Elite Chef Recruitment

Platinum Recruitment – Feature of the Month Each month the team at Platinum Elite Chefs bring you an industry specific feature from one of the UK’s finest establishments. This Month’s feature: Andrew Baird – Longueville Manor Hotel - Jersey 3 AA Rosette 5 Red Star Relais & Chateaux This month Platinum’s Elite Chef Division is crossing the Channel to the island of Jersey. It’s here we’ve managed to track down Andrew Baird, Head Chef of the stunning country house hotel ‘Longueville Manor’, Andrew has kindly provided Platinum with the recipe, methodology and pictures for one of his signature dishes. Longueville Manor is recognised as one of Jersey's finest hotels and is the only member of Relais & Châteaux in the Channel Islands. A recently refurbished 14th century manor house, this sumptuous hotel continues to offer unprecedented luxury in the island and is much admired by not only a loyal customer following, but leading travel writers and food critics alike. Andrew Baird has been at the helm of the Longueville Manor Kitchen for 20 Years. As a result of Andrew and his teams’ hard work, their relentless search for quality and dedication to perfection in the kitchen, Longueville Manor held a coveted Michelin star for 10 years. In addition to his responsibilities at Longueville, Andrew oversees the Kitchen at Suma’s restaurant in Gorey, Longueville Manors sister business. He is a strong advocate of the hotel’s outreach programme which is based around teaching children of all ages about food, being a chef and the benefits of a career in the Hospitality industry. If you’re feeling adventurous and up for the challenge, why not try Andrew’s Ragoût of Diver Caught Local Scallops dish. For more information on Andrew Baird and Longeville Manor check out the Hotels website:- http://www.longuevillemanor.com/ Enjoy!! See you next month Andy Longueville’s Ragoût of Diver Caught Local Scallops, Garden Asparagus and Wilted Greens This dish would be suitable for a light lunch and is simple enough to be used as a starter for a dinner party. Ingredients

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Scallops If you don’t have your own scuba diving equipment try loitering at Bouley Bay at half tide when the divers return for the ultimate in fresh local scallops. Alternatively, try Louis Jackson at the Fresh Fish Company on Victoria Quay, St Helier. Asparagus It is grown on a small scale in Jersey but fortunately we have a well established asparagus bed here at Longueville Manor, which produces from early May until July. Bok Choy Pak Choy and Pousse Spinach Although these ingredients originate from far away as Thailand, they are very suited to local growing conditions. Plum Tomatoes and Basil These are also grown locally and are in plentiful supply from April onwards. Recipe for 4 Starter Portions 12 trimmed asparagus spears 12 diver caught scallops 2 heads of Pak Choy 2 heads of Bok Choy 200g Pousse Spinach 50g Basil 600g ripe sweet plum tomatoes 50ml olive oil Squid Ink Pasta Squid Ink Pasta 500g 00 pasta flour 2tsp salt 4 egg yolks 2 whole eggs 4 pkts squid ink (approx 5g each) 2 tbsp olive oil 5-8 tbsp water Place the 00 flour in a bowl and make a well Beat the eggs and egg yolk and place in well with the other ingredients and mix After a few minutes it will bind together. Don’t worry if it feels slightly dry at this stage. Wrap in cling film and leave in fridge for at least two hours After resting, leave to reach room temperature before kneading again. The dough should now be very smooth and ready to roll out with a pasta machine Roll to the finest setting then cut with the linguine, tagliatelle or spaghetti cutter To cook simply place in boiling salted water with a good splash of olive oil for 2 minutes. Drain and the pasta is ready for use Method First of all make your basil scented oil. To do this heat the basil with 4 tbsp of water until it withers. This will only take a moment. Put it into a liquidizer and purée. Then add the olive oil and liquidize again. Pass through a sieve and leave to settle. In time it will clear, leaving you with a bright green basil scented oil. Place any bits left in the sieve back in the liquidizer, roughly chop the plum tomatoes and add these, together with a good pinch of salt. Blitz for a minute and you will end up with a foaming pink puree. Place this in a muslin cloth, tie and hang over a bowl and place in the fridge. Ideally this should be done the day before. The resulting clear liquid has a great refreshing tomato taste which will keep for up to three days in the fridge. To assemble the dish, first gently steam the asparagus for approximately 3 minutes. Then add the scallop meat with the bok choy and pak choy and steam for a further 3 minutes. This can be done either in a layered steamer or simply in a colander over a pan of water (with a lid). While you are doing this gently heat the clear plum tomato nage. Remove all ingredients from the steamer and place on a warm, deep plate. Add warmed nage. Finish with some scented basil oil and squid ink noodles. Alternatively any home made pasta will go very nicely with this dish. “Delicious, simple, light and very tasty”! If you’re interested in working alongside top quality chefs such as Andrew Baird send your CV to andy.sinclair@p-r-c.co.uk