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: William Curley – Owner at William Curley Patissier Chocolatier We are very proud to introduce William Curley to our monthly recipe feature, William and his wife Suzue opened their first shop together in Richmond in 2004. After the success of this, they opened their second shop in Belgravia in 2009, which launched the first "dessert bar" in London, where customers can sit at the bar and sample a tasting menu of desserts created in front of them by the chefs. William's career began with an apprenticeship at Gleneagles and then moved on to train at numerous Michelin-starred establishments working with respected chefs and patissiers in the business including Pierre Koffman at La Tante Claire, Raymond Blanc at Le Manoir aux Quat' Saisons and Marco Pierre White at The Restaurant. At age 27, he then became the youngest Chef Patissier at The Savoy Hotel working with Anton Edelman (where he met Suzue), leading a team of 21 pastry chefs. Suzue is also a highly respected patissier. Originally from Osaka, Japan, Suzue moved to London in 1996 where she trained at Le Cordon Bleu. She has worked at Claridges and The Savoy where she was in charge of the world famous Afternoon Teas. William has won numerous awards, including The Caterer's Acorn Award, The Craft Guild Pastry Chef of the Year, The Academy of Culinary Arts Award of Excellence and British Dessert of the Year. Having won the William Heptinstall Scholarship, he was given the opportunity to work under Marc Meneau at L'Esperance in France. William has also been awarded the Best British Chocolatier accolade by the Academy of Chocolate from 2007-2011. Both William and Suzue have represented Scotland at international culinary events, winning Gold medals in Chicago and Basle, and then at the Culinary Olympics in Germany. William and Suzue are intensely passionate about their craft and dedicate themselves to creating inspiring chocolate and patisserie of the highest standard. With strong links with The Academy of Culinary Arts and The Academy of Chocolate, they strive to nurture the talent and aspirations of young pastry chefs in their team. Find out about William in our 60 seconds on the clock feature......... William where are you from? I'm from Fife, in Scotland What is your role at what would happen on a typical day? My role is to oversee the Curley brand and try and spend as much time as I can in the kitchen creating new products and developing our brand – this is what I love doing most – the creative side of the business. Which chef influenced you the most? All chefs I have worked with have influenced me in different ways. I was fortunate enough to work with both Raymond Blanc and Pierre Koffmann, and from both of them I learnt skills that I have been able to take away with me. What/where was your best ever meal? I would say Le Becasse in Osaka. Classic French cuisine, made to perfection What’s your favourite cookbook? Marco Pierre White’s: ‘White Heat’, it changed a generation. What is the next restaurant you want to visit? There are many restaurants in Japan I would love to visit next, however in the U.K. I would like to visit, Midsummer House in Cambridge, and L’ortolan in Reading Berkshire. What’s your favourite produce to work with? Amedei, simply great quality – they are by far the best chocolate producers in the world. Where would you go on a stage? I would love to do a stage with Hidemi Sugino, a great Japanese Pastry Chef. If you weren’t a chef what would you be? I have never thought of it, I am fortunate enough to be doing what I love. What would be your advice to anyone looking to get into the industry? A lot of dedication and enthusiasm and to get as much experience as you can, and make sure it is from the best. For more information on William Curley take a look at the following sites; • Website - www.williamcurley.com • Twitter - @William_Curley • Facebook - www.facebook.com/pages/William-Curley/156913156249 William thank you very much for taking the time out of your busy day to take part in our recipe feature and good luck for the future. Why not try and recreate Williams’s stunning Orange & Chocolate Sacher Enjoy, See you next month Andy Orange & Chocolate Sacher by William Curley Makes 3 x 56 x 9cm Frames- 26 portions Contents • Sacher sponge • Alhambra sponge • Orange ganache • Orange jelly • Dark chocolate mousse • Grand marnier syrup • Caramel glaze • gold Orange Ganache • 600g - Orange Juice • 60g - Caster sugar • 52g - Invert Sugar • 225g - Toscano brown chocolate • 225g - Toscano 65% dark chocolate • 75g - Unsalted butter Method Place the orange juice in a pan and reduce to 270g Chop the butter into cubes and allow to come to room temperature Finely chop the milk and dark chocolate and place into a bowl Place the caster sugar, glucose and invert sugar into a pan with the reduced orange juice bring to the boil Pour the orange mixture gradually over the chopped chocolate stirring to form an emulsion Add the butter and mix until smooth Orange Jelly • 680g - whole oranges • 410g - caster sugar • 200g - orange juice • 150g - caster sugar • 16g - pectin Method Mix the caster sugar(150g) and pectin together in a bowl With a peeler take off the rind of two of the oranges Roughly chop all of the oranges including the ones with the rind removed Place the rind and chopped flesh of the oranges into a pan with the orange juice and the caster sugar (410g) Bring to the boil and simmer for 10 minutes until it reached 1kg approx. Place into a thermo mix or food processer and blend for 5 minutes until smooth Return to the pan and re boil Add in the pectin and sugar and cook for 10 minutes on a low heat Cool slightly and spread into a tray lined with black sil pat mat 55cm x 28 cm and place into the freezer to set Sacher sponge - Makes 1x 60x40 • 100g - Ground Almonds • 100g - caster sugar • 20g - Egg whites • 65g - Icing sugar • 105g - Egg yolks • 75g - Egg whites • 125g - Eggs • 65g - Icing sugar • 50g - Plain flour • 25g - Cocoa powder • 50g - Chocolate 100% • 50g - Unsalted butter Method Pre heat the oven to 180C Line a tray with a silpat mat Sieve together the flour and cocoa powder. In a mixing bowl, beat together the ground almonds, caster sugar and egg whites (20g) until it binds together. Gradually mix in the icing sugar until smooth. Gradually mix in the eggs and egg yolks, beat until smooth and light for 4-5 minutes. Simultaneously whisk the egg whites and gradually add the icing sugar. Whisk to a firm meringue. Finely chop the chocolate, place into a metal bowl over a bain marie and melt, remove from the bain marie, and add the unsalted butter, mix until smooth. Beat the chocolate and almond mixes together. Fold in the flour and cocoa powder. Insure the mixture is smooth Carefully fold in the meringue. Spread the mixture onto the Silpat mat. Bake at 180-190°C for 15 minutes approximately. Remove from tray and cool on wire rack. Alhambra sponge Makes 2x 60x40cm trays • 400g - Whole eggs • 100g - Egg yolks • 200g - Unsalted butter • 160g - Caster sugar • 50g - plain Flour • 50g – Cornflour • 60g - Cocoa powder Method Pre heat the oven to 180C Sieve together the flour, cornflour and cocoa powder Mix together the eggs, egg yolks and sugar over a bain-marie. Heat up to 40°C mixing continuosly. Whisk until ribbon stage. Transfer to a larger bowl. Add small amount of sabayon to the melted butter mix until smooth Fold in the flour, cornflour and cocoa powder to the sabayon, when 2/3 of the dry ingredients have been folded in gently mix in the butter mixture Continue to fold in the dry ingredients until a smooth mixture is formed. Spread the sponge mixture onto the silpat mat, carefully spreading with a palette knife. Bake at 180°C for 18-20 minutes. Allow to cool on a wire rack. Dark Chocolate Mousse • 225g - whipping cream • 225g – Milk • 90g - Egg Yolks • 45g - Caster sugar • 600g - whipping cream • 480g - Toscano 66% Dark chocolate Method Finely chop the chocolate and place into a bowl Place the milk and whipping cream (225g) into a pan and bring to the boil Place the egg yolk and sugar in a bowl and whisk until smooth and light in colour When the milk and cream have boiled, pour half over the egg yolks and sugar mixture and mix thoroughly Add the mixture back into the pan, cook over a low heat stirring continuously until the mixture reaches 82-83C Take off the heat and pass through a fine sieve over the chocolate Using a spatula mix until it forms an emulsion. Leave to cool Place the whipping cream (600g) into a machine bowl and whisk until soft peaks form When the chocolate mix is cool, gradually mix in the whipping cream in three parts. Simple syrup • 375g - Caster Sugar • 450g - Water • 1g - Vanilla Method Boil the water and sugar together. Allow to cool completely. Caramel Glaze • 750g - Caster sugar • 700g - Whipping cream • 200g - Stock syrup • 80g - Cocoa butter • 450g - White chocolate • 450g - Toscano 65% Method Finely chop the chocolate and cocoa butter and place into a bowl Place the cream and stock syrup into a pan and bring to the boil Make a dry amber caramel with the caster sugar. Gradually add in the cream and stock syrup mixture to the caramel, add in the soaked gelatine. Pour over the chocolate in 3 parts forming a ganache consistency. Allow to cool, use al 30C To Assemble • Cut the sponges 9x56cm to fit into the frames, for each frame you will require 3 sacher sponge and 6 Alhambra sponges • Take the orange jelly out of the freezer de mould and cut 3 rectangle 9x55cm, place back into the freezer • Place the sacher sponge into the base of the frame, soak well with Grand Marnier syrup. • Pour 300g of ganache on top of the sacher sponge, spread evenly, place a sheet of the Alhambra sponge on top, soak well with simple syrup • Place the rectangle of orange jelly on top. • Place 250g of mousse on top and spread out evenly • Place the second sponge in top, soak well with simple syrup • Top up the frame with the remaining chocolate mousse. • Place into the freezer to set To Finish • De mould the entremets • Gently warm the caramel glaze, spoon generously onto the top of the entremets, and spread thinly • Allow to set • Cut into 3.5cm portions and trim the ends. • Decorate with chocolate decorations If you’re interested in working alongside top quality chefs such as William Curley send your CV to andy.sinclair@p-r-c.co.uk or call 01202 203150.

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