the previous year but still enough to keep me busy for a couple of days of listing and deciding which are ready for drinking and which might benefit from a little restraint and longer cellaring. No real big-hitters but a few mildly indulgent choices to weigh against many more daft-price everyday drinkers to put the average bottle price at £6.50.

A couple of night’s stay in Lille and Auxerre were behind us and relatively wine-free before we arrived in Saint-Didier, Vaucluse. There we relaxed completely except for last minute fretting over final wine choices at the point of purchase.

In the heart of Southern Rhône and Côtes Du Ventoux appellations and domaines, our main aim was to find just a few more of the whites which we increasingly enjoy drinking. Definitely successful in that respect but failing to ignore quantities of irresistible heady, fruit-driven reds.

It’s fourteen years since we first stayed in Saint-Didier. We have returned to the village commune almost every year since then with a long or short booking forming part of our French experience. Retirement means that we are no longer escaping the rigours of work but that junction 19 turn at Bollène once again saw us grinning at each other as Mont Ventoux reared up in the distance and we began to pass road signs for ten or more iconic appellations of wines from the Côtes du Rhône.

We bought familiar names from different wine producers ‘at source’ this year and found convenient outlets to save visiting and disturbing owners right in the middle of harvest.

A stop in Fuissé on the way home meant that we had to fight off urges to add South Burgundy beauties to our car boot. Near but not total success there!

I’ll publish more with focussed posts on regions and styles for information rather than recommendation. Our choices were selfish ones based on current knowledge of what we have come to enjoy from French wines. If any of that piques your interest you can softly curse my name as you book a Channel crossing!

caramel-poached pineapple, coconut gel, pineapple and lemon verbena sorbet

Three days of preparation for this one. Travelling ‘beyond essence’ is almost certainly a faster process for the creator of this recipe but I can please myself as far as my cooking timetable goes before deciding it’s time to please guests. I remain in awe of David Everitt-Matthias and his team’s ability to do this sort of thing and much more for hundreds of customers so regularly and so perfectly.

This is a fairly developed recipe but I was able to reproduce it at home without the help of any snazzy kitchen equipment. Which means that I’m assuming you have some form of ice cream churner, a stick blender and an effective liquidiser. Agar agar is available in supermarkets and I survived the lack of drug dealer accurate scales by weighing out quadruple quantities of fiddly amounts and then dividing back to the very small quartered amount needed. (#cheofftip ™️)

The collage below shows some of the work and plating involved. There is a fuller, captioned gallery of photos here.

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Not all elements appear in the recipe title. Orange powder makes a secure base for the sorbet and adds a vibrant fizz of extra citrus. That undercarriage of molasses gel would be too rich and indulgent on its own but is balanced by fresher, cleaner flavours. Having said that, I did allow several small spoonfuls to pass my lips for quality control during the process. My pineapple crisps are clunky things compared with chef’s examples but I think his kitchen might run to the expense of a dehydrator. They did still taste deliciously fruity even if more chewy than crunchy.

Two days into my prep I was messaged on Facebook by an ex-pupil. She has discovered adventurous cooking at an earlier age than ever I did and has just bought ‘dessert’. She is making the ‘sweetcorn cream, popcorn ice cream, caramel and popcorn craquant’ for friends this weekend. They are in for a treat, of course. My contribution was simply a confirmation of timescale for make-ahead elements and best storage options. What struck me as truly great was the knowledge that another person is being inspired by the work of one of our finest professional chefs. A chef who makes his work accessible with clear, friendly instructions and advice for tackling the challenges involved and producing successful results. I’ll continue to do the same in my capacity as a keen amateur and tell anyone and everyone that cooking somewhere near to this standard is achievable.

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I’ll admit that it’s unlikely I’ll ever be the finished article as a human being. Instead I’ll take the far easier and more pleasant coward’s path of looking for perfection in the kitchen. Of course I’m not there yet - that coconut gel texture is all wrong, you’ll agree! Mind you, all four of us at dinner last night were perfectly happy eating this. And I’m perfectly happy to suggest that tackling such a recipe will bring a few failures which will then be far outweighed by the satisfaction of producing something approaching perfection. Enjoy getting closer to culinary nirvana by buying the aforementioned recipe books or accessing a few free ones here.

I must, however, point out that perfection is deliciously unattainable!

Lasagne and Rioja - Armonia and Armonía

Please just take this post as a recommendation to enjoy cooking good food and drinking good wine. I take no responsibility for suggesting the particular ‘pairing’ which I found so pleasing. For me everything was in harmony here. I am convinced that some food/drink combinations work better than others but I’m also resolved to go no further than suggesting match-ups rather than insisting on them.

I will go a little closer to insisting that you try both of these elements even if you don’t combine them.

First the food. Reliable, reassuring Mary Berry provides the recipe. There are many vegetarian lasagne options. This is becoming our front-runner for repeat performances. We have already found that it freezes well.

Click image for link to recipe

The combination of earthy sweetness, grassy herbs and a sauce with mustard tang and both silky and squeaky cheese is surely enough to allay the reservations of meat eaters. Red peppers were left out this time as they have come under suspicion for mild gastric discomfort in the digestive phase.

Red wine was included though. So this is where you play your part and consider my suggestion in the full knowledge that I take rejection in my stride. We can remain friends if you open a different bottle.

Click image for link to wine

You’ll note that the particular wine is no longer available. This is not to tease you - it simply provides you an opportunity for a fun-filled mission to find something similar. I’d recommend looking at The Wine Society Rioja listing to start! And maybe consider a dip into limited or in bond offers to have at least a small supply to be released when you want a treat.

I had to recall the flavour profiles on offer in this wine from memory of a bottle opened months ago. Yes, I know. Make notes.

This revisit confirmed all the ripe black fruit and dried herb notes I’d anticipated. Pretty soft tannins made the whole thing even gentler than the food but still able to stand up to and balance the thrust and acidity of Dijon mustard.

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My picture can’t speak a thousand words… and I’ll stop before typing that many in praise of this duo.

I leave you with my same opening hopes - that you’ll consider trying something which gives ample opportunity to eat, drink and be merry… and Mary!

Tomato Tarte Tatin - 'Stella' Stuff

Our tomatoes are ripening at last. We only grow outdoors so have to hang on a little longer than anyone with a greenhouse.

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I still have this cutting from ‘Stella’ in 2010. It comes out as soon as we have enough ripe fruit for the recipe. A glorious combination of Diana Henry food and Susy Atkins wine. Irresistible stuff.

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The recipe does not appear in any of Diana Henry’s cookbooks but is available online.

What? No… just for once bloomin’ well Google it for yourself!

As you prepare onions and caramelise sugar syrup it becomes obvious that you are in for a treat. Oh, grow some herbs. Fingers and nostrils stained with thyme from picking and chopping is another small but wonderful signal that something good is happening in your kitchen.

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Susy Atkins’ wine match suggestions always sound infinitely sensible but I decided to go with what we had and paired the tarte with a recent purchase from Lidl. Fruity and aromatic it was. With enough acidity to keep the whole experience in savoury territory.

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Here is the finished article with some chunks from a rolled log of French goat’s cheese. A few wedges of roasted beetroot and green salad from our raised beds as well. Pepper and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil completed what was a simply splendid way to celebrate our first tomato harvest.

Diana Henry offers up “A VINE ROMANCE”

I call it a marriage made in heaven.

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