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. Click here to see our previous features This Month’s feature: Stuart Gillies – Gordon Ramsay Plane Food This month is a corker!! Chef Patron, Stuart Gillies of ‘Gordon Ramsay Plane Food’ has kindly provided Platinum’s Elite Chef division with the recipe, methodology for one of his signature dishes. ‘Gordon Ramsay Plane Food’ is a 180-cover, fine dining restaurant housed within Heathrow’s terminal 5. The restaurant offers unparalleled views of London’s skyline and a true behind the scenes glimpse of the world’s busiest international airport. Under the leadership of Stuart Gillies, the Plane Food team have developed a menu to accommodate any traveller – whether it be those travelling on international connecting flights with hours to wait or those with only a few minutes to spare before boarding. The menu was created to provide guests with a definitive choice of dining options to savour whilst enjoying the superlative views through the floor to ceiling glass windows over the bustling runway, or candid views into the busy kitchen. Prior to 2008 when Stuart was first appointed Chef Patron of the exciting new opening, Gordon Ramsay Plane Food, Stuart worked as Head Chef alongside the acclaimed Daniel Boulud and in 2003 opened Boxwood Café with Gordon Ramsay. His influences at this time also reflected a year spent in Rome at the Lord Byron Hotel and 3 years in Stockholm, Sweden. Not wanting to keep still for a minute, Stuart has ensured 2010 will be another busy year as he will be also responsible for the running of the newly refurbished Savoy Grill and looking for a new site for the immensely successful Boxwood Café If you’re feeling adventurous and up for the challenge, why not try Stuart’s ‘Grilled Sea Trout with Lemon Couscous and English Asparagus’ dish. For more information on Stuart Gillies and Gordon Ramsay Plane Food’ check out the restaurants website:- www.gordonramsay.com/planefood Hope you enjoy!! See you next month Andy

Click here to download a PDF Version

Grilled Sea Trout with Lemon Couscous and English Asparagus Serves 4 Ingredients: 250g couscous 200g water 30g tomato puree ½ teasp of ground cumin Pinch of salt 2 tomatoes, quartered & seeds removed & flesh diced 1cm size Small bunch parsley Small bunch coriander Small bunch mint 2 lemons juiced 2 lemons very finely grated zest 4 tblsp olive oil 20g balsamic vinaigrette 6 spears of English asparagus Method: Put the cous cous into a large bowl with the tomato puree, lemon zest, juice, cumin and salt. Pour the boiling water on to the couscous, mix well and cover with cling film before leaving to stand in a warm place for 5 mins Remove cling film & re-whisk the cous cous, which will have set quite firm, taking care to remove any lumps. Add the tomato dice and roughly chopped herbs. Wash asparagus & cut off any of the woody end piece at a 456degree angle. Using a mandolin, slice the raw asparagus at a 45degree angle approx 3-4 mm thick, all the way up until the top 4 cm of the asparagus (take great care when using the mandolin, as the blade is very sharp, so don’t rush this process) Bring some lightly salted water to the boil, then plunge the tips of the asparagus into the water for 2 minutes then remove using a slotted spoon to a bowl of iced water Then plunge the sliced asparagus into the boiling water for 30 seconds only, remove with the spoon to the bowl of ice water. Leave to stand for a few minutes then drain the asparagus. Mix the sliced pieces into the cous cous mixture, season and keep the asparagus tips on the side (at this stage the cous cous can either be eaten at room temperature or reheated by adding a little olive oil and heating in a pan over a low heat with 4 tbsp water) Remove the sea trout from the fridge 20 mins before serving to take away the chill from the fridge Heat a ribbed griddle plate over a high heat. Season the seatrout with salt & pepper & spread well all over with olive oil. When the griddle plate is very hot, place the seatrout skin side down, onto the griddle plate at a 45 degree angle across the bars. Grill like this for 2 minutes, then lift the fish, twist 90 degrees & place back on to its skin. Cook for a further 2 minutes, so that the skin coloures well, & becomes crisp. Lift fish again & turn over on to the opposite side Cut the portion of seatrout on an angle leaving the skin intact. Season and serve on a large flat dish with the warm couscous and asparagus tips If you’re interested in working alongside top quality chefs such as Stuart Gillies send your CV to andy.sinclair@p-r-c.co.uk