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: Mark Poynton – Chef Patron – Restaurant Alimentum – Cambridge Good Food Guide ‘Top Restaurants’ 3 AA Rosette It’s an honour to announce that Mark Poynton, Chef Patron of Restaurant Alimentum in Cambridge has provided Platinum Recruitments Elite Chef Division with the recipe, methodology and pictures for one of his signature dishes. Find out more about Mark in our 60 seconds on the clock feature......... Mark Where in the world are you from? I am from the best part of England Chester (the North West.) Where have you previously worked? Prior to Alimentum I spent 7 ½ years at Midsummer House, and before that 1 ½ years at what was Juniper in Altrincham with Paul Kitching, and before that a few country house hotels in the north west area. Which chef influenced you the most? There have been 2 big influences in my career Daniel Clifford being the main and my very 1st head chef Ian Mcdowall. What/where was your best ever meal? I have been lucky enough to eat in some of the best Restaurants in the world so this is a difficult one with different answers, Most amazing experience was the kitchen table at El Bulli in 2005, and best food experience was Pierre Gagnaire in 2003. What’s your favourite cookbook? Modernist Cuisine Vol 4 at the moment. Who would be in your fantasy brigade? Daniel Clifford (Midsummer House) on meat, Russell Bateman (Colette's at the Grove) on fish, Matt Gillan (The Pass at South Lodge) on starters, Andy Sinclair (Platinum Recruitment) on garnish, Michelle Gillott (Sosa) on Pastry, Martyn Compton (Tanners) on the pass and me sitting in the restaurant eating what they cook. What’s your favourite produce to cook with? Always fish because 2 pieces are never the same. If you could go anywhere on a stage, where would you go? Alinea in Chicago. If you weren’t a chef what would you be? A really bad football player who dreams of playing for Celtic. What would be your advice to anyone looking to get into the industry? Knuckle Down and don’t be scared to ask questions, the day you stop questioning is they day you stop learning and improving. Mark it’s a real pleasure to have you feature for us so a massive thank you! For more information on Mark Poynton and Restaurant Alimentum check out the restaurants website www.restaurantalimentum.co.uk Mark is also cooking at The Loft Project in October 2011, for reservations take a look www.theloftproject.co.uk Why not recreate Marks Sirloin of beef & braised oxtail dish Enjoy!! See you next month Andy Sirloin of beef & braised oxtail, with mushroom puree and wilted spinach This recipe revives a traditional and much underappreciated ingredient – oxtail, utilising its fulsome flavours whilst transforming its texture & appearance to nicely compliment the juicy succulence of the sirloin. Serves 4 Ingredients • 1 x 480g piece of sirloin of beef (trimmed of all fat and sinew) • 750g x raw oxtail cut in to pieces • 2 litres x brown chicken or beef stock • 4 x eggs • 100g x plain flour • 100g x dried bread crumbs • 1 x carrot (roughly chopped) • 1 x stick of celery (roughly chopped) • ½ x onion (roughly chopped) • 2 x cloves garlic (peeled and sliced) • 500g x baby spinach (washed and drained) • 500g x button mushrooms • 200g x double cream Method Braised oxtail (Can be prepared the day before) Fry the oxtail in a little vegetable oil until golden then add the chopped vegetables & fry till golden. Place these ingredients in a roasting tray and cook in a preheated oven at 120C for 4 – 5 hours. When cooked (the meat should fall away from the bone when a little pressure is applied) remove the oxtails from the cooking juices and pick the meat from the bone while still warm. Pass the cooking juices through a strainer and add a little back to the cooked meat to maintain moisture. Season the meat & juices with a little salt to taste, then roll the meat, using cling- film, into sausage shapes and place in the fridge for 2 hours (or overnight if preferred). Reserve the cooking juice to serve as sauce. When the oxtail has set in the sausage shape cut into serving size pieces then roll through the seasoned flour, dip into beaten eggs and coat with breadcrumbs, ready for finishing. Mushroom Puree Wash the mushrooms in cold water and drain. Quickly break the mushrooms into small pieces using the pulse function on a blender. Place the mushroom pieces into a deep, heavy bottomed pan and dry fry for about 20 minutes until all the liquid disappears, then add the double cream and blend until smooth. Season with salt and lemon juice to taste. Sirloin Cut the beef into 4 x 120g pieces and season with salt and freshly ground pepper. Heat a heavy based oven proof frying pan. Add a little vegetable oil and seal the outside of the steaks until golden all over, then put into a preheated oven (180C) for about 6-8 minutes for medium rare, (medium 8 – 12). Remove from the heat and leave to rest for about 5 minutes. To serve Colour the coated oxtail in a little hot oil until golden, then place with the beef in the oven at 160C for 3 minutes. Meanwhile heat the mushroom puree and wilt the spinach in a little butter. Season both to taste and arrange on warmed plates to serve, alongside the oxtail and sliced beef, which is drizzled with the oxtail cooking juices to finish. Creamed potato & roasted shallot makes the perfect accompaniment. If you’re interested in working alongside top quality chefs such as Mark Poynton send your CV to andy.sinclair@p-r-c.co.uk

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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: Mark Jordan – Executive Chef – The Atlantic Hotel - Jersey 3 AA Rosette 1 Michelin Star I’m proud to announce that Mark Jordan, Executive Chef at The Atlantic Hotel in Jersey has kindly provided Platinum Recruitments Elite Chef Division with the recipe, methodology and pictures for one of his signature dishes. Find out more about Mark in our 60 seconds on the clock feature......... Mark Where in the world are you from? I was born in a small town called Morfa Nefyn in North Wales but was brought up in the Midlands. Where have you previously worked? I started my career with the great Keith Floyd at the Maltsters Arms in Devon. I then left to become Sous Chef for Jean-Christophe Novelli at The Mill at Gordleton Hotel and Restaurant in Hampshire. I then moved to become Head Pastry Chef at Llangoed Hall, Sir Bernard Ashley’s hotel in mid Wales. Following that I was employed as Sous Chef at Congham Hall Hotel in Norfolk, after which I spent a short spell working at Rascasse, Simon Gueller’s restaurant in Leeds before I went to work with the Roux brothers in Amsterdam as Head Pastry Chef. I then returned to England and took up my first Head Chef position with the celebrity chef Steven Saunders at the Pink Geranium restaurant in Cambridgeshire. I was there for eight years. I then moved up north to become Head Chef at Gilpin Lodge Hotel near Windermere for a couple of years before jetting off to become Head Chef at The Atlantic Hotel in Jersey. Which chef influenced you the most? It would have to be Keith Floyd; no fashions, no gimmicks - just good well cooked food. What/where was your best ever meal? My best meal ever I would have to say was at the Ledbury last year. Brett Graham’s style and the thought he puts into his dishes is amazing so he quite rightly deserves his two star status. What’s your favourite cookbook? My favourite cookbook still has to be White Heat. It’s a great book that will always have a place on my book shelf. What would be your fantasy brigade? My fantasy brigade, well, that’s a question! It would have to be Michael Wignall, a great pastry chef; Eric Chavot, an all round great chef; Tony Pierce, my good friend from Knockinaam Lodge probably on fish; Rene Redzepi in the development kitchen and I would love to go back in time and have Keith Floyd back on the pass with me. What’s your favourite produce to cook with? My favourite produce to work with is pork belly - a really fantastic ingredient that is very versatile. If you could go anywhere where would you go on a stage? Peter Gilmore at Quay in Sydney. I love his style and ethos. If you weren’t a chef what would you be? Well, I became a chef by default as I originally wanted to study animation but because of certain situations at school I was unable to gain the qualifications to get on to an animation course. What would be your advice to anyone looking to get into the industry? My advice to any young person coming into catering is to make sure that it really is what you want to do as it takes up all of your personal life, family times and celebration times such as Christmas, Bank Holidays etc. However, when you do work hard and become successful in the catering industry it can become very rewarding and interesting. Mark is extremely busy at the moment with the opening of his new restaurant ‘Mark Jordan at the Beach’, the launch of his first book ‘Mark Jordan's Ocean Voyage’ and not to mention running his renowned Michelin Star restaurant, with so much on I’d like to say a big thank you for taking the time to talk to us. For more information on Mark Jordan and The Atlantic Hotel check out the Hotels website:- www.theatlantichotel.com If you would like to order Mark’s book visit www.chefmagazine.co.uk/Products/27/57/Ocean-Voyage.html Why not recreate Marks Pan-roast fillets of sole dish Enjoy!! See you next month Andy Pan-roast Fillets of Sole with Crab-crushed Jersey Royals and Sauce Grenoble Ingredients Dover sole 3 x 450g Dover soles, skinned Sauce Grenoble 100g gherkins 100g baby capers 1 squeeze lemon juice 1 handful parsley, chopped Crab-crushed Jersey Royals 450g Jersey Royals Vegetable oil 50g butter Juice of 1 lemon 100g fresh white crab meat Salt and pepper 1 handful chives, chopped Fish Velouté/foam 1 shallot 1/2 bulb garlic Vegetable oil 1 sprig thyme 4-5 button mushrooms. sliced 1 vanilla pod 125ml medium white wine 125ml dry vermouth 950ml fish stock 300ml double cream Juice of 1/2 lemon Salt, to taste Bread croutons Ingredients 1/2 fresh white loaf 475ml vegetable oil 100g butter Salt Parmesan cheese To serve 10-12 caper berries Basil cress Method Dover sole Fillet the sole by running a sharp flexible knife down each side of the sole’s backbone and slowly removing the flesh from the bone using delicate strokes of the knife. Flip over the sole and do the same again for the underside. Trim the sole, removing any straggly bits. Lay one fillet of sole in front of you on a chopping board – you will notice there is a thick end and a thin end. Lay another fillet on top of the first fillet the opposite way thick end to thin and repeat this three times – there should be in total six pieces of fillet stacked on top of each other. While the sole is stacked skewer two fillets together with cocktail sticks, using six in total. Roll each pair over and trim the ends square and then cut in half – that will be your first two portions, now the same with the remaining fillets. Place in the fridge to chill. Sauce Grenoble Chop the gherkins into small dice and mix with the capers. Add the lemon juice and parsley and reserve. Crab-crushed Jersey Royals Preheat the oven to 170°C. Wash and place the potatoes into a pan of salted water and slowly bring them up to the boil. Once the potatoes are cooked remove them from the water and store in the saucepan. In a large sauté pan heat up a little oil, to this add the Dover sole stacks and gently colour until golden brown on one side. Remove from the pan and place into the oven for 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and place back in to the pan with the oil. Add a good knob of butter and squeeze of the lemon juice, baste the butter over the sole and leave for a minute. Using a fork crush the potatoes and add the remaining butter, remaining lemon juice, crab meat, salt and pepper, and chives. Fish Velouté/foam Peel and slice the shallot and garlic and add to a saucepan with a few drops of vegetable oil and gently fry without colouring. Add the thyme and the mushrooms. Slice the vanilla pod in half lengthways and add the pan. Pour in the wine and the vermouth and reduce until the liquid is syrupy. Pour the fish stock into the pan and bring to the boil then reduce by two-thirds. Add the cream and the lemon juice and again bring the sauce up to the boil. Adjust the seasoning with the salt and pour through a fine sieve. Bread croutons Slice the bread into 0.5cm thick slices and remove the crust with a sharp knife. Cut the bread into 0.5cm long strips and then cut the strips into 0.5cm dice. Place the oil into a thick-bottomed pan and heat it up, place one dice of the bread into the oil to see if the oil is hot enough – the crouton should fry quickly and turn brown. Remove this crouton from the oil and then add the others and keep stirring them around while they fry. Once the croutons turn brown, turn off the heat, add the butter and stir again. Pour the oil and the croutons into a fine sieve and drain well. While the croutons are hot season with a little salt and grate over the cheese. Set aside until required. To serve Place a metal ring in the centre of each serving dish and half fill with the hot potatoes, pressing them down thoroughly. Remove the metal ring and gently place a portion of sole on top of the potato. At this point gently twist and pull out the cocktail sticks. Heat up the sauce and spoon some over the sole. Using a hand blender foam the fish veloute and also spoon some over the dish. Garnish with a few caper berries, the croutons and cress, and serve. If you’re interested in working alongside top quality chefs such as Mark Jordan send your CV to andy.sinclair@p-r-c.co.uk

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