Stage – La Bécasse Chef – Will Holland 1 Michelin Star 3 AA Rosette La Bécasse is open from Tuesday dinner through to Sunday lunch serving Menu de Jour, Al a Carte, Gourmand Menu, Taste of La Bécasse and at Lunch, a Surprise Menu. www.labecasse.co.uk When you walk through the town of Ludlow, with it's beautiful 17th century buildings you come across a number of organic food suppliers, butters and local cheese makers. You instantly get the feeling that this is a favourite destination for the ‘foodies’. As if to confirm that feeling, La Bécasse - the stunning Michelin starred restaurant which is headed up by Acorn Award winner Will Holland is at the heart of this ‘foodie’ community. When I arrived, Will gave me a full tour of the restaurant. A traditional feel with well placed modern touches, this restaurant is a place that invites a truly memorable eating experience. Will has recently been named as one of the top ten chefs to watch this decade by the Good Food Guide. Having now seen his work and experienced his restaurant, coupled with his extensive plans for the future I can instantly see why he is a chef to look out for. I arrived in the kitchen and was introduced to the team, all extremely welcoming and happy to answer any questions or point me in the right direction. When Will took over, the kitchen was refurbished to his specifications. With every section visible, the kitchen works seamlessly. As you’d expect ‘the pass’ is at the front of the kitchen, the pastry towards the back and a stunning Bonnet suite stands proudly in the centre. After lunch service and finishing any final Mise en place the team took a well deserved break, ate their staff food (fresh tagliatelle recipes!!) and planned for a busy night. Service starts at 7pm and the restaurant is fully booked, Will runs the service in structured manner, everyone fully understanding what was needed and when. The kitchen has a real flow to it, the food is stunning. I was regularly invited to try and taste the food during the service with Will and the team explaining the reasons behind the combinations and flavours. One of the many stand out dishes was the confit leg and smoked loin of locally shot rabbit, foie gras terrine, passion fruit and celery salad with toasted brioche – Superb! For me, La Bécasse's main strength is Will's willingness to invest his knowledge and experience into his team. Will's knowledge of both front and back of house means you could really grow as a chef within this kitchen, as he oversees every part there is a real sense of structure and team work. Will expressed ‘that with the right attitude there is plenty of room for progression within my kitchen’ By coincidence my stage coincided with La Bécasse’s first year anniversary of winning their highly coveted Michelin Star. After cleaning down we all sat and enjoyed a celebratory drink, the team shared stories of the past year and plans for the future. I could tell this was a team that were going to achieve everything they set their mind to. A big thank you to Will and the team for a fantastic day, it was a great experience!!

Platinum Recruitment - www.p-r-c.co.uk Feature of the Month Each month the team at Platinum brings you an industry specific feature from many of the UK’s finest establishments. This Month’s feature: January 2010! Martin Burge - Whatley Manor - 2 Michelin Star, Member of Relais & Châteaux, 4 AA Rosettes, 5 Red Star - Inspectors' Choice Hotels Platinum are extremely excited to introduce our first ‘monthly feature’ of 2010. This month we are proud to announce 2 Michelin Star Chef Martin Burge has kindly provided us with the recipe, method and pictures for one of his desserts at Whatley manor Martin is one of only 15 chefs in the country to hold 2 Michelin stars and to top that off he achieved it in only 5 ½ Years!! Martin has also been recognized by The Independent as ‘Chef of the Year’ I’m sure you all had a busy Christmas and New Year, so what better way to treat yourself than sample this stunning dish. For more information on Martin and Whatley Manor check out the Hotels websitewww.whatleymanor.com Hope you enjoy!! See you next month Andy Mango Cannelloni with mint ice cream and pink grapefruit Serves 4 Chefs note Prepare the lime curd and mint ice cream a few days in advance to ease your workload. Chefs tip Many types of biscuit and tuilles go soft due to the humidity in the air. To prevent the mango cannelloni crisps going soft use silicon crystals and a tightly sealed container. List of equipment Ice cream machine Hand blender Silicone mat Rectangle plastic stencil ‘5cm by 8cm’ (this can be homemade from a Tupperware lid) Cyclical object of 3cm diameter 3cm round plain cutter Mango Mousse 200g Mango puree 60g Caster sugar 4g Leaf gelatine 100g Whipping cream 20g Lime juice Dissolve the leaf gelatine in plenty of cold water until soft. Gently heat up the mango puree and caster sugar together in a pan. Dissolve the gelatine into this mixture. Pass through a fine sieve and allow to cool down. Whip up the cream to form soft peak and then fold together with the mango puree and set in fridge.

Click here to download a PDF Version

Lime Curd 125g Lime juice 125g Caster sugar 50g Butter Zest of lime 150g Whole eggs Heat up the lime juice caster sugar, butter and zest of lime together in a pan and set aside. In a separate bowl whisk your eggs until smooth and pour the hot lime mixture over the eggs and whisk until smooth. Place the combined mixture and cook over a bain marie until a thick curd is formed. Pass through a fine sieve into a bowl over iced water allowing the mixture to cool down quickly. Store in the fridge. Grapefruit jelly 115g Pink grapefruit juice 115g Stock syrup 50/50 5.5g Leaf gelatine Soak the leaf gelatine in cold water until soft. In a pan heat up the grapefruit juice and stock syrup. Add the soaked gelatine to the pan and once dissolved strain through a fine sieve. Set into a plastic container lined with Clingfilm, set in the fridge until firm to touch. Coconut gel 20g Desiccated coconut 100g Water 90g Coconut milk 75g Coconut puree 12.5g Caster sugar 0.5g Salt 8g Malibu 10g Veggie gel Lightly toast the desiccated coconut under a grill. Mix together the toasted desiccated coconut and water in a pan and bring to the boil. Take off heat and set aside to infuse. Strain through a fine sieve. Add the remaining ingredients and simmer for three minutes to activate the veggie gel. Set into a plastic container lined with Clingfilm. Set in the fridge until firm to touch. Mango cannelloni crisps 200g Mango puree 22g Anti humidity sugar 0.5g Neutral acid Place the ingredients into a bowl and blend the mixture with a hand blender until smooth. Using the plastic stencil spread the mixture evenly onto the silicone mat and bake in a preheated oven at 130oc for thirty minutes. Remove from the oven and trim the frayed edges. Return to the oven for a further thirty minutes until the cannelloni crisps have completely dried out. Whilst hot wrap around a cyclical object of 3cm in diameter. Store the mango cannelloni crisps in a tightly sealed container containing silicon crystals. Coconut foam 100g Milk 100g Coconut puree 25g Desiccated coconut Lightly toast the desiccated coconut under a grill. Place the toasted desiccated coconut into a pan with the milk and coconut puree and gently heat until simmering. Set aside to infuse for ten minutes. Strain the mixture through a fine sieve and once cool place in the fridge. Mint ice cream 100g Fresh Mint 300g Milk 300g Cream 175g Caster sugar 7 Egg yolks 5 Drops Mint essential oil “optional” Place the mint and milk together in a pan and simmer. Whisk the sugar and yolks together in a bowl until smooth. Add the hot mint infused milk to the egg yolks and whisk until smooth. Return the mixture to the pan on a low heat and continue to stir until the mixture thickens. Do not allow the mixture to reach boiling point or it will curdle. Pass the mixture through a fine sieve into a bowl. Add the cream and mint essential oil. Cool down quickly over a bowl of iced water. Churn the mixture in an ice cream machine. Coconut crisps 20 Strips of coconut 250g Stock syrup Place the coconut strips and stock syrup into a pan. Simmer until the coconut strips become translucent and slightly soft. Drain through a sieve and lay onto to a silicon mat. Cook in a moderately hot oven 175oc for approximately 10 to 15 minutes until golden brown and crisp in texture. To Garnish 1 Pink grapefruit 1 Mango 20 Leaves of salad mache Remove the outside layers of the grapefruit until only the flesh is remaining and then segment. Remove the outside layer of the mango. Cut the fruit avoiding the stone. Thinly slice and divide the mango as required. Wash the salad leaves in a deep bowl of iced water. Remove the salad leaves from the water. Drain and place in the fridge until required. To serve Cut the coconut gel with a 3cm cutter. Sprinkle the tops with caster sugar and caramelise with a blowtorch. Place the mango mousse into a piping bag and fill the mango cannelloni crisps with the mango mousse. Assemble the dish in the following sequence Mango canneloni Coconut gel Pink grapefruit jelly Pink grapefruit segments Mango slices Lime curd Quenelle of mint ice cream Salad mache Coconut crisps Coconut foam