NORTHAMPTONSHIRE’S TOP NINE PROVE THEY CAN STAND THE HEAT – AND GET TO STAY IN THE KITCHEN!

The oven gloves are now firmly on as the battle for the county’s highest culinary honours heats up!
Following an entertaining evening of deliberating, cogitating and digesting by a select panel of judges in the magnificent Elizabethan setting of Holdenby House , a shortlist of nine finalists  from across the county have been chosen in the brand new Northamptonshire Food and Drink Awards. They will now go forward to fight it out for the title of ‘Best Local Produce’ and ‘Best Drink’ for 2009 later this month.

The Awards, which have been devised by Northamptonshire Enterprise Ltd in partnership with the Holdenby Food Show, are aimed at celebrating all that is great about the county’s produce and drink. 

Everyone from farmers and growers, to bakers and brewers were invited to put forward their produce. The chosen finalists in the ‘Best Local Produce’ category are:

Dundee Cake from Towcester Country Markets
Mellow Yellow rapeseed oil from Farrington Oils
Potted Beef from Sauls of Spratton
Scarborough Fair Jelly from M.U.T.T.S
The Boozy Dark Breakfast marmalade from The Pickled Village

While the shortlist of finalists in the ‘Best Drink’ category are (in alphabetical order): 
Champs D’Amours Sparkling White from Fleur Fields
Fire-bellied Toad Beer from Frog Island Brewery
Northamptonshire Bitter from Hoggleys Brewery
Tickled Pink Sparkling Rosé from Welland Valley Vineyard

Duncan Farrington from Farrington Oils said “This is absolutely fantastic.  Local support is vital to us.  We’re proud of Northamptonshire and proud to be a finalist”.  Meanwhile Julie Hoggley, who produces Northamptonshire Bitter said, “Brilliant!  It’s just what we wanted.  We’re extremely pleased to be a finalist in these awards, and we’re looking forward to the public tasting and the final at the Holdenby Food Show”.

Those charged with the difficult, but mouth-watering, task of picking their favourites from over fifty entries into the county-wide competition, included Northampton optometrist – and former BBC Masterchef finalist – Brian Tompkins and Saints, Scotland and British Lions prop Euan Murray.  Said Brian “Having been on the fringe of Northamptonshire’s food scene for more than 15 years, I consider it an honour to have played my part in such an awards scheme.  It makes me really proud to know that we have so much to shout about in the county.” Meanwhile Euan is clearly developing a passion for his newfound local cuisine: “Coming from the north of the border, but now calling the county home, it’s been great to experience a true taste of Northamptonshire!”     

The competition’s co-ordinator, Rachel Mallows, from Rachel Mallows: Services to Business, said every entry deserved to win. “We thought the standards would be high but even we were surprised by the effort and enthusiasm from everyone who took part.  The competition has proved that Northamptonshire can boast plenty of fantastic, fresh and locally-grown wares  and choosing  our  finalists was a really difficult process  –  I’m just glad I wasn’t one of the judges! ”  

Visitors to the Holdenby Food Show on 30^th and 31^st August will have their chance to taste the nine short-listed products before the final expert panel of judges, including the former head of Raymond Blanc’s cookery school Stephen Bulmer, announce the winners in the “Best Local Produce” and the “Best Drink” categories.

Kate Dent, Head of Tourism at Northamptonshire Enterprise Ltd, said: “These awards will play a vital role in our quality approach to tourism in Northamptonshire. The Northamptonshire Food and Drink Awards are a perfect way of raising the profile of Northamptonshire whilst gaining much-needed publicity and ongoing support for all those who get involved.”

August 1 saw the launch of our first course at Northampton College – students joined Richard Curtis to learn the art of Artisan bread making.

The students where taken through a brief history of bread making before measuring, kneading and fermenting their first batch of dough.

Richard said every student went from the kitchen loaded with loaves of bread, from focaccia, crisp French sticks, granary basket bread to cottage loaves. As one student said “I have never learnt so much in such a short time.’ Richard then went on to say they were a great group of eclectic students who were ready to learn and laugh – a great day. Another student, Alison commented  ‘I had never made bread before and knew absolutely nothing but Richard was such an inspirational and knowledgeable teacher who has really given me the confidence to give it a go on my own !!

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Northamptonshire’s most popular food show is set to take place again this summer which will be its third successful year, with each year being bigger and better than the one before. The Holdenby Food Show also has fantastic new sponsors for 2009, the Northampton based company Bell, who are suppliers of Aga and beautiful kitchens, and Shires Cookery School, perfect partners for this tasty event!

Enjoyed by thousands of visitors in previous years, the show promises to be a treat for anyone who likes great food and drink, along with family fun and entertainment all set in beautiful surroundings. With a fantastic mix of local, regional and other fine quality food and drink producers and suppliers, plus more, it is a tasty and exciting family day out.

Held at Holdenby House, just north of Northampton, this delicious event will showcase a wonderful range of products to tempt you, plus plenty of opportunities to taste fantastic flavours of our region and beyond.

Shires will be hosting the Simply Specialists marquee – come along and see a fantastic range of demos taking place over the weekend.

Returning again this year by popular demand is Adam Gray, Head Chef of the Michelin starred ‘Rhodes Twenty Four’ at Tower 42 in London. He will be headlining the live demonstration programme on both days, located in the ‘Cooks Courtyard’. Having close personal roots with Northamptonshire, as well as having trained at Northampton College, Adam is always keen to be involved in this great Holdenby event, helping to put local food and drink on the map. Adam will be cooking at the event on both days.

“I am very proud to be involved in the Holdenby Food Show again this year” Adam says. “It is a great opportunity for Northamptonshire to show the outstanding and varied produce it has to offer”.

Also this year, the show will also see the top chef Stephen Bulmer entertaining the audiences at the show. Stephen, who is now the owner of Brook Hall Cookery School in Winslow, near Buckingham, has had huge experience working in very prestigious restaurants across England. Most recently he was Chef/Director of the Raymond Blanc Cookery School at Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons for the last six years, before which he had his own Michelin Bib Gourmand restaurant, Atelier, in Soho.

‘I’m delighted to be demonstrating at the Holdenby Food Show’ explained Stephen Bulmer. ‘It’s a great day out. The range and quality local produce on sale is always inspiring’ he said.

The Northamptonshire Food and Drink Awards are also being launched at this years show, thanks to a partnership between Northamptonshire Enterprise and show organisers, Stonehouse Events.

With a licensed bar located on the picturesque front lawn of Holdenby House, plus the gardens and grounds of Holdenby House to sit and relax in while listening to live music, this food event will be a perfect destination for food fans everywhere. Holdenby House is also open both days too, admission included in the entrance fee.

The ‘Holdenby Food Show takes place on 30^th and 31^st August, open 11am – 5pm each day. For more information call Stonehouse Events on 01604 820011, or see www.stonehouse-events.co.uk.

Fish is considered one of the healthiest forms of nutrition-rich food. But it needs to be cooked the healthy way. This is where some food lovers admit to being edgy. For them it’s like fishing in troubled waters.
If you are nervous about cooking fish, our famous fish master class will soon simplify the task, and we promise it’s as comprehensive as it can get. 
With expert guidance from inspirational chef Jeremy Fowler you will learn how make fabulous dishes and accompaniments such as parmesan crisps and white radish Japanese vinegar waterlilies, sashimi of tuna, baked fillets of fish with salsa verde, real fish and chips, salmon mousseline and potted crab. 
Our famous fish master class will first be launched at Caroline Chisholm School, 25 July 2009, the course will also be held at Stratford College in the second week of August.

Join us and demystify your approach to preparing and cooking delicious and healthy fish dishes.

Wimbledon fortnight means a captivating combination of world classs tennis and the consumption of a whopping 27,000 kilos of strawberries (at £2.25 a pot) by sports and food lovers.

Every morning of the tournament, at 5.30am to be precise, Grade I Elsanta berries are brought fresh from  farms in Kent. They are served to tennis fans with a delicious dollop of cream in a  tub containing ‘not less than 10’ pieces of juicy fruit. Ripe strawberries like sunny days at the Wimbledon lawns are always evocative of summer.

This year’s warm spring points to a bumper crop. Strawberries should be sweet, ripe, dark, and perfumed at this time of year. You can get the best produce at farmers’ markets, pick-your-own farms, as well as some supermarkets like Waitrose that stocks speciality fragrant, gorgeous Gariguette and many other popular organic varieties.

Strawberry plants tend to have short lives which is why new varieties are often introduced. They have names summing up the essence of such beautiful fruit: Florence, Eve’s Delight and Symphony.

One among the most prolific British strawberry varieties is the long-cropping Wimbledon favourite Elsanta. A premium Scottish strawberry, Ava, was first grown in 2005. and the large, firm variety, Sonata, was launched in the same year. Another new variety, popular for its zesty flavour, is English Rose and Marie de Bois is similar to a wild strawberry. But interestingly, a recent study concluded that many standard strawberry varieties taste just the sweet as their organic and premium counterparts, which can cost more than double.

Strawberries reign supreme around midsummer, and other soft fruit such as gooseberries, also approach their best towards the end of June. Tayberries, a Scottish hybrid of the blackberry and  raspberry, also ripen by then.

Gooseberries, green in early season, soften in texture and taste over summer. A touch sharp, purple tayberries work well, like raspberries and blackberries, in summer pudding, sorbet, pies, or fruit sauces, jellies and jams. There are now new rivals to the traditional soft fruits. The new aronia berry (chokeberry) its Scottish growers claim, is a ‘super berry’ containing more antioxidants than cranberries or  blueberries.
To add to the flavour of strawberries let them bask in the sunshine a while and go soft. Wash and hull them, then gently mush them up with double cream, sugar, a nip of Cointreau, if you wish, and orange zest.

You dont need to go to Wimbledon to enjoy strawberries – watch the tournament at home with bowlful unadorned or dip them in balsamic vinegar and serve with mozzarella and prosicutto plus a glass of prosecco. Prosecco Ca’Rosa, Valdobbiadne, for example,  has sprightly appley overtones and only 11 per cent alcohol content.

Storage is no problem for most of us buying a couple of bottles at the supermarket or high street multiple wine shop.  After all these are going to be drunk within the next day or two.

Nevertheless, when you get them home place the whites in a cool area such as the garage floor, and the reds in the dining room.

Most white wines are best-enjoyed cool, but not deeply chilled from over-nighting in a fridge.  A cool bottle should only need 20 to 30 minutes in a fridge.  At the same time the majority of red wines will get to the correct temperature if left for a few hours on the dining room sideboard.  However, there are some young reds – Beaujolais and Gamay from the Touraine – that are actually better when served very lightly chilled.

If you are buying wines for laying down, then its best to get them from an independent wine merchant with a ‘fine wine’ reputation.  This is because the supermarkets and high street stores expect that their wines won’t be kept for more than a couple of weeks, and store them accordingly.

Fine wines can be aged in a good cellar.  That will be a dark, preferably damp, room where the bottles can be stored always on their sides, off the floor, either in their boxes or in wine racks that you can get from most proper wine merchants.

Sparkling wines, once on their sides, should be left well alone and not taken out of their racks to show off to friends.  Any movement excites the bubbles, held in solution, and this tends to age them prematurely.

Today we are drinking more and more young wines, both white and red.  These are invariably ‘closed’ and need to be exposed to air to enable them to breathe and open up so that we can enjoy their full flavours and aromas.

Decanting young wines is simple.  You don’t even need a decanter. Pour the wine slowly into a clean jug from a height of five of six inches. Next take a scrupulously clean kitchen funnel and gently pour the wine back into the bottle, trying to get it to flow down the side. Wrap a serviette around the neck to protect it from any splashes.

If it’s a red wine, just leave the wine on the table, white wines should have their corks placed back in the top and perhaps left standing up in the fridge for 20 minutes or so.

You will be surprised how this pouring from one vessel to another and back will have opened up the most stubborn wine.  Some years ago at a dinner in France we were served a young wine that was so tightly closed that a wine merchant colleague stood on the table and poured the wine into a carafe placed on the floor.  While not recommending this practice in polite society, it certainly did the trick.

The other reason, of course, for decanting red wines is to separate them from any deposit that they might have formed while they mature.  This is because all the colour of red wines is actually microscopic pieces of skin held in suspension in the liquid.  Over the years some of these tiny particles may drop to the bottom of the bottle as the wine matures and slowly turns from the purple of youth to tawny rimmed maturity.

Decanting these wines does demand some skill and perhaps a curved decanting funnel.  Leave the bottle standing upright over night, then gently remove the cork. Now, place the funnel in the neck of the decanter or flask and very gently pour, stopping immediately any sediment starts to appear.

Experts hold the bottle in one hand, and the decanter in another, place a lighted candle beneath the neck of the bottle and pour from one to the other at an angle –stopping as soon as the candlelight highlights any sediment in the neck of the bottle.

Decanting Vintage Port, or very old red wines that might have thrown a deposit.

Fine vintage Ports are aged in the bottle and tend to throw a great deal of deposit.  This is made up from the solids – mainly minuscule bits of grape skin that give the wine its colour.  Gently take the bottle up from its rack and place it standing up on end in the dining room 36 hours before you want to open it.   This will encourage most of the solids to drop to the bottom.

Decanting Port is an art.  If it is a very old bottle its cork will be protected by sealing wax that has to be removed by gently tapping with a light hammer.  The cork will be fragile, so use your corkscrew with great care and very gently remove it.  Now you will need a spotlessly clean and dry decanter, and preferably a decanting funnel and a candle or small, bright pocket torch.  If you haven’t got a decanting funnel any kitchen funnel will do – as long as it is spotlessly clean and free from any taint.   If you have any coffee filters handy, then place one in the funnel.

Hold the bottle in one hand, and the decanter in the other, both at around angles of around 45º.  Now, very gently pour the wine into the funnel placed in the top of the decanter, with the candle or torch placed so that it shines up into the neck of the bottle.  Keep an eagle eye on the neck and stop pouring as soon as any deposit starts to appear.  What’s left in the bottle can be stored in the fridge for adding to meat juices to make proper gravy (in place of gravy powders) or adding to stews and even home made meat soups.

Written by Philippe Boucheron

A treatise on Eating Humble Pie – Jeremy R Fowler

To start the explanation I need to portray a bit of history, as gleaned from my extensive antiquarian culinary library, so I must ask you to bear with me and allow yourself to be cast back into the realms of heraldic history, where you would see a Frenchman called Taillevent, he was the Medieval master chef, who held the highest culinary position in the French Royal household.

So as the ’Ecuyer’ or squire, he would have held responsibilities for many of the palaces, so in a position of wise and fine judgement in cultivating tastes. All this is all well and good in the days before refrigeration, and when ingredients were not merely ordered off a distributor’s shelf. In fact without labour saving equipment that we know today, there was a team of over two thousand in the kitchens, which would be led with military precision. It would be common to prepare a banquet comprising of 496 sheep, 70 cattle, 70 calves, 63 hogs, 17 salt hogs, 1511 goats 14,900 chickens, 12,390 pigeons, and 1,511 goslings.

The meal would begin with dinner, (corrupted from de’jeuner –to breakfast) it would be taken four hours after sunrise and ended at sundown with supper, generally consisting of a drink –porridge or soup.  Just imagine the Alka-Seltzer needed for that lot. 
Most food writers link medieval foods with ancient Rome, indeed it is the Romans who have been attributed with one of the oldest cookery books written by Apicius in 10AD.  I have a facsimile, which is enchanting. But for my money I think today’s real barbecuers are nearest to the roots of live fire, with a cave man maybe accidentally leaning his raw kill against the fire he has just discovered.. Nothing in written word I grant you, but there might be cave art somewhere depicting it.

Of feasts and banquets there are ample records of the activities, and rituals, from the King or Lord at the head of the table, with his own ‘Nef’ or silver sculptured ‘Piece Mont’ee’, which would hold his own personal spices and seasonings, (no meats then were seasoned, most people paid for their own concoctions and had them in a little bag around their neck) I have a recipe for hangovers in this fashion, but that is another story.
It was the Gentry and those in favour that were ensconced at the head of the table, and those less favoured -even leading down to servants were at the other end of the table.  Now, it was the prime cuts that were at the head of the table, which were served –then to be cut by the personal knife of the diner, then placed upon a trencher board which could be twice cooked bread or wooden. Food implements were almost unheard of, so it is no wonder that the smallest morsel was the size of a finger, and descriptions like gobbet, hew’d, smitten, or ‘grounde to douste’ were in many recipes. 
Forks were unknown and spoons were scarce. (I’d be wiping my hands on the nearest dog)

The poor souls at the end of the table had the cheaper cuts, and the most ill favoured would eat the beast’s offal, which originally would be cooked almost like road traffic accident of today.  Later they pounded these morsels and filled them into the bowels of cows, sheep and pigs, it was these that were called ‘ombles’ or ‘umbles’ (the founding of today’s sausages) and the originator of the phrase “to eat humble pie”.

Written by Jeremy R Fowler www.jrfconsultancy.com

During May we usually witness the first cherries making their appearance from different parts of the world . Unfortunately they can be very expensive and rather unaffordable at this time of the year. Domestic cherries become abundantly available in June and July.
If you cannot resist the temptation, it’s worth buying a few simply to whet the appetite. Once we get into June and ideally July, this is the time when domestic cherries become abundantly available. Once the supply increases, the price naturally comes down.

There are so many traditional cherry recipes prepared all over the world. Germany is known for a distilled cherry spirit (kirsch) and of course black forest gateau. On the other hand, sour cherries are soaked into a hot or cold soup in many parts of Eastern Europe, whereas the French make clafoutis, a delicious batter pudding made with sweet cherries.

Preparation time is less than 30 minutes and cooking time is 30 minutes or until firm to touch.
First the ingredients for the filling:
450g/1lb fresh stoned cherries
2 tbsp kirsch (or red wine);
2 level tbsp granulated sugar;
2 tbsp ground biscuit crumbs (prefer digestive biscuits);

For the batter we need:
2 whole eggs;
2 egg yolks;
30g/1oz cornflour;
85g/3oz sugar;
250g/9oz double cream

Preparation Method

Step 1: Preheat oven to about 220C/425F/Gas7.
Step 2: Combine the cherries, kirsch and sugar. Place in an ovenproof dish. Put in the oven for 5 minutes or until the cherries turn hot. Drain them, saving the juices and let them cool.
Step 3: Reduce the oven temperature to about 180C/350F/Gas 4.
Step 4: For the batter, whisk the egg yolks and whole eggs until light and frothy. Add the sugar. Whisk until well blended. Now add the double cream and cornflour, then set aside to rest.
Step 5: Mix the cherries with the digestive biscuit crumbs, sprinkle slowly into the ovenproof dish, pour over the batter. Bake for about 30 minutes until golden and firm.
Step 6: Leave to cool down to room temperature, dust with caster sugar. Serve with crème fraîche flavoured with fine cherry juice or vanilla ice cream.

Preparation tips:

• Tip 1: Add the cherry juice to red wine vinegar for superb cherry vinegar.
• Tip 2: Biscuit crumbs absorb excess cherry juice that stops the final dish turning soggy.
• Tip 3: Batter can be prepared up to 2 hours before. Just give it another good whisk before use.

If you are keen on learning the sought after skill of Artisan Bread making, here is your chance. It’s something very exquisite, demanding a precise knowledge of processes like meticulous mixing, kneading and fermenting, followed by shaping and proper baking.
A fine blend of the above mentioned processes leads to a well textured, delicious and aromatic loaf of luscious bread. 

Cultured yeast was discovered in the mid-1800s in a French laboratory by Louis Pasteur, it was soon commercially available.

Baking Artisan Bread is considered one of the oldest methods of bread making around, popularity is growing in culinary circles. What makes Artisan Bread special is its exclusivity; it’s crafted, rather than mass produced, it is baked in select small batches.

Flavored breads may also be termed Artisan Breads. Also included in this category are the breads with added fruits, nuts, whole grains, cheeses and vegetables. Other bread-like products like certain bagels, pizza crusts and the like are often counted as Artisan Breads.

 At Shires you can now be an expert at making the perfect home-baked loaf thanks to our experienced chef who will acquaint you with the fundamentals of age old art of bread making. You will learn to create mouth watering malt crunch loafs, onion bread, fabulous fruit buns and cottage loafs.

Your new found knowledge and insight into bread making will help you prepare aromatic fresh baked bread. Elaborate hands-on work, with an added emphasis on proper shaping techniques, will help you master the technique.  

You will learn about the specific function of each ingredient in bread, the precise control of the fermentation process, different forms of yeasted pre-ferments and how to make use of them, as well as practical applications like determining proper dough temperature.

Scheduled at Northampton College 1 August 2009, the Artisan Bread making course is a great opportunity for those looking to expand their baking repertoire. Come along and join us – or if you have a flair for baking bread let us know your secret!

If your dads only culinary claim to fame is the annual barbecue, give him a treat this year – a day with Shires at our Sizzling Sausage class.

Taking place on 15 August at Caroline Chisholm School, Northampton, we will show him how to prepare and cook some tasty sausages. Dad just has to turn up at 10am wearing his favorite BBQ pinny!