| 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: Chris Lee – Head Chef - The Bildeston Crown – Suffolk
3 Red Star  - 3 AA Rosette  The Bildeston Crown has also achieved numerous prestigious awards including; Taste of England Award - 2009
“Best Small Suffolk Hotel” in the Tourism in Suffolk Awards - 2008
“Best Restaurant” at Suffolk Food & Drink Awards - 2010
The 20 Best Restaurants with Rooms
The Sunday Times top 20 Restaurant with rooms Find out more about Chris in our 60 seconds on the clock feature......... Chris, where in the world are you from?
I am from Kent. Where have you previously worked?
Prior to The Bildeston Crown I spent some time at country hotels & at Fawsley Hall, Northamptonshire & Windows Park Lane, London. Which chef influenced you the most?
Phillip Howard & David Everitt Matthias. What/where was your best ever meal?
A 22 course tasting at L’enclume. What’s your favourite cookbook?
Le Crillon. What is the next restaurant you want to visit?
Pic Valence Restaurant, France. What’s your favourite produce to cook with?
I am fortunate enough to have a gun license, which enables me to go out on regular shoots so I enjoy cooking with local produce that I have shot myself. Who would be in your fantasy brigade?
I spend too much time in a kitchen; there are far better fantasies that I can think of rather than a brigade. Where would you go on a stage?
While eating at Pic Restaurant I would love to do a stage at the same time. What would be your advice to anyone looking to get into the industry?
Say goodbye to friends and family unless they are in the same industry, and as this industry takes up a lot of your personal life. Be 100% that it’s what you would like to do because if you knuckle down and work hard in can be very rewarding.
For more information on Chris Lee and Restaurant The Bildeston Crown check out the restaurants website www.thebildestoncrown.com
Chris it’s a real pleasure to have you feature with Platinum Elite Chefs, a huge thank you for taking time away from your busy day! If you haven’t had the opportunity to try Chris’ stunning food yet why don’t you try and recreate his Smoked Collar of Nedging pork dish. Enjoy!! See you next month Andy Smoked Collar of Nedging Pork, Roast Loin, Braised Lettuce and Artichoke Ingredients - Smoked Collar
• 1 smoked collar
• 2 carrots
• 4 sticks of celery
• 1 Spanish onion
• 1 bulb of garlic
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 sprigs of rosemary
• 4 sprigs of thyme
• 2 litres of apple juice
• 2 litres of demi glace Method
Soak the collar in water for 24 hours before cooking.
Peel and roughly chop the vegetables into a miripiox. In a large sauce pan sweat the vegetables until they are soft but haven’t coloured. Add the herbs, the apple juice and the demi glace. Now add the collar. If the liquid isn’t completely covering the collar top up with a little water. Cover with a cartouche and place the pan in an oven at 130cc for about 3 hours. When the meat is extremely tender and falls apart easily it is ready. Remove the meat from the pan and set to one side to cool. Strain the liquid into a fresh pan and place on a stove to reduce. It should reduce by about half but check it regularly to make sure it doesn’t go too salty. Strain it into a tub and chill overnight, when cold remove any fat that has set on top. When the collar has cooled a little but is still warm remove the black layer of meat from around the outside and then cut into quarter’s length ways. Roll each quarter tightly in cling film so they are round. Set these in the fridge overnight. When they are set cut into portions. Place each portion in a vac pac bag with a spoonful of the cooking liquor and seal. These can now just be dropped into hot water to heat for serving.
Ingredients - Baby artichoke Barigole
• 8 turned baby artichokes soaked in water and ascorbic acid for 24 hours
• 50g brunoise of carrot
• 50g brunoise celeriac
• 2 clove garlic finely sliced
• Thyme 1 sprig and 3g fennel seeds in a muslin ball
• 200ml olive oil
• 150ml white wine
• 300ml chicken stock (hot)
• 10g caster sugar
• Splash sherry vinegar Method
Get the olive oil hot in a pan and add the artichokes, fry for a moment to steam any water off, pour in the wine and reduce to nothing.
Now add the brunoise and the muslin ball, then the garlic, the sugar and the chicken stock, cover with a cartouche and cook quickly until the artichokes are tender. Finish with a splash of sherry vinegar and a squeeze of lemon juice.
Ingredients – Braised Pigs Head
• 1 pigs head split in half
• 1 bottle red wine
• 4 carrots
• 1 head of celery
• 2 Spanish onions
• Thyme
• Rosemary
• 1 bulb garlic
• 4 bay leaves
• Demi glace
• 1 chicken breast
• 1 egg white
• 200ml double cream Method
Peel and chop the vegetables into a miripiox, in a large pan melt a block of butter and add the miripiox to this. Sweat the vegetables with no colour until soft, add the wine and reduce by half, add the head and enough demi to cover finally add the herbs and the garlic, cover with a cartouche and simmer for 3-4 hours or until the meat falls off the bone. Remove the meat from the liquor. Pick through this removing all the fat and bone, also any brain and the eyeballs.
You will need to peel the tongue and then this can be picked and added to the rest of the meat. The meat then needs to be chilled. While it is chilling blitz the chicken breast in a food processor with a pinch of salt. When it comes together in a smooth paste add the egg white. Pass this mix through a drum sieve into a bowl. Now fold in the cream. Add the cold head meat to this. Now shape this mixture into balls about the size of golf balls. Allow to set in the fridge for an hour or so, they then just need to be paned, these can then just be deep fried to serve.
Ingredients – Confit potato and Waldorf salad • 4 large new potatoes
• Duck fat
• 1 clove garlic
• 2 sprigs thyme
• 100g butter
• 2 Braeburn apples Method
Cut the top and the bottom off of the potato and then using a parisienne scoop remove the middle of the potato. Place these in a pan and cover with duck fat, add the thyme and garlic and confit for about an hour until the potato is tender.
Peel the apples, remove the core and finely slice, work quickly so the apples don’t discolour, sweat the apple off in the butter quickly at first but making sure it doesn’t catch. Turn the heat down and cover with a cartouche, allow to cook until the apples are extremely tender and then put into a liquidiser are blitz to a puree.
Put some of the puree into the bottom of the potato and then top with apple batons, walnut halves (peeled) and celery leaf cress. This should all be dressed in walnut oil and lemon juice.
Ingredients –Lettuce puree and Minted Lettuce
• 1 Cos lettuce shredded heart removed
• 1 mint leaf
• 100g unsalted butter
• Chicken stock Method
In a wide based pan get the butter foaming but not browned. Add the lettuce and cook quickly for a minute or two stirring continuously, do not allow to colour, then add the mint leaf, add a small splash of chicken stock to steam it. It should however evaporate immediately. Put everything in a liquidiser and blend to a smooth puree. Pass and chill quickly to make sure it stays green.
Ingredients –Braised Lettuce
• 1 English round lettuce picked like spinach, hearts removed.
• 6 mint leaves shiffonaded Method
Sweat the lettuce leaves in butter to wilt, add the mint last minute and then push in to a cutter to serve Ingredients –Crackling
• 1 belly skin Method
Trim all of the fat off the skin so it is very very thin. Cut long thin strips of the skin and lay out on a flat metal tray. Season with fine salt and then place another flat tray on top. Put a couple of heavy pans on top of this and put it in the oven. Cook at 190?c for 26 minutes.
Pork Loin Method
Cut a piece of the loin about an inch thick. Season and then pan fry. Starting in clarified butter and then adding a knob of butter to this and basting to finish.
To serve Swipe some of the lettuce puree on the plate and use a little to hold the head ball. Place collar on the wilted lettuce, cut the artichoke in half and lean a piece of loin on each, place the potato with the Waldorf salad on the side of the plate and lean a piece of the crackling up against the collar, drizzle a little of the collar liquor on the plate and serve.
If you’re interested in working alongside top quality chefs such as Chris Lee send your CV to andy.sinclair@p-r-c.co.uk or call 01202 203150 | 
