| 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:
Steven Smith – Chef Patron – The Freemasons Country Inn - Lancashire
This month Platinum’s Elite Chef Division is proud to present Steven Smith,
Quiet and unassuming, yet confident in his skills as a chef, Steven Smith has a passion to succeed. He does not crave the limelight achieved by the status of celebrity, but would rather let his food do the talking and his customers be his critics.
Steven is passionate about our native and natural larder and is renowned for his skill as a chef, as well as for his creative use of quality seasonal produce. His motto is simply ’only the best will do’ and this is evident in both the taste and presentation of his dishes.
Steven is the quintessential ‘local lad done well’. Originally from Blackburn, Steven had cooked at several Michelin starred restaurants before opening the Freemasons Country Inn, as Chef/Patron, which has been restored and refurbished with breathtaking results and is already winning awards for its' stunning decor. Steven is insistent on the use of quality produce and believes in using that produce when it is in season and at its best. He supports local growers and farmers whenever possible, but believes that he also has a responsibility to provide the best available to his customers – even if that means sourcing from further afield.
“Wherever I have been, I have tried to improve and be the best chef I can be. I like to put together combinations of foods and flavours that work well together without overcomplicating the dish. I often go home after a long night and sketch out some ideas or make a list of potential new combinations."
When he’s not in the kitchen, Steven likes eating out and catching up with his contemporaries to sample their menus. However, his food is very personal and he will always cook what he loves. Steven’s favourite dish is hand-dived scallops served with pork belly and scratchings, sweet potato and apple with a roasted tandoori butter.
For more information on Steven Smith and The Freemasons Inn check out their website:-
www.freemasonscountryinn.com
Enjoy!!
See you next month
Andy
If you’re interested in working alongside top quality chefs such as Steven Smith send your CV to andy.sinclair@p-r-c.co.uk or call 01202 203150
If you have not already had the chance to sample Stevens stunning food have a go at recreating his Scallop and Pork Belly dish
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Scallops with pork belly
Serves 6
Ingredients
12 scallops
500ml double cream
1 side of pork belly
Salt and pepper
2 sweet potatoes
Method
Preheat the oven to 140 degrees C.
Wash the pork belly and pat dry, season generously then barely cover with water in a large tray. Cover the tray with tin foil and bake for three hours. Allow to cool, then remove from the tray and press between two baking trays overnight. Slice into cubes. Wrap the sweet potatoes in tin foil, bake in 160 degrees C oven for 1.5 hours.
Reduce the cream by half in a pan, blend the hot cream with the peeled potatoes and puree in a blender with salt and pepper until smooth.
Reheat the pork belly under the grill or in a medium hot oven and warm the puree in a pan.
In a hot pan, fry the scallops in a little oil until golden brown, flip over and cook for a further minute, add a knob of butter, lemon juice and seasoning. Place a line of puree on the plate, then the warm pork belly and finally the scallops.
Garnish with chopped coriander and batons of apple
If you’re interested in working alongside top quality chefs such as Steven Smith send your CV to andy.sinclair@p-r-c.co.uk or call 01202 203150
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